Hasbro Marvel Legends Infinite Ragnarok Hulk Series review
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The third Thor movie is finally out in theaters here in the United States a weeks ago. And for once Hasbro has been very proactive and gotten figures based
on the movie out to stores well in advance of the film's release. I have been waiting until after I saw the movie to open and review these
figures despite having received the figures months ago. So it's finally time to let loose the God of Thunder and his big green friend from work and
see if they figures can measure up to their source material.
Packaging - Odinson & Ares 7/10, Others 8/10The packaging for this series is more of the same. As usual, it looks good and shows off the figures well. The one weak point in my opinion is still the character information provided on the back. Hasbro has gotten better with this. Despite the limited room since everything is repeated in four languages, the descriptions given for the three movie based figures and female Thor are reasonably well done. (Of course I'm also grading on a curve for the movie figures since they can't include anything that would be considered a spoiler for the movie.) But there are still two characters that are forced to share packaging. And considering Ares is a Greek God and Thor's Odinson identity is not well known beyond readers of recent Thor comics, those two could really use some sort of explaination of who they are.
Sculpting - Odinson & Hela 7/10, Jane Foster Thor 8/10, Others 9/10This is an impressive looking series of figures. Of the six figures, Odinson is the weakest. To Hasbro's credit, they did vary his sculpt up from the Odinson figure included in the Comic Con set. This version doesn't have the prosethic arm and has a shirt. But the shirt is just painted on, there is no sculpted detail to it. And the figure still has the same gaps at both shoulders. Both Ares and Jane Foster Thor are identical to their previously released versions. Both are quite well sculpted. Though neither compare in the level of detail that was put into the three figures based on Thor Ragnarok. Ragnarok Thor himself is the same sculpt as the figure included in the Thor/Valkyrie two pack. But they have added a helmet to put him in his full combat gear. Loki is a new sculpt to represent his outfit from the movie as well. Comparing it to promotional images, it looks like they got the details down quite well. However, the figure is sculpted on Loki's appearance during the second act of the movie instead of his outfit from the end of the film. The differences in the sculpting aren't huge. But the black outfit from the climax does seem to be the more iconic one. Finally we come to Hela who is a completely new figure. And it is an impressive looking figure. But they reversed the design of her outfit. The outfit in the movie seems to be mostly black fabric with green embelishments on it. But on the figure, the outfit is mostly made up of the green armored portions and just has small strips of the black fabrick underneath showing. The neckline is also slightly off. It should extend further down the neck onto the shoulders at the sides. The sculpt comes close enough to the movie design to be easily recognizable but if you are a stickler for accuracy, it's potentially going to annoy you every time you look at it.
Paint - Ares 6/10, Hela & Odinson 7/10, Loki 8/10, Thors (Ragnarok & Jane Foster) 9/10The paint work for all six figures is well done from a technical standpoint. There's no sloppiness or quality control issues. And the painting for the faces is well done even on the movie characters. Both the movie and Jane Forster versions of Thor are fully painted and look great. Hela is just as well painted as Ragnarok Thor. But they missed a golden opportunity to help fix the sculpting issue if they had reversed the colors on her outfit. Odinson has a decent looking paint job, but with the exception of a paint wash on his hair, it is a very simplistic look. Loki is well painted. And they did a nice job of getting some of the smaller details of the outfit painted as well. Finally we come to Ares. With Ares, they went with two different looks for the figure. From the waist down, the figure is very similar to the original BAF version with paint washes to give his outfit and armor a worn and slightly dirty appearance. But from the waist up, the figure is perfectly clean, almost looking like a cartoon. Even his arms aren't consistent. The right arm is clean and matches the torso. But the wrapping on his left arm has a wash on it so that it matches the legs. Either look would have been fine. But the combination doesn't really work together.
Articulation - Ares 8/10, Others 9/10The articulation for these figures is exactly what anyone with the Marvel Legends line has come to expect with a ML figure as of late: around thirty points of articulation on each figure. The articulation has been refined over series after series of figures. So by now they not only seem to have the amount of articulation dialed in, but the quality control is very consistent as well. Ares takes a slight ding in so far as like so many other larger Marvel Legends figures, he is limited to just single hinges at the elbow with a supurfluous rotating joint just above the elbow.
Accessories - Loki 5/10, Odinson & Jane Foster Thor 6/10, Ragnarok Thor & Hela 7/10, Ares 10/10This series isn't exactly packed with accessories. But every figure has something at least. Loki came with the least. He has a removable crown and cape. The crown is great. But he could really use some sort of actual weapon. Even just the small daggers we have seen him use in the trailers would be a welcome addition. Odinson comes with his battle axe and a cape. The cape isn't actually removable without taking off his head though. The Jane Foster version of Thor comes with a removable cape and Mjolnir. Unlike the comic con set, this one doesn't have the translucent effect. And mine has the handle attached at a strange angle. Ragnarok Thor has a cap and two swords. The swords are a bit underwhelming. But I don't know if there would be something more appropriate to include. Hela has a sword, cape and a second, unmasked head. Ares comes with the three accessories that were included with the Build a Figure version (helmet, a knife and a large broadsword) as well as an additional double bladed battle axe. His four accessories would be the most impressive of the series based solely on the number. But they are also well sculpted and painted as well.
Build A Figure - Ragnarok HulkWith so many of the figures in this series already being in my collection in one form or another, that leaves one reason to justify buying all of them a second time, one very large, green reason. Ragnarok Hulk doesn't disappoint. He's huge, even when compared with relatively large Marvel Legends figures such as Thor. Hulk Stands about eight and a half inches tall without his helmet and over nine inches tall with the helmet. And he looks just like he appears in the trailers. The paint work compliments that great sculpting as well. I particularly like that the war paint on the right side of his chest continues over the straps of his shoulder pad. Of course, that also means that if the straps slide out of place, there is a blank area on his chest which could annoy some people. The one place where the figure could use some work is with his weapons. Hulk comes with a large axe as well as a big war hammer. The sculpting on the axe is sharp. But neither weapon has any paint work. And the sculpting on the war hammer is lacking in detail compared to the rest of the figure. But such minor issues do very little to mar the overall look of a great figure.
Value - Ragnarok Thor 9/10, Others 8/10This series has some really great figures in it. Even with their $20 per figure price tag, you can see that none of that price tag was wasted. And with Thor Ragnarok looking like it could be one of the best MCU films yet, being able to get much of the main cast in one series is really appreciated. The one down side is that four of the six figures have already been released in much the same or very similar forms.
Happy Hunting:The Ragnarok Hulk series has been shipping to stores since late this summer. Fortunately that means that by now, they are fairly plentiful and relatively easy to find in any of the usual retailers that carry the Marvel Legends line. So take a few minutes on your way home from watching one of the funniest Marvel movies yet to stop by your favorite retailer and pick them up.
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