Welcome to our review of the 6 inch Marvel Legends Action Figure of Thor from Age of Ultron. The figure was first released in 2015 as part of an Amazon Exclusive 4 pack of figures, the set also contained Age of Ultron figures of Bruce Banner, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Thor would go on to receive a re-release in 2016 as part of a UK/European "best of the MCU" wave. This wave repacked a mix of Avengers figures from the Legends back catalogue along with a build-a-figure of the Hulkbuster.
This review is based on the 2016 re-release.
Packaging 3/5
Thor arrives in the scooped side Marvel Legends box set, and like the rest of the 2016 best of MCU wave there is a red theme to the artwork and the character name. Thor has the Age of Ultron logo under the window, while some of the other releases were labeled for the original Avengers movie (Captain America and Loki).
The pose for Thor in the pack is a bit odd, with his arm raised to one side. The knee is also bent and turned to side.
The side artwork is tinted red also and shows the armoured Thor looking over this shoulder to the side. The rear of the box shows the top half of the figure, posed in a promotional image with Mjolnir raised in his right hand. To the side of this is a short piece of text that reads.
"When evil threatens Humanity, Thor defends justice with his indestructible hammer Mjolnir"
Under this character info is a checklist for this MCU 2016 Hulkbuster wave. Being a larger figure, Thor does not include a Hulkbuster piece.
Once unpacked Thor is found in the inner tray, and that is printed in grey with an Avengers "A" symbol on the reverse.
Thor is not strapped into the clear plastic tray, he is simply held in by the shape of the packaging. His cape is tucked through the plastic to the rear of the box and be very careful pulling this out as the plastic can scratch and damage the cape.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
Thor pre-dates the face print technology, so while the likeness to Chris Hemsworth is passing at best it is also decorated quite basically. The head is cast in flesh coloured plastic that is a touch glossy. Over this is painted the eyebrows and beard, and the eyes - which are quite simple. The lips don't get any tone whatsoever and there are no washes or shading.
The hair piece is a seperate piece and this is very well executed in terms of the texture and the braiding around the back. There are a couple of odd strands that hang down either side of the face and while this allows the head to be framed, they do look a bit like they are floating from some angles.
The armour and body sculpt is excellent with a dark grey plastic used to cast the chest and legs. Over this are painted silver and gold detailing and the plastic itself is printed with textures of chainmail and studs and rivets. Painting is a bit rough in patches, with the circular panels on the chest showing some signs of bleeding into the grey quite considerably.
The arms, like the head, are cast in skin tone plastic and are appropriately muscular for our God of Thunder. The bracers are painted in black and red with gold trim. The cloak is a cast piece in a hard plastic and it connects to the figure at the shoulders. It carries a lot of textural detail, but no paint apps - relying instead only on the red plastic base colour.
Accessories 4/5
Thor comes with Mjolnir, and what more does he need. This version of Thor's Hammer is the same as used in the previous Avengers Thors (Walmart exclusives) and it still does the job here with a good shape to the hammer and some sculpted detail around the panels to look like inscriptions.
Mjolnir is silver predominantly with a darker wash applied to bring out the engraving detail. The handle, sculpted to look like wrapped leather, is brown with a silver pommel. We then have a flexible strap loop that sits off to one side.
The Hammer finishes into ether of Thor's hands and the only concern is the way the strap behaves in terms of how it hangs - or rather doesn't hang naturally as per the laws of gravity.
Articulation 3/5
Thor has 18 points of articulation, although posing is not as easy as this level of articulation might indicate. Starting with the head, this is a ball joint only with no pivot. With the hair sculpted as it is the movement on the head is limited to a very simple turn by a few mm's to either side.
The torso joint is more maneuverable and allows Thor to twist his upper torso and it also gives some lean forward, backwards and to the sides. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulder, but are held back from being raised fully by the cloak this means Thor can't raise his hammer straight up to summon Lightning. Beneath these impeded shoulders are bicep swivels, double jointed elbows and a pivot wrist.
The leg articulation is made up of ball-jointed hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle rockers. All of this is great, except for the fact the cape is so stiff that when the legs are bent or spread outward the cloak hits the floor and stops any movement. You will therefore be restricted to standing poses for Thor. The hips too also are quite loose so there are issues with Thor standing as he seems to want to slide into the splits.
Summary
Age of Ultron Thor is a nice looking figure for an Avengers line up, but comes with some concerns you need to be aware of. The head sculpt is basic, and not the best likeness - but that is consistent with all releases in this era. The cape and hair (trademarks of Thor) do impede articulation and that means you cant get Thor into certain "classic" poses despite the full count of joints included.
Mjolnir is a fantastic accessory, but could do with a more flexible strap so it behaves correctly when you raise or pose the hammer.
I score Age of Ultron Thor a 3 out of 5.
