Marvel Legends Spider-Man Homecoming Series Beetle Review

Spider-Man’s Homecoming wave? Already? I know it sounds crazy, but Amazon dropped quite a surprise on us last weekend, listing the entire wave early (it’s looking like the street/preorder date is supposed to be June 1st). Well, almost the entire wave as the regular movie version of Spider-Man never actually came into stock. The listings have since been taken down, so all of us with the entire wave but him are going to have to sit around being annoyed at our movie Vulture with one complete wing until these hit stores.

Hasbro Marvel Legends Beetle Spider-Man Homecoming Review

We’ve seen Abner Jenkins in the Marvel Legends line before. To clarify, he was part of the Toy Biz Spider-Man line which wasn’t exactly Marvel Legends, but basically a sub-line. This was his third suit, the gigantic armored one he used when he joined the Thunderbolts. Then last year we got the Janice Lincoln version in the Absorbing Man wave. I think her figure is fantastic, but unfortunately it didn’t appear to connect with collectors that well. If you go into any random Walmart or Target to this day you’ll likely still find her and Speed Demon hanging on the pegs.

I almost forgot that Ultimate Beetle was in the Ultimate Green Goblin build-a-figure wave. However, I’m sure that most of us forgot that he existed shortly after getting him anyway.

While this is probably considered his most “classic” costume, it isn’t his first. Originally, Beetle was a Fantastic Four villain who jobbed out to The Thing and Human Torch while wearing a costume that looked like it was made for a school play. This suit, his second, is the one he wore when he really came into his own as a Spider-Man villain.

Hasbro tooled a new torso to accommodate the both the hind wings and the elytra (front wings). If you own the Superior Foes Beetle these wings won’t be anything new to you. They both plug into a circular, removable section on his back. This enables you to close up the elytra without the hind wings hanging out of the bottom of them. All of the wings are on swivel-hinges so they have a pretty nice range of motion. The last month hasn’t been kind to collectors short on shelf space, since this is the third character with wings (Homecoming Vulture, Ultimate Vulture, and of course this guy).

Overall, I’m very pleased with this release. It’s a great representation of a classic character in their most iconic look. There are little issues to look out for such as the swirly cheap looking plastic and the wings can fall out fairly easy. However, it’s pretty easy to overlook these things when Beetle’s presentation is just so nice. I just love the color scheme. Hasbro really nailed the shades of green and purple plastic. If you are in to Spider-Man this is a must buy!