Package Description
Emulating the mythological serpent of the same name, every severed Hydra head produces two more to take its place! Quite possibly, the most dangerous army of organized criminals ever assembled, this merciless troop of villains will stop at nothing to achieve global domination. With secret ties to government and industry, they have amassed an unthinkable arsenal of weapons in order to crush S.H.I.E.L.D. and bring the world to its knees.
Appearance
This figure looks like a generic Hydra soldier, which is to be expected. There are a few nice little details in the sculpt that are nice. There are buckles and straps on the boots, pouches and bullets on the belt, an “H” on the back of his head, an even a Hydra emblem on the rifle. On the variant, there are also grooves sculpted in for the individual teeth (although it looks like he has large spaces between teeth). However, the lack of details in the large fields of dark green is what makes the figure look dull in color and texture. The bright yellow adds color, but the paint edges are not always distinct. This adds to the plastic feel of the figure. The open mouth does make the variant look a little better, but I really think it’s the different eye shape that makes the variant look better than the regular version. The variant’s eyes don’t bulge out as much, and the more pointed look adds to the menacing factor.
The Hydra soldier is a little large compared to other Marvel Legends figures. Everything is proportional, but he is taller, wider, and his head is bigger. It is noticeable enough that it looks slightly odd when two Hydra soldiers are standing at the side of figures like Baron Von Strucker. With most of the heroes being at least 6’, it is odd for henchmen to be bigger and taller.
For the most part the joints are well hidden. The folds of the clothes hide the arm joints. However, the knees are very obvious and ugly. There is a separation between the pieces, and the horizontal line is obvious against the plain green. The hands are molded to hold guns though, and so look awkward doing anything else. The head sculpt is well done and more distinctive than the grimace of the regular version. Overall, I’m happy with the look of the figure. He could benefit from some paint, but they’ll blend into a fight scene well. With a great paint job, he’d probably look as good as most Toybiz figures.
Articulation
The Hydra Soldiers have pin jointed ankles, cut wrists, ball jointed knees, and ball jointed elbows. As would be expected, the tunic limits the range of motion of the legs. The knees and elbows are the most disappointing, with a terrible range of motion. They don’t even bend as far as Hasbro’s usual ball joints. Overall, Hydra has a severe lack of range of motion. The only area he isn’t lacking is he can bend all the way forward in the torso. In addition, working gun holsters would have been nice rather than the large yellow blob on the side of his tunic.
Poseability
The Hydra Soldier is lacking next to a lot of Toybiz figures. It’s alright with multiple Hydras, because the attention should be drawn to whoever is fighting them. But with only one Hydra this figure doesn’t look very good. I’ll add that the variant does look better than the regular version, but not enough to really raise his score. The other factor limiting poseability is the movement of the knees and elbows. It is difficult to get a good pose of them holding their guns, which is essential for a good army builder. Overall, don’t expect a dynamic villain.
Final Judgment: 5
There’s nothing about this figure that really inspires confidence. He’s got a fairly plastic look, a limited range of motion, and is hard to pose. There’s just not anything really special about this figure, and unless you’re a big Hydra fan, I would recommend waiting for other army builders for making an army. As a stand a lone figure, Hydra Agent is nothing special.
SCALE
10. My favorite possession.
9. My favorite action figure.
8. One of my favorite action figures.
7. An exceptional action figure.
6. A good, but not exceptional action figure.
5. An adequate action figure.
4. Not worth the money I spent.
3. I'll give it to somebody's kid.
2. I'll give it to somebody's dog.
1. It's going to lose a fight with my car.
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