Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Spider-Man Advanced Suit

Release Date: September 2019
RRP: 6480 yen

Bandai Tamashii Nations have been at the Marvel game for a while in the S.H. Figuarts line, but until now it's been entirely limited to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - leaving other companies like Medicom or Kaiyodo to pick up the slack when it comes to the wider Marvel Universe. However that looks as though it's about to change with the release of S.H. Figuarts Spider-Man Advanced Suit, the first of their figures to be based on the 2018 Spider-Man game by Insomniac Games for the Playstation 4. Delving into the new Marvel Gamerverse, the Spider-Man game features a 23-year old Peter Parker battling against the likes of Mister Negative, Electro, Tombstone, Scorpion and Doctor Octopus. The game also features a myriad of suits from across Spidey's long history, but as the one that appears on the box the "Advanced Suit" is certainly the best place to start.

There may have been Spider-Man Figuarts before but this particular one is (currently) one of a kind, with the box designed around the colours of the game's marketing materials. The box itself is a primary a red gradient with a honeycomb pattern running across it, mirroring the texture of the suit itself. As well as the game's distinct white Spider-Man logo, the front and spines of the box featuring models of Spidey directly taken from the game itself, rather than the usual toy images. The spines also include the "Marvel Gamerverse" logo, which is sub-brand they've been used for Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite and will presumably continue with when the Square Enix Avengers game hits next year. Flip to the back of the box and there you'll find the usual array of high quality toy pictures, with Bandai picking some great web-slinging shots to show what this figure is capable of. Inside the figure and accessories are stored on the usual clamshell tray, but what's perhaps more interesting here is the blue Spider logo backing card behind it. You don't see printed backing cards on Figuarts much these days, so when Bandai do throw one out it really does stand out.

The Advanced Suit is the game's own unique take on the classic Spider-Man threads, and although it hasn't really changed all that much it's amazing how different a little layout change and a simple colour switch can make it feel. The suit takes away those classic red boots leaving, despite adding a red section on each thing, the lower half the suit predominantly blue. The main difference here though is the Venom-esque spider adorning the chest instead of the usual black emblem, which also replaces the circular spider on the back as well. Additionally the forearms, gloves and boots now have additional white sections, which on the gloves and boots somewhat resemble the grip on sportswear. While the end suit is still classic Spidey through and through, the changes that have been made are significant enough to give Gamerverse Spider-Man a distinct enough look to immediately stand out in a room full of other Spider-Men (which since Spider-Verse has become a lot more common. When it comes to sculpt Bandai Tamashii Nations have worked to their typically high standard, with a whole lot of muscle definition coming through to give off the impression of a skin-tight suit. But what I personally found particularly refreshing about this figure was just how nice it is to finally have a smooth textured Spider-Man figure in the Figuarts range. Sure the textured look of the MCU suits makes for a more complex/impressive figure, but the overly busy design just doesn't match up to a clean, comic-esque Spidey. The web pattern on the red sections is actually moulded into the body, and then painted on to make it more visible and give it far more definition. When I initially saw the Advanced Suit in first trailers for the game I wasn't sure what to make of it (I think it was the white spider emblem that was throwing me off), but having this figure in hand has really made me appreciate it a lot more. There's a fair bit of texturing and raised detail to make it pop a bit more than your typical Spidey suit, all of which Bandai have done a great job at bringing out.

Everything seems to be going so well until you hit just how articulated this figure is. If there's one thing a Spider-Man figure needs to be it's super poseable, and while this Figuart has all the joints to make that possible sadly not everything works quite the way it should. Altogether the figure has a ball jointed head attached to a hinge at the top of the neck and a ball joint at the bottom, butterfly and swivel hinge shoulders, ball jointed torso and waist sections, double hinged elbows, ball jointed wrists, ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, double hinged knees, swivel hinge ankle rockers and of course the hinged toe cap at the end of each foot. Admittedly that's a fair bit of articulation packed into a single figure, and some of the sculpting definition (particularly Spidey's rather tight buttocks) show that Bandai were giving thought into how they could make this figure pull off all those acrobatic poses. However it's not so much the lack of articulation on this figure that's the problem, and more that the areas it does have don't work nearly as well as they should. The awkward cut of the torso severely restricts how far the arms can be brought forwards using the butterfly joint, making it particularly difficult to replicate some of the dangling poses Bandai themselves showed the figure off doing. Similarly the crotch section rises at either side which makes turning the waist nearly impossible (up and down motion is unaffected though). But perhaps my biggest gripe of all are the ankles, which again have severely limited movement because of the way the leg sculpt comes down to wrap around the joint. Yes the end result is much a cleaner looking figure, but it doesn’t do posing much good when you can’t point the feet or bend them to the side for better balance. The lack of bicep swivels on the figure is also a little confusing, especially when it’s such an easy joint to implement. It breaking up the arm sculpt isn’t an excuse either, because the thigh swivel does exactly the same thing. These are all such simple things the line has gotten right so many times, so to have them fail here where they really would have counted definitely hurts.

