The 80th Anniversary of Marvel Comics saw Hasbro release a number of single Marvel Legends figures and sets to celebrate. The MCU sets included a 2-pack of Hela and Skurge from Thor : Ragnarok. Hela would use the existing figure with new heads and accessories, while Skurge was a brand new figure.
Packaging 5/5
The packaging follows the designs laid down in the 2018 First Ten Years Sets with a squared off box rather than the scooped sides we associate with Marvel Legends. The base colour is black with the Legends logo at the top of the box and the movie logo at the bottom. The figures are visible in a window that is bordered in red with the character names built into an extended panel in this red border.
The side art remains with Hela shown on the right and Skurge on the left. On the back of the box we get a central movie poster with character profile pictures either side and a short piece of background text.
"An Asgardian warrior desperate to prove himself worthy, Skurge's survival instinct leads him to join Hela and become her Executioner. Skurge must wrestle with desire for self-preservation in the face of Hela's violence against his home"
Paint & Sculpt 5/5
Skurge The Executioner is a brand new figure in the Legends line. It features an excellent head sculpt of Karl Urban which then is enhanced by the face print technology that gives it expressive "shifty" eyes as well as the scarring around the face. With the head being bald the neck joint is more exposed and visible on the figure, moreso from the rear.
The armour is big and bulky and made up of overlapping panels of a metallic silver over a burgundy outfit of sorts. Each panel is cast in the blue colour and then trimmed in silver with further silver dots added on the rivets - these are all neat and with no obvious errors.
The lower skirt section is a separate piece in more flexible plastic. It too is cast in metallic blue and has a dragon emblem on the front belt buckle.
Accessories 5/5
Skurge comes with a selection of weapons, starting with his Executioners axe. This is cast in a very dark grey plastic that is quite rigid. The rigidity means the axe holds its shape including the details cast into the blade and handle. It fits into the two gripping hands that come on the figure - allowing for left, right or two-handed posing.
Skurge also gets his assault rifles Des and Troy. These are cast in gloss black plastic with no other paint apps. The cast is crisp, but the barrels on both of them are very thin and can get warped. They fit into a pair of trigger finger hands that are also provided with the flexible finger slotting into each trigger. These extra hands in themselves are a bonus as Hasbro could have made one set fit all.
Articulation 4/5
Skurge is articulated fully with 18 points of articulation, and is pretty flexible in his posing even as a bulky armoured figure.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double joint elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
The arms are fully mobile, even under the huge shoulder armour which itself is pivoted to move as the arms are raised - although they cant go all the way up. The bicep swivel and double joint elbows allows for some nice action posing with the axe in particular and shooting poses with Des and Troy.
The legs look to be fixed under the skirt, but the skirt piece is flexible enough to move as the legs move. The only issue with the lower limbs is the ratchet on the ankle rockers is very severe and not set quite right for the right foot in particular to be planted flat - this causes a bit of trouble in getting Skurge to stand.
Summary
Skurge is a brilliant new figure to the MCU line of Marvel Legends and represents a big expansion of Thor Ragnarok figures in 2019. The figure is well packaged, well sculpted, well painted and well articulated.
The accessories are great too and I am pleased we got both the axe and Des & Troy and we even got extra hands to hold them rather than making one set fit all.
Other than a slightly uncooperative right ankle rocker, Skurge is a beast of a figure and deserves top marks with a 5 out of 5 rating.
