Crystar (Marvel Legends - Infinite Series) Review

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Crystar (Marvel Legends - Infinite Series) Review

Crystar
Marvel Legends - Infinite Series (Hasbro)If you cherry-pick this line as severely as me, your choice this time is clear.
Crystar is one of those oddballs that's eked by on guest appearances and miniseries for like 25 years. A sword-and-sorcery adventure filled with strong character arcs, fun designs, and a bit of a throwback feel even then. Our protagonist here was one of two princes, turned into mineral through various magics, and forbidden to ascend the throne until they stop trying to kill each other.
I won't go into it all, but the story is great; it's just lousy with infodumping.
Credit where it's due, Hasbro has delivered what I believe to be 100% new sculpt. And they did not skimp, covering every inch with multiple facets. The art in the comic wavers a tad, but this seems to be taken from one of the splash pages, with the sunburst on the chest and this exact amount of red on the helmet. The pirate gloves, trunks and boots are a pretty rich red, like the original toy. The clear blue chosen is amazing in natural light, and the surface is broken up enough to hide a lot of the internal parts.
I have to touch on the head, incidentally. This is just great work. It's almost entirely clear, the detail is hard to parse, but the likeness is bang-on. That look of grim determination is one of his three or so defaults.
Paint is more or less nonexistent. There's pretty clean red where it isn't cast in color, and then the extremely subtle eyes.
Articulation is as good as one can expect from Marvel Legends: pretty much perfect for a classic swordsman like Crystar. Everything moved well, and the clear plastic feels a tad more flexible (and thus durable) than I was expecting. Apart from some minor variations in wrist angles or shoulder tilts, it can pull off just about any given pose from the art, and balances reasonably well besides.
Accessories are as they should be. We have grasping hands, a right fist, and an open left hand. The sword is of a slightly different shade and a tad foggier, which is nice in itself,and again, straight out of the comics. The shield is, well, crystal clear, at least from the front. At an angle, it seems to match the body. A simple ribbed handle protrudes from the back, and worries me terribly. A full spread; nobody was asking for the gem-cut novelty lenses from the original line.
There are also some slightly rubbery crustacean legs for The Void. They plug in in pairs, and are unarticulated but extremely well sculpted.
Crystar, like Sleepwalker, is not a hugely successful character. But also, both have now made it into Marvel Legends, in fine style. Death's Head has to happen eventually. But even if you don't do Marvel, this is a fun toy with an eye-catching look, and some hipster cred to boot.