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".
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Thanos from this set is the third version of the Tyrant in the Marvel Legends MCU line in just 2-years. While the first BAF version had significant issues with the decor, the First Ten Years Thanos corrected the mistakes. While Hasbro could have repacked Thanos with no real update, there has been a concerted effort to give us another look for Thanos this time round and that has been achieved firstly by the adjustment to the Infinity Gauntlet into the finger snapping pose from the end of the movie.
This one change has given us a very iconic Thanos look and the execution of the Gauntlet is also spot on with the bronze colouring and the individual Infinity Stones painted into place. The head sculpt is a re-use, but captures the look of the Josh Brolin Thanos with the ridged chin, deep set eyes and bald head. Face print tech looks to be in use now with shading around the face and realistic eyes.
The costume is the one he wears for most of Infinity War after abandoning his armour. It includes a blue textured shirt with gold trim and belt. A pair of plain brown trousers with boots in the same colour, with gold trim and gold knee pads. The colours are all applied flatly with no weathering or washes, with everything neat and tidy and with no obvious flaws.
The smiling head fitted with the figure is the original BAF head, recoloured to the more accurate skin tone. The body has a brighter blue vs the original two figures and there is more definition in the gold, including the pattern on the two sections at the top of the chest piece
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Thanos does include a second look too, with an alternative head and arm included with the burnt and scarred decor as seen after he has used the stones. The burnt version of the head has been taken from the First Ten Years re-release and then repainted with the burned segments on the left hand side. There is no sculptural detail here, just painted effects.
In contrast the arm has had the scaring and burns sculpted in and then painted with a darker raw skin tone you see on screen. The Infinity Gauntlet is warped and broken to finish off the damage caused by the "snap" and is washed in black to give it a worn look - although the stones remain painted and in place?
The arm swaps easy enough, a bonus of the original figure being a Build-a-Figure. The head is much tougher both in terms of how tight the fit is, but also that the neck peg likes to squirm away to the back as you try to slot the head into place.
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Like the two prior releases of this body, this Thanos has 19 points of articulation and is pretty nimble in his posing considering he stands nearly 8.5 inches tall.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : T-joint torso, waist swivel
Arms : ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, single jointed elbow, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
The head is jointed on a ball and socket with a further pivot to let the head look up and down. Thanos has a T-Joint ratchet chest joint as well as rotating waist to allow the upper body to rotate as well as rotating.
The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder too with a bicep swivel and then a single elbow. Each wrist is pivoted even on the Gauntlet hand. The single elbow joint does restrict movement and when you are going for the "snap" pose the arm perhaps does not come far enough up and in vs what we see on screen.
The chunky legs have ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers. This lets Thanos crouch and even kneel, although Thanos does not kneel for anyone. Being so big and stocky Thanos stands perfectly well.
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This is the 4th MCU Thanos we have been given in the past 2-years, and while the first BAF did need correcting the replacement from the First Ten Years went most of the way to giving us a definitive Mad Tyrant for our Infinity War display - with the armoured version released for Endgame providing an alternative look. Hasbro have therefore taken this exclusive box-set release opportunity to tweak Thanos with two looks we have not had before in figure scale.
The first is to give us a Gauntlet poses in that iconic "snap" pose, something neither previous version has done and that alone does wonders for the display options for Thanos. The more extensive burns are perhaps something we may not have considered needing but this "after snap" version does work pretty well - although the head would have been better with the sculpted damage like the arm and not just a paint application.
I scored the First Ten Years Thanos a 4.0 when it was released, and this Children of Thanos version gets the same overall score. It delivers the same in terms of décor, sculpt and articulation but is different enough for collectors who fork out for the set so not to feel out done.
Of course the main reasons for the set are the updates to Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian and the less obvious (but brilliant) tweak to Ebony Maw. I do wonder then if Thanos is crucial to the set or if the pack could have been a less expensive 4-pack?
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.