Thor (Marvel Legends Infinite: Allfather Wave)

Series: Marvel Legends

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2015

BACKGROUND

I’ve never been a big fan of Marvel’s take on Thor. I was a huge fan of the Norse myths as a kid, and the Marvel portrayal of the character was just too incongruent with my understanding of the violent,  RED-HEADED Thor for me to enjoy.* A doctor with a walking stick that turns into the Norse god of thunder? No deal. Though purists may disagree, I much preferred the Ultimate version of Thor, where you weren’t sure if he was a lunatic or the real deal for most of the time, and the Ancient Aliens approach that has been taken for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Why then, are we looking at a figure of Thor which is clearly from neither of those preferred sources? Well, that’s a good question – you’ll have to read on to find out.  

SCULPT AND ARTICULATION

Well, I never said you’d have to read very far. Basically, this Thor just plain looks great – and that’s why I decided to give him a go after my positive experience with the Scarlet Witch.

This Thor heavily reuses elements from this figure. The arms are different, the helmet has been retooled and I think the cape is new, but other than that it looks to be the same, even down to the hammer. Normally I’d be annoyed by so much reuse, but the original figure was a convention exclusive back in 2011, so the odds are reasonably strong that you don’t already own one. And, as OAFE predicted, it has now been used again, in a plainer paint job. It’s taken a bit longer than perhaps was anticipated, but I suppose it’s not a massive surprise – movie Thor has cast a long shadow over any merchandise related to the character in recent years.

I initially thought he was something of a “greatest hits” figure, but closer inspection indicates the absence of a few key elements – his chest circles have been greatly scaled down, for instance. As you probably saw in the above link, the closest reference point is Olivier Coipel’s art. His redesign of the character was pretty big news when I was in my comic-collecting prime (2007), but I don’t think I ever actually read any of it. Overall though, he looks fantastic – it’s particularly impressive when you consider that most of the sculpting is now 7 years old. Plenty of figures from that era have not aged anywhere near as well.    

There are just a couple of questionable points. Though his golden locks do flow from the back of the helmet, they’re partially covered by some kind of brown cloth – the effect, when viewed from behind, is not dissimilar to one of those dorky flapped caps you probably had to wear in primary school. Asgard, it seems, is not afraid to fly in the face of fashion. My only other real irritation beyond the mullet-cap is that Thor also seems to be looking down slightly. You can’t do a lot about this, but I suppose given his massive size he’d be looking down on just about any other figure he was paired with anyway.  

Thor’s articulated in the following ways:

*ball-jointed neck

*swivel-hinged shoulders

*swivel biceps

*ball-jointed torso

*swivel-hinged elbows

*swivel-hinged wrists

*Swivel-hinged hips

*double-hinged knees

*hinged ankles

As might be expected, the shoulders are somewhat restricted by the cape and the biceps appear to be as well, particularly when you’ve got the arms sitting in a neutral position. The hips are also restricted by the “skirt” overlay. None of these are dealbreakers for me but your own mileage may vary.  

"Do you even lift, bro?"

His knee joints, calves and feet are cast in a slightly softer plastic, which feels almost like rubber. Just be careful when you’re bending them; though I didn’t have any issues it did seem like tearing might be a bit of a risk.

ACCESSORIES

Thor comes with two accessories – his iconic hammer, Mjolnir, and an enormous sword. Presumably this has been used in the comics at some point, but I haven’t seen it before. Mjolnir is cast in a slightly softer plastic than the sword, so you may have some minor issues with warping on the handle.  

For his Build-A-Figure piece, he comes with one of the Allfather’s legs -- not particularly exciting, but essential for him to stand. 

PAINT

At an initial glance, there isn’t actually a huge amount of paint on Thor – however, there’s a lot of stuff all over him. The brown on his legs and belt, little spots of silver and all the little details on his face and head, for instance. Like Scarlet Witch, he has some nice airbrushing on his cape too, which adds some additional depth. The only problem area is on his neck – it’s cast in black plastic and then painted skin colour, so there’s been some wear.  

OVERALL

Thor is a character I don’t have a lot of interest in, but this figure was able to overcome that issue. Though I don’t plan to pick up any of his comics anytime soon, I’m still quite pleased with the figure and am glad I decided to take the plunge. I do still want to complete the Allfather -- and then I could have father and son side by side.

*I should add that for whatever reason, it has never been an issue for me with Wonder Woman or Kratos and their respective (frequently questionable) portrayals of Greek mythology.