Hasbro is ramping up the anticipation for this summer's new MCU entry: Thor: Love and Thunder, by dropping this new wave of figures. Releasing on July 8th and starring Chris Hemsworth, reprising the titular role for the NINTH time in the MCU, as well as providing his voice to the character in the animated What If...? Series, Thor: Love and Thunder looks to further expand on the Norse God's quest to find himself after the events of Infinity War and Endgame. These new figures are probably some of the best detailed I've seen to date! So let's jump in and look at the newest Thor addition to our MCU Marvel Legends collection.
Thor, the God of Thunder has played a pivotal role in the MCU since his introduction onscreen back in 2011. Joining the ranks of the Avengers, he battled alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes to combat the Chitauri invasion, Ultron's plans for global domination and the hideous machinations of the Mad Titan, Thanos as he sought to wipe out half of all life in the universe and, for a brief time, succeeded. As the Avengers once again overcame the odds and Thor helped restore the universe, he chose to leave New Asgard under the reign of Valkyrie and strike out into the cosmos with Star Lord and the rest of The Guardians of the Galaxy. Thor: Love and Thunder continues the story as Thor seeks to find inner peace amidst all of the turmoil he's endured.
Dan's ToyBox uses a pretty simple grading system to help, as objectively as possible, my readers to determine if an action figure is worth adding to their own collections. We discuss the four A's of: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability and based on those factors, give the figure an overall grade of one to five toyboxes, with one being the worst and five the best. Right out of the gate, I can tell you that I'm fairly disappointed with the accessories accompanying this figure. Thor comes with: Stormbreaker, one fisted right hand, one weapon holding right hand, and one open grasping left hand... and that's all. I was surprised that there were no lightning or electrical effects, nor was there a BAF piece for Korg. On the plus side, Stormbreaker's handle is much better than the last release, which was very rubbery and gummy. Other than that though, this is very disappointing and not worth giving an "A."
As disappointing as the lack of accessories is, the appearance is a complete opposite. Thus far, with the two figures I've purchased from this wave, Marvel has really outdone themselves on the design and character accuracy. This is one of the nicest looking figures I own. The amount of paint detail on the figure, the sculpting, and the overall design of the character is simply extraordinary. The gold across the figure all matches and is applied very cleanly and the deep blue highlights are rendered exceptionally well. My only real complaint is the design of the eyes and the helmet sculpt. Thor's eyes are difficult to see and they look a bit cross-eyed, mainly I suspect, due to the design of the helmet. Other than that, I am really impressed into not only the level of detail packed into this figure but the incredible paint applications. I looked carefully and was unable to find really, any paint defects on mine. For all of the intricate designs of his Asgardian garb and the attention and care given to applying paint to this scheme, I highly applaud the designers and artists that created this figure. There really isn't a single place on Thor, perhaps with the exception of his cape, that doesn't have some sort of small, sculpted detail and I will say, this garish and royal look is definitely befitting of the God of Thunder. I really like this and feel it certainly deserves an "A+" for Appearance!!!
As with all Marvel Legends, there is a redundancy in the engineering and design of articulation. I am happy to see that they've added that upper diaphragm ball joint to this figure, but unfortunately that's about the best I have to say about the articulation. Starting with his head, the hair sculpt severely limits head movement. He can turn side to side, but you have to kind of lift the hair over the cape. Thor will NOT look upward at all and seems to be stuck looking downward. The ornate hair and helmet kick movement in the teeth and don't allow the Thunder God much room to move. His shoulders will come out to just below a T pose, because of the shoulder pads on his suit. Unfortunately, this also means that the 360-degree rotation is prevented as well. The upper bicep swivel works, and the double-jointed elbows bend in very well. The hands all swivel and hinge easily. The upper diaphragm joint allows some rotation and some backward lean, but the lack of paint app under the lip makes for an awkward look. Unfortunately, he will not bend forward very well either. There is no waist swivel, which is a shame because it could have been effectively hidden by the costume. Thor's legs are the most pleasant surprise as the soft, pliable plastic of his upper tunic moves enough to allow him to do splits, kick forward decently, and kick backward somewhat. The upper thigh cut gives a good enough swivel and the double- jointed knees will bend past 90 degrees, but due to the sculpt not much further. There is no boot swivel, but he does have excellent ankle hinging and that wonderful Legend pivot we've come to know and love. Unfortunately, the ornate design of the character impedes putting him in too many dynamic poses. Sadly, Thor's limitations prevent him from getting an "A" for Articulation.
One of the major issues collectors are facing this year is the upward price creep from Hasbro. This wave is no exception either. I was anticipating that the "base" Legends figures would be sitting at $22.99 for a while, but alas, that was not the case. This wave was priced at $24.99 per figure, which is tremendously disappointing when you look at the lack of accessories and especially the limited articulation with this Thor. It is with regret that I have to give Thor an overall rating of 2/5 Toyboxes.
This is a great looking figure that will likely end up in a static pose on my MCU shelf and probably not see much action in photographs. As always, I am grateful for you taking the time to stop by the ToyBox. You can find the new Marvel Legends Thor: Love and Thunder Wave at most department stores and at online retailers like BBTS.
Thanks for reading and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!