[Acquisitions] Marvel Universe Darkhawk

We're back with more Avengers stuff and this time we have Darkhawk, an android that was once a provisional member of the defunct Avengers West Coast team. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the character as I never really developed a great deal of interest in him, most probably because the Avengers West Coast disbanded not long after Darkhawk gained his reservist status. The guy has been getting some major exposure lately and that may be the reason why we're finally having him in toy form which is a good thing.

Due to my total lack of knowledge about the character, I guess I'm not in position to discuss the guy's background and exploits, and so I'm proceeding to something that I can really talk about: the toy itself. I actually have some pretty good things to say about it, so read on.

To start with, Darkhawk uses the slender base body first used by Wave 3's Black Costume Spider-Man. The dimensions of the body suit the character well, and it's a good decision on Hasbro's part to just use an existing body and then spend their budget creating the guy's costume pieces instead of going all-out on a new body. Darkhawk gets a new head (as if that's not obvious enough), a new upper torso piece that's actually a combination of his shoulder pads, collar, and amulet, a new belt, a new pair of bracers (the one on the right arm features Darkhawk's trademark claw-like grappling hook), and a new set of removable glider wings (with a scalloped edge that follows the contour of the arms) that plug into the bracers. All of the new pieces are beautifully done and together they make the figure look incredibly cool.

Darkhawk's body is molded in black, it's then highlighted by a black base coat and some metallic blue paint to simulate his look in the comics. The colors used on the body contrast nicely against the silver and red pieces, making the figure a true eye-candy.

When it comes to articulation, Darkhawk suffers a bit (thanks to the use of an old base body) compared to some of the newer figs. The figure can actually accomplish a lot of poses with the joints that it has, but I'm the type of person who wants it all and it's hard for me to accept that the figure's head movement is virtually limited to a swivel. I also want those rocker ankles that Namor has, but they're absent as well.

Aside from the removable wings, Darkhawk's only pack-in is his figure stand. I'm a big fan of display stands, that's why I like the solo-carded figures more than the ones from the comic packs and boxsets. I don't really have a lot to say regarding the accessories, we're talking about MUs, not G.I. Joes, after all.

Overall, this figure is another solid offering from Hasbro. It may have some flaws, but they're very minor ones. In my book, this bad boy's a keeper. With some great MU figs finding their way to the Playground, I guess I'm quickly getting hooked.