Hot Toys MMS SPIDER-MAN 3

**JeffSaylor** · 09-23-2011, 08:33 AM

"With great power comes great responsibility." - Spidey

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Fans and critics alike can agree that SPIDER-MAN 3 wasn’t all that, but here Hot Toys manages to get us to forget all that. And besides, there weren’t too many changes to the costume throughout the trilogy were there? At least nothing too obvious, so this figure could very well be the Spidey from Spider-Man or Spider-Man 2 if you so desire! This new 1/6th scale Spider-Man has begun making its rounds to various merchants so now would be a great time to pick one up. But before you do, let’s take a look at why you should or shouldn’t...

I’m just going to cut to the chase and talk about the accessories here. There’s an abundance of extra hands and webs, more than you’d know what to do with, but I appreciate it just the same. A lot of Spidey’s personality is expressed physically through his hands so it’s "amazing" that Hot Toys gave us so many options. There are, count 'em, FIVE pairs of hands total! You get a pair of left and right fists, relaxed palms, palms for web holding, palms for web shooting, and palms for climbing. These hands all plug into the wrists. A few extra linking pegs are included if some of them get stuck (and they will).

The included webs are an interesting lot as they’re not that sturdy but with the proper care can help achieve some terrific poses. There are seven individual webs: (2) small tail ends, (2) medium length web streams, (2) long web streams, and (1) web stream with open web at the other end. The longer webs are intended to fit into the hands on one end with the tail end webs on the other. These webs aren’t very strong, however, and sticking them into the proper slots can be a bit tricky. Add to it that the grip isn’t that strong, these webs will likely wilt or not stay in that properly over time.

The web streams have small circles on one end to attach between the wrists and the hand to create the proper effect. I had a tricky time getting these all to line up exactly right but your mileage can vary. Two additional circles are included if you want more web streams to be attached to Spidey’s wrists.

Then of course comes the usual Hot Toys figure display stand and ALSO a stone section of a building that comes in two pieces. Pop them together and you’ll have something for Spider-Man to stand on. There’s not a lot of standing surface but it’s a neat addition.

And now let’s get back to the packaging. Hot Toys has delivered a wonderfully designed package for Spider-Man. The design of the box resembles Spider-Man’s costume chest area (much like the Iron Man packaging) and comes complete with a Spider-Man logo added onto the front to add more depth. It’s visually striking and immediately tells whoever holds this box that they’re in for a treat. The sides and back of the box also have some artwork and photography of the toy itself which is always great to see. Opening the box (much like a shoe box) is simple enough and I actually prefer this over the tabs and flaps and what not. You’ll find a colorful photoshopped insert of Spidey dodging debris along with a small bio of the character.

Once you remove the insert, you’ll find the usual plastic containers for the figure and accessories, all properly subdivided up into their own compartments. Truthfully, it doesn’t get much better or easier than this.

For sculpting and paint, the majority of it can be found in the various hands included with the figure since the rest of Spidey is contained in his fabric costume. Hot Toys has done a great job with the hands and it really does make all the difference when posing the character. The included base has a decent tone and color but there isn’t anything that fancy about it. There is a head underneath that mask and it's generally a pretty good likeness to the shape of Spider-Man but there maybe more that could have been done. I can’t exactly put my finger on it but it’s not 100%. It’s very close though.

The figure underneath is a TrueType body with at least 30 points of articulation for all your posing needs. You might need a better display stand if you want to get more creative though.

Lastly is the Spider-Man costume, which really does make it or break it when it comes down to this character. The entire figure is sewn within the red and blue suit so there is no removing anything but the hands. The suit is incredibly well crafted with great detail of the silver web that covers the entire suit. Even the reflective goggles are well done. The one concern I have with the costume is whether or not it can withstand the wear and tear of constant posing. Sometimes I feel as if I’m about to rip something, so best to use extreme caution when posing Spider-Man.

Spider-Man is actually more popular than I expected as he’s for the most part sold out at retail. He was available initially for about $150, but expect to pay more - if you can find him - now. Hot Toys has the New Goblin (see our story HERE) coming out shortly as well, so if you’re wanting that, it’s good to get Spider-Man as well.

Hot Toys once again delivers a great product that always looks much better in-hand than the production photos show. If you’re a fan of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, this may be the one shot to obtain this version of the character.

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF HOT TOYS' SPIDER-MAN 3, CLICK HERE!

Review and Photography by David Yeh

Spider-Man 3 Sample Courtesy of Hot Toys