X Review: Avengers Assemble Red Skull

As I said, this is the same as the first Captain America release in sculpt, with a different head. That said, I like the overall design of the uniform, with all the details that they took the time to add in like buckles, buttons, and all the creases and folds of the uniform. The design itself certainly drops Johann smack dab into the middle of ‘He’s a Nazi!’, without waving around a swastika, which is fine by me.

Unfortunately, some choices they made limit his movement, which would be a bigger problem if he had joints that actually functioned correctly. This isn’t a new problem, though. This is, much like the fact he’s the same figure, also the same damn problem from the first version. The head is different, though. I’m not sure if it’s NEW, but it’s not the movie version, that’s for sure.

I particularly dig the cap and overcoat, the latter previously found only on the SDCC exclusive Indy Set Toht. So, I’m glad they decided to not make it a one-off piece, and got it out there for retail release with a suitable figure.

Some of the limitations that I brought up above aren’t solely the fault of the overall design (like the ‘skirt’ piece), but instead are the fault of poor articulation choices. For instance, the waist swivel, but no torso joint, or double-knees, but using the bad ball-hips in conjunction with zero ankle articulation.

So you get some of the usual here; head, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Then you get that waist joint, those horrible ball hips, a thigh swivel, double-knees and… nothing. You get nothing else.