2007 Hasbro
Marvel Legends
Diamond Emma Frost
MSRP: $9.99
Toys R Us Exclusive
How does Diamond Emma Frost compare to the regular and heavily disputed Emma Frost from Marvel Legends Annihilus Series?
Is it just me or does it already feel like we have too many Toys R Us Exclusives? I mean, space them out, give them a little time to breathe, generate value. I personally welcome any release so long as it is not an exact re-release of something old. I like to get this kind of variation and one this comes by the case you don't have to hunt every where or resort to other online methods of purchase where it is marked up two, three or even five times more than retail.
Packaging
For once, I'm not as pleased with the packaging here. I mean it's still that great format that Hasbro has been using for all of it's Marvel Legends figures but I'm not a fan of certain choices they made here. First of all, I think they should have chosen a much more concise "Diamond" Emma Frost for the main image in the upper left hand corner. While this is a beautifully illustrated image by the amazing Greg Land, it almost looks like a sort of half in - half out phasing Emma Frost. The images chosen for the panels along the right side of the blister are either unrevealing again to her diamond form or downright ugly (third one down). The card back looks kind of bland and what is with that prototype image of Emma Frost? It looks like a completely different head and hair, I hate that and have since I was a kid! They used the exact same profile paragraph that they had for her in the Annihilus Series release, not something I'm a fan of either. Great design on the packaging, not so great execution in this case especially when comparing to others.
Score: 5
Sculpt / Design
I'm going to refer back to my review of Emma Frost from the Annihilus Series since these are the exact same figure but with clear skin instead of colored skin. Again, I don't think she looks like a man and I don't think she looks like she's wearing a diaper.
Score: 6
Paint / Color
The cape and "X" clasp are not so accurate and clean this time around. The entire face looks MUCH better than the previous version we were used to. The eyebrows and eyes are much much thinner and lighter than before. A few eyelashes added that weren't present in the previous version add a touch more of feminine quality. Despite the sculpt, the face looks much better than the Annihilus Series regular version due to paint apps. With the hair still transparent but a slight tint of yellow, they actually gave it some accents with a subtle wash in a blonde color, nice job. I'm still not sure if I would have preferred the hair to be as clear as the rest of the skin, but it seems that different artists depict her differently. With a nice costume paint job, poorer cape paint job and much much fairer face and hair paint job, the score goes up from before.
Score: 9
Articulation
Articulation is exactly the same as the Annihilus Series Emma Frost figure, so I will give the same score and for the blurb, check out that review.
Score: 6
Accessories
Diamond Emma Frost comes with the same cape that has the same inaccurate X clasp that technically has no business being there. I wouldn't expect them to change it for this release so I'm not disappointed. One thing, and this goes into value a bit too, is that Annihilus Series Emma Frost came with two Build-A-Figure pieces, an arm and a leg to be exact for $9.99. Diamond Emma Frost comes with no such pieces, again at $9.99. What else could Hasbro have included to sweeten the deal? Who knows? Maybe they should have just put Diamond Emma Frost in as a variant in the Annihilus Series wave.
Score: 5
Value
If you're a fan of Emma Frost, exclusives, alternate or variant versions or are just a completist I'm sure you won't think twice about snatching this figure up. If you're more the conservative type, you may opt for the regular version. But then again, the face is much better on this version. Also, are you looking to put Annihilus together? All these things factor in for what should be a simple decision, if you like the toy buy it. No BAF pieces, well I'll live but for a score, well it has to go down.
Score: 6
Score Totals
Packaging: 5
Sculpt / Design: 6
Paint / Color: 9
Articulation: 6
Accessories: 5
Value: 6
Overall: 37 out of a possible 60
Time will tell if this figure becomes a hot exclusive or an overly flooded peg warmer. It depends on how much Hasbro produces and ships out to Toys R Us stores, how much scalpers think she's worth and how much you, the collector dig her. She looks bad in score, but I believe even if I were more a conservative Marvel toy buyer, I'd pick her up for sure.
Check out
Diamond Emma Frost in the Database.
