Astonishing Beast
It’s been quite a while since I picked up an X-Men comic book, so when images of the more recent Beast action figure started appearing online, I was rather puzzled by his appearance.
A lot of the character’s personality got lost in translation in the comic books I used to read in the 80’s; so the only outstanding traits I could pick up regarding the original Beast was his appearance and acrobatic skills.
Things got a little more interesting in the 90’s, as I gained access to a regular supply of original Marvel titles and Beast’s appearance became more distinctive, but I didn’t expect the character to go through yet another mutation in the 2000’s.
The version I’m reviewing today was released as part of the 2012 Marvel Universe line, although distribution being what it is these days, it was only recently that I was able to find one at a specialty shop in Mexico City.
Right out of the package, the first impression I get is that Beast is a very expensive figure to produce, since he uses completely new molds that don’t look like they could be used for different characters down the line.
Beast keeps the blue furry look, only with a more feline appearance. The torso and upper leg portions are covered in a black jumpsuit with golden yellow piping and big yellow X ‘s across the front and the back. The overall sculpture is very detailed and the body proportions fall somewhere in between the standard large male body and the Hulk-type molds.
Despite being a rather bulky figure, Beast also got a rather unusually high articulation count with:
• Ball jointed head.
• Hinged neck.
• Pegged hinge shoulders.
• Upper biceps swivels.
• Hinged elbows
• Pegged hinge wrists.
• Floating torso.
• Ball jointed hips,
• Upper thigh swivels.
• Double hinged knees.
• Pegged hinge ankles.
• Rocker feet.
• Hinged toes.
This is possibly the most articulated character in the entire Marvel Universe line, even though the range on some of the joints gets a little limited on behalf of the sheer volume of the limbs or the costume design, but overall this is a mighty fun figure to pose.
The paintjob on Beast is generally good, although the golden paint apps on his torso tend to be a little uneven and the furry bits could have used a shading wash to really make the details pop, but the end result is pretty decent.
Beast ships without any sort of accessory, which makes sense since most of the budget clearly went to the figure itself. Oh, it does come with the tiny cardboard insert that Hasbro calls a “Collectable” Comic Shot, but then again, the piece adds nothing to my enjoyment of this figure, but rest assured, Astonishing Beast is certainly a very enjoyable figure.
Errex Score: 96/100
About the Author (Author Profile)
I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.Subscribe
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- April Review Round-Up (April 15th-30th) 157 Links! « It'sAllTrue.Net | September 20, 2013
Not a bad figure, but I prefer my X-men stuck in the 80’s.
I would have loved a Beast looking like the Jim Lee design in MU, but this look has grown on me after seeing it in the Avengers Alliance game so many times.