[Psycho Pirate]

The upcoming wave of Marvel Infinite 3.75" figures features Chameleon, Emma Frost, Northstar, Blue Deadpool, Colossonaut, and Korg. I have procured early accessory-free versions of Chameleon, Emma Frost, and Northstar to review. First up: Chameleon.

The new Chameleon figure is an interesting mix of old and new - it features mainly old parts on a brand new torso. The packaged release with have two alternate heads: Norman Osborn/Sandman and a head molded like this white head (which was also the MU Mysterio head under the dome) but colored as Spider-Man, to suggest he is phasing between disguises. I did not receive the extra heads.

The figure gets good marks for capturing the likeness and spirit of the Chameleon. His jacket and turtleneck look has been one of the character's mainstays.





The extra heads are a nice touch, but I would quibble about the choices. We had just received the Osborne/Sandman head in Wave 1 - while it would have been very welcome 2 years ago, now something else would be appropriate. And I'm not sure anyone will use the phased head. J. Jonah Jameson and Hammerhead, like the ML version, would have been great. But if the retooling budget just wasn't there, then maybe they could have included Tony Stark or some anonymous guy (a Zartan head would have been hilarious).

The arms and legs of this figure are basically the same ones on the MU Professor X. I say "basically" because while the arms are a straight copy, the legs have been modified from Professor X. Professor X was basically a GI Joe figure, right down to the metal screws in his split- thigh design. For Chameleon, Hasbro has recast the same legs into a more MU/MI style. The T-bar is now plastic and the upper leg has been converted to one piece with a traditional MU-style socket. The Marvel copywrite information has also been added to the inner thighs.



The new torso is a big departure from the Professor X torso. Chameleon's jackets is NOT removable - it is all one sculpted piece. What you see is what you get - a closed jacket for all time.



In this sense, Chameleon is very much like the suited figure in Vort's store, or the 2008 SDCC suited Cobra Commander, in that the leg sockets are well up into the bottom of the sculpted-on jacket. This results in restricted movement for the legs and potential cracking of the torso from the leg pressure. One of my Chameleon's legs popped out soon after I opened the box. When I put it back on, I heard a "crack" from the torso's side seam. There just isn't a lot of room in that leg socket. So beware moving the legs around too much, and forget about any running or sitting poses.



The other big difference from the Professor X figure is the size of the head post. The Chameleon head actually sits a bit low on the post, eliminating much of his neck. But if you swap heads with Professor X, you see that Chameleon's head fits much worse on Professor X's head post, and Professor X sits way high on Chameleon's head post.



This begs the question - what heads DO fit this new torso well? This brings up one of the nicer points of this figure for customizers - you can use it for a wide range of heads to spice up your collection. Consider:







Curiously, none of these heads fit especially well on the new torso, which got me thinking: what head was this head post actually made to fit? The answer came with the last two I tried. Vulture and Thunderstrike, both from the "new body" era, snap onto that post and fit like a glove. Yet the Chameleon head itself sits too low, as does the Sandman/Osborn head. This indicates to me that Hasbro has future plans for this torso involving new heads. Perhaps Hammerhead is forthcoming after all? Matt Murdock? Peter Parker? The Beyonder? The point is, whoever sculpted this figure and it's head post were thinking about forward compatibility, not backward compatibility, and I choose to take this as a good sign for the line in general.

Overall, the good news is we have a good looking Chameleon. There will be complaints about the restricted leg motion, but otherwise this is a versatile body for a more casual civilian look. The spare heads are okay, but could have been better. And the lack of a pistol and/or briefcase or jewels takes away from the overall capturing of the essence of this character. Overall, I'd rate this one as "it'll do." Articulation fans will rate it lower.

Final verdict: it'll do.