Marvel Universe 3.75" Thanos!

I can remember when I was 12 and my friend brought the whole Infinity Gauntlet series issue by issue to school and was kind enough to let me read 'em.  I was simply  blown away by the fact that there was this evil bugger named Thanos and all the super heroes in the Marvel Universe could defeat him.

I was less impressed when I found out some guy named Adam Warlock and not Hulk was Thanos' main opponent.

Who was this fat tub who turned up and called himself boss, anyway?  But I never forgot Thanos because he was unlike any other villain I had read in comics before.  26 years on and we now have him immortalized in plastic!  And boy does seem as awesome as the first time I saw him!  How awesome?  Hit the jump to find out! ;)

Like: That Thanos is a plus-size figure!  He shares same sculpt as Juggernaut except for a brand new head, new forearms and hands, and new boot tops.  Add an "epaulette/collar" and fancy belt/miniskirt combo and we have an all new figure in Thanos!

Like: Interchangeable fist for Infinity Gauntlet!  Hell yeah!  It's like the most powerful artifact in the universe.  It's so powerful that no one knows what it really does.  Well, at least us readers don't.  All we see is some abstract fight scene and then the hero is floored.  Lol.  But to the comic book characters, it can seemingly do anything--just the name of the gauntlet itself evokes fear in everyone!
 
Like: The great facial expression.  It's a really mean sneer to one side of his mouth.  I also like the wash they used on his face.  It's a little sloppy, but it's usually difficult to control washes because of their watered down nature before they dry--they need to be watery to fall into the crevices of the sculpt to provide shading for the deeper areas.  Still, the wash has been controlled well enough and the slight messiness gives him a rather 5 o'clock shadow look.  He's obviously been so busy snuffing out lives that he forgot to shave.

Like: The gold molded pieces for his hands and boots, collar/epaulette and skirt!  The color they've achieved is a very pretty shade of gold.  And the best part is because they are sculpted in the intended color--these will never scratch off!  He can remain gold forever, gold like Goldmember!

That's the way uh-huh uh-huh I like it, uh-huh uh-huh...

Dislike: His collar ensemble restricts his downward head movement a little.  Having said that, the upwards movement is almost completely unhindered.

Like: His head and neck joint combo.  Like Juggernaut, it's a head atop a ball joint which is mounted on a hinge at the neck.  World War Hulk also has a similar sort of neck which may be slightly even better, but that's because he's a completely new buck.  But the principle behind it is that same: ball on hinge.  Long may it continue in future figures!

Dislike: His skirt restricts his legs' movement.  The front to back  motion is least affected, with the side to side range somewhat hindered.  Thanos may not be the super agile type (don't tell him I said this.)  But he is the tyrant-type who stands at ease with hands clasped at his back in way too wide stances, like Mongul and Darkseid, so mini-skirt inflexibility hurts him pretty badly, though you can just squeeze out a wide enough stance so that he's can still be considered respectable among his universe-conquering peers.

Like: Thigh cuts!  Every Marvel Universe figure that has had them has been a success in my book.  That's because the ball joints at the hips don't allow for as much flexibility in the entire leg.  Not only are the legs very restricted moving forward and backwards, but the potential of the double-jointed knees cannot be fully exploited.  Without thigh cuts, lots of deep knee-bend poses wouldn't be possible.

He's either punching realy hard or slipping on a banana peel...

Also, the thigh cuts allow the figure to stand on one leg, whether it's just a simple raised foot or a full-fledged side kick.  And we know how important those side kicks (pun not intended) are to our heroes and villains.

I'd say that if I see a Marvel Universe figure that has thigh cuts, I'd likely buy it.  As it is, the only figure with thigh cuts I think I'm missing is Wrecker, but I do plan on getting him sometime soon!

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 8/10 - I really dig the gold!  Somehow the Marvel Universe figures which require gold molded parts or paint have come out tops.  the likes of Iron Men come to mind.  And really, Thanos really have nothing exciting going on about his costume, so the colors that go into the figure have to be good--and the gold on his collar piece, his gauntlets and his boots turned out fantastic.

Add the excellent head sculpt to Thanos and you have a winning formula.  But he's not without his flaws, though.  The wash and the gold paint on his face could be a little sharper, as could his eyes.  But as it is, Thanos is not too bad at all.

Poseability: 8.5/10 - Thigh cuts!  Along with the chateaubriand and filet mignon, these are the best cuts of meat you can have.  Though not as tasty, the thigh cuts are just as tender, allowing you to bend and twist your Thanos meat most every which way.

This sculpt has proven very successful with its initial use on Juggernaut so there's no reason it should fail here.  Yes, ThanosThanos has an excellent base off which to balance.

Also, a great chest pivot (as with almost all Marvel Universe figures) and a fantastic head that's got a ball-joint mounted on a hinge is the best head articulation I've seen on a figure this size to date.

Fun: 8.5/10 - A bulky figure with lots of articulation is almost hardly ever a fail, unless your name is Hulk or Red Hulk (even then they're good but not as great as Thanos, of course. ;])  I can just imagine Thanos singing...

What seriously makes him fun though is his Infinity Gauntlet.  And that he's obsessed with Death--and I don't mean dying.   It takes some kind of psycho to fall in love with the physical embodiment of Death, and even Death as a little girl sometimes at that. It takes another level of psycho to want to kill every living being just to prove it!  And 3.75" Thanos here looks like he really wants a piece of everything that moves!

Value 8.5/10 - Thanos comes with an extra glove accessory, figure stand, and top secret letter.  He's also a large figure.  I usually don't like re-use of sculpts but in this case Juggernaut's buck was so good that there was no way they couldn't use it for other large figures.  Throw in the new parts like the head, gloves and boots, and viola!  Hasbro waves their Infinity Gauntlet and creates a new figure!

Overall: 8.5/10 - If you missed out, watch out for a re-release in a two-pack with Adam Warlock.  the pack will also contain the Infinity Gauntlet, but this time it'll be regular-sized for Adam Warlock instead of giant-sized for Thanos.  Not sure if the Gauntlet will be removable as it is here, but it still sounds like a great 2-pack to snag.  But if you're like me, that you're probably more into the giant inter-galactic tyrant alone and can't be bothered by puny guys named Adam.  If that's the case, grab this single Thanos if you see him, because he's rather rare, having not been re-released despite coming out a couple of waves ago.  (Guys like Colossus and Juggernaut did, but not this guy.)

Great figure?  Definitely!