Banshee (Marvel Legends)

Sometimes even a great deal will have you feeling that you wasted your money

Why did I buy that?

Good friend Mario found this on clearance while out toy-hunting. Banshee here was part of the inaugural wave of Marvel Legends after Hasbro took over the master Marvel Comics toy license from Toy Biz. That wave caome out at the start of 2007, so this figure has been hanging around for a while. I really only wanted it because it contained a Build-A-Figure piece of the Fantastic Four villain Annihilus, so I figured $2.50 was a fair price to pay.

Any regrets?

Boy, was I wrong about that. Hasbro totally half-assed this figure. Banshee here reuses a body first introduced with the Bullseye figure years ago, now with a new head, new paint, and removable bits of cloth that plug into holes on his arms and legs to make him look spiffy. Problem is they didn't bother to make his new head look like it belonged on the body. It's too big and sits too far away, giving him a long-necked appearance. As a result it's almost impossible to pose this figure in a way that looks cool; what you see in the picture above is the best I could manage without having him crouch really low. Since he's missing his standard disco-collar as featured in the comics, you're left with a bland base body, which coupled with the ridiculous head on top and some cheap-looking cloth add-ons results in a very underwhelming total package. About the only thing that's really cool about the figure is that the joints are ratcheted to prevent articulation from becoming loose due to repeated use.

Am I happy?

No; this figure is lame. For a long while I figured Banshee was a peg-warmer because people weren't a fan of the character, but now I understand too clearly what a disappointment it is. Yeah, I ultimately bought this figure to get a step closer to completing Annihilus, but Hasbro could've stuck him with something more enticing and essential, like the character's leg or torso. Instead, Banshee comes with . . . a wing. So now I have an Annihilus with no head and one obscenely large wing, plus a Banshee figure I have no need for. Goddammit . . .