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  • Writer's pictureMephitsu

Review : Marvel Legends Hela (Thor Ragnarok)



Pros : Gorgeous head sculpts, fantastic paint applications, cloak works well

Cons : Joints are a little loose making Hela difficult to stand and for her to stay standing


Hela, played by Cate Blanchett, was for me the stand-out Marvel Cinematic villain for some years. Her figure was also an instant hit as when released, selling out quickly as the waves hit stores and becoming a chase figure for many. She was initially packed within the Thor Ragnarok wave and this included Hulk's arm and hammer.

There was a repack for the UK at least within a Best of Wave that arrived in February 2018. The best of wave was made up of MCU figures only from both Ragrarok and Guardians 2, the BAF remained the Gladiator Hulk. The version of Hela within this wave lost the unmasked head and was now packed with Hulk's head and helmet.


2017 saw the introduction of the Face Printing Technology for Marvel Legends. While it is more obvious on the unmasked head of Hela that we will look at shortly, you can see elements of it in the masked head with some key lines and features around the nose and mouth and a more blended lip shade.

The headpiece is of course the star and is brilliantly designed so that it retains the sheer scale of the piece while never overbalancing the figure. It is cast in black plastic and while it is a little soft it does not show any issues of misshaping.


Hela stands an impressive 7" tall. This is consistent with how Hasbro have tackled the Asgardian characters before her. She is probably too tall if we are going to get into the reality of what we see on film, but I am happy to go with this licence with her height. It also makes her compatible for Marvel Select collectors - another reason perhaps why she is harder to find.

The costume is a good representation of what we see on screen. It is predominantly a matt black, with a very impressive metallic green across the costume as a trime. The painting of this is neat and there are no issues with bleed.

My only paint gripe is with her shoulders which are skin toned, and yet show signs of being darker where the skin tone has painted over the black - it does make them look a tad messy.


Hela comes with her cloak, which is removable depending on what look you want her to have. This slots over the shoulders with a plug that goes into a socket between the shoulder blades. This is easy to locate with the masked head, a little trickier with the unmasked head where the hair is down and covering the shoulders - here you would be as well taking off the head, seating the cloak then putting the head back.

The cloak itself is a softer plastic and is cast with the usual flowing waves as it meets the floor. It is very much a single tone green throughout, with just the very top panels around the shoulders using a similar metallic green to the rest of the outfit.


Swapping out the head is easy, and the ball joint slots on and off either head nice and easy. With the various parts to the masked head you should be mindful of not bending or stressing any of the horned pieces when removing this from the body.


The unmasked head is truly a thing of beauty and shows exactly what the Face Print Technology can do. While it is a brilliant likeness to Cate Blanchett, it also has a bunch of detail you wouldn't see on a traditional figure. Checkout those veins in the forehead and the blending of the makeup around the eyes... fantastic!


Hela comes with her sword. This is cast in a softer plastic, so can be warped out of the pack. It does carry a lot of detail up close including some ornate carving. Sadly it has no paint treatment so looks plain at a distance, would have been nice to dry brush it with a silver tone to bring out the depth of the sculpt.

Hela can only hold this in her right hand


Hela has 16 points of articulation. We've seen the ball joint in the head which allows full movement of the masked head, the unmasked is a touch restricted by the hair. The torso has a more traditional ball joint rather than the more maneuverable T-joint.

Arms are ball jointed shoulders with single joint elbows and finally pegged and pivot wrists. Without the double elbow joints the arms are a little restricted, but Hela will recreate a lot of her static poses from the movie.

The legs are also ball jointed at the hip, followed by a thigh swivel. The knees do keep the double joints and then we end with ankle rockers. The legs are very loose in terms of the joints and Hela is difficult to stand and stay standing, particularly when the cloak is in position as it impacts the centre of gravity.


Aside from some downgraded articulation vs other Legend figures and some loose joints, there is not much else to criticise with this figure. I'd recommend the first release rather than the "best of" wave release as the unmasked head is truly spectacular. Hela will likely need a stand to keep her posed, but once on display she is a focal point and it is a pity she didn't get some allies or minions to display with her.

I score Hela a 4 out of 5.



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