Retro Review: Hasbro Marvel Legends Storm/Thunderbird Two Pack Action Figure Reviews

We're back with another Retro Review. Retro Reviews are generally for older figures/toys that I've either just added to my collection or dug out of storage for some nostalgia and fond memories. That doesn't mean they won't get the same treatment, because regardless of how old or beloved a toy may be, it's always good to take a hard look at it!

In 2020, Hasbro released this Storm and Thunderbird two pack. Though I was collecting at the time, finding one around where I live was pretty difficult, so I never really pursued it. Recently, I was in Syracuse NY and found a pretty cool store, Larger than Life Toys, which I mentioned in the Zartan figure review. I was actually surprised by the price for this two pack and decided to grab it. I saw reviews on the figures when it first came out and knew what I was getting, but I like the Storm figure quite a bit so, I'm ok with it.

As is the case, we'll study the figures through the lens of: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability before giving the two pack an overall score. The rating system is zero to 10, with zero being the worst and 10 being a "must add" to your collection. With that in mind, let's look at the Hasbro Marvel Legends: Storm/Thunderbird Two-Pack.

ACCESSORIES

The Storm/Thunderbird Two-Pack only comes with accessories for one of the two figures. Storm gets two head sculpts, one calm, one with her hair flying and an angry look on her face. She also has 3 pairs of hands: one pair of fists, one pair of open hands, and one pair with lightning effects shooting from the fingers. Lastly, she has two capes, one spread out for action/flight poses, and the other a relaxed cape, hanging easily behind her.

Thunderbird has nothing. Not even alternate hands. Possibly because Hasbro knew people would only buy this for Storm and didn't care enough about T-Bird to make the figure even remotely more interesting. Though I like the accessories for Storm, I have to grade this as an overall package, which means a 5 out of 10. I wonder, if this Storm had been released as a solo figure, would they have included all of this extra? Storm alone, the score would have been much higher.

APPEARANCE

We'll start with Thunderbird (get the bad news out of the way first.) In terms of general aesthetic, Hasbro did a great job of matching the costume design and look of the figure. Unfortunately, that's about the best they did on him. His head sculpt is massive and seems to be too large on the figure. Hasbro released a version of the Warpath character in the Strong Guy BAF wave, which this head would have likely been a better fit for. I honestly have trouble enjoying the other aspects of this figure because the head is so disproportionate to the body. However, I DO like the head sculpt itself. The hair, bandana, feathers, and facial work all look very good. I was pleased with the paint apps on his mask and eyes, as well as with the feathers on his bandana. I actually feel like the head sculpt is probably the best part of this figure, if it were only a bit smaller, or the body mold were bigger. I seem to recall Thunderbird being a fairly big, imposing figure in the comics and this doesn't really match up that well. As far as the rest of the figure is concerned, thankfully, the paint apps are done reasonably well. I didn't have any fuzzy lines, everything was applied cleanly and the red over blue old is bright and saturated enough that the blue doesn't show through. His belt is slightly off center though, and in spite of my efforts to move it, I think it may be glued in place. My other complaint is the fringe around his boots. As you can see in the pictures, it's down around his ankles, instead of being up higher on his calves. I can slide them up to the boot-cut but they don't stay long. I may drop a bit of glue in to keep them in place, but that would entail actually caring enough to do it. Truthfully, aside from the oversized head, the figure itself is aesthetically pleasing, but I think it could have been so much better.

