Welcome back to another Dan's ToyBox Action Figure Review. I'm very excited to talk about this particular figure as I've been waiting a while to add him to my collection. Today, we get to talk about the Hasbro Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man Action Figure. Recreating the web-spinner in his first appearance, Hasbro has done an amazing job on the Amazing Spider-Man!!!
Shy, nerdy, bookworm... all adjectives that perfectly described high school student Peter Parker. Raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, Peter wasn't exactly what you call the epitome of high school popular. In fact, other than his zeal for science and learning, Peter's high school existence was something he'd just as soon forget, until one fateful day. Peter attended a science experiment on radiation. Little did he know that experiment and one unlucky arachnid would change Peter's life dramatically. During the experiment, the spider was accidentally exposed to the radiation and in its dying state, happened to come into contact with Parker. Lashing out, the spider bit young Peter before dying. Peter, feeling faint, leaves the science center and while walking home is nearly struck by a vehicle. Nearly, for as the vehicle closed on him Peter did something extraordinary... he leapt high into the air and found himself clinging to the side of a nearby building!!! Unnerved, yet exhilarated by this, Peter races home and soon discovers that the dying spider's bite, infused with the radiation had altered Peter's body chemistry, giving him the proportionate strength, speed, wall crawling ability, and agility of the arachnid. In addition, Peter soon discovers that he has an early warning "spider-sense" which originates as a tingling in the base of his skull, increasing in intensity as the source of danger gets closer! Using his genius, Peter fabricates himself an invention... his own webbing, a quick drying, sticky polymer like substance that through different taps and pressure applications of the toggle switch on the web-shooters he builds, Peter can form into lines for swinging, nets, and just about any other object he can "spin up." The webbing dissolves in about an hour, making for easy clean up! Deciding that he is going to earn fame and fortune, Peter designs a spectacular costume and enters the world of professional entertainment only to allow a two-bit thug to run past him and escape with gate receipts from a show Peter was performing at. As Peter returns home that evening, he comes upon a disturbing sight... police cars around the home of his beloved aunt and uncle. Peter soon learns that his uncle has been shot and killed by an intruder. Overhearing the police radio say that the invader has been trapped in a warehouse, Peter rushes to bring the killer to justice. In a chilling moment, that turns Peter's life upside down, he soon learns that the killer is none other than the robber he allowed to run free earlier in the evening. Peter Parker realizes his greatest lesson, that with Great Power must also come Great Responsibility and from that moment on, vows to use his powers to fight crime as The Amazing Spider-Man!!! Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, we celebrate Spider-Man's first appearance 60 years ago in the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15!
I don't know about you reading it, but just writing that gave me chills! So, let's jump into our review categories: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability and then we'll give the web slinger his overall grade of zero to five toyboxes!
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
ACCESSORIES
Of all of the new Spider-Man figures that have been released, thus far this year, the Amazing Fantasy figure has had the most accessories yet. Spidey comes with FOUR pairs of hands! one pair of fists, one pair "thwipping," one pair wall crawling (YES!!) and, best of all... one pair of WEB GRASPING hands! I feel like I just mentioned wishing for those in my last review of the Future Foundation Stealth Suit! He also comes with the web line we've seen before, and two different pairs of "web wings" that port into slots on the underside of his arms. One pair is relaxed and hangs nicely, the other is spread out to simulate the look of the web wings being stretched out with his outreaching arms. I'll get this out of the way right now, while I kind of like the loose hanging look, as pictured in the picture above... I do NOT like the outspread web wings. Once I figured out which arm each belonged in and got the arms in a pose that looked similar to the packaging, I turned the figure around and was appalled at how bad the wings looked from the back.
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
As you can see in the above pictures, from the front, the old "web pits" look fairly decent, but when you see them from the sides and back, the sculpt causes them to stick out awkwardly and though I can understand the concept of how the arms should be posed to get the maximum effect, the shoulders on mine will not go up high enough to help generate the proper look. We'll discuss that more in articulation though. I actually like the way the "relaxed" web wings look much better, to be honest. That all being said, though I'm not terribly impressed with the wings, I am really happy with the accessories overall, especially web grasping hands!!! I'm very excited to give the Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man an A for ACCESSORIES!
*EDITORS NOTE
It was correctly pointed out to me that this figure actually didn't come with the web splat effects. I assume there was a QC issue as mine was packed with extra accessories it should not have contained. Thank you to reader Matt W. for catching this.
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
APPEARANCE
Seeing this figure out of the package for the first time was an absolute thrill for me. I'm sitting at my computer writing this with the figure posed in front of me and I still can't get over how much I enjoy looking at it. Spidey's first appearance featured a red and black costume with a larger spider emblem than we've come to know over the years. He was drawn with eyes that are narrower and the red spider on his back is a very plain, round design on the costume. Hasbro has darn near perfectly emulated this look in plastic!
