Toy Review: Marvel Universe Juggernaut!

Marvel Universe Juggernaut!

Ok, so this review is a little late. I’ve been falling behind.

I got this little fella from the same guy who brought in the Silver Surfer, Daredevil, Iron Man 3-pack. It was a good thing too, since it’s so hard to find the new HAMMER Files figures here in the Philippines. I was asking around about sightings in the recently completed Toy Con and the new figures were still pretty scarce and went for a pretty penny. Luckily I got mine for something near the local suggested retail price (SRP) which was totally awesome.

Remember when Marvel Legends was the hot toy line? I remember everyone scrabbling to get their hands on an ML Juggernaut, that huge hulking behemoth. Looking at it now, I don’t know what the fuss and bother was about. If you were to judge the 3 Juggernauts in my collection by sculpt alone, I’d have to give it to this little fella. His proportions, face, and paint just seem exactly how I picture him in my head after 2 decades of reading X-Men comics.

The package is big, though maybe not as big as the Hulk’s and The Thing’s bubbles were. It’s still almost twice the size of a regular figure. I’m surprised that Hasbro shipped these 2 per case in that first assortment. Babe’s Toystore was selling these bundled with Colossus and the AIM Soldier. A good thing since I would have pegged both Colossus and Juggernaut as in demand items and the AIM Soldier as a natural army builder. Maybe Hasbro finally has a handle on that perfect assortment that will satisfy everyone’s demand but won’t leave any pegwarmers?

But that doesn’t explain Archangel.

The back of the card has the requisite history of the character. Blah blah blah, brother of Xavier, blah blah blah, Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, blah blah blah, unstoppable. Suffice it to say, he’s AWESOME. Just looking at the figure and the photo on the back isn’t enough, you need to open this bad boy and try it out.

He comes with a fairly useless stand since it’s much too small for him to fit. It still helps him stand if you use it for the one foot. He’s got a pretty wide footprint though so it’s not really a problem. I use it for other Marvel Universe figures.

He’s fairly small for a hulking behemoth, standing well short of the other looming giants of the Marvel world. The sculpt helps rectify that however since he looks meanacing enough to add several inches in photos. Sort of like that “Cameras add 10 pounds” thing.

Here are some comparison shots:

As I said, next to the other 2 Juggernauts I own (Marvel Legends and Spider-Man Classics), I’ll choose this one hands down. Not only does he have those perfect proportions with a flatter helment and better build, he’s got all sorts of USEFUL ARTICULATION.

Sure the old Marvel Legends one has a LOT of joints, but most of them are redundant and ugly. His torso joint is awful for one, and very unsightly. His hands can’t form fists because of his articulated fingers and the bands that wrap his hands. His head also looks sort of like an egg and his long and bulky arms make him look like a gorilla.

The Spider-Man one on the other hand is too small. He’s got a great sculpt, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the Juggernaut I’ve seen in the comics I have. His helmet is even taller than the Legends one and his arm articulation is limited.

The Universe Juggernaut on the other hand has that squat helmet that you see in the comics and great articulation.

His only problem is is that he’s small. Solution? Find smaller figures. Solved!

Back to articulation: this figure really highlights what Hasbro can do when it really wants to wow it’s customers. They could have stopped at a piss poor non-action figure like their Hulks, but they went and gave Cain a bit extra. His arms have double swivel post shoulders, which gives him a swivel bicep. His elbow is a hinge that gives a good range for such a bulked out figure. There’s also a wrist swivel.

His legs have a hinge ankle, swivels at his boot tops, double-hinge knees that aren’t too unsightly, that weird T-bar construction for his hips and THIGH CUTS!!!

Yes THIGH CUTS!!! These are the missing joints that really stop me from enjoying Marvel Universe as a main line. I just can’t stand action figures that can’t look like they’re lunging. Juggernaut can lunge.

You’ll also notice that he’s got a new neck joint. Instead of the standard balljoint, he’s got a ball- swivel-tilt combination that works exceedingly well. Though for the most part it’s limited to a swivel because of his helmet, you can see it’s going to come in handy for the upcoming Thanos figure.

Overall, this toy is the worth the price of purchase. Having paid over SRP for him, I’d still say I would have paid more knowing what I know. This toy is just that good. If you have X-Men figures in this scale, he really displays nicely with them.

If Hasbro can manage to keep this going, I’m all in for the next few waves of HAMMER Files.