Review – Marvel Universe Captain America (Frozen)

“March 1941! Dr. Abraham Erskine injects his mysterious Super Solider formula into young Steve Rogers, one of our brave boys in uniform. The process is a success, but tragedy prevents Dr. Erskine from seeing the full results of his genius. As war rages in Europe, Captain America dives headfirst into action against the Axis, fighting alongside our boys for freedom, liberty, and justice for all!”
— from the back of the card

And here he is, this year’s San Diego Comic Con Black and White Captain America (mentioned here), an action figure that’s nothing more than a repaint of the Marvel Universe Captain America who was packed in a Secret Wars Comic Pack (review here) earlier this year.

I think he’s a great toy . . . but the price is only for the insane collectors out there.

Packaging

Unlike the mail order Nick Fury action figure (review here), this frozen Captain America comes packed in a standard blister card design with artwork by Joe Quesada. It’s a nice-looking package, but it’s the cardboard sleeve that slips over the blister that makes this packaging special.

Showing Quesada’s pencil sketch for the card art, this cardboard sleeve represents Captain America in ice . . . which is quite fitting since the black and white action figure (more grayscale than it is two toned) is intended to represent a frozen Captain America. I’ve tossed the blister and card, but I’m gonna hang onto the sleeve since it will look nice with the Marvel Universe action figures in my collection.

In the review at Kastor’s Korner Khalil writes:

“While the figure himself is just a black and white Cap with great paint aps, the package is where the figure shines.”

I disagree. While the package is nice, I think it’s actually the figure itself that makes this a neat toy. And not the sculpt or articulation — since we’ve already got a figure that’s this exact piece — but the paint. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

Captain America, More of the Same

I’m not going to waste any time reviewing the action figure’s sculpt or articulation, because you can find out about those details in my reviews of the modern Captain America and the Secret Wars Captain America. The only significant difference between this Captain America and the Secret Wars Captain America (besides the paint, but I’m getting to that) is that this Captain America’s shield has the straps that allows him to wear the shield on his back. It’s a tiny difference, but I appreciate it since it increases Cap’s poseability options.

Grayscale Captain America

He’s either frozen or right out of a WWII newsreel, but either way I think this was an incredible idea for a special Captain America action figure. By dropping the colored paints, the team at Hasbro has devised a Captain America that looks about as retro as you can get without actually creating a ’40s-style Cap (but don’t worry because we are getting a ’40s Cap, photo here).

I assume he was called Black and White Captain America because that’s a simple term, but in all honesty there is neither black nor white paint on this action figure. Everything from the darkest dark to the lightest light is actually a shade of gray — four or five shades of gray total — and the effect looks great. And what really makes this work is the fact that the paint was cleanly applied without any rough edges or slop over. It’s one of the best paint apps I’ve seen so far on a Marvel Universe action figure; which is good, since a limited run figure with a terrible paint job would have seriously sucked.

Closing Thoughts

There’s not a lot to say about this particular Captain America action figure. Built on a solid base figure, this special edition action figure looks and feels great, but it’s only really “must own” if you’re either completing a run of the Marvel Universe action figures or if you’re an insane Captain America fan. Once you’ve got a 3.75-inch scale Captain America action figure do you really need a second or a third? (Pay no attention to the above photo.)

If you feel that you really need this Captain America action figure in your collection then you’ll be happy to know that he’s listed on Amazon for $27*, but he’s only worth that if you’re committed to owning every figure in this series. If you’re just interested in the guy then I recommend keeping your eyes open and watching for a better deal; Cap sometimes pops up for $15 here or there and that’s a much better price.

For another opinion don’t miss this review at ItsAllTrue where NoisyDvL5 doesn’t come too far from my own thoughts on this figure when he writes:

“Black and White Captain America may be more of a novelty item, but he’s a cool novelty item.”

No arguments here. It’s a novelty, but it’s a cool novelty and one I’m glad I managed to snag at a good price.

*Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.

Philip Reed needs to put together the arctic Captain America custom action figure he planned. The bits are ready but it’s time that Philip needs more of.