Tag Archives: Korg Series

#3130: Korg

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

KORG

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A Kronan warrior on the planet Sakaar, Korg is forced to compete in the Contest of Champions.  When he meets fellow warrior Thor, he allies with the Asgardian to escape Sakaar and defeat Hela.”

Remember on Tuesday, when I was discussing Ragnarok‘s new characters, who were of varying importance and seriousness?  Well, hey, here’s Korg.  Not super important, I suppose, but certainly a good time, thanks to director Taika Waititi’s delightfully charming performance as the character.  He returned as the character for Endgame, and is now coming back once more for Ragnarok‘s sequel, Love and Thunder, which looks to be giving him an enhanced role.  I for one am very much in favor of this, as I absolutely love Korg.  And now I’ve got another Korg action figure.  Let’s see if I love that too.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Korg is the titular Build-A-Figure for the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  It marks his second time as a Legend, following the Ragnarok version from the two-pack.  This one is based on his upgraded attire from the new movie.  It’s a little more personalized, since he’s not a gladiator anymore.  There’s some fur, and a bit more color to it, making it a little more visually interesting.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Korg is built using a number of shared parts from the previous version of Korg.  It’s sensible, what with him being the same character, and the first version being a pretty solid piece of work and all.  This one keeps most of the arms and torso, as well as the feel, with a new set of legs, overlay for the torso, and head.  Generally, it’s a pretty nice selection of new parts, matching well to the quality of the original parts.  The head’s not super different, just with a slightly different expression.  This one’s a little more serious, though still not too serious, because, you know, it’s Korg.  The new legs notably give him actual pants.  That’s a nice improvement for him, I guess.  What’s not so much of an improvement is the hip movement.  He can’t actually get his legs to sit straight down for a standard standing pose; he’s always got to be low-key spreading his legs.  The figure’s color work is fairly decent.  The design allows for a brighter, more eye-catching look than the last one.  The application of the paint is pretty clean, though there’s not a ton going on in the way of accenting, much like with the rest of the assortment.  On the one hand, it’s a bit of a bummer, but on the other, it means there’s not a lot of mismatched shading, as can happen on some Build-A-Figures.  Korg is packed with his mace-thing, which appears to be the same piece as included with the last one, just with a slightly different paint scheme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like Korg, and I really liked the last Korg figure, so I wasn’t certain I needed this figure.  That said, I did like the new design for the character, and I was at least somewhat interested in most of the figures needed to build him.  I was able to snag the part that came with Star-Lord on its own, meaning I had less figures I needed to buy, and making the whole thing just a bit easier.  While there are some slight issues with this figure, I do really like the end result, and he’s another fun Korg figure.

This is a more focused set than previous movie sets, to be sure.  I’m glad that Hasbro’s finally splitting movie and comic into their own things, as I think it allows them to cover more of the core movie stuff without dipping into exclusives and multipacks, which are usually pretty frustrating.  That said, for me personally, I’m hitting a point where I don’t feel as pressed to buy every single new MCU figure any more, given how many versions I have of some of these characters.  This one was an interesting experiment for me.  I think Korg remains my favorite, as I expected.  The two Thors I picked up are both fun, if maybe not much beyond what I was expecting.  Valkyrie and Groot are both figures that exceeded my expectations, and have become my favorite versions of the characters, so that’s pretty cool.  And Gorr…well, he’s just sort of there.  Again, hard to judge without seeing the movie.  With the projected price jumps, this one does feel a bit like a last hurrah for this type of assortment, but we’ll see how things progress.

#3219: Groot

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

GROOT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“I AM GROOT!”

