Bandai’s SH Figuarts Black Panther came and went earlier this year with a sprinkle of collector enthusiasm, but as solid as it was—it wasn’t quite perfect. No T’Challa Unmasked Head, no weapons for Black Panther to wield, proportions looking a smidge off, and a teeny bit too small for Marvel Legends. But for those out there who don’t want to settle for anything less than perfection, it looks like you may not have to: the 6” MAFEX Black Panther movie figure is now up for order!

I apologize for the Marvel Legends news drought, but there’s just not much to talk about ML-wise until the next reveals take place at MCM London later this week. But in the meantime, we’ve got a Marvel Legends-scale Black Panther figure to talk about that I think blows every other 6” BP movie figure out of the water!

While Bandai SH Figuarts has long reigned as the king of MCU 6” Figures in the eyes of many, Medicom Toy is fast catching up to them—and in the case of this King of Wakanda, I think they’ve even surpassed Bandai!

While the articulation on the Black Panther Figuarts figure was outstanding, the way it was engineered also made some of the articulation a little, well… ugly. Far from seamless, that articulation made T’Challa look like a toy. The Hasbro version had a similar aesthetic, and I wasn’t sure that Black Panther could actually look much better in six inch form.

But Medicom Toy has proven that notion was a fallacy, as not just the articulation engineering—but also the proportions—look more natural and realistic than I ever thought a six inch figure of the live-action movie character could.

I didn’t especially want to drop 90 bucks on another 6” Black Panther figure, but I’m pretty twitterpated with this one. This just may be the best work Medicom has ever done on a Marvel figure.

Aside from looking frankly incredible, this 6” scale figure also comes with a better variety of accessories than we’ve seen from any other company who’s done a 1:12 scale figure of the character. Not enough hands with the ML and SH Figuarts figures to meet your needs? The MAFEX comes with ten (and a little spear to hold).

Want your Black Panther with or without his eyes whited out? There’s heads included for both. Prefer seeing Chadwick Boseman’s pretty face? There’s a surprisingly excellent T’Challa portrait included as well.

This figure is the real deal—no doubt about it. It’s just got two drawbacks: the price and the release date. At around $75 plus shipping from Asia—or $90-ish from import stores in the United States—this figure’s cost is equivocal to 4-5 Hasbro Legends in the same scale. That’s an automatic no-go for many collectors.

In addition, the other factor this has going against it is a release date around August 2019–a year and a half after the Black Panther movie. Will collectors still be as hyped about the character almost a year from now? I know I will be, so this is a “buy” for me, but more casual fans might see their interest wave between now and then.

The Medicom Black Panther MAFEX figure is now up for order, and is scheduled to be released in Summer 2019 (around August). Medicom Toy does not have a license to distribute their Marvel movie figures in the US, so it’s import internationally yourself or buy from an importer such as BBTS (like I did!) if you want one.

Who wins the battle of the Black Panther six inch figures, Marvel collectors? Has Medicom soundly thrashed the other companies’ offerings, or do you think the Hasbro Marvel Legends or Bandai Figuarts Panther still reigns supreme?

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