Comics to Toys
Annihilus
By Big Bear
April 8, 2007 - 12:42
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, he was designed to be known as one of the major tyrants found in the dimension called the Negative Zone. Annihilus grew to become a threat in the pages of the Fantastic Four and even graduated to threatening the entire universe in the current pages of "Annihilation" as he faces off against such comic book characters as Nova, Super Skrull, Ronan, Galactus, Silver Surfer, Drax, Moondragon, and Quasar.
Likeness
At first glance this version of Annihilus reminds me of a cross between the version drawn by John Byrne while he was illustrating the Fantastic Four, and the one drawn by Ron Frenz while he was illustrating The Mighty Thor. This is basically the type of Annihilus the modern collector is familiar with. This is actually a more modern rendition of Annihilus which is heavily based on Gabrielle Dell' Otto's artwork.
Notable changes: Feet are reptilian, larger than normal shoulder pads with spikes a mix of lizard and insect in body formation. I am so glad that he does not look like the versions found in the "Annihilation" mini-series or in the Ultimate Fantastic Four. Call Reed Richard. He may have a problem on his hands.
Sculpt
The Living Death that Walks makes his Marvel Legends debut, and it is a good one. He looks fantastic. He is big and menacing without being overly muscular. Annihilus looks like he wants to take a bite out of the universe . . . literally. Annihilus is designed with his mouth wide open as if he is waiting for Nova of the Nova Corps to plunge his fist down the space bug's throat as was done in the conclusion of "Annihilation" storyline. He has fingers like Sabretooth's and has scaly legs and three toes instead of the traditional boots that he was drawn with. Annihilus is more-lizard like body-wise with an insectoid head. This version of Annihilus is the one every villain lover should own. The wings that they gave to Annihilus are awesome. The very wingspan of Annihilus is enormous. He could easily take up a lot of room with his bulk and wings. The lengths of his wings are at least twice his body size. Hasbro kicks off there BAF series with a bang thanks to the care they put into making Annihilus a great looking villain.
Packaging
Annihilus is broken up between the six figures in the first set of Marvel Legends manufactured by Hasbro. The clamshell is no longer, and the build-a-figure pieces are tucked safely in without the twisty ties in a bubble card package. The new package features four pieces of artwork based on each specific character. The build-a-figure itself (in this case, Annihilus), get a "color wheel" on the side of the package that describes what piece is being sold with each character.
Paint
Good paint job with only a few green blotches on the purple gloves. The biggest thing to notice is that the collar and the torso are of a darker hue than the gloves are. In the first few shipments the arms and legs were of a lighter pinkish hue. The version that I put together is more a lavender or purplish tone. Otherwise than those discrepancies, Hasbro did a very good job on the paint application.
Scale
Annihilus is much larger than most of the Marvel Legends that Hasbro has released except for the Planet Hulk. Normally, Annihilus would not tower over most of the characters in the Marvel Universe. However, I would assume that the guys at Hasbro wanted to make him big and menacing and on that account they have succeeded. He may also have a different scale size due to all the transformations and the power he has absorbed over the years due to comic book re-imaginings.
Stability
There are no pegs on the bottom of his feet, so Annihilus will never use a base or peg stand. However, without the wings he can stand up without any problems. Standing up with the wings can be an issue though.
Plastic
The plastic on the body of Annihilus is strong and sturdy. I normally give my action figures a drop or two to test their strength, and this guy Annihilus is durable. The wings are a plus here. They are strong enough so that they do not tear easily, yet they are also soft enough to actually bend and "flap.” The wings sit in ball sockets into the back of Annihilus so that they can move without damaging the figure.
Articulation
Annihilus is very articulated and has all the standard points of movement found in the Marvel Legends of the past. The only things that Annihilus is lacking are cuts for 360 degree circular movements, or a swivel joint, for the forearm. He has single pin joints on his elbows, pin joints for his knees, moveable ankle joints, ball jointed hips and ball jointed shoulders.
He also has joints to move the four individual fingers on each hand (outside of the thumbs), as well as a joint to bend the wrist up and down, and those are to go along with the waist and abdomen movements. Annihilus also has a ball joint for his neck but it is limited due to the size of his collar which holds his cosmic control rod. The biggest drawbacks are in the waist and wings. Annihilus has no waist movement so his upper body cannot turn at all. The wings look great as they are mounted by balls on the wings so that they easily attach to the back of his shoulder blades. What happens with this is that the balls do not stay locked into the ball sockets. This causes the wings to pop off if they are moved too much, but will not cause any damage. It does not impede that actual movement of the wings, but if you do too much movement, prepare to stop and pop them back in.
Cost
There was a major price jump when Hasbro took over the Marvel Legends franchise and this boosted the price of each action figure. Now each individual figure costs $10.00 a piece before taxes.
Accessories
Hasbro truly falls short in this department. Toy Biz once gave us comic books, personal weaponry (depending on the characters), a diorama, and the build-a-figure pieces. Hasbro does not offer these amenities in the Marvel Legends series. Since Annihilus is a BAF, he himself becomes the accessory.
Availability
I purchased mine at various Wal-Mart stores. They are also available at Toys "R" Us and Target stores nationwide. Otherwise, you will be forced to pay online prices to complete the set to build Annihilus. Due to popularity, the hardest piece to find will be the torso that is packaged with the Ultimate Iron-Man figure.
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