I picked up two of the new Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles this weekend. These are Walmart Exclusives and it looks like they will be easier to find than the recent DC Universe Classics Wave 10 exclusives. It is nice to have some larger characters to display with our Marvel Universe figures. The larger figures included in these sets reuse bodies from some of Hasbro’s twelve inch Icons line.
The Giant Man uses the Icons Cyclops body. The only changes you will find here are some retooling to change the look of the goggles and to add the circular ear covers on the head. They also gave him a belt which sits a little to high on the waist line. The paint applications on mine were pretty well done. The lines were all straight, but the darker blue over-spray used for shading is much too heavy on the chest area. The Iron Man is also a reuse of the recent Comic Packs version. It appears they have just glued a new face-plate on the head. The gold and red colors are a bit darker as well. The gold looks like more of a bronze shade. Packed with this set was the Avengers #51 comic book. You cannot really complain about another armor variation for your Iron Man armory and Giant Man although not 100% comic accurate looks good. There is also a red and blue variant of Giant Man but I did not see any when I found my two sets. I am not sure of the proportions they are using when packing out the cases, but I hope I will be able to find the red and blue version.
The Skrull Giant Man reuses the Icons Magneto body with the chest armor and a brand new head sculpt being the only changes. I am sure Hasbro wanted to tie in with the recent story line of Secret Invasion in the comic books, but I can think of many other larger characters that I would have liked to have seen done first. I am glad to have a villain for my heroes to oppose though. He will look even better when we get some Universe sized Skrulls to army build around him. My only complaint about the Skrull would be the darker green used for his face does not really compliment the detail of the head sculpt. The Skrull’s paint and shading are better than Giant Man’s. The Bucky/New Captain America reuses the Daredevil body so the proportions are off. The shield seems way too large for this shorter body. I like the use of the more metallic paints and the inclusion of the gun belt, gun and knife. Secret Invasion #6 was also included.
The legs of both my Iron Man and Captain America suffer from warping from the poses in the package. At $26.99 each, these are a bit pricey. (Marvel Universe figures are a bit too pricey in my opinion.) I would like to see the Gigantic Battles line continue, but I would rather not have so many releases in a year. Let’s keep these at 2 to 3 times a year and leave the exclusives for SDCC. At least we can still order those from Hasbro Toy Shop, if we cannot attend the convention.
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I am really excited by both of these sets, and the larger figures go GREAT with the Marvel Legends line. I always liked that Goliath costume, and I made a nice Avengers display with my Marvel Legends with it. I also took the Giant Skrull and set it up with my Marvel Legends Skrulls. Between this and the new Marvel Legends 2 packs, I have been taking back some of the cruel things I once said about Hasbro toys.
Hey mckull33,
I was torn over whether to put these with the Marvel Legends or with the Marvel Universe display. I have the Toy Biz Giant Man, so I decided Universe for the new one. I can't decide on getting another Skrull Giant Man for the Marvel Legends display or not. I guess availability and cash will decide for me later.
No luck on the red and blue, and I had the person go through all the boxes they had. Went to another Wal-Mart also, but they had even less than the first. Still looking, though.
It would have been cool if they could have given us a different Iron Man armor with the blue and red Giant Man variant. I don't know where I would put the variant, except to display it unopened. The Marvel Universe line is expanding so quickly that I'm already running out of room in the area I'm displaying them in. I have been thinking about being more selective with my Universe purchases, especially if they start increasing Legends releases again.
Absolutely, as I am a huge Avengers fan. That one I actually have displayed with my Marvel Universe figures. I made a huge plastic skyscraper, and that is where I keep most of my Marvel Universe figures.
Avengers are one of my favorites too! I would love to see more of the membership represented. I've always liked the team comics more than individuals.