Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Gamerverse Gargantos

Release Date: October 2025

RRP: $69.99/£65.99

The Capcom range of Marvel fighting games has gone through a bit of a renaissance recently, not only with the release of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics at the end of 2024 but also both Hasbro and Bandai revealing Gamerverse figures inspired by the series in their Marvel Legends and S.H. Figuarts lines. Hasbro have led the charge with quite an extensive range of figures, with one of the premium pieces among them being the Marvel Legends Gamerverse Gargantos. But rights issues regarding the name be damned, everyone knows this is Shuma-Gorath. Also known as the "Great One Who Slumbers", "Conqueror of Midnight", "All-Killer of the Dawn", "Father of All Evil" and the "Lord of Chaos", the Doctor Strange adversary has been a mainstay of the games since 1995's Marvel Super Heroes, going on to also appear in the first three Marvel vs Capcom games as well.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Spider-Man Unlimited

Release Date: February 2025

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

To its credit, the Marvel Legends line does a pretty great job of releasing a wide range of characters. But if there's one thing Hasbro love it's variants, and between both Iron Man and Spider-Man alone they certainly aren't in short supply. But every so often a costume variant will come out that's particularly special, and for many collectors Marvel Legends Spider-Man Unlimited is one such example. Based on the costume from the 1999 series of the same name, Spider-Man Unlimited sees Spidey don a nanotech-enhanced suit as he travels to the parallel Counter-Earth - battling the forces of the High Evolutionary as well as the combined strength of Venom and Carnage.

Top 5: Toys I'm Looking Forward to in 2025

Before I look back on another great year of toy releases by rounding off 2024 with my top ten favourite toy releases, as now feels like tradition here is a quick rundown of some of the things I'm looking forward to adding to my collection in 2025. With the Power Rangers Lightning Collection effectively ending and me stepping back a bit from lines like the Star Wars Black Series my preorder list isn't quite as long as it once was, but at the same there's always favourites from the likes of Transformers and S.H. Figuarts to get me excited. Given that only one of the figures from last year's list has ended up in this year's favourites who knows if they'll live up to the hype, but for now here's what's getting me excited for 2025!

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Ghost Rider

Release Date: November 2022

RRP: $27.99/£25.99

Retro-carded releases have become one of Hasbro's favourite things in the last few years, releasing them across nearly all of their collector brands. It's hard to see how they're a bad thing though, in fact there's quite a lot of advantages to these releases. They appease MISB fans with their nostalgic packaging, though reissues the figures themselves are often ones that have gone long out of print and more often than not they have considerably improved decos. So what's not to love? With all the Marvel Comics cartoons and toy lines there were back in the 90s the Marvel Legends line features a good share of figures with these throwback card backs. Picks like Spider-Man, X-Men and even the Fantastic Four seem obvious, but who could have seen a Marvel Legends Ghost Rider with retro packaging coming?

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Retro Thing

Release Date: November 2021

RRP: $22.99/£21.99

Just call the four! Fantastic Four! What better way to round out this quartet of Fantastic February reviews than with Aunt Petunia's favourite nephew, the Marvel Legends Retro Thing! Although not a blood relative like the rest of Marvel's first family, Benjamin Grimm is as much as part of the family as the rest of them. The pilot of that fateful spacecraft that was bombarded by cosmic rays, Ben was turned into a walking pile of rocks - unable to "turn off" his powers like the rest of the team. Though an integral part of the Fantastic Four the Thing's popularity has also led him to break away into many of his own adventures - from solo comic runs to a short-lived animated series in 1979 (where he had quite the different origin). This retro version from Hasbro is supposed to reminiscence on a different animated version though - the one from the Fantastic Four animated series of the 1990s which debuted as part of the Marvel Action Hour.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Retro Human Torch

Release Date: November 2021

RRP: $22.99/£21.99

No need to fear, they're here! Part three of Fantastic February continues with Hasbro's Marvel Legends retro Human Torch figure! The brother of Invisible Woman Susan Richards, Johnny Storm is the youngest and most hot-headed member of the Fantastic Four. After shouting his catchphrase of "Flame On!", Johnny becomes engulfed in flame and is capable of flight in addition to controlling his own flames or absorbing any around him. As was the case with the Invisible Woman, a Hasbro Pulse exclusive version was released alongside this general retail figure. Only this time the difference was a little more substantial, with the Hasbro Pulse variant being a powered-down version of Johnny with minimal flame effects.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Retro Invisible Woman

Release Date: November 2021
RRP: $22.99/£21.99

And the four were changed forever, in some most fantastic ways! This quartet of Fantastic February reviews continues with the Marvel Legends retro Invisible Woman figure! Given the powers of invisibility and force field projection by the cosmic rays that hit their spacecraft, Susan Richards (nee Storm) formed the Fantastic Four alongside her husband-to-be Reed Richards, brother Johnny Storm and friend Ben Grimm. This entry in Hasbro's ever-growing range of retro-figures is based about the character's appearance in the 1994-96 animated series, where she battled against the likes of Doctor Doom, Galactus, Annihilus, Blastaar, the Skrulls, Psycho-Man and many more. While this figure was a general retail release, it was also accompanied by an "invisible" Hasbro Pulse exclusive variant moulded entirely in clear plastic.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Retro Mr. Fantastic

