If there was one scientific law-like certainty about the Halo 4 toys lineup, it’s that the Master Chief would get a new Halo 4 action figure in McFarlane Toys’ first assortment. No one can argue that the Master Chief hasn’t had his fair share of action figures, as we have Master Chief action figures from all three games in the original Halo trilogy, along with an Active Camo version, and even a version of the Master Chief from the animated Halo Legends: The Package. So you might wonder if there are substantive enough differences to make it worth purchasing a Halo 4 Master Chief action figure. And the answer is: Maybe…

The Right:

Well, this is unmistakably the Master Chief. And he’s all dressed up in his new Halo 4 Spartan armor! The Master Chief is never the flashiest or most visually-exciting character, and this incarnation is no exception. That’s not a bad thing–Master Chief looks like a serious, by-the-book soldier, which is just as he should. While a little dull, this new figure is a terrific first representation of the character model from Halo 4.

Halo 4 Master Chief comes with his signature Assault Rifle, which his hands are sculpted to easily hold tightly and properly. Master Chief can hold the gun with one hand or two, and looks great either way. The Sticky Detonator that the Cryotube Master Chief came with also fits his hands perfectly (obviously), and surprisingly, I think Master Chief can hold the Halo 4 Energy Sword even better than the Covenant Elite Zealot Figure that the sword comes with!

The upper-body of the Master Chief is very nicely articulated, and I continue to enjoy the improved ball-jointed upper torso. Virtually every part of the Master Chief’s upper-body from his head to his shoulders to his wrists is ball-jointed with a great range of motion, so Master Chief is ideally-suited for wielding any weapons that come his way in this or future assortments.

The paint on the Halo 4 Master Chief is cleanly and neatly applied, without any major paint bleed or other defects. Master Chief’s armor color scheme is pretty straight-forward if not boring to begin with, and there’s no surprises here. I really liked the white “ice” effects on the frozen version of this mold, but this Master Chief is a more traditional straightforward green and black.

The Wrong:

It’s unfortunate that McFarlane Toys announced an improved Halo 4 Master Chief with better swag for Halo 4 Series 2 before this one even had a chance to hit store shelves. Even if that Master Chief is exactly the same in every other way, it will still have vastly superior accessories in the form of the blank and the to-scale Cortana figure that can fit in Master Chief’s hand. Coupled with the more-detailed Frozen Master Chief from the Cryotube set, and this Halo 4 Series 1 Master Chief is clearly the odd Spartan out.

Also, as with the Spartan Warrior, I’m not real happy about the new leg articulation on the Master Chief. The loss of the swivel thighs has made it such that the Master Chief’s legs have a lacking range of motion, and any kind of crouching pose is very hindered by the new articulation scheme. I think the leg articulation for the Spartans badly needs to be reworked for future McFarlane Halo 4 series of figures, as this just isn’t really cutting it.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”
Halo 4 Series 1 just started shipping to retailers this month, and can still be slightly troublesome to find at retail. Master Chief (and friends!) should be available at fine local retailers like Target and Toys R Us soon. If they’re not in your area yet and you don’t want to wait, Amazon has Master Chief for around retail price with free shipping as of writing.

Overall: This is a decent enough Halo 4 Master Chief action figure, but when it comes right down to it, it’s a pretty plain and mediocre Master Chief. He’s lacking the extra details of the Master Chief figure from the Halo 4 UNSC Cryotube deluxe boxed set, and doesn’t come with the much more enticing accessories that McFarlane Halo 4 Series 2 Master Chief will be packed with. It’s a solid figure, but it fails to “wow” me in any way at all. Whereas all of the other Halo 4 toys released so far by McFarlane have been very good to extraordinary, this Master Chief is merely average.

GRADE: C+