I think it's common knowledge amongst collectors that the Marvel Select figures are a tad too big/tall to fit into the Marvel Legends 6" scale. In fact, they are actually in the 7" scale category which makes them MS human-folks look extraordinarily bigger than the ML guys. But when you talk about the bigger humanoid characters, they seem to fit in seamlessly. Well, as a start, they're supposed to be bigger anyway than the rest of the normal homosapiens. Thanos never had his Marvel Legends figure made (thus far) so it was natural to have everyone scrambling for the Marvel Select Thanos when it first came out in 2005. For the record, I was never a huge fan of the whole 'cosmic' agenda in Marvel Comic's universe, but to ignore Thanos will deprive my display shelf of the presence of one of the most iconic cosmic character of all time. He's the main focal point in Infinity Gauntlet...that much I know...hahaha. When I found the MS Thanos on sale (at a relatively cheaper price than usual!) through my local eBay, I knew I had to get him.
Read more....
Read more....
The packaging's isn't something we haven't seen before. Huge blister card packaging style which has been in existent since the very first Marvel Select figure ('twas Spidey me thinks?).
I kinda dig the side packaging art, they look cool if you're an MOC'er and decides to stack 'em all up ala book-style arrangements.
And of course, what's an action figure card without any of the character's bio at the back eh? I found out that this Thanos figure was actually part of the 'Best Of...' series churned out by Diamond Select Toys (DST) to allow retailers to re-order the more popular MS figures to meet collectors' demands. Thanos is actually part of 'Best Of..' batch #4, where he came with Dr Doom and The Black Cat. If you squint your eyes hard enough you'd see '2012' somewhere at the bottom of the packaging, signalling that this was part of the 're-released/re-ordered' batch and NOT the original one released way back in 2005.
Alright, let's not get too sentimental/emotional on the packaging and rip the figure right out of the box!!!!! LOL.
This is one huge and heavy action figure. It's definitely worth it when you know you're getting heaps of plastic on this figure as compared to many ML scale action figure PLUS Thanos here didn't cost as much as ONE (1) MOTU Classics figure (which ironically IS smaller than most of the MS figures)! Huge a** figure with a relatively cheaper price tag.....I ain't complaining here folks!
Like I said before, I never really grasped the whole Marvel Comic cosmic agenda but having Thanos on my display shelf brings warmth to my heart! He towers over most of the ML figures but it's kind a bummer coz I did't whip out any of my ML figures for a quick group photo with him....'cept for just one towards the end of my rambling today.
One thing I noticed was that Thanos here no longer has the red/orange-ish marks underneath his eyes as evident in the '2005' version. No glowing eyes? No problem at all to me.....heh. You could always custom paint him later if you decide to have him in his 'enraged' mode.
This 'mad titan' has pretty good articulations. You can get him into most standard poses though he will do no more than standing pretty with his fists up in the air amongst the rest of my Marvel ensemble on my display shelf.
What I do like is seeing all those muscles definition on his body. Them DST sculptors really worked hard on the head sculpt and the muscle tones. Thanos has one mean lookin' head sculpt that says 'Don't mess with me!!!". Love the gritty teeth, chiseled chin and all!
I can't really find any sloppy paintwork on my Thanos here as purported by some past reviewers. I have a fairly perfectly-painted Thanos in my hands so I should be thanking my lucky stars for not ending up with one with a botched paint job!
What's Thanos if he does NOT come with an alternative left hand aka the one with the Infinity Gauntlet! He does....thankfully. Complete with the infinity gems and all. I just wished that the gems could have been painted a wee bit brighter rather than the dull colours they came in with.
What's more interesting here is that Thanos also came with another 'accessory' in the form of.....*drumroll*.....another figure! Death is her name...and she is Thanos' love interest (so goes the bio at the back and a result of my feeble wikipedia read a while ago....LOL). Although more of a statue than an action figure, her addition is a welcome one. Gives you more options to display your mad titan with.
You can actually 'peel' the human face and reveal Death's true self....in the form of a skull! Ok, this officially creeped me out. Read more on Thanos and his infatuation on Death on wikipedia or something.
Here's Thanos with another 'cosmic' being....Galactus's herald....Terrax! I don't have many in my collection so I guess Terrax will do!
THE REBEL'S VERDICT: Thanos here is a MUST for your Marvel Legends shelves! He still hasn't got a Marvel Legends figure as of yet and I suspect he never will in view of this excellent Marvel Select version already being made available for us. With a price tag that is relatively cheaper than most 'deluxed' 6" or 7" action figures out there in the market, Thanos here is a no-brainer.....IF you can still find him at a decent price on the after-market that is. Even if you can't find him at a decent price, he still deserves to to be picked up no matter what his cost is. This is one essential character from the Marvel Universe and you know you can't call your collection complete without him. Get out and hunt for him now!
Comments