Release Date: November 2021

RRP: $22.99/£21.99

On an outer space adventure, they got hit by cosmic rays! Though often under-appreciated, the 1994-96 Fantastic Four animated series was a significant piece of Marvel Comics animation for fans growing up during that time. Though it may not have been on the same level as the Spider-Man or X-Men cartoons, Fantastic Four was my generation's main introduction to the world of Marvel's first family - and its (SIGNIFICANTLY better) second season the likes of Black Panther, Thor and Ghost Rider too. So imagine my excitement when Hasbro announced a whole wave of retro carded Fantastic Four Marvel Legends figures, following on from the retro carded Doctor Doom released in 2020. So in celebration of these figures and my love for the cartoon, I'm kicking off a little set of reviews I like to call Fantastic February - starting off with the genius scientist who can stretch like elastic, Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic. 

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Carnage (Venompool Wave)

Release Date: September 2020

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

There are so many characters in the Marvel Comics universe that Hasbro could probably get away with brand new ones for each and every release and still not run out, but with new collectors joining all the time of course you’re going to keep all of the favourites in circulation. The psychotic symbiote and Spider-Man villain Carnage is one such character, having previously graced the line in 2018 as part of the Monster Venom build-a-figure wave and now having returned two years later in the Venompool build-a-figure assortment. A slightly different take on the classic character to the previous release, this Marvel Legends Carnage has also seen a re-release in 2021 - perfect for helping to generate hype in the lead up to Carnage’s cinematic debut in the forthcoming Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Deluxe 'Age of Apocalypse' Apocalypse

Release Date: August 2020

RRP: $29.99/£29.99

Alternate universe stories are one of my favourite concepts in science fiction, so when it comes to the X-Men it shouldn’t be any surprise to hear that Age of Apocalypse is by far my favourite thing to come out of the franchise. An epic event depicting a universe where Apocalypse successfully wages war on humankind and takes control of the Earth, the 1995-96 story remains the gold standard for AUs in comics. I’m no Marvel Legends collector, but when Hasbro announced a wave of Age of Apocalypse figures my interest was piqued - and there was no way I could resist the deluxe Marvel Legends Age of Apocalypse Apocalypse figure. Separate from the main wave, this special release is a reworking of the 2018 build-a-figure, reimagining the despotic mutant En Sabur Nur in his alternate universe form.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Doctor Doom

Release Date: January 2020

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

Despite being Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four haven't had much luck in the modern age. Three middling to terrible films, a lessened presence in the grand scheme of Marvel Comics and a Marvel Legends figure wave exclusive solely to Walgreens stores (and thus, more difficult for worldwide collectors to find). But the times are changing, and with a new ongoing Fantastic Four comic series since 2018 the team are finally once again getting the respect they deserve. In fact, Hasbro's 2020 string of Marvel Legends figures has kicked off with a mass-retail wave of Fantastic Four figures featuring a Super Skrull Build-A-Figure. Among the assortment are all four members of the team and (She Hulk), but no wave would be complete without their greatest enemy - Doctor Doom. Consider one of, if not the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe, the King of Latveria has been long desired by collector's in Hasbro's premier collector line.

Favourite Toys of 2016 & Happy New Year!

Another year has come to an end and though it seems to have been a tough one for many people, there's been some great toy releases nonetheless. Thank you for reading the blog throughout 2016, it's been a big year as readership has grown exponentially and there's some big things in the pipeline for 2017.

But without further ado, here are my favourite ten toys I've reviewed this year on the site. There are a couple of I'm either yet to review or receive, but I'm fairly confident that this list wouldn't change either way.

Toybox REVIEW: Marvel Legends Spider-Man (Ben Reilly)/Spider-Carnage

The 90s were a pretty weird time as it is, but for Spider-Man they couldn’t get much weirder. 1994 brought along the infamous two-year-long Clone Saga arc, which ended with Peter Parker, given the news that he in fact may actually be a clone, leaving to begin a new life with Mary Jane as a new Spider-Man took over duties in New York City. This Spider-Man was Ben Reilly, the former Scarlet Spider originally perceived to be a clone. Of course this being comics the status quo didn’t last forever and Peter one day returned (with confirmation he was the original), but Ben’s time as the Scarlet Spider/Spider-Man and eventual sacrifice has made him a favourite amongst fans despite considerable backlash at the time. Now Hasbro have added the Ben Reilly Spider-Man, complete in his rendition of the costume, to their Marvel Legends line – complete with alternate parts to create Spider-Carnage, the twisted mix of Reilly and the Carnage symbiote.