Toys / Comics to Toys / Marvel Legends

Apocalypse

By Hervé St-Louis
August 3, 2006 - 09:36

Apocalypse is the millennia-old mutant born in classical Egypt and who has survived by technological means and his powers until he could reveal himself in modern times as a major villain. His goal is to spur mutants to the next level and free them from the afflictions of humans, enabling them to reach their ultimate potential. To this end, he regularly recruits mutants into his four horsemen elite team where thy face benevolent mutants such as the X-Men. Apocalypse first appeared in X-Factor #5 in 1986, although his presence was first hinted at in X-Factor #1.
 
Likeness

Apocalypse’s appearance changes regularly in the comics. It’s not that he gets overhaul redesigns. It’s just that artists take many liberties with this character. Constants are his mechanical looking jaw and large pipes that connect his elbows to his back. Other elements differ, even the colouring. Sometimes, Apocalypse is in ancient Egyptian garbs. Not this figure. He sports his attack suit. His likeness doesn’t seem to be based on any particular artist’s rendering.

Sculpt

The chest of Apocalypse is wide. His face is mean as if he was about to carry on some evil plot. His calves are large. The sculpt is an improvement over the Galactus action figure in that the chest sits straight on the figure and there are few posing problems. Hence the figure offers more posing possibilities and better balance. This is a beautiful action figure that will serve as a perfect trophy piece on any desk.

Paint

The paint job is great. However, there are blue variant limbs and black one of Apocalypse. The black variants have no shading while the blue parts have black shading. Apocalypse has shiny almost metal-like polish on his chest, calves and gloves. The grey parts of his chest are too light to fit properly with the rest of the figure.

Scale

Of course, Apocalypse is taller than all other six-inches Marvel Legends action figures. The figure, however is in line with the Sentinel and Galactus action figure.

Stability

Apocalypse is stable, although he can fall if not well balanced. His knees are too thin to support the figure although his soles are wide and flat. The figure’s torso is top heavy. The large cable tied in the back of the figure’s elbows and back can affect the stability of the figure.

Articulation

Apocalypse has 33 articulations in the neck, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists, the palms, the fingers, the abdominal, the waist, the hips, the thighs, the knees, the calves, the ankles and the toes. I counted the articulated fingers as one articulation per hand. The fingers each move separately. There are tabs on top of the ankles which also move.

Plastic

The PVC used for Apocalypse is strong and resistant. His chest is hollow. The plastic of this figure is strong enough to withstand tough play by kids. The two cables tied to the back of the figure and its elbows are in softer PVC.

Packaging

Apocalypse comes with Marvel Legends Series 12 action figures. His limbs and parts are packaged with each figure. The limbs are tied with wires to a bubble pack.

Cost

To assemble this figure one must purchase each of the six action figures. The accumulated cost can be expensive, if the individual figures cost about $12. Sometimes they cost $8. It depends on the specific store. Large surface retailers sell action figures for less than specialty stores.

Availability

His chest and head come with X -23. His right arm comes with Sasquatch. His left arm comes with Maestro Hulk. His left leg comes with Wolverine. His right leg comes with Iron Fist. The lower torso of Apocalypse comes with Bishop. There are blue variants of Apocalypse’s limbs. At first, I thought that these came with variants only, but it seems that the distribution is random. Assembling a complete Apocalypse is not difficult. This is not the first Apocalypse Marvel Legends action figure, but it is surely the best.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12