Doll Collector: Golden Age Captain America (2007)

God Bless Hasbro!

I'm a little unclear as to why I bought this particular figure, though at the time I believe I was collecting the Captain America comic book and I have always had a very soft spot in my heart for Jack Kirby. While not a Captain America detractor, the only personally relatable trait the Steve Rogers character possessed was that he, like my grandfather, fought in World War 2. Of course, while I liked him as the leader of the Avengers (despite not being an original Avenger), his role in those books was more action oriented and not as dependent (at least to 14 year-old me) on smaller character moments that made  certain other Marvel character's, like the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man, more comforting to follow on a monthly basis.

Captain America (Vol. 1) #255

But, back to the action figure...

What caught my eye first with this figure was the Kirby image used at the top left hand corner of the packaging, and I quite like the four images of Cap from various eras of publication beginning with the original Cap all the way to a modern (at the time) representation of the classic outfit to the right of the figure. Though not clearly labeled as such, this is an early ("Golden Age") Captain America image as evidenced by the triangular shield rather than the more iconic circular one.

Though it may sound blasphemous, in some ways, the design of the figure feels more reminiscent of John Byrne's old school Captain America as he appeared w-a-a-a-ay back in Captain America #255. This was the first issue I purchased of Cap's comic book, solely because it was drawn by Byrne. The issue was also the first that I read that explained Bucky, a character who at the time (and for decades after seemed to destined to never return from the dead.

Part of the Marvel Legends Build-a-Figure Series 18(!) from Hasbro, this figure includes the Queen Brood's left legs--yup, plural! Oddly, the placement of the additional appendages in the packaging makes it appear as if Cap has a mutated extra right arm--which might have been kind of cool, too!