Hasbro Marvel Legends Infinite SDCC Mighty Thor Box Set review
|
Another summer has past and with it, another season of comic conventions and comic con exclusives. And of course, Hasbro once again came up with
a unique box set for sale at San Diego Comic Con. Following up on the likes of their previous sets such as the Raft Box Set, Book of Vishanti and
Thunderbolts sets, this year Thor was given the spotlight with a box set of five figures based on stories from the Thor comics. Admittedly, I
don't read Thor comics so I don't actually know anything about any of the figures included beyond the absolute basics. But that doesn't mean I was
going to pass up a chance to expand by roster of Asgardians. Included in this set are Thor in his depowered Odinson form, Jane Foster Thor, Ulik
the troll, Malekith the dark elf and Bor. The set definitely contains the mystical hammer Mjolnir, so lets see if it is worthy of the power of Thor.
Packaging - 8/10The creative packaging that Hasbro has been coming up with for their Comic Con exclusive sets has been one of the coolest parts of the sets. They've put a similar amount of effort into the design of the packaging for this set. The figures come in a pentagon shaped package which is covered in a slip case. The slip case has some beautiful art work featuring the five characters all engaged in battle with one character one each side of the packaging. When the slip case is removed, it reveals the same artwork on the outside of the box, but this time with a brief enscription on each panel. The entire package can then be unrolled to reveal the five figures inside, each packaged in their own triangular section of the box. The design is pretty cool. The art work is great. But I do have two minor complaints about the packaging. The first is that for all of its elaborate design, it doesn't seem like the design actually relates to the figures or story the way that the past comic con sets have. It's a cool design. But coming up with something that related to the storyline would have been even cooler. The second issue is that the packaging doesn't really explain the story line where the characters come from clearly nor does it really explain who the characters are. And it isn't like they were limited by the space available or the need to make the packaging multilingual. So it would be nice if they had given an actual description of the characters so that people like myself would know who Bor, Ulik and Malekith are.
Sculpting - Odinson & Thor 8/10, Bor, Malekith & Ulik 9/10The sculpting for all five figures is remarkably well done. I can't comment on how accurate they are since I'm not familar with Thor comics and the characters from those titles. But just based on how they look, this is a great set. Ulik the troll seems to be a completely new figure and has a great level of detail. Bor seems to be an existing body with an extensive amount of new armor over it. The final result looks great. But the added armor on the shins and forearms can get in the way of the articulation and the placement of his shield. Malekith is just a great looking figure. His evil grin graces a great head sculpt. The Odinson figure from my set may have been slightly mis-assembled as there is a slight gap between the torso and the shoulders as well as one above the prosethec arm. It's not a huge issue, but it is enough to stand out. The female Thor figure has some really nice sculpting for most of her armor. But the skirt armor is a bit too bulky and rides slightly too high on her hips. And like Odinson, there is a bit of a gap between her shoulder and upper arm in the front. I'll admit that these are minor quibbles for Odinson and Thor. But that is because these figures are so well done that these minor issues stick out far more than they should.
Paint - 9/10The paint work on all five of the figures in the set is well done. Bor does stand out a bit from the other four in that most of his armor has a matte finish. I'm not sure if this is intentional based on the material for his outfit. But even items like the wrist bracers and helmet are a more matte silver color than what is used on any of the other figures. Either look works well. But it would be nice if they were consistent across the five figures.
Articulation - Bor & Ulik 8/10, Others 9/10The articulation for Thor, Odinson and Malekith all have the usual Marvel Legends articulation. That means thirty plus points of articulation. And as with all the recent Marvel Legends figures, the articulation is reasonably tight so they can hold poses well. Since he uses a larger body, Bor only has single elbow joints instead of the usual double jointed elbows. As I mentioned earlier, some of the added on armor also hinders the articulation slightly. The ratcheting function on many of his joints seems to be much stronger than on most Marvel Legends figures so minor adjustments to his joints are difficult to outright impossible. Finally there is Ulik who is the largest figure in the set. And as with many of the larger Marvel Legends figures, they did away with the double joints for both his knees and elbows which means his range of motion is much more limited than on the other figures.
Accessories - 6/10The Thor set comes with five accessories. Ulik is the only figure to not get an accessory since he can fight with his fists. That's alright because instead of a weapon for Ulik, Bor gets both a large battle axe and a shield. The shield is nicely painted and like many of the Captain America shields, it comes with a clip to attach to the figure's wrist or pegged to his back. Though as I mentioned before, the bracers can make it difficult to make room to clip on the shield. Malekith comes with a nasty looking sword with a serrated edge. Odinson has a battle axe as well. And of course Thor comes with her hammer Mjolnir. Only this time around, the hammer is cast in translucent blue plastic and then painted so that looks like it is glowing. Her cape is also removable. Overall the set does a decent job of covering the basics and making sure everyone who should have a weapon comes with one. But it still feels like the set lacks any real extras. For a convention exclusive like this, that is a bit disappointing.
Value - 8/10If you were lucky enough to get this set at the original price of $120, it's actually a decent value considering you are getting five figures. And for now, this set is the only way to get Ulik, Bor and Malekith. Both the female Thor and Odinson are available as a part of the Gladiator Hulk series. But that version of Odinson is wearing a shirt and still has his original arms. So for now, you are essentially getting four unique or significantly different versions of characters. Though I suspect that the sculpt for Ulik is too nice for Hasbro to not eventually find a way to release it at retail as well.
Happy Hunting:Following the same pattern as previous Marvel Legends comic con exclusive sets in that it was originally sold at the San Diego Comic Convention in the summer and later sold in limited quantities through Hasbro's online store. But at this point your only option to find it is going to be the secondary market.
|
|
