Toy Review: Marvel Legends Retro Card Electro Is a Completionist’s Dream

Let’s be real, there’s a lot of characters out there that aren’t anyone’s favorites. When it comes to Spider-Man, the hero has a huge rogue’s gallery. That means sometimes, there’s bad guys that only their mother would love or, in a toy collector’s case, maybe a completionist.

We’re going to take a look at Hasbro’s Marvel Legends retro card Electro. Now Electro is one of Spider-Man’s oldest villains, making his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #9 in 1963. I actually believe he’s a great villain. But, as much as I hate to say it, in my opinion, his design is one of Steve Ditko’s rare misses. There’s been more than one redesign in the character’s long history that’s actually better than Ditko’s, and frankly it’s all based on his mask.

As I said, Maxwell Dillon made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #9. He was an electrical lineman who was struck by lightning while (selfishly) attempting to rescue a coworker. He found himself with electrical powers that he then (like many others in his time) decided to use them for his own profit. Over the years, he’s established himself as one of Spider-Man’s most powerful enemies.

But that mask … It’s just kinda of silly and doesn’t translate well outside of comics.

So this figure is a reissue of a release from several years ago. As such, it’s not on the latest, most up to date body molds. It also means the accessories are not what you’d get from a figure released in the last year.

The design is overall strong. It looks like one of Ditko’s drawings. Electro does have a fantastic suit, and this figure just embodies that. The lightning bolts of the mask are awkward, but that’s exactly why I don’t like the mask.

The accessories are just some lightning hands. They look cool, though the paint application on the hands looks amateurish up close (almost like they’re Storm’s hands that they painted yellow at the last minute). It would have been greatly improved with some lightning effects, and an alternate head (or two) featuring one of Max’s better head/mask designs.

Despite being on a slightly older body, this figure was a lot of fun to pose. It moved well, and allowed for some very dynamic posing. With lightning effects instead of the finger bolts, it could have been even better. He moves great, he looks fairly threatening, and would be a fantastic addition to a Spider-Man display. 

So despite my personal problems with the design, and some lacking accessories, I did really like this figure. I do question why reissue the older figure, instead of releasing an alternate design on one of the updated bodies, but I am glad to have him in my collection (and with him in hand, I’m only missing two characters for my Sinister Six).

Marvel Legends Electro is available wherever toys are sold … but it might take some hunting, so happy hunting!