That Figures: REVIEW: Marvel Universe's Secret Wars Wasp and Gigantic Battles Goliath

Secret Wars Wasp/Gigantic Battles Goliath | Produced by Hasbro
Released 2010/2009

Continuing our look at the original Avengers line-up, today sees the turn of our final two entrants - Wasp and Goliath. In this case, Janet Van Dyne's alter ego comes from the Doctor Doom/Absorbing Man Secret Wars double pack and Dr Pym in his Goliath identity from the Walmart-Exclusive Gigantic Battles pack (where he was partnered with the Horned Mask Iron Man.)

Goliath

Hasbro released two exclusive Gigantic Battle sets through Walmart. As well as releasing a Secret Invasion-themed Giant Skrull/Captain America (Bucky version) set, they also put out an ''Avengers'' pack, featuring the Horned Mask Iron Man and the subject of our Review, Goliath.

Goliath is pretty big, standing at 12'', so he towers over most Marvel Universe toys. It's surprising when you handle and pose Goliath just how big he is and it's amazing to think that for a lot of years this was the standard size for action figures.

The sculpt is sturdy and feels quite weighty, as it should given its size. The detail is pretty limited for a figure of this scale and he actually has a very toy-like feel to him. Maybe it's because he's so large that you expect more detail or maybe the detail that is lacking is more visible. I don't know. But this isn't a really very complex sculpt. There are a few folds and some muscle detail but beyond that, this is a bland sculpt and it actually feels like a cheap knock-off rather than a Hasbro-produced, Marvel-licensed toy.

The figure is well-articulated but I'm not a fan of the use of ratchet-joints. I understand it's to allow the figure to stand without the weight causing it to sag but it feels as if every joint is going to snap when you apply any sort of force, thanks to the ratchet's resistance. (I also managed to snag my fingertip in a joint and have a nice blood-blister forming there now. I hope you appreciate the pain I go through to bring you That Figures.) The result is he feels quite stiff, both in physical terms and in terms of character poses.

For a figure of this size I'd expect a lot more detail when it comes to the paintwork. There should be washes to accentuate details, multiple hues and tones and generally a lot more going on. As it is, he's painted blue with yellow stripes. And even then, it's not that cleanly applied.

It should also be noted that this figure is a repaint of a previously-released 12'' Cyclops figure.

Wasp

This Wasp is a mini-figure that is included in a Secret Wars double-pack as a kind of ''bonus figure.''

As you can see, the Wasp figure stands at around one inch tall from foot to wing-tip. The sculpt isn't bad for a figure of this size, although the face is very poorly defined. The rest of the sculpt is fine although her pose at first seems a little odd and her right arm appears to be missing - it's actually bent at the elbow and up against her side. The wings are a very nice touch and being cast from clear plastic they really give her a unique look.

Paint is very broadly applied, but I've seen worse on larger figures. It's just too bad there was no attempt to define any of her features, as that would have made-up for the vague facial sculpt.

The figure is, of course, non-poseable.

Final Thoughts

Goliath isn't much fun. He's simply too stiff and feels too cheap. I'm reminded of old knock-off toys from my youth and although I love a bit of nostalgia, this isn't a positive thing to say about Goliath. He's one of those ''lump of plastic'' toys that sits in your cabinet or on your shelf and you don't give much thought to. I was fortunate enough to find both Gigantic Battles packs in the clearance aisle at Walmart and I believe I paid $20 for the pair. At that price, there's not much to complain about. But given that these figures are now selling online for upward of $70, I would feel ripped-off paying even a quarter of that.

Wasp is, bizarrely, the better of the two figures. Again, she doesn't do much but she at least looks good and given that the Secret Wars pack she is packed with is a good one (Doctor Doom and the Absorbing Man) then she's certainly the better investment of the two.

Scores
Goliath