Hey everyone! We're back with another Retro Review. This time we're looking at the Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts No Way Home Special Set Black and Gold Suit Spider-Man. I actually hadn't intended to get this figure, but finally broke down and picked him up and I'm fairly glad I did. There is some really good stuff with this figure and I'm excited to share it with you. The notable differences between this and the base figure are the additional display stands and the orange magic effects, as opposed to the blue effects from the base figure.
After defeating Mysterio in London, Peter Parker returns to New York, thinking that life has finally improved. He and MJ are a couple and Spider-Man is loved as a hero for his role in the Avengers battle with Thanos. This is... until his secret identity is revealed thanks to one last dirty trick up Mysterio's sleeve. With his life thrown into chaos now, Peter appeals to Dr. Strange to cast a spell, causing everyone to forget that he is Spider-Man. Unfortunately, due to repeated interruptions on Peter's part, the spell is cast incorrectly, opening up portals in the multi-verse and allowing Spider-Man's greatest villains from other realities, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Electro, The Lizard, and the Green Goblin access to Peter's reality! After his Upgraded suit gets a new "paint job" courtesy of his adoring public, Peter turns the suit inside out, exposing the gold wiring and circuitry inside. Fortunately, his equipment still functions, and Peter begins to round up the villains. Initially, Peter tries to help cure the villains and return them to their homes, but power-hungry greed once again takes over as the villains, led by The Green Goblin attack the webslinger. In the ensuing battle, the villains escape, and Peter suffers a devastating loss. Overwhelmed and alone, Parker soon finds unlikely allies as his best friend Ned successfully opens portals to the other multiverses and brings Peter's older counterparts from two other realities. Together, Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man, and the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man successfully combat the threats posed and return everyone to their proper universes. Of course, as is often the case with the "old Parker luck" Dr. Strange's subsequent spell causes everyone to forget Peter himself... but that is a tale for another time.
Before we discuss the SHF NWH Spider-Man, we'll do a quick review criteria recap: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability are the four categories we'll review and assign a rating. At the end, after taking each category into consideration, we'll give the figure an overall score of Zero to Ten ToyBoxes. As always, I attempt to be as objective as possible because my only goal is to give you the best opinion I can to help you decide if this is a product you want to purchase for yourself. Let's get after it!
ACCESSORIES
As followers of my reviews know, I really like the fact that import companies pack so much in with their figures. The SHF NWH Black and Gold Suit Spider-Man special set comes with a lot of really neat accessories. There is: a masked head, an unmasked head sculpt, two additional neck pieces for the unmasked sculpt, one for this suit and one for the Integrated Suit figure. The unmasked head can also be put on the added neck sculpt for the Iron Spider version as well. (Which is where it currently resides in my collection.) There are two flight stand displays, one with a black and gold base, the other with a blue effect, to simulate Dr. Strange's magic spell. There are one swinging web, two long thwipping webs, two short thwipping webs, and one mystical portal web effect. He also comes with a portal display, and an alternate forearm with the mystic gauntlet for creating the portals.
On top of all of that, he has an orange spell effect that can be plugged into his chest where the spider-logo (which is removable) sits, a small plug for his back to attach to the magnetic flight display, and three pairs of mask eye lenses: 1 wide, 1 normal, and 1 narrow opening. As if that wasn't enough, he comes with four pairs of hands: 1 fisted, 1 web gripping, 1 wall crawling, and 1 thwipping. I think the last time I almost lost track of accessories was when I wrote about the SHF "Battle on Titan" Dr. Strange figure! You can definitely do a LOT of posing and photo staging with all of the great items included in this set and it's certainly worth pursuing if you haven't yet purchased one. I'm impressed enough to give it a 10 out of 10.
