REVIEW: Legendary Comic Book Heroes - MONKEYMAN

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The big is back. Remember the first two Marvel Legends build-a-figures? Galactus, devourer of worlds, and a mutant-hunting Sentinel? They were huge. Huge! Sources of shade on hot days! But then the BAFs began to shrink; figures like Toybiz’ Onslaught and MODOK, and Hasbro’s Annihilus, were scarcely any taller than the regular Marvel legends, justifying their BAF status with mere bulk or wingspan. But Marvel Toys has at last reversed the trend; both of their BAFs so far have towered over the other figures. True, they’ve not been quite so tall as Galactus or the Sentinel, but their characters needn’t be, and anyway both of the Marvel Toys BAFs have been so broad and beefy as to put any concerns about skimping on size quietly to rest.

Here we’ll be discussing the second of these giants, Axwell “Monkeyman” Tiberius, from Monkeyman and O’Brien. A creation of fan-favorite Arthur Adams, “Monkeyman and O’Brien” featured silver-age-flavored sci-fi adventure, and ran for all too short a time in the mid to late 1990s. But its popularity has endured nevertheless, as is evidenced by this BAF; either someone at Marvel Toys figured it would sell, or someone just liked “Monkeyman and O’Brien,” but either way the love for these characters lives on.

As for Mr. Tiberius himself, well, long story shortish: Axwell Tiberius is a colossal, genius gorilla from a dimension of other gargantuan gorillas. Pursuing a criminal from his homeworld into an interdimensional realm called the Terminus, he is sucked into our dimension by an explosion in the lab of the O’Brien Estate. His homing beacon destroyed in the explosion, he makes the best of his situation, befriending the young and newly Amazonian Ann O’Brien and having various exciting adventures. Good enough? Then let’s talk about the figure.

SCULPT: This is a beautiful figure, a joy to behold. Arthur Adams has always been known for the incredible detail he pours into his work, and this sculpt spares not a bit of it. What you get is Mr. Tiberius, with a serious expression on his face, wearing a sort of vest-and-gloved-pants ensemble with many ample pouches. On his hands are fingerless gloves, with some manner of wrist-computers attached. The outfit is remarkable because it is not, in fact, an outfit this character ever wore in the comics, and yet it is wholly appropriate all the same. It’s the outfit of a scientist who has adventures, and that is just what Monkeyman is. Plus he never really had a signature ensemble anyway.

The detailing on the hair and facial features is absolutely exemplary. Basically, this figure looks just like Arthur Adams’ art, and Arthur Adams’ art is some of the best in the business. It’s a solid piece of work as well; most of the pieces are rotocast, which basically means ‘hollow,’ but it is all the sturdier for it. It’s scaled just about right to Ann O’Brien, and it stands up very, very well, what with the great big feet and all.

PAINT: Traditionally, this is where Marvel Toys (as Toybiz) has always dropped the ball just a little bit. And so tradition marches on; there’s pretty significant bleed on a few bits of this figure, especially the backs of the hands. But the paint job is overall quite nice, with muted colors that offset the brightness of his partner (in her standard figure, anyway). And it’s all quite comic-accurate; they even get his orange eyes – a very minor plot point – right. And so the few, minor, sloppy bits are scarcely deal-breakers.

ARTICULATION: So now let’s get back to the out-and-out adoration: This figure has 59 points of articulation. Fifty-nine. Incredible! It’s got to be a record of some kind! Seriously, wow! Mostly this is accomplished through the hands and feet; each thumb (including the foot-thumbs) has a joint, and the other four fingers have two apiece, one at the hand, one a bit down the finger. Mutliply by four limbs and that’s 36 joints right there. It’s an embarrassment of riches; it’s hard to even come up with stuff to do with so many joints. At the very minimum, though, they allow Axwell to make decent fists, and also to point, hold objects, and do other open-handed things. Hooray for the articulation!

Also worthy of special praise is the opening mouth. It’s the kind with lips, and fully sculpted teeth within, and that’s a really great effect. It actually allows you to change his facial expression quite thoroughly; with his mouth wide, he looks full-on enraged, while with it closed he looks simply thoughtful. It’s good stuff.

ACCESSORIES: Accessories! Normally we skip this category for BAFs, but Monkeyman actually has one: his glasses, of special construction for his head. (They come with his head and upper torso, in Star’s packaging.) It’s a great little piece, making him look the part of the intellectual, as he certainly should. And they’ve got the clear plastic, which is always nice. They didn’t need to do it; it’s an unnecessary touch, throwing in these glasses, but Marvel Toys does it anyway, and it’s great. They’re going the extra mile, here. Three cheers!

OVERALL IMPRESSION & WAVE OVERVIEW: The Momkeyman BAF is, directly put, an absolutely fantastic figure. The sculpt, the phenomenal articulation, the delightful touch of adding an accessory – Marvel Toys has hit it out of the park. If you like “Monkeyman and O’Brien” at all, and you really don’t like any of the other characters in the Monkeyman wave of Legendary Heroes, then buy them anyway. This figure is worth it. It is simply one of the best BAFs in your humble reviewer’s collection. Actually, let’s not qualify that: It is simply one of the best action figures in your humble reviewer’s collection.

And it’s a fitting cap to an excellent wave of figures. Marvel Toys really pulled out all the stops for their second wave of Legendary Heroes. One figure of the lot – one – has a sculpt that maybe isn’t so great, and the rest are absolutely stunning. And the lowest number of articulation points to be found is 27, with the average among the figures being 35 and a half. And that’s not counting Monkeyman in the averaging!

This is a great series of figures regardless of what you think of the characters; people who buy figures based on their own quality, rather than their franchises, should waste no time in getting their hands on it. Marvel Toys is made up of the same people who made the Toybiz Marvel Legends, a line that raised the bar for the whole industry. And now they’ve raised the bar for themselves.

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CLICK HERE to check out the entire Legendary Comic Book Heroes Series 2 assortment!

Review and Photos by Matthew Kessen