"I invite you to my lab and you just kick things around?"
Shuri was initially released in the Marvel Legends series in 2019 as part of the Avengers: Endgame wave for Smart Hulk, albeit badged as a Black Panther release. In 2022 as a taster for the upcoming release of Wakanda Forever, Hasbro re-released a number of the original Black Panther movie figures in a new Legacy wave and included Shuri within this alongside Black Panther, M’Baku, Nakia, and Killmonger. The wave still utilised the standard Legends packaging but did use a new Legacy Collection logo on the top left of the hanging tab.
Shuri is the exact same figure as released in 2019 but with some considerable decor updates this time round. The original figure looked quite flat and lacked some of the more vibrant blue colouring that Shuri sports. This time around these blues are more present with the entirety of the main costume having a purple/blue hue overlaid with complex sculpted patterns and panels trimmed with the use of gold and blue paintwork. The arms feature some ringlets part way up the upper arm painted as silver rings and then above them in purple. The costume concludes with a skirt piece overlaid over the figure's waist complete with a silver painted buckle. The older figure left this skirt piece plain, while this revisit adds in a very impressive level of printed decor in light blue.
vs 2019 Release (right)
The head sculpt and overall skin tone is lightened slightly and is richer than the first release with the facial sculpt a good likeness to Letitia Wright. The facial paintwork is also brighter and more vivid around the eyes and across the mouth and forehead with the head finished with the hair drawn up into a complex top knot.
Shuri features her Vibranium gauntlets, again directly carried forward from the earlier release. These are sculpted to look like a panther's mouth and while the first release just had these in black plastic, the update adds in golden eyes for the panther as well as a blue streak sitting just behind the head. These clip onto the wrists of the figure and hold securely in place allowing for them to pose with the figure.
There are some translucent blue effects ‘spitting’ from the mouth of the gauntlets. Again the improvement is in the vibrancy of the colouring with a true eclectic blue colour now in use. These are glued in place so there is no immediate choice to not use them on display.
vs 2019 Release (right)
Shuri does only get 16 points of articulation, with the lower legs still featuring pinned knees although these are out of sight thanks to the skirt piece. The skirt does limit lower leg movement, and the way the legs are sculpted does give them a slightly ‘bandy’ look which can be offset by having Shuri into a wider battle-ready stance.
The arms do not have the movement to do everything we would expect from Shuri with the elbows in particular both restricted and quite fragile in the way they work. They will bend to 90 degrees but no further so Shuri cannot do the Wakanda Forever salute and the use of the Vibranium Gauntlets is limited to outward firing poses to the side.
While the Legacy release of Shuri updates her significantly from a decor perspective, it makes no direct improvements to what is now an outdated suite of joints. The joints we do get limit her display options considerably with or without the gauntlets. Once on display she is much more vibrant than the earlier release and features some complex decor we rarely see on a Legends release - in particular that skirt design which is seriously impressive for something that can only be viewed from behind.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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