APPEARANCE
When I saw the movie and understood what happened to the costume, I liked the concept of the black and gold much better. I will admit that when I first saw figure releases, I was like..."What the heck?!?" So with that in mind... this figure is really, really nice. There is so much detail sculpted into the figure that it's hard to NOT find something new each time you look at it. Because the suit is "inside/out" we get to see the composition of all the circuitry within. What is really neat is that SHF keeps the same aesthetic as the movie, with the red and black gloves. The gold detailing is very fine and evenly distributed throughout. I wondered if there would be missing spots or very light applications anywhere, but as I looked over the entire figure, I was pleased and surprised to see that the paint apps were consistent all over. Even the smallest details, such as the silver nozzles for his web-shooters are added. The detail on the mystical gauntlet is also exceptionally well done. The gold paint is applied cleanly and the sculpting is very precise. I also like the fact that the gauntlet can rotate as it does appear to be free floating on the forearm, though I wouldn't try removing it. Speaking of which, the forearms swap out at the elbow joint, but be careful when switching them over. Even though it isn't necessary, I do recommend removing the hand as well when swapping the forearms. Also, take care to line the forearm up correctly. As you can see in the picture above, I didn't get mine on properly and you can see the joint in the elbow. One of my most problematic areas is on the unmasked head sculpt. The flesh tone on his face has some color to it, which normally would be fine, but the problem is that it doesn't really match the different necks that it's supposed to fit on. They are much lighter and gives a really odd look to his skin. Plus, though the unmasked look does bear some resemblance to Tom Holland, it's really kind of bland, almost. I will say, though, that the paint detail is very clean and gives a realistic look to this sculpt, even if it doesn't necessarily match his neck. Looking at the accessories, I really like the translucent orange magical web effect, though mine is a bit warped. I'm going to try heating it and see if that will help. We've seen the webbing before, so there's really nothing new to discuss regarding it. The orange disc that you can affix to his chest has some really nice minute detail sculpted into it and is molded in the same translucent orange as the web. We've seen the portal before with Dr. Strange, but it does appear that the paint deco has been updated and is a brighter orange/yellow than before. I also really like that we get two flight stands and the designs on both. Currently, my Iron Spider is using the stand with the blue base and looks really good posed on it. The attention to detail on this figure is exquisite and it's a much better figure than I thought it would be. I have the Marvel Legends version, and this really stands head and shoulders above that one. I'm pleased to give this a solid 9 out of 10 as well.
ARTICULATION
As with Mafex and other imports, Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts packs a lot of engineering into their figures, resulting in amazing posing ability. Of course, the biggest complaint with SHF is the movable "butt cheeks" which allow greater range of motion for the legs. In my opinion, if you've collected SHF long enough, you eventually don't even notice it any longer. The head sits on SHF's friction mounted head peg and has great range; up, down, sideways, and tilting. The neck is also on a ball peg, which further increases the range of motion for his head. I do like the realistic motion this design gives the figures. The shoulders are on butterfly joints with a ball peg that allows you to raise the arms out to a better than T position, rotate a full 360 degrees and rotate forward and backward with very nice range. I also like that the ball design helps get Spider-Man into a "shrugging" pose. I'm very happy that SHF has also begun incorporating bicep swivel into their figures and the pinless double-jointed elbows function beautifully, with a full bend, allowing his hands to reach his head. The hands sit on wrist pegs, which rotate and hinge. Just be careful, as always, to not accidentally snap a peg by hinging too hard. The upper and lower diaphragm joints work in conjunction to allow great crunches, back bends, side to side tilt and torso rotation, helping to put Spidey into some terrific classic poses. He can do great splits, and, thanks to the sliding cheek flaps, you can kick his legs forward very far and even back to a degree. Admittedly, mine were a bit stiff and needed some help to loosen up. The upper thigh swivel works well but were also a bit tight on mine. The double-jointed knees bend in fairly deep and maintain a really nice, rounded shape when doing so. Of course, his ankles hinge and pivot with ease and the toe articulation is good enough. Probably, the worst aspect of the articulation is the gapping that happens when you crunch the upper torso forward too far. As with other SHF figures, the lower ab joint has a tendency to leave a big opening at the waist, when compressed forward too far. It's a minor nuisance though, unless you are photographing from the backside, in which case, a simple adjustment is all you need to fix the problem. Tight joints and excessive gap drop Spidey's articulation to an 8 out of 10.
AFFORDABILITY
If you want the Special Set, I would jump on over to Amazon for one. It is on sale, listed at $52.17 at this time (regular price: $85). I had rewards points, which I was able to apply to mine, that reduced that price even further. If you are looking for the basic figure, it is retailing for $84.99 on BBTS. Honestly, the Special Set, even at $85 is a much better deal and comes with more. This is a no brainer and easily a 10 out of 10 for affordability.
Overall, I have to admit that I'm much more impressed with this figure than I thought I would be. It's a great addition to the Spider-Man collection and the accessories, which can be used with other SHF Spider-Man No Way Home figures, really makes this kind of a "jackpot" so to speak. With that... the Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts No Way Home Special Set Black and Gold Spider-Man walks away with a solid...
9 out of 10 ToyBoxes!!!
As you can tell, I really do dig this figure quite a bit. I also dig all of you, my readers, for your continued support. Your visits and time on-site have really helped me grow and open new doors. I can't wait to share our exciting news later this coming week! Until then... GEEK OUT!!!