SDCC10 Exclusive Hasbro Marvel Universe CAPTAIN AMERICA

The ultimate WWII hero has arrived...

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San Diego Comic-Con coverage brought to you by Collectibles Insurance, Big Bad Toy Store, Sekaido, and Monkey Depot.

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One of Marvel Comics' premiere heroes, Captain America has a long and storied past. First appearing in 1941, the mild-mannered weakling Steve Rogers became the first successful test subject in the U.S.'s war effort to create super soldiers via a secret serum. The quintessential patriotic American hero, Cap fought the Nazis and his archenemy the Red Skull for years before a long hiatus starting in 1954. Returning to the pages of comics in the ‘60s, Captain America would go on to lead the Avengers and remains a powerful force for good to this very day. 2002 brought a whole new take on the classic characters with the parallel Ultimate universe.

The Marvel Universe line of 3 ¾ inch figures has had several incarnations of Steve Rogers, including an Ultimate version, "Vintage" black and white, Invaders, First Appearance, and Secret Wars. For San Diego Comic-Con this year, Hasbro brought something very special, an all-new WWII era Ultimate Captain America. With a similar origin story, this Rogers too fought in the Great War, and his iconic costume is recreated with great detail.

Following on the success of last year's single carded Marvel Universe exclusive figure (also Captain America!), Hasbro used the same packaging design. First up, there's a sturdy cardboard sleeve surrounding the blister card. Solid blue, the sleeve is decorated with a full size image of Ultimate Captain America on the front, along with the character’s name and the SDCC logo. The sides of the sleeve also have the hero's name along with his shield logo, while the back is emblazoned with a huge Marvel Universe logo.

Inside the sleeve is the figure on a standard-sized blister card that fits in perfectly with the main Marvel Universe line. The card has the same character art, while the Marvel Universe logo and the hero's name are done in metallic silver foil. There are two more notable differences: instead of the regular line's S.H.I.E.L.D./H.A.M.M.E.R. symbol next to the figure there's a WWII Captain America shield, and instead of a "classified" file inside there's a "WAR DEPT." file.

The back of Cap's card has a photograph of the figure and a biography. At the top of the card is a "Convention Series 2010" notation.

Captain America combines the traditional version's costume with a WWII-era military uniform. It's a very distinctive look, with heavy trousers and jacket, boots, gloves, belt, harness, and helmet. All of that is done with a truly excellent sculpt, starting with a subtle texture mimicking heavy fabric. There are tons of small details on the main body like the open collar, chest flap secured by studs, hems, cuffs, and more. Even the pants have pockets while the boots are sculpted with multiple layers, straps, and studs. Rogers' harness/belt accessory is likewise detailed with pouches, pockets, clasps, and other accoutrements.

Finally, the figure has a unique head sculpt. The lower part of the face is open, while the superhero wears what looks like a hard leather helmet with eye holes and an unsecured chinstrap. Of course, much of that is covered by the included "hard" helmet, but it's great that Hasbro included all of that detail anyway.

Accenting the Captain's sculpt is a very good paint job. Most Steve Rogers incarnations are overall red, white, and blue. This one has a unique dark blue uniform that looks both classic and realistic. On top of that is a darker patterning of wear and dirt.

The figure's torso is very "Captain America," with vertical white and red stripes on the midriff and a bright white star on the chest. Steve's gloves and boots have shades of brown and gray, while gold accents adorn many of the smaller sculpted clothing elements (studs, buttons, snaps, etc.). Cap's chest harness is a solid brown with lots of gold to match. The hero's inner helmet is dark brown, and his bright blue irises are clearly visible through the open eyeholes.

Like the other Marvel Universe figures, Captain America is super-articulated. He has a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, biceps, elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed torso, ball-jointed hips, thighs, double-jointed knees, calves, and double-jointed ankles. The figure has extreme poseability, but suffers a bit from the usual loose joints and awkward positioning of limbs.

Captain America has two removable clothing accessories, his harness and trusty helmet. More important, of course, are his tools of the trade. Cap carries a classic triangular shield decorated with stars and stripes, a repaint of the one previously used by the First Appearance figure. The reverse side of the shield has two elastic straps for mounting on Cap's back, along with a plastic clip that attaches to his wrist. Unlike the "regular" universe Rogers, the Ultimate one carries a pistol that fits well in the figure’s right hand as well as the holster at his side.

Also like the main line Marvel Universe figures, Captain America comes with a small TOP SECRET folder. Inside is a character card with art on one side and statistical info on the other, and a War Department card describing Rogers' latest mission. Unfortunately, this is plagued by the line's usual poor writing and editing, including a blatant misspelling of "soldier."

Captain America made for an excellent exclusive figure. He looks great with a fantastic sculpt and paint job, and at the same time the character is not so universally popular that every kid would miss out on getting one. Hopefully all of the hardcore fans of Captain America and the Ultimate universe picked him up at Comic-Con, because he is currently out of stock. As in past years there are bound to be lots of Caps on the secondary market, so if you couldn't get one you’ll still have a chance. Don't miss out on this great American hero!

Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Review Sample Courtesy of Hasbro

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