The Eternals Marvel Legends figures from Hasbro saw the release of two exclusive figures of Thena & Ajak followed by a full-wave turned over to the other members of the Eternals in a 7-figure wave with the 8th figure of Gilgamesh included as the build-a-figure. That then left the movie figures devoid of a villain as such, particularly with the BAF slot turned over to a standard figure and not the usual larger figure. That meant that Kro, the Deviant Leader, was put into a stand-alone Deluxe release. This was of course a fantastic move in the grand scheme of things as Kro could be fully realised with a number of additional parts that would not have worked in a BAF format.
He arrives in the wider Deluxe box format with the illustrated artwork on either side. The design of the packaging mirrors that of all the other Eternals with the gold glowing nameplate and 'E' symbol that sits at the base of the artwork on either side. The back of the box then features a larger image of Kro and the usual background text.
"A powerful Deviant unlike any other the Eternals have faced over the millennia, Kro's appearance is the harbinger for a global threat"
Out of the box and the main figure of Kro stands an impressive 8-inches tall. His appearance during the movie changes as he evolves and the figure is sculpted to closely represent his later appearance when he faces off against Thena towards the end of the movie. The body is sculpted to recreate the flowing strands of the Deviant's body with the strands combing together to form defined body parts. These are cast in dark plastic, and then over the top is a mix of various pearlescent paints giving him an ethereal look with a midsection that is almost gold out to tones of green and purple.
The head includes thin eyes and protruding jaw as well as the symbol on his head picked out in red paint. To either side of the head, there are strands or tentacles reaching upward from the shoulders and neck.
The rear of the figure features two shaped slots which accept the two smaller sections of tendrils included in the box. These are specific as to where they fit so match the shapes to the sockets before plugging them in. The fit is tight and the sculptural detail where the item plugin line up well to the body around them, although there is some colour variation with the base of each part a lighter purple than the surrounding area.
Each piece branches out first and then combines into a single whipping tendril finished in a golden-coloured barb. They are cast in a softer plastic, although there is no internal armature to allow them to be posed so they sit in the shape in which they were cast allowing them to flow down behind Kro then wrap around his legs at either side - one then rising up and the other sitting more on the floor.
Kro has no accessories as such but has two interchangeable 'tendril' sections for his lower arm. The hands and wrists pop off at a joint halfway up towards the shoulder. You can then swap these hands for more of the tendril sections. These are again cast in softer dark plastic that snakes out to a golden finish. This time the match to the main body colour is good where they connect.
You can use one or both of these for display with Kro, and they can be interchanged fitting on either arm. Swapping them is quite right and you should grip Kro securely before the elbow joint or the force could see the upper arm articulation get stretched and break.
Once connected these tendril clusters can be posed using the arm articulation although you will have to be careful not to overbalance Kro. Thankfully Hasbro have given us a helping hand with this by sculpting Kro with large root-like feet which provides a more stable base.
Kro has 20 points of articulation, gaining the wrist swivels by default due to the way the tendril sections connect. He is sadly not pinless as we saw with the other Eternals, but offers a full range of motion on what is a relatively slim and unencumbered body. The arms are just about strong enough to hold up the weighty tendrils, although I suspect they will weaken over time due to this weight. The legs can be bent to a more bestial pose or extended fully so to display him at his full 8-inch height.
Regardless of what you think of Eternals as a movie, or indeed Kro as an antagonist, his figure is impressive in terms of overall sculpt, applied paintwork, and articulation. I am not sure why the figure is not selling well and seeing heavy discounts as he displays really well with the other Eternals or indeed to flesh out a bad guy display further with his height and bulk.
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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...