Nova Pushing the repaint limits Marvel Legends 375 Action Figure Item No.: Asst. F2648 No. F3821 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: n/a Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.99-$12.99 Availability: August 2022 Other: The Man Called Nova
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I don't know a heck of a lot about The Man Called Nova in part because most of my Marvel time was from the TV and not comic books. The retro figure was based on a character from the 1970s - a sensible place given the line's style - and he more or less fits in with teh line. But he's a stretch - I assume someone working at Hasbro or Marvel really lobbied hard to get him made, because it's not like he's been a big part of a movie or marketing push at the time he hit store shelves.

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With no accessories, and a little more yellow than I'd like, I'd say he's probably in the "good but not great" category. Reusing the bigger male body (used for Loki/Captain America/Black Panther/etc.) he's a beefy guy with a new head, but otherwise is largely reused parts. The boots don't have boot tops - just yellow stripes. The belt is really thick, and the shoulders lack the blue overhangs of the comics. He's maybe 5-10% more yellow than the art, which makes him seem - curiously enough - more like an old retro toy. If anything, he'd be even better if they sculpted him like the old Fisher-Price Adventure People Astro Knight with legs together and arms out. Alas, it was not to be.

The new head sculpt is pretty good - not as dynamic as the picture, but he's got the right colors and the big red star on it. It's fine - I wouldn't say it's amazing, but the red, yellow, and blue look nice and it feels like an honest replica of an ideal old action figure. As with the others, he has seven joints and has no problems standing or sitting. They're pushing what they can do with a basic buck, and this is one of those figures where it shows - his costume literally is painted-on. There's no sculpted armor other than the helmet.

I got this guy for completism - it's a thing, if you keep your lines tight. I don't think it's an amazing figure, but it's not bad either. Weird space guys are fun, and I just wish he had unique articulation or some kind of play feature to make him stand out. (See also, Astro Knight.) I'd probably really enjoy this figure because of the bright colors were I still a child, but when you look at the packaging artwork it really does fall a bit short. Still, it's $10 or so and in this day and age that's almost free when it comes to action figures.

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