[Boy Blunder]

All righty, time to throw up my top ten for this year

Top Ten Marvel Legends of 2019 (no particular order)
Mr. Sinister - What can I say about this guy, other than the fact that he's perfect? The face sculpt, the deco, the hands perfectly posed for dramatic monologue-ing... I love that he's on the tall side, to give him that extra bit of presence. I know there's a lot of love for the original Sinister toy, but this one, for me, blows the old one out of the water on ALL fronts.
Hercules - I love the bit of a smirk in his expression, the colors used, the newer body sculpt, the weapons included... I feel like I'm gonna say a lot of the same stuff in these. But every time, it's true. Herc looks great standing with other Avengers or alongside Thor and crew.
Northstar & Aurora - The Alpha Flight set was the biggest surprise of 2019, and I think we all agree that, flaws aside, it was a fantastic thing to behold. The winners of the set, for me, are Northstar and Aurora, sharing a slot on the list because they go together like green eggs and ham. The ones we got have some nice, sharp deco lines, and while Aurora has a little bit of misplacement for one of her eyes, it's barely noticeable. The only downside to these two is the lack of a set of grasping hands.
Beta Ray Bill - There's a lot of kerfluffle about Bill being in his more modern design, but I like the more slick outfit myself. He still looks imposing (especially when his cape is on), and the massive Stormbreaker looks fantastic as a long-handled warhammer. The face, once again, nails the horse-headed look, and the wash on his skin really makes him stand out.
Blink - Blink knocks a major one of my lifetime 'wants' off the list. The figure doesn't disappoint, with the fantastic clash of magenta and green just punching you in the retina. Only things I would've added are an alternate AoA hairstyle head, and a removable Tallus armband, since her hairstyle is clearly from Exiles.
Jean Grey (90s) - There's not a lot to this figure, but there doesn't need to be. A much-needed update, Jean fills a glaring hole in the collections of everyone grabbing up the Jim Lee-era X-Men, but it's a little extra something that got her on the list - the inclusion of the Animated Series ponytail-style hair. Since the cartoon was what first lured me into Marvel, to say that it had an impact on how I see the X-Men would be an understatement. So of course, the homage will get me right in the nostalgia feels.
Havok (90s) - I love Havok's original costume. I love his Mutant X design. And I love this costume. The rest are... lame, even if he's one of my favorite X-Men characters. So to have this costume is stellar, and they really poured some love into this sculpt. Sure, the hands could either be scaled better, or have cuffs to make the size transition less awkward, but he's based on 90s art. It's almost canon the way it is.
Iron Man (80th Anniversary) - This one caught me off-guard, because I've owned this figure for less than a week, but he's just... perfect. The only other Iron Man I've had was the Vintage Wave version, which was... flawed, but he was as close to the Modular Armor as I was likely gonna get. And even though this figure is even further back away from the Modular Armor, I can't argue how nice it is. No frozen joints, AMAZING deco, and a picture-perfect Tony Stark head, complete with pencil mustache (as opposed to the MCU-inspired goatee). The energy effects could have been a less... boiled egg-inspired color, but that's nitpicking. This figure is one of the best Iron Man figures yet, if not THE best.
Jubilee - The level of unique sculpting that went into Jubilee would've gotten her on the list even if she wasn't one of my favorite characters. But she is, which is why she's probably one of my top five out of the top ten. The deco, perfectly capturing the 90s colors, and the unique heads, which capture so much personality, don't hurt at all.
Nightcrawler - I lied about one thing. Nightcrawler is at the end because he's easily my top figure of 2019. I would have been happy with a basic Kurt figure, with modern engineering and sculpting, after so many years of 'pensive butt-chin Toy Biz Kurt'. But they went the extra mile on this one - the full butterfly joints, three different head sculpts which capture three iconic Kurt expressions (serious, jovial, and 'playing the part of the demon', complete with Cockrum-style shading on the last), a hand made for holding a sword WITH a fencing-style wrist-joint, AND a rapier?! Yes. Yes, please. Figure of the year.

