Marvel Legends Ant-Man & Ultron review

The MCU has really changed the way people see characters, to the point that Disney would basically make them seem like a new character is the biggest deal ever since the last Marvel hero as the flavor of the week MFs they are. It can't be further from the truth than with Ant-Man and Ultron, the former being Scott Lang who's basically seen as just a second-tier Avenger even in Endgame with funny gags (sorry Paul Rudd you're a cool guy but you deserve better) and the latter is a creation of Tony Stark rather than Hank Pym. Ultron in the comics was the result of Hank Pym trying to make a robot with his own brain patterns, resulting in the damn thing basically turning against his creator and attempting to make Vision, who turns against the guy and joins the Avengers while also banging Scarlet Witch. Marvel's history is very complicated, but let's see what our Legends iterations of...father and son?...have in store for us!

Here we have the Astonishing Ant-Man in-hand. Using the Sunfire mold, this figure does not have pinless joints and sticks with them being pinned on instead. I don't mind either way since as we've seen in other reviewers' criticisms of the pinless joints, Hasbro isn't exactly the best with stuff like QC. The Sunfire mold is still great for Ant-Man, and while the character isn't always known to be a super strong character, the bulkier proportions fit well for the comic book aesthetic that Marvel has in the past. Now it should be mentioned that the character wearing this costume is Scott Lang, who we either know as a former criminal who turned his life around after being the next Ant-Man, or yet another MCU funny man if you think Quantumania or any of the other Ant-Man films are somehow good. It could be Hank Pym under the helmet if you want, since there's nothing that really dictates who is who despite Hasbro going with Scott since he's more recognizable in the MCU.

His head sculpt is a marked improvement from the past version, giving him a much more classic comic design that hadn't been seen on the character since the Toy Biz version from long ago, and it's great to see the silver dome, respirator, and the thin but iconic antennae for this guy. The face of Hank Pym underneath the helmet also looks well done, capturing the appearance of a living, breathing person wearing the suit. Sadly, the helmet is not removable, but the articulation, using the Sunfire mold, gives him the same range of articulation that was on my comic Black Panther review from earlier in the year. His sole accessories are an alternate pair of fists, and that's it.

For a comparison with his past self, it's a marked improvement for him to use the Sunfire mold compared to Pizza Spidey as seen with the Retro-Carded version. Pizza Spidey's proportions and articulation are both dated and a bit lacking, respectively; while the Sunfire mold's shoulders do hang down a bit, the physique is much better for a comic character overall. The heads are where things really make an impact in quality difference. The old one reused the Walgreens-exclusive Ant-Man head (the one that was sort of meant to look like the MCU design in terms of coloring), and while it captured the more modern design traits well for that specific look, its aesthetics clashed with the classic costume's simplicity on this version. I also appreciate the trunks looking more like trunks on the new version instead of short shorts. So not worth the full asking price for the lack of accessories (a Hank Pym head, a mini Ant-Man, and/or a labcoat with some alternate hands meant for some laboratory glassware would be appreciative), but a step in the right direction.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And here we have his creation, Ultron. This figure is a near-identical reuse of the 2021 Ursa Major wave, best known for having Modular Iron Man and Titanium Man. This figure is made from the ground up yet has a major difference in how the coloring is handled: the original was painted silver while this new one leaves it as a marbly silver plastic. It could have been done better, but I guess penny pinching is back this year. While I like the subtle yet effective sculptwork implemented (even without the needed paint or drybrush to accentuate it), I kind of wish he'd be a little broader in the upper body.

His head sculpt is the most distinct aspect of the toy, being a little closer to the old design (or not, depends on the artist). The chromedome is glued over a blank head, and I kind of wish he'd have an extra level of paintwork for the eyes to make them piercing, sort of like that 2015 Disney Store Ultron from the Avengers 5-pack where he originally had the Titanium Man tooling. His articulation gives him a ball-and-hinge combo, shoulders that rotate with the pads attached from the inside as well as hinge in and out, bicep swivels, double-elbow bends, wrist swivels along with hinges, a diaphragm joint with a waist swivel, hips that move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, double-knee bends, rotation above the ankles, and the feet can hinge as well as rock side to side. He has two Kirby Krackle-holding hands and and only one evil left hand; said Kirby Krackle accessory (which now has black paint) gives him that energy-manipulating look as he threatens his foes, but he cannot put it in his mouth. 

As part of the Cassie Lang BAF wave, Ultron comes with her left arm and an alternate open hand. I have no plans to complete her as I don't care about almost everything MCU since Phase 3, so I shall pretend he cut her arm off.

Overall, Ultron is the stronger of the two even in spite of being a reuse of an existing version of himself. I wish he kept the silver paint of the previous release, but I am happy to have myself a display where he can kill his human father before his android son goes up against him. This is a good figure, but you can skip it if you got the Ursa Major version.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