Starting at the top, the paint apps are really clean on my figure. I'm impressed with the exacting detail of the weblines on the costume as well. They all line up evenly across the body and are very tight. I've had some Spidey figures that the webbing is a bit blurred/fuzzy, but these are laid out super clean. The design of his eyes, narrowed as they are, is right out of the Steve Ditko play book and are a brilliant white. The only issue I found on mine was a small spot just above his left leg. I thought that I might be able to scrape it off at first, but even after carefully trying, it's going nowhere. You can see it in the picture above, just below his belt line over the left thigh. Overall, it's kind of hard to mess up a figure's look when the only colors you are using are red, black, and white. If there were going to be any real problems, I believe they'd have been in the webbing pattern and the amount of white on the eyes. Mine is clean throughout and is just, in my opinion, really nice to look at. Even with the spot on his thigh and all the 60th Anniversary Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man action figure easily earns an A for APPEARANCE!
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
ARTICULATION
The Hasbro Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man is built on the new Spider-Man body, with the improved articulation. However, I do have some issues which we'll discuss. His head is on the ball hinge with the back neck cut; however, the new larger hinge does seem to hide the cut a lot better than on the first retro style Spider-Man figure. This allows the figure to look up and down very far, making for some great swinging and leaping poses. The problem though is the under-chin gap. When tilted upward there is a big opening beneath the chin which isn't easily concealed on the figure. Smart camera angling and photo editing will help hide it, but the gap is kind of an eye sore. The head will also tilt and can turn side to side easily. The butterfly joints at his shoulders work very nicely on mine, allowing for some great cross body punches, however, their backward range is a bit more limited unfortunately. The shoulders themselves have some issues with side raising. I can get mine to just below a decent T pose, which is disappointing as that causes limitations on posing with the web wings. Oddly enough, the shoulders seem to actually be better proportioned on this figure which inhibits the movement. They do rotate a full 360 degrees though. The bicep swivel works nicely, though was a bit loose on my right arm. The double-jointed, pin less elbows bend all the way, allowing Spidey's hand to touch his head and each pair of hands hinges and pivots nicely! The upper diaphragm joint is, honestly, a disappointment on mine. There is very little forward crunch, and the backward tilt leaves an odd gap in the chest/torso region. The torso will turn at this joint, side to side, but even sideways tilting is somewhat limited. There is a lower diaphragm hinge, which allows for better overall abdominal crunch, but also eliminates any waist pivot. I was hoping to see splits on par with the Future Foundation Stealth Suit figure, but the Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man cannot get as wide as his brother figure. The splits are still decent, but not as good as I'd hoped. The legs will kick forward very nicely but not back very much. The upper thigh cut turns easily, allowing for some more dynamic posing and the pin less, double-jointed knees give Spider-Man the ability to kick himself in the rear end! There is also a boot cut for shin pivot and that always generous ankle hinge and pivot. Sadly, there is no toe articulation on this figure. I think we were spoiled with the "Renew Your Vows" two pack Spider-Man figure. Overall, in spite of my disappointment with the shoulder limits and limited upper diaphragm motion range, there is just enough right with this figure to get him into some pretty solid Spider-Man poses. Could it be better? Sure, so with that in mind, the Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man action figure earns an A- for ARTICULATION.
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
AFFORDABILITY
The Hasbro Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man Action Figure can be found online at several different retailers. I've seen other reviewers find this figure at local shops and big box stores as well. I obtained mine online at Amazon for $26.49 and it is still available there and on pre-order at BBTS for $28.99. Not knowing how much he is selling for at places like Walmart or Target is a bit frustrating though. Granted, this figure does fall within the current wildly inconsistent Hasbro pricing structure, but with that being said, finding mine for less than $27 with everything he comes loaded with was a very pleasant surprise. I feel like, with four pairs of hands, four web wings, and one webbing effect, we are actually getting something worth the price this time. So, from that perspective, I will say that he's worth the price and give the Amazing Fantasy Spider-Man an A for AFFORDABILITY.
What more can I say? I really like this figure. Sure, I have some gripes with the articulation but the surprise addition of web gripping hands and the incredible accuracy to the source material makes this a definite must have for any collection. Fix the diaphragm issues and give him better splits and this figure would be darn near perfect in my opinion. To that end... I'm very excited to give him an overall:
4.75 TOYBOXES OUT OF 5
This is a super fun figure and I'm having a great time posing him around and taking shots with him. There will be some fun shots coming to the Figure Fotos page featuring this Spider-Man and a number of his villains! As always, I am very grateful for you taking the time to stop by Dan's ToyBox and enjoy our content! Until next time... GEEK OUT!!!!