Unboxing Ultron With Funko’s Marvel Collector Corps

Announced earlier this year, Funko's Marvel Collector Corps is the latest subscription box service aimed directly at nerd culture. The bi-monthly service offers a handful of unique collectibles and goodies themed around a specific corner of the Marvel Universe, with the first box focused on Avengers: Age of Ultron. Our box arrived this week, and we cracked it open to see if Funko's efforts could stand out in a marketplace already feeling quite full.

The most important thing you need to know about the Collector Corps is that it uses great boxes. Okay, not really, but it's nice that it wasn't just plain. Funko could have just dropped everything in a generic corrugated shipping container, but the printed design gives it a bit more personality.

This is equally as true when you open the box.

Classic Avengers comic art lines the interior, where the first two items included are presented. You get a nice little pin with Captain America's face, just like the exterior of the box, as well as a patch with Ultron's face and the Collector Corps logo. The patch looks a bit Cobra-ish, but the pin is nice and subtle, which should give people a nice way to accessorize their fandom without having to commit the piece to one particular bit of clothing.

Inside the actual guts of the box lies the biggest draw of the Collector Corps box --- a Pop Vinyl Hulkbuster. This is the only way to get the Hulkbuster first-hand, and honestly, since there's little to no commitment with the month-to-month subscription, it's not that bad a deal. The Collector Corps boxes run $25 each, and larger Pop figures like Hulkbuster typically retail for about that price anyway. And that's before all the extra stuff stacked on top.

The sculpt is nice, and does a really great job capturing the Hulkbuster while also staying true to the Pop brand. He's shiny and the metallic paint app really looks great. Like all of Funko's Marvel Pop products, Hulkbuster is a bobblehead. If you've been snapping up these figures for years, you probably don't mind, but it wouldn't be the worst if Marvel would let Funko make the Pop figures the same way the company makes most everything else (save for the DC Pops).

Also included is one of the first Dorbz figures from Funko, and what was billed as a mystery collectible; the ever-lovin', red-eyed Ultron. As you can probably surmise from the name of the line, Dorbz are supposed to be adorable. While you might think it nigh impossible to make a genocidal robot look cute, Funko actually does it. Ultron looks cute. Everyone can wrap it up. There's no reason to think this guy is a menace to the global peace after seeing him rendered in this itty-bitty form.

He's also a little creepy with that toothless grin, but come on; look at that thing. You're going to tell me this guy is the reason the Avengers are so worked up in that new movie? That guy probably wouldn't steal a pie out of a windowsill... in 1936, where that reference might still be applicable.

The other mystery inclusion is a t-shirt, with one of four random designs. The one we got featured a boxing bill for a match between Captain America and Ultron. We've seen elsewhere some folks got a Thor vs. Ultron and a Hulk vs. Ultron. It's probably safe to assume the fourth shirt is Iron Man, but we haven't seen one yet to know for sure. It's a decent design, with a little bit of distressing done to make it appear vintage. Why nothing can actually appear new anymore is beyond us, but that's a conversation for a different day.

Finally, there's a copy of Guardians Team-Up #1 with an exclusive variant cover from Nick Bradshaw. It's cool. You really can't complain about free comics. Though, technically this wasn't free. You know what we mean.

In a world where you can get subscription boxes for just about anything, we were initially skeptical that one more geeky box was necessary. That's doubly true when you consider Funko products show up in so many other subscription services already. However, focusing directly on one type of fandom instead of an amalgamation of various fan-favorites helps Funko's Marvel Collector Corps stand out. Whether or not the company can keep this up with lesser-known quantities that aren't tied to movies in the future remains to be seen. For now though, Funko's off to a great start.

This box was provided for review. The Marvel Collector Corps subscription costs $25 per box. You can subscribe through the official website.