Marvel Universe Wave 19 Marvel's Kang

Hasbro adds another villain to their Marvel Universe 3.75” lineup with figure 015 from their 19th wave of Marvel Universe figures, Marvel’s Kang, the time traveling conquerer from the future. Join us as we take a detailed look at this new figure and see how it stacks up. You can check out hi-res images for this figure below in our GALLERY.

Packaging - The packaging is pretty standard from what we have come to expect for the Marvel Universe line. Artwork of the character is featured on the front upper left of the cardback. All of the artwork for this wave was done by Marvel Comics artist Mike Deodato Jr. The Marvel Universe logo is displayed over the figure which is clearly displayed with its accessories in the clear plastic bubble. To the left of the figure is the little cardboard comic book cutout which is included with all the Marvel Universe figures this year. Kang’s comes with a representation of Avenger #267 which featured Kang on the cover.

On the back of the cardback is a image of the figure along with a brief bio. I guess I’ve missed some Kang backstory because I always thought Kang was a future version of Dr. Doom, but according to this bio he is actually Nathaniel Richards who if I remember correctly was Reed Richards father... ah gotta love time travelers. Anyway also featured on the back are 3 of the other figures in this wave and a small picture of Modok with a little comic word bubble that says “Mental Organism Designed Only For Kollecting Them All! Each sold separately".

Mike’s artwork on the front and the bio on the back make these Marvel Universe cardbacks visually appealing and help differentiate the figures in this line from one another.

Sculpt - The sculpting on Kang is very detailed from the armor design of the helmet, belt and gloves to the folds in the cloth portions of his costume. They seem to do a nice job here re-using the body from the previously released Dr. Strange figure here. What does seem to be missing are the signature textured lines on his face. The lines are even shown on the packaging artwork but missing from the actual figure. I don’t know if this was an oversight or a design decision. On a small scale figure like this, I suppose having a bunch of lines on the face could look funny. Nevertheless, it is a little disappointing to have such a signature part of the character’s look missing from the figure.

Paint - Overall, the paint job for this figure is quite good. The armor portions of the costume are done with a glossy/shiny paint giving that metallic look and feel to it while the cloth portions of the costume have a nice light wash mixed in with the green giving a more textured look and feel. The face (minus the signature lines we mentioned above in the sculpting portion of the review) looks good with a strong blue color and yellow eyes that stand out nicely.

Articulation - Hasbro went all out with the articulation on this one. I was surprised to find ankle rockers which usually are reserved for characters known for their agility. He also has an articulated ball-joint that holds the head, giving it a wide range of motion even when the removable plastic collar piece is worn around its neck. This figure also has swivel/hinge shoulders and wrists, hinge elbows, swivel biceps, swivel calves, swivel thighs, swivel waist, double-hinged knees, and ball-jointed hips and torso. They even put cuts in the soft plastic they used below Kang’s belt for the tunic to allow complete range of motion for the figure’s legs. Overall, Kang has about 30 points of articulation to make it a very posable figure.

Accessories - Kang comes with a futuristic-looking ray gun that is painted silver with a nice wash finish to give it a metallic look. For a small accessory, it has quite a bit of detail. He also comes with the little cardboard comic-cut out mentioned in the packaging portion of the review. Although it may not be considered an accessory, the plastic collar can be removed if the head it removed. One accessory missing from this figure and all the Marvel Universe figures in the 2012 line-up is the figure stands we are accustomed to in this line. We really hope Hasbro decides to start including these again in 2013.

Fun - Kang is an iconic Marvel villain that Hasbro has decked out with a lot of articulation and a nice paint job. The figure can be posed in multiple positions and is a villain with a history opposing many different teams in the Marvel Universe over the years. If you are someone who likes to be comic book accurate in your hero and villain pairings, Kang can be paired against multiple opponents.

Overall - This probably is one of the nicest figures I have come across in the Marvel Universe line so far this year. Lots of articulation make this figure a lot of fun to play with and pose. The only thing that would have made this figure better (besides the missing lines on the face) is Kang’s time traveling chair. Still, this is one I think most Marvel fans will want to be sure to add to their collections, assuming you can find him. He definitely seems to be one of the harder to find figures in this wave.

Final Score - 4/5