Marvel Legends Hope Summers (Hasbro, 2012)

I wasn’t actively collecting Marvel Legends figures when Hasbro re-launched the line, so I’m trying to catch up with some of the ones I missed as I can.

Hope Summers is yet another addition to the always-confusing Summers family tree. The first new mutant born since Scarlet Witch wiped out almost all of the mutant powers on M-Day, Hope started her life as a target and a symbol – the mutant messiah. Cable took her into the future and raised her as his daughter. Eventually, she returned to the main Marvel timeline and became a focal point for the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict.

Hope is similar to Rogue in that she can duplicate the powers of other mutants near her, but she does not need to touch them and does not drain their energy or lifeforce while doing so. She learned to fight from Cable, and has an affinity for the Phoenix Force.

Hasbro’s version of Hope Summers sports the full range of articulation I expect to see in the Marvel Legends line, though her hair and cape limit the amount of movement her head is capable of. While Hope’s outfit is pretty simple, the sculpting on her her armor and cape is nicely detailed. Paint ops on my figure are sharp, with the weathering on her cape looking better than I’d have expected in the ToyBiz days.

Hope comes with one accessory, a large sci-fi rifle. One side has a bunch of sculpted vents, hoses and other details. The other side looks kind of unfinished. Guess which side you’ll see more of if you have her hold it in a two-handed pose? Some paint might have helped to better bring out the detail that is present on both sides. If Hope winds up claiming a permanent spot on one of my display shelves, I may see what I can do about that.

While she is capable of standing on her own long enough to take some photos, I’d recommend using a figure stand of some sort before placing her on display.

Here’s a photo of Hope with my Fraulein Revoltech Asuka figure, just because. Asuka is probably a little bit too tall to be in-scale with the Marvel Legends series… but then again, the line has never been all that big on staying in scale.