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Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Red Guardian.
So once again I’m working with a character that I know very little about, with little to no detail provided by Hasbro. I suppose it should be noted that Red Guardian, or rather a version of him, was to play a rather big part in the still yet to be released Black Widow movie, so at least the MCU can give me an eventual assist. In the meantime a quick Google search brings up a number of articles, no doubt written in conjunction with the hype from the movie, about who the Red Guardian really was, so it really was not that difficult to learn a bit more about this figure. As far as I can tell, this figure is based on a character named Josef Petkus who was the 3rd or 4th person to identify as the Red Guardian. Incidentally this character is different from the MCU version who has a direct connection to the Black Widow. As with other Red Guardians, Petkus was created to be the USSR’s answer to Captain America, but was not really seen as a villain. It’s also not clear if he has the super soldier powers like Steve Rogers, but still carries a similar looking shield that is unique to the initial versions of the characters who wielded a circular disk that they kept on the belts.
Pros: Red Guardian is overall a stunning looking figure with an imposing head sculpt on a large sized Marvel Legends body, really striking red and white paint job and featured shield that can be attached to his arm or stored on his back. I will also never not like the extended gauntlets on the gloves and folds on the boots of this body.
Cons: Much like the actual character, this figure of Red Guardian is really just a repainted version of Captain America figure from the Onslaught wave with a new head and less accessories. Not the worst thing given that I really liked that figure, but still a bit of a cop-out for Hasbro.