Top BAF of 2019
Kingpin - Didn't pick up a lot of the BAFs this year, and most of them were solid affairs, but were standard 'big monster guy' characters (Caliban, Wendigo). Fisk, though... While I ended up keeping all the figures in the wave, I was originally only going to buy the whole wave JUST to build Fisk. This is an excellent BAF, being large and hefty without being an unposeable, oversized mess. He has some articulation limitations, but he can achieve the right level of gravitas with what he has, easily. The alternate headsculpt and the jeweled cane just add to that. And, of course, there's the Shadow King head that comes with Xavier, which adds a whole extra level of play to him (and, of course, a whole reason to buy two Fisks)

Honorable Mentions of 2019
Polaris (90s) - Captures the design perfectly, and really blows the previous Lorna away. Beyond that, there's not a lot special about her. Solid figure all around though.
Wolverine (bone claws) - 80s Wolvie will always be my favorite, but this version comes close. When I started really reading the books was right after Fatal Attractions, so bone-claw Wolvie holds a special place, and the unmasked headsculpt is really nice.
Emma Frost - While I'm still holding out for a white-costumed Emma, this one has her place, as a solid, well-executed figure with a really nice face sculpt.
Dani Moonstar - This figure makes me so angry, because I doubt I'll find any more. I'm not too amped about having three (I'd prefer a more unique Rahne), but I gotta have at least Dani and Shan. The fact that the figure is well-done in both deco and sculpt just makes it worse.
Rescue (MCU) - Aside from some missing paint apps and the lack of an unhelmeted Pepper head, I'm especially fond of this figure. Since I'm not picky in this regard, she also acts as a comics Rescue stand-in for me. I love the color scheme.
Colossus (80th Anniversary) - I didn't want to replace my Warlock-wave Colossus (I'm fond of the era he depicts), but I was more than happy to add a more classic-styled one to my collection to stand with the pre-2000s X-Men figures. I love the more 'shiny' look of his silver to contrast the 'worn' look of the other one, too.
Silver Samurai - Fell just short of the top ten, but not for any faults with this figure. 100% new sculpt, and the only necessary accessories included. A really nice, surprising figure to get out of the 'Vintage' line, all things considered.
Thor (80th Anniversary) - Another contender for the top ten, Thor is the best comics Thor figure to date. There's very little that could be added to him to make him any better.
Starforce Captain Marvel (MCU) - This one makes the list simply because of the alternate parts to turn her into Minn-Erva. And the fact that the alternate 'unmasked' Carol head that came with it saved Bomber Jacket Carol from permanently being Amy Poehler.
Genis-Vell - I'm a sucker for translucent plastic. Add in the sparkles, and it's just... /chef's kiss
Gambit - I wasn't keen on the head sculpt when he was first revealed, and I still feel like it could have been done differently, or at least the hair. But this figure is perfectly Gambit nonetheless, and he's just a damn fine-looking toy.
Snowbird - There's a couple minor quibbles I have with the figure, but I love her height, her face sculpt, and the deco is just killer.
Professor Hulk (MCU, not shown) - While I haven't completed him, and will be selling him off when I do, the Professor Hulk figure is actually really, really well done. The Mark Ruffalo likeness is nailed quite well, and the articulation and deco are really nice. A lot of love went into this one

Biggest Loser of 2019
Cannonball - Wish I could say the same about poor Sam. It's not even the lack of legs that fully makes him the biggest loser, though that's a huge part of it. It's that they very obviously phoned it in. The Shatterstar arms, which can't fold all the way down. The permanently grimacing face. The overall bulk, despite Sam being consistently depicted as tall and slim. The costume being 'just close enough' to some of his outfits, without actually trying to be any particular one of them. I'm not even mad (since I didn't buy him at full price), but 'disappointed' doesn't seem like a strong enough word.

Top 'Vintage' purchases of 2019
Brood Queen - I hope Hasbro goes back to doing more non-humanoid BAFs, because flawed though she is, the Brood Queen is a damn nice hunk of plastic. Hell, Hasbro, revisit her. Retool her legs for a little more articulation and to better hold her weight. People will buy whatever rerelease you give her, because she's a really nice display piece, and a great example of what can be done when you break away from the humanoid BAF mold (Lockjaw, anyone?)
Cannonball - You know a figure is bad when having it in-hand convinces you to trawl eBay for its twelve-year-old counterpart. And yet, here I am, having bought the 2007 Walmart-exclusive Cannonball with zero regrets. I know he's spindly and fiddly. I know his jacket is the right kind of rubbery that'll either deteriorate or rip easily. I don't care, because right now, he fits with the figures a lot better than Swol Legless Sam does.