Storm, on the other hand, is terrific. She's definitely NOT without her share of issues. Having been a fan of this costume design, it's good to finally have this version in hand, warts and all. Both of her head sculpts are done very, very well. I really like that her tiara is a separate piece but is glued in properly. Her hair sculpts are fantastic, especially the action head sculpt. The hair flying around gives a sense of movement and power, even in a vanilla standing pose. I also appreciate the wash over both, giving the hair depth and vibrancy. The pearlescent paint for her eyes and teeth is clean and crisp in contrast to her dark features and she just looks beautiful. My biggest issue is with both of her capes. The yellow/gold trim is a mess on both cape sculpts. There are spots missing in places, thin application allowing the black beneath to bleed through and rough/splotchy edges. The paint apps on Thunderbird are better applied than the yellow paint on Storm's capes. This is disappointing because the figure itself looks so nice. I do like the red clasp on the front of the cape, but that's about the extent of the praise I have for the cape paint. I do like having the two different capes for static and dynamic posing though. I also appreciate how the capes are placed on the figure. There is no plug in her back, but rather, you will remove the head sculpt and fit her neck through the hole in the cape. This actually looks much better and eliminates the pegs and peg holes. I'd like to see more figures with plastic capes get this treatment from Hasbro. The rest of the figure is done quite well, with a nice glossy black on the costume and consistent skin tones over the rest of her body. Even the yellow ring on the front of her costume has a clean application to it. I also really like the shade of translucent blue used for the lightning on her fingertips. It's more of an aqua but in contrast to the figure, it stands out very nicely. Grading here is going to be tough, because subjectively, I like these costume designs, but objectively, in spite of the good, the bad does overwhelm both figures. I'm going to go with a 6 out of 10. I think Storm was to be the jewel piece in this set and if so, they ought to have done much better making her that way.

ARTICULATION

As these are older body molds, we are pretty familiar with the articulation and engineering. So, with that in mind, I'll combine them in this section. Both figures' heads turn side to side easily. Both can look down very well, but the hair sculpts on both figures limit their ability to look up very well. Both figures shoulder joints allow for 360-degree rotation, but Storm's cape can be a hindrance. Both will raise their arms out to a decent T pose. Thunderbird has upper bicep swivel which works well, well Storm's arm swivel is at the elbow, limiting her range of motion. T-Bird's elbows are double jointed, allowing for a decent bend, which does get limited by the fringe on his upper arms. Storm's single jointed elbow can bend just past 90 degrees and stops. Storm's upper body joint allows for twisting, side to side tilt, and very limited front and back bends. T-Bird has the diaphragm hinge which allows for crunch and back bend alone. He does have a waist swivel, which is hidden by his belt, while Storm has none. Storm can do a much nicer split, while Thunderbird can't even get past 45 degrees. Thunderbird can actually kick forward much higher, though his leg does rotate outward. Both figures have upper thigh cuts and surprisingly good knee joints, which bend in very well. Thunderbird has a boot cut, which is fine. Both figures have decent ankle rotation and hinge, but I think Thunderbird's has a bit more range. There's really nothing spectacular about the engineering as these figures are 3 years old and are built on molds, we've seen far too much of. With that in mind, they're decent but average. I'll be generous and give them a 7 out of 10 as I didn't have any stuck joint issues on either.

AFFORDABILITY

I paid $49.99 for this two-pack, which makes each individual figure roughly $24.99 which equals today's retail price. Looking online, I found prices ranging from $29 all the way up to $70 for this set, unopened. At today's prices, with all the accessories, Storm would be a steal for $24.99, while Thunderbird would be a terrible ripoff. If you are looking to complete your "All New, All Different X-Men" line-up and can get this set for less than $40, I say go for it. Usually figures tend to increase in value, so the fact that these are still very affordable shows that they weren't highly sought after. I'm actually ok with what I paid for them because it's still considerably less than what a two pack today sells for. I'll give this an 8 out of 10 for affordability.

Overall, I fully believe Hasbro did this, knowing that Thunderbird would likely be a peg warmer on his own. The crown in this set is Storm. She received all the accessories and has top billing on the package. Hasbro knew this version of Storm was wanted by fans and took advantage of the fact that we'd pony up the cash for a set like this, in order to get this vintage Storm look. It's a trash way of marketing, but we know that's what they do, put a highly desired figure in with one that probably won't sell on its own. As far as the set goes, truthfully, unless you are really dying to get this version of Storm or are trying to complete this version of the X-Men lineup, I'm giving the Hasbro Marvel Legends Storm/Thunderbird Two-Pack:

6 out of 10 ToyBoxes.

This is, by no means, a "must have" set of figures. Yes, they'll look great along with the other classic X-Men from that team, but if you haven't bought this set by now, you probably aren't going to be specifically looking for it. That's it for this review, as always, thank you so much for stopping by Dan's ToyBox today and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!