Toy Review: Ages of Thunder Thor

SDCC Ages of Thunder Thor

I’m a victim of hype as much as the next guy out there, probably more than most. When I heard that Cybertron Philippines, a toy collector forum that I visit more than I probably should, was conducting a group buy for various Marvel items from Hasbro that were up for sale at this year’s San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) I couldn’t help but say, “Yes, please!”

A group buy, for any reader who doesn’t know (which I realize is unlikely since the only people who read this blog are toy collectors anyway) is one of two things. Either it’s a process where some dudes decide to break up a particularly large or expensive set of items that is up for sale among themselves, or as in this case, where some dudes decide to buy something from the States and get other dudes in on the deal so that all of them can save on shipping.

It’s probably not necessary in the States where one can just have things delivered at a relatively reasonable price. Here that’s not always an option. I recently looked into purchasing a “Power Charge Rhino” from the 4″ Spider-Man line online. The figure cost $27.00 at www.toywiz.com (very few stores had them in stock). Ok. That’s about Php 1,250. Pricey, but doable for such a great looking figure. But wait. Shipping is $38.00?! Now we’re looking at Php 3,000.00 for a 4″ tall piece of plastic. BEFORE any customs taxes are added by our notoriously corrupt Bureau of Customs officials.

I realize that I could have probably have found it cheaper at a number of other sites, but I’m trying to make a point here. Shush you.

You can see why this practice came about here. The awesome guys at Cybertron Philippines offered members a chance to get 4 toys from the SDCC; Masterpiece Galactus, Movie Spider-Man, WWII Captain America, and Ages of Thunder Thor.

Like I said, I spend way too much time on this board and I was hearing all the news leading up to the SDCC ‘10. I’d seen pictures of this and thought it looked pretty cool. Plus, you know, “exclusive” still adds a sense of urgency to any collector. We know we’ll have to pay through the nose if we find out later that it is, in fact, a great product.

So I caved:

The package is pretty. It really, really is.

The regular Marvel Universe (MU) bubble card is encased in a very attractive blue paperboard slipcase with art by the fantastically talented (drawing-wise anyway) Joe Quesada. It’s a load better than Mike Deodato’s work on the H.A.M.M.E.R Files sub-set in my opinion. There are some artists that just understand how to make really great pinups while others are better storytellers. Quesada has alwasy been a pinup guy to me.

In case your wondering, there’s nothing on the back but an embossed “Marvel Universe” logo in silver.

The card is similar to the H.A.M.M.E.R Files and the Fury Files before it, but instead of the H.A.M.M.E.R logo, it’s got an image of Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer. The back has the requisite blurbs, product photography, and an illustration of that guy who used to be Green Goblin.

Sadly, the SDCC figures don’t come with the figure stands that the new toys come with. They do come with the “Top Secret!” mini manila envelope however. This one includes a letter from old Norm about a document that Loki’s given him that shows him how to give Thor the proverbial kick in the nads and defeat him.

I spent several minutes trying to work Goldilocks out of his plastic prison without destroying the package. Like I said, it’s pretty and I wanted to keep it. Lo and behold, I was able to get him out of the plastic tray without tearing the card to shreds. Now if I decide to sell him, I can say he’s still LOC (loose on card)! Yay!

The first thing that struck me about the toy was that it looked familiar. I couldn’t place it until I got a good look at the hammer. It’s a black version of the one that comes with the Secret Wars (SW) Thor. After that, I noticed that the lower half of his body is also from that figure.

If you read my review of SW Thor, you’ll see why this bothered me. I bought 2 of this set and sold both of them. It was just that disappointing to me. Despite the bias, I decided to give the toy a chance.

Sadly, his articulation is about the same as the SW Thor. The hips are constructed like the figures from the Fury Files. If you collect GI Joe, then you’ve already encountered this. There’s a post that juts out from the hip. The thigh is snapped onto this. There’s no thigh swivel, which means the legs are limited. Add to that the fact that he has effectively useless ankle articulation. Add to that the fact that he has no stand. Add to that the fact that the weight of his cape gives him a center of balance that’s behind him. Now put that all together and you’ve got a god who couldn’t stand upright against Squirrel Girl.

Arm articulation is ok. Swivel/hinge shoulder, bicep swivel, hinge at the elbow, wrist swivel. About what you’d expect. He can’t really bring his arm up straight though. I was hoping he had a balljoint/hinge neck, but no such luck. Standard balljoint here. You can pop off his head, but he can’t look up or down. Basically limited to side to side.

Paint is another issue. There’s two washes here, one black, which is unbelievably messy, especially on the wraps around his boots, and one that is added to the skin, an odd silver/white color that is brushed on. I think it’s supposed to be lightning cascading off his skin.

It doesn’t work.

But enough of that. Let’s get on to the good stuff.

The thing that changed my mind about this figure is the thing that’s bothered me about the previous 2 tries at Thor by Hasbro; the face. This guy’s got a face that belongs on a Viking. It’s rough, it’s cut, it’s hewn from stone. There are angles and edges and wide plains of hardness. He looks more like he’s a vengeful god whome you don’t want to mess with and less like a romance novel cover model who is trying to smolder.

Basically, the sculpting ABOVE the waist is pretty impressive. From his loincloth to his tattered cape, it all gives the impression of a battered warrior god, rather than flashy superhero. His tunic is pretty much just a standard hero body with no adornment painted black, but it works here.

Compared to the Thor that came in the regular MU line, I’d still have to give it to the MU one. That design from Olivier Coipel just resonates with me. Like I said, the only thing I didn’t like about it was the face (it looks vaguely alien), but the articulation is superb and the hammer is better looking, meaner. I also think the balance is a bit better since the figure itself is more massive (relatively anyway - there are only 4″ tall) and can counter the weight of the cape better.

So, yes, the toy has some problems and can’t stand, but it’s not something that a little re-touching and some tacking compound can’t fix. Hell, if you’re lazy like me, ignore the wash and just lean him against a wall.

Bottom line; he looks great. Get him if you can.