Daily Figure Review #56: A.I.M. Scientist Supreme (Xemnu Wave, 2021) Marvel Legends
It was back in 2018 that Hasbro released the A.I.M. Soldier 2-Pack. In 2021 they finally gave those soldiers someone to troop for when they released a M.O.D.O.K. and, today’s figure I’m adding to my shelf, the A.I.M. Scientist Supreme.
Out of the box, this figure is pretty standard. The only accessory is a datapad for him to hold (which fits in either hand). It would have been nice to get some other hands with this figure, perhaps a pointing hand or the usual Hasbro fist.
The figure itself, however, looks outstanding. The plastic is pearlescent, deepened by a slight milky swirl in the shiny yellow armor. The effect is most noticeable on the torso but is also on the legs. Then he has his sizeable black belt with the giant blue design on the front and a couple of pouches on the sides. These details make the figure really pop when standing next to the flat-yellow plastic A.I.M. troopers. He is the Scientist Supreme; his armor should and does denote that.
The head also has an excellent paint job, with the bright blue of the visor, which matches the mouthpiece, chest insignia, and belt colors. Looking at the back of the neck, there’s even a sculpted A.I.M. insignia, another nice detail that could have been skipped and few would have noticed.
But I have a weird thing to report on this figure. While only two years old, when I opened the figure today, it had a white dust covering it. Moreover, the plastic of the figure, especially the legs, felt tacky–the telltale sign of the start of plastic breaking down. Is this just the plastic they used that has a tacky feel, or is this shiny plastic already starting to degrade due to “age”? A quick water bath removed the white powder, but the sticky legs remained.
We’ll find out in the next year or two if this cool-looking figure was built to last.
