When Hasbro released the first Marvel Legends figures from Avengers : Infinity War in 2017, a number of the earlier figures were based on concept art and early designs. That led figures like Proxima Midnight and the BAF Cull Obsidian to be quite a bit different in figure form than what actually turned up on screen in Infinity War. In 2020 Hasbro announced their intention to right a few of these figures with a new exclusive set called The Children of Thanos. The set, exclusive to Amazon, would include screen accurate figures of Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight as well as tweaked figures of Ebony Maw and Corvus Glaive and a new variant of Thanos.
When you consider that Thanos and Cull Obsidian are essentially Deluxe figures, the packaging for this set was always going to be enormous - but it is still quite a surprise as to how expansive it actually is. The set uses a rectangular window box format with a black base colour and gold highlight colours as per the Infinity War movie logo. The figure window is shaped and bordered in the gold with the Legends logo top right and Infinity War logo base and centre. Underneath this is a gold flash with the set name "Children of Thanos", and this goes on to be repeated in a number of other languages.
The figures themsevels are arranged with Thanos in the centre and two either side with accessories slotted into the space around each figure. The side of the box are headed with the Legends logo again and then a checklist of characters Both sides include Thanos at the top. The right hand (as we look) then shows illustrations of Cull Obsidian and Corvus Glaive. The left features Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw.
The back of the box has a large colour illustration of Thanos, surrounded by his children with Proxima's spear protruding from the illustration to the black border underneath. To the side of this is the background text we see on all Legends releases
"The Children of Thanos, powerful and vicious warriors, will stop at nothing to harness the power of the Infinity Stones"
The package opens via the top or bottom flap, and the figures are set into a plastic tray, there are no ties to hold the figures. The tray is then sat into a cardboard inner tray that has also been providing the figure backdrop. With the figures removed, you can see this carries a design of an exploding Avengers "A".
4.0
Cull Obsidian is now presented in his full armoured look as seen in Infinity War as he faced down Iron-Man and Doctor Strange and before he lost his hand and replaced it with the chain weapon. The head sculpt is very good with the overhanding brow, sunken eyes and reptilian skin tone all really well painted.
The same reptilian sin texture is used on the neck and arms, coloured in a base brown with darker segments painted on the protruding scales sections. In contrast the armour is smooth with some curved line patterns across the chest - cast in grey and with red highlights. The pauldron on the right arm is strapped across the chest and then around the top of the arm and is in a variant shade of grey with some throwing blades of sorts tucked at one side. The upper shoulder armour includes a large gold section and a final top studded piece.
The skirt section is similar to the concept Cull, but is now more ornate with an angular central silver segmented section and two golden clasps either side. From one of these hangs a sash in the Captain Marvel colours (never fully explored) and this is painted in red, gold and blue.
The leg armour continues the same design as the chest with rounded lines and panels and all finished in grey - but with some silver trim around the shins and on the two knee panels.
When you compare our new Cull Obsidian to the original Build-a-Figure from 2018, you can see the extent to which Hasbro have changed the figure for this new Children of Thanos release. The head is the same, although painted quite differently with a lighter tone on the face and teeth. The left arm is a direct re-use, while the right has been tweaked to remove the original forearm armoured panel. The rest of the body is therefore new, so a substantial update for the figure.
5.0
The original Cull came with a more traditional shaped hammer, another concept / preliminary design, while the new one is updated with his complex hammer come scythe. The piece is cast in a dark grey plastic with a real depth in the sculpt with varying pieces of connecting gears, links and riveted panels. The handle tapers out to a shaped end, while the blade extends out to either side with the larger end curving round with flat top piece.
The weapon is crying out for some additional paint apps in terms of silver dry brushing or similar to really do that sculpt justice.
Unfortunately the hands have not been reshaped for the new weapon (they didn't even hold the old one very well) and the hammer come axe is a little tricky to pose with Cull. It will fit in the right hand and can be cupped in the left hand under the blade - although this pose is quite loose. Cull actually holds the weapon more securely with his left hand, although this is not his dominant hand based on what we see on screen.
4.0
Cull Obsidian has a total articulation count of 19 points of articulation, comparable to a normal figure in the line. However, with his stature and musculature and with the addition now of armoured panels, you wont find Cull that easy to pose.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : torso ball joint, waist swivel
Arms : ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, single joint elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
The head will rotate but as it turns sideways the shape of the neck forces it upwards which limits the positioning. The torso ball joint has a lot of backward movement but limited forward lean and the waist joint has to support the movement to either side to keep the lines of the armour in place.
The arms are quite limited with a single elbow that does not go much beyond 45 degrees. The bicep swivel adds some side movement in the absence of any elbow rotation. The shoulders cant be raised up by much due to the armour on the right and the shape of the shoulder on the left.
And like the arms, the legs are held in check with the armour - much more so than the older figure and its looser fitting waist armour piece. The knees are fully mobile but with motion above them at the hips and below at the ankle rocker limited there is not a large amount they can do other than wider stances. The ankle rockers are too held in place by the shin armour, but all secure and do well to hold up the sheer bulk of Cull Obsidian in a number of poses.
3.0
Cull Obsidian is one of a handful of MCU figures Hasbro based on concept / preliminary designs only for them to be changed by the time the movie released. The desire by Hasbro to go back and re-release these is commendable and they have done a great job of Cull Obsidian in terms of the look of the figure and the new weapon.
The articulation was never going to be extensive for such a huge bulky character, but it is a shame that the hands have not been tweaked to hold the new bladed weapon a little more comfortably.
While Cull Obsidian himself is a fantastic update, the fact he is packed in with such a large set and requires collectors to double-dip on the other characters, even with their minor paint updates. I wonder how financially viable it was / wasn't to release Cull on his own in a Deluxe release.
That being said, the packaging while large is good looking and avoids the temptation of other multi pack exclusives to include sleeves or fold out panels and therefore shows off all five figures beautifully.
I score the Children of Thanos Cull Obsidian a total of 4.0
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, marvel. legends, hasbro, avengers, infinity war, thanos, children of thanos, the black order, cull obsidian, proxima midnight, ebony maw, corvus glaive.