You might be wondering why I'm looking at a figure that has been out for almost an entire year now, and I have good reason! This was a toy I had been eyeing for quite a while, but missed him with this semi-elusive wave hit originally. Thankfully, he was pumped out again with cases of the more recent Marvel Legends Nemesis Wave, so I got my chance, and here's a quick look at Scarlet Spider from the Marvel Legends Ares Wave. 

Name: Scarlet Spider
Line: Marvel Legends Ares Wave
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Released: Fall 2008
Price: Retail: $10.50-$11.99, Online: $11.99-$19.99
Scale: 6.00 in. (figure in 6.00 in. tall)
Accessories: None
Build-a-Figure Piece: Ares' right arm
Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$14.95

    Scarlet Spider here definitely has a more feminine figure, because this ML buck is just a bit too thin and shapely for my tastes. The subtle muscles of his arms and calves don't match well with the extreme sinewed look on his thighs. The slope from his shoulders to head is too steep, adding to the questionable proportions. His head and hands have lots of sharp details worked in, from distinct fingers to webbing grooves worked into his mask. His butt looks a little too puffy and diaper-like. The most important thing to consider here, is that he looks pretty bad if just standing straight up, because all the flaws stand out, but when posed more dynamically, some of those problems are better hidden and saves his appearance. 

Sculpt Score: 7 / 10

     The colors look just fine, a rich blue along with a darker red and a thorough black. The head is definitely a shade darker than his body, mostly because of a messy black wash that's pretty ugly anyway, but the color also seems a tad bit more maroon. It doesn't match his body, and it's distracting to the eye, no matter what the reason is. The black webbing on his upper body is very straight and clean, even if it doesn't match well at all across different pieces, particularly from front to back. The red sections on his calves and feet are separated from the blue by a black line, which is super crooked and missing altogether for a significant portion of his right leg. The backs of his legs don't have a separating line, and the red is just sloppily thrown on, webbing coming nowhere near the edge. It's terribly messy down there, and though it's not a huge part of the figure's paint, it's not helping. The lines on his fingers were done well, but his right hand has the two middle fingers in red, instead of blue like they're supposed to be, showcasing the lazy effort on paint even more. There's also just a lot of various scarring, slop, and gloppiness to pull the score down even further. 

Paint Score: 4 / 10

 

    Sure old web-head here has a lot of points, but this still isn't a great set of articulation. First off are the hips, which really can't do a lot thanks to the odd shape of the puffy-butt hip-piece. He can't do the splits out sideways or front-to-back, and he can't really even sit in a chair without the legs pointing out thanks to the V-crotch. His ankles are also problematic, the hinge offering a marginal range of up/down movement, although the swivel works fine. Rocking ankles would have added a lot to his poseability. The upper body and neck joints all work well, and for that matter, nothing is broken or came out of the package stuck. My main gripe with Scarlet Spidey's articulation is how horrible it looks. The double-swivel/hinge hips look absolutely awful, coming in wider than his torso, with the "balls" breaking up everything visually. Double hinges look bad as well, especially when put on a single color such as this, without any natural costume breaks to hide them. You can definitely pose this figure in some cool ways, but not as many as I'd like, and he never looks quite right when you're done. 

Articulation Score: 6 / 10

     Although this isn't exactly the Spider-Man we all know and love, he's close enough for kids to enjoy him all the same, and this semi-classic design will bring up good feelings for a lot of people. The articulation here is enough to make him poseable, but it's still a little frustrating at times, preventing deep crouches, and causing the occasional fall. The lack of accessories is a big hindrance to his fun, even a small web attachment would have made him a lot more enjoyable. Having a build-a-figure piece helps a lot, because putting together a bonus toy is always a blast.

Fun Score: 6 / 10

 

     The great thing here is that despite being a 6 inch figure, this figure was only a hair over $10 at retail. Compared to the $13 and climbing of DC Universe Classics, that's a great price. Ares' arm is a nice bonus to those who buy the whole wave, but again, the addition of some accessories would give Scarlet Spider a boost in this category. On the other hand, the packaging is nothing special, the figure is smaller than average, and neither the sculpt nor paint make the figure seem worth a lot. He does feel durable and could easily withstand a 10 foot plummet or a rowdy kid. I think he's a good buy for ML or Spider-Man fans, because they'll have something to do with him, but if you're just looking for a fun diversion, your money could be better spent elsewhere. 

Value Score: 7 / 10

 

61 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy

Scarlet Spider isn't a terrible figure, but there are better Spider-Man toys out there too. If you like this particular version of the friendly neighborhood superhero, then your $10 might be well spent, but otherwise, I'd look elsewhere.

-The Articulated One

This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment for a chance to win!

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