But if there's any way this Spider-Man figure makes up for those shortcomings, it's the accessory count. The Advanced Suit feels one of the most loaded Spider-Man figures to be released at this scale thus far, which is pretty impressive given that some of its competitors come with articulated robot legs. To start with this figure not only includes an alternate head with a wide-eyed surprised expression, but also two pairs of alternate squinted eyes that can be used with the default head. The head itself is made of two separate pieces, with the outer sculpt sliding onto an inner piece connected to the neck joint. Not only does it make for easy switching, but it means the eyes can be accessed/ poked out from the inside using a special tool also included in the box. It's the same method Bandai have previously used on their MCU Spider-Man figures, and while personally I prefer alternate heads this does allow you to get more expression out of the figure for much less plastic. The fact it came with both alternate eyes AND an alternate head shows a real commitment to this figure on Bandai's part.

On top that, there are also a total of six pairs of swappable hands (closed fists, web-shooting, open hands and then two varieties of accessory holding hands) and five different web pieces to choose from. These include two web shots of different length that connect over the wrist joint, two web "ropes" to be held and a fifth piece that plugs into the bottom of the wrist and wraps around the fingers. That latter part is particularly great for getting that "complete" web-slinging look without trying to thread the web through the hands and risk breaking it. Not that it particularly feels like a worry though – while these webs might be flexible, they don't feel especially prone to breakage unless there's some real force applied. Between the white colouring and uneven look, Bandai have also nailed the perfect-looking Spidey webs here.

As far as more game-specific accessories go this release also includes a smartphone, two web bombs as well as the craftable Spider-Drone you can use to help defeat enemies. Though the smartphone is thoroughly unremarkable (simply a thin black piece of plastic akin to the one included with the Body-Kun/Chan figures), the other two accessories definitely make this feel like a particularly unique version of Spider-Man. Despite their small size the web bombs are very nicely moulded and fit nicely into the designated hands. Their similarity to Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs in the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man film is also an amusing little coincidence. Finally you have the Spider-Drone, which despite being a static piece looks fantastic and can plug into a Tamashii stand for a mid-air display. Both it and the bombs have been given a rather fetching coat of metallic red paint to make them stand out, and the end result certainly does just that. While you probably won't get as much mileage out of these as you would the webs, it's always great to see accessories that pay particularly close attention to the source material.

It doesn't stop there either! The first release (which at the moment is also the only one, so any future releases will omit these parts) also comes with a number of different display options, the most prominent of which is a designated Tamashii Stage! The translucent red base sports the white Spider emblem of both the Advanced Suit and the game itself, and in the place of the usual articulated arm is a static, segmented one which rises a little taller than usual. The loss of articulation might seem like a downgrade, but this surprisingly sturdy arm is perfect for the kind of high-flying, web-slinging poses this figure should be posed in. Like previous Spider-Man Figuarts, the back of the figure has a removable panel (accessible again by using the special tool) which when removed allows a stand to be directly plugged into it. Alternatively, you can also use the adaptor piece included, which fills the hole with an extended piece jutting outwards for the stand to plug into. For their third and final display option Bandai have decided to take a leaf out of Kaiyodo's book, with a magnetic adaptor that again plugs into the back and allows the figure to "stick" to metal surfaces. It may be a little more cumbersome than MAFEX's magnetic hands and feet, but the trade-off is a considerably stronger magnet – no worry of the figure slipping down the surface here.

Even with no real attachment to the game, S.H. Figuarts Spider-Man Advanced Suit is a pretty incredible figure. Between the suit's striking look, Bandai's sharp moulding and the fantastic amount of accessories and display options it's without a doubt the best Spider-Man figure the line has put out yet. I'd even go as saying it would be a candidate for one of my favourite figures of the year if Bandai sadly hadn't dropped the ball on articulation. While it's still far from a failure, areas like the shoulders, biceps and ankles could have been (and in fact have been on other figures) far better. When a line renowned for poseability puts out a Spider-Man figure you expect something special, but it seems like Bandai were simply content with touching the bar here rather than raising it. Make no mistake this Spider-Man is still well worth the purchase, but what could have been flawless will instead have to settle for "very good".