Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts The Amazing Spider-Man

Release Date: June 2023

RRP: 7700 yen

They say good things often come in threes, and when it comes to Spider-Man you can't really beat getting all three modern movie Spideys together in Spider-Man: No Way Home. So of course Bandai Tamashii Nations (along with several other toy companies) are going to capitalise on that for the S.H. Figuarts line, and the trifecta is now complete with the release of S.H. Figuarts The Amazing Spider-Man! Despite being the last of the three to be released, Andrew Garfield's version of the web-slinger was actually meant to was actually meant to come a few months earlier - with a rare case of production problems not only leading to delays but also last minute changes. Like both the Friendly Neighborhood and Integrated Suit -Final Battle Edition- figures, the Amazing Spider-Man was released as a Tamashii web exclusive.

It's the third time round for these No Way Home Spideys now so you all know what you should be expecting by now. Despite being a Tamashii web exclusive S.H. Figuarts The Amazing Spider-Man comes in standard windowed packaging, with the design of the box based on the colours and textures of his suit. So while it is somewhat similar to that of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, on inspection you'll see that it's actually quite different. The front of the box sports a nice big image of Peter 3 just under the window where you can get a good look at the figure itself, and then on the back said figure is shown off in a variety of different poses. The back also swaps up the colour scheme a bit, opting for a light blue background sporting this specific Spidey's back spider emblem. Inside the figure, along with its questionable array of accessories (more on that further down) are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray.

Despite the first Amazing Spider-Man film going a little more wild with its interpretation of Spider-Man's iconic red and blue suit, its sequel quickly won favour with fans for how good its version looked (the film itself is another matter entirely). Said suit was barely changed for No Way Home, and looks just as good as ever even in S.H. Figuarts form. It's important to note that all three Spider-Men are properly in proportion with one another, which is especially apparent with the taller, lankier Peter 3. The finish on the suit is brilliant too, with it not only covered head to toe in textured detailing but also a bold metallic red paint job that goes beautifully with the matte blue plastic. The raised web pattern adds an extra level of detail, with each line painted on to perfection without any noticeable blemishes. Even the eyes have been given a wonderful pearlescent finish to give them that extra bit of dazzle in the light. I'd be hard-pressed to tell you whether this or the Friendly Neighborhood suit is my favourite, but this is definitely the one that's the most immediately eye-catching.

Although it's a completely unique body, the Amazing Spider-Man shares the same articulation as his multi-verse variants. This includes;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders 

 - Double hinge elbows and knees 

- Single hinge toe sections 

- Bicep and thigh swivels

As is the case with the other Spideys this figure can pull off some truly fantastic poses, from spider-like crouching stances to mid-air feats of acrobatics (with the assistance of a Tamashii stage of course). I do wonder how the metallic paint will far up over time in areas that come into contact with one another, but after putting the figure in multiple different poses for this gallery I can't see any signs of scratching so maybe that's just me being overly cautious. I still wish Bandai had given this and Peter 2 the display stand adaptors though, since web-slinging poses would look much better without a big plastic claw wrapped around the torso. It's also worth mentioning that the darker colours on the suit help blend all the joint connections reasonably well, giving the figure a somewhat seamless look even in the most extravagant of poses.

And now comes the difficult part of this review...the accessory count. As mentioned earlier, The Amazing Spider-Man was originally slated to come out in February 2023 and had accessories far more line with the other two Spider-Man figures - most notably an unmasked head modelling on actor Andrew Garfield and a loose version of the mask that could be held in either hand. But then the figure fell into production issues and was not only delayed to June, but also effectively cancelled and re-listed on the Tamashii web store without these two accessories. Bandai never fully explained what happened to cause the Garfield head to be axed, but one can only assume it had something to do with licensing and likeness rights. Which is a damn shame since both of the other figures feel so 'complete' in comparison, and also a little frustrating since Hasbro managed to pull it off for their forthcoming (single card) Marvel Legends release.

So what does the S.H. Figuarts actually come with. Well the answer is not much, and what he does have isn't particularly exciting either. Altogether this figure comes with five pairs of alternate hands, four wrist-attachable web-shot effects (two long and two short) and one web rope piece. While the web parts are exactly the same as the ones that come with the other two Spider-Man figures (as well as nearly every other Spidey Bandai have done), curiously they are at least a different colour - milky white as opposed to clear. The hands are a bit of an oddity on this release too, because although they are mostly the same as the ones on the other Spideys (the mask-holding pair has been omitted for obvious reasons) there's also a bizarre lack of closed fists on this release. So is this version of Spider-Man not allowed to throw punches either? Given that closed fists are a staple on practically EVERY Figuarts ever produced, the lack of them here is really strange. On the other hand, you do have a pair of pointing figures for maximum meme recreation potential. So yeah, not a great selection of accessories at all really. And just to add insult to injury, the neck joints on this figure are flesh coloured - just to remind you that once upon a time there was an Andrew Garfield head to go along with it.

There's no denying that S.H. Figuarts The Amazing Spider-Man is a somewhat troubled release. The production issues leading to the removal of the unmasked head was a huge blow to the overall value of the figure (even if the price was lowered as a result), and given Peter 3's limited appearance in the film there wasn't really anything in the way of unique accessories to replace it with (although some different webbing effects might have been nice). That all said, it's still a pretty great figure despite these setbacks. The Amazing Spider-Man suit just looks superb in general, and Bandai have realised it brilliantly with Garfield's lanky proportions the texture/metallic colours of the suit itself. Plus as always the articulation is top notch, giving you a really expressive and fun Spider-Man figure to pose and display. It's certainly lacking coming off the back of the previous two, but not any less special.