Toy Biz launched the Marvel Legends action-figure line in 2002.
Marvel Legends was designed as a collector-oriented line of highly articulated superhero figures. Its first releases helped popularize the combination of detailed sculpting, extensive articulation and character-specific accessories in mass-market comic-book toys.
Toy Biz had been Marvel’s principal toy partner for years and used Marvel Legends to build on the success of earlier Marvel action figures. The line initially focused on characters from Marvel Comics rather than on Disney animation.
Hasbro is often given as the answer because it later became the Marvel toy licensee and continues to produce Marvel Legends figures. Hasbro took over the Marvel toy business in the mid-2000s, but Toy Biz created and launched the line in 2002.