Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper Hasbro Pulse Exclusive Review

The Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper figure was what I hoped was the start of a beautiful thing, but more on that in a minute.

How does Hydra keep getting recruits? Follow me here… we used to have a call center here in town. I won’t name and shame because I can’t afford a lawyer. They did phone-based tech support, and they even had a popular (arguably on the downside of that popularity but a nice lady), local DJ, as their spokesperson. You couldn’t turn on a radio station or TV past a certain hour and not hear or see a commercial for how they were hiring.

The thing is, they were HORRIBLE to employees. I’ve been in IT for 20 years (and some change) and I know a lot of other folks in said community. Their reputation for failure was so prevalent that they eventually changed their name. Then they went away altogether.

This was a company that would make employees wear their wireless headsets to the bathroom so they wouldn’t miss a call, and they went out of business.

Now let’s look at Hydra’s business practices as we, the every-man would know them.

Something REALLY crappy just happen? Building fell on a school? Stuck in traffic under rubble for 3 days? Was your water supply poisoned and now your kid pees his pants every time you use the microwave? Guess what… there was at least a 25% chance Hydra was somehow involved, or directly responsible. That 25% is me being charitable.

But wait, there’s more.

Every time we see Hydra, if they aren’t making threats to our way of life, or kicking old ladies into wood chippers, they are getting their backsides handed to them by every hero in the 616 universe.

So again, I ask: How are they getting their recruits? All I can imagine is they have ah-MAZE-ing benefits.

I’m glad I got that off of my chest.

What comes in the Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper box?

Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper Hasbro Pulse Exclusive

Very little. That’s the beauty. Again, more on that later. In the box is the figure wrapped in a plastic bag, with his handgun and rifle. I’m assuming it’s a rifle and not a shotgun. But it’s a toy based on an imaginary terrorist organization, so it can be whatever you want it to be. Just like when we were six.

Let’s take a look.

Here’s the rifle.

Here is the pistol, laser or lead.

A couple of close ups for my favorite fans.

What doesn’t work with the Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper figure?

He is what he is. He’s an army builder. The only real negative are the paint apps are a little sloppy.

But it’s a $15 figure, not meant to be looked at through the micro-lens of a camera.

What works with the Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper?

The idea of it all, man. My idea. What I thought only made sense. Let’s start at the price point. At $15, for a line you expect to pay $22 for is already a plus. He doesn’t have any less accessories than the average figure, sans BAF piece.

To me, it was exactly what I wanted. Low priced army builders. I bought three. 2 because I wanted to encourage this behavior, and one because I wanted a body for my Bob, Agent of Hydra head. I picked up three of the Hydra 2 packs, and I know its a small thing, but I hated the ratio of 1 big guy for every normal trooper. The big guys should stand out.

Yes, I realize I am quite mad.

He is the same figure found in that two pack. Take a look:

In my head, Hasbro would always have these for sale. Maybe only produce them in batches of 200. Sell those 200, make another 200. People will always want army builders. Always. People just getting into the hobby in a decade will want army builders just like we do.

So why not make your business model support that while making your company money? Worst case scenario is you get stuck with a relative few if the world ends or Hasbro goes out of business, sure, that’s a loss.

But why stop there? I see they solicited AIM exclusives as well. My dream was coming true.

You see, I envisioned a world where anyone, no matter when you started collecting, could get these army builders, and they would keep expanding those armies. For instance, AIM. But why not SHIELD? Or The Hand? Or HAMMER or SWORD? See what I’m dreaming?

But I dared dream bigger.

Because it wouldn’t just be Marvel army builders. No no no.

Assuming Hasbro can fix their trooper articulation (dear Lord, why can’t they just use the articulation found in Legends?? They don’t need to reinvent the wheel as they own the tech… but I digress), why not Stormtroopers? And Clone Troopers (both phases), and battle droids, and First Order Troopers. Rebel soldiers and Resistance soldiers. Yet why stop there?

What about those dumb grey looking things in Power Rangers? The ones that look like a grey version of The Human Being from Community. Or whatever other Furrie they’re kicking around that day?

Do you now see my dream? All of these in batches. They own the molds. They own the factories. They are already making AIM figures!

Should you purchase the Marvel Legends Hydra Trooper?

If you’re an army builder or a Hydra fan, or if you want to encourage this behavior in the future, you should go pick this guy up. Click here!

If you can’t catch him in stock, you can grab him on eBay, but it looks like his price is going up. I honestly hope Hasbro sees the goldmine they’re sitting on.

How about a few more pictures, friendo?