Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts The Amazing Spider-Man Action Figure Review

Welcome back to another Dan's ToyBox action figure review. Today's article will discuss the Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts The Amazing Spider-Man (No Way Home) Action Figure. While I'm generally a big fan of SHF... I've gotta say that there are more than a few problems with this rendition of Andrew Garfield's version of the web slinger.

While it was amazing (no pun intended) to see Garfield in the webs again, the toy companies aren't exactly doing him any favors. I had really high hopes for this, after seeing the Marvel Legends version (which was the best in a rather weak three pack.) To be frank, where Legends dropped the ball with Tobey Maguire and made up for it with Garfield, SHF reversed the order. Let's get into our categories and discuss this action figure.

ACCESSORIES: 5/10

Normally, SHF does an admirable job of packaging accessories and extras with their figures. Unfortunately, due to licensing constraints, we don't get an unmasked Garfield head with this figure, which is tremendously disappointing. Even more baffling is the lack of fists. The Amazing Spider-Man comes with six pairs of hands: Web swinging hands, web thwipping hands, open, relaxed hands, open wall crawling hands, open fingers spread hands and finger pointing hands (to recreate the famous Spider-meme.) He comes with one long swinging web, which is difficult to get into his hands properly, two long thwipping webs and two short thwipping webs. I honestly feel like the bare minimum was loaded into this figure, with the assumption that collectors would be so thrilled to have it, they'd overlook the lackluster nature of the accessories.

APPEARANCE: 6/10

The Amazing Spider-Man is at once maddening and tremendous in appearance. The metallic look to the costume gives it that sharp sheen and luster from the movie. The slim, fairly well-proportioned body is very evocative of Andrew Garfield's look and physigue from the movie. I have noticed, lately, with SHF that the hands on their figures seem to be exceptionally tiny, very out of proportion and that seems to also be the case here. However, the biggest issue I have with this figure is the terribly odd, shaped head. The head sculpt looks like an egg. Large and round at the top and back, narrow and pointed at the front. He lacks any type of chin, jaw, or mouth region basically and it looks awful. From the front, directly on the shape looks decent, but if you turn to 3/4 or full profile, he looks like an alien. Sadly, the way the head sits on his neck, makes him look like a lollipop. Fortunately, the sculpted detail in the costume and the paint apps on the figure do help to improve the aesthetics significantly. All things considered; I actually think the Marvel Legends version is better looking.

ARTICULATION: 8/10

Unlike many of my contemporaries who don't like the "butt flaps" on SHF designs, I don't mind them. They help to increase the range of articulation in his legs, while hiding the interior joints. It's just a matter of personal choice, of course, but I find them to be helpful. SHF has always done a solid job of engineering their figures articulation, and this is no exception. The head can look up very well on its own, and even more with the neck joint. There is minimal downward tilt, but again, the neck does help. The butterfly joints on the shoulders offer a fair degree of forward and backward rotation, but certainly not as deep as on other designs. The arms can rotate a full 360 degrees and the bicep swivel is actually functional on its own, meaning that the forearms don't rotate with the bicep. There is a rotation at the elbow for the lower arms, which was kind of a surprise to discover. The elbow joints offer a deep bend as well, allowing Spider-Man to bring his hands up to touch the sides of his head. The upper torso joint has fantastic range of rotational motion, allowing for deep crunches and back bends and the lower joint, working in conjunction helps put Spidey into some solid crouching poses. Rotating the butt flaps down, will allow for a near full split, as well as very high leg kicks. The thigh swivel works fine, and the double-jointed knees have excellent range. The ankles hinge, pivot, and rotate with ease and the toe joints are sturdy, yet flexible enough to move without problem. Truthfully, this is the best aspect of the figure, as far as my opinion goes.

AFFORDABILITY: 7/10

Import figures are typically on the higher end and this isn't an exception. However, because of the change to the figure (no unmasked head sculpt), the retail price was reduced. I was able to get this on BBTS for the relatively reasonable price of $79.99. Granted, I'm more disappointed with the figure than I initially expected I'd be, but for under $80 for an import... that's a non-issue for me.

Overall, this is probably one of the few times I've genuinely been disappointed with a Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts product. I can't believe that I'm going to say this, but honestly, I feel that the Hasbro Marvel Legends version of this figure is superior. Sure, this has more hands and webbing accessories, but the Legends is more correctly proportioned, doesn't look as shiny/metallic, and has an accurately shaped head! With that in mind, the Bandai/Tamashii Nations SHFiguarts The Amazing Spider- Man earns a slightly above average score of:

6.5 out of 10 ToyBoxes.

I'm actually torn about ordering the Final Battle Integrated Suit Spider-Man to complete the trifecta. I may, but I'm not really sure at this time. Regardless, thank you for stopping by the ToyBox today and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!