MAKKARI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Makkari uses her cosmically powered super-speed to scout planets, and as the only deaf Eternal, she is not affected by the sonic boom that accompanies her cosmic running.”

The Eternals as created by Jack Kirby are not the most inherently complex selection of characters.  Not that they really needed to be, of course, but it does leave them a little more room for growth and change, a direction that the film version of the characters took.  The comics version of Makkari, patterned on the Roman god Mercury, is a male speedster.  In the film, Makkari played by actress Lauren Ridloff, and gains a gender swap as result.  The character also became deaf, much like Ridloff, adding another slightly more unique trait to the character.  It took a character that could have honestly wound up as little more than just a Flash pastiche, and granted her a far more memorable selection of interactions with the other characters around her.  In general, she was just a very likable and nicely rounded character, and certainly one of my favorites from the film.  In honor of that, how about a look at her action figure?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Makkari is figure 1 in the Gilgamesh Series of Marvel Legends.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  Makkari’s articulation scheme is generally pretty standard for female Legends, at least in terms of layout.  It’s worth noting that the actual range of motion on the joints is a little bit better than average.  She’s capable of a good assortment of deeper running poses.  Only the neck is sort of restricted, and even then, it’s not as bad as you might expect with the hair as it is.  The joints also nicely worked into the sculpt, with pinless construction on the knees, as well as joints that don’t require the sculpt to look wonky and broken up when posed.  Makkari’s sculpt is all-new to her, and it’s a pretty solid one at that.  The build is nicely balanced and a good match for how she looks in the film, and the Ridloff likeness is probably one of the best in this assortment.  Unlike Ikaris, it’s clear who she’s supposed to be even without outside context.  That being said, while she does look spot on to Ridloff, the hair style isn’t quite right for Makkari’s in the final film; her pony tail had a much tighter braid in the movie than what we see here.  Presumably, this is based on earlier design work than the finished film.  It’s not largely different, though, and ultimately it still works okay for the character.  Makkari’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  The printing on the face works well, and the application on the suit is across the board better than how it was on Ikaris.  Makkari is packed with two sets of hands, on pair in fists, the other with an open gesture left hand, and a right hand making the “I love you” sign, which is a cool touch.  Yeah, it’s really just a Spider-Gwen hand, but it’s a good repurposing, and I like that they made sure to include at least one signing hand to showcase that side of the character.  Also included is the right arm and hands for the Gilgamesh Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Makkari is a character I only sort of knew going in, and I didn’t really have a particularly large attachment to the character.  Going into the movie, I had no real expectations, but I was buying the whole set, because why not?  Ultimately, I really liked her a lot in the film, and I’m glad I have the figure.  It helps that she’s just generally a very nice figure, especially given how well the articulation scheme works on this particular release.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.