At the end of Endgame, Thor continued his journey by venturing out with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Rather unsurprisingly, the Guardians are playing at least some sort of supporting role in Love and Thunder.  From the trailers, it appears the whole team will be along for the ride, but with their third film on the horizon, it doesn’t make quite so much sense to fill an entire Thor line-up with Guardians.  So, Hasbro picked some favorites, including everyone’s favorite walking tree with limited vocabulistics, Groot!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Groot is figure 6 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  Between him and yesterday’s Ravager Thor, there’s also a new Star-Lord, but I opted to skip that one, on the basis that I’ve got a bunch of Star-Lords.  This figure is based on Groot’s “Teen” look.  It’s been given the Legends treatment once before via the Infinity War tie-ins, via the (supposed to be) TRU-exclusive three-pack with Thor and Rocket.  That one had gotten pretty pricey on the aftermarket, and with it looking to be more or less the standard version of the character going forward, it’s a sensible choice for a re-do.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  He’s using the body from the prior Teen Groot.  It’s not 100% ideal, mostly due to how the arm articulation works, but it could be worse.  Generally, it’s a nice sculpt.  I was never super sold on the head sculpt to the old one, and, hey, would you look at that, it’s the one thing they changed.  The new head is a lot more sharply detailed, and just generally looks like a better match for the animation model from the films.  That chin is much less pronounced, and the leaves and such at the top are much more leaf-like.  The figure’s color work is also a slight improvement.  He’s more in line with the adult Groots from the first movie, being molded in a slightly lighter brown, and with a fainter green detailing.  I think it works a lot better than the prior version.  Groot also gets a slightly better accessory selection, by virtue of not being stuck in a pack with two other figures.  He gets two standard hands, an extra right hand with a trigger finger, two branch-looking effect hands, a blaster rifle, and the torso to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a bit lukewarm on the first Teen Groot.  Being stuck in a big, expensive boxed set, he just didn’t feel worth the price, and I always had some issues with the actual sculpt, especially the head.  I wasn’t initially sure about this release, as I’d expected it would be a pretty straight re-release.  But, I wanted Korg, and the new hands looked fun, so I grabbed him.  While he’s not drastically different, the new head does a lot for the figure, and I’m ultimately much happier with him than I’d expected to be.  This definitely feels like the definitive Teen Groot.  So, they’ll clearly be changing his design entirely for Vol 3, right?

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

#3218: Ravager Thor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

RAVAGER THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Thor wields the mighty Stormbreaker against a terrifying new foe.”

I’m already three figures into this look into the tie-in Legends for Thor: Love and Thunder, and I haven’t yet actually looked at the Odinson himself.  That seems pretty crazy.  There are two of them present in this assortment, and I’m opting to look at the slightly more unique of the pair.  This one, dubbed “Ravager Thor,” no doubt due to its ties to his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy, was the central piece of our first teaser image from the film, so its presence in this assortment isn’t all that much of a surprise.  So, let’s look at how that turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ravager Thor is figure 4 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  As noted above, he’s one of two Odinson Thors in this line-up.  The other is a more traditionally armored take on the character, but it’s got no Build-A-Figure part, so I’m not in a huge rush to pick it up.  This Thor is clearly in his post-workout attire, after he’s gotten back in shape following the events of Endgame.  It’s based loosely on Thunderstrike’s design from the comics, which is a nice touch, and is also a nice sort of half-step between his The Dude-inspired look as Bro Thor and his more classic warrior Thor.  The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  This Thor follows in the footsteps of the Endgame Thor, being closer to actual scale, rather than the exaggerated sizing of prior MCU Thors.  The figure’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s honestly a pretty respectable one.  The head in particular sports probably the best likeness we’ve gotten yet for Hemsworth.  That face just really clicks in a way that previous takes haven’t.  Given how many tries Hasbro’s given it, that’s definitely saying something.  The body sculpt has Hemsworth’s more heroic proportions from the film, as well as a ton of texture work on the outfit.  The vest is a separate, removable piece.  The left arm on my figure comes out, which makes taking the vest off a lot easier, though I don’t know if that’s on purpose.  The color work on this guy appears to be pretty spot on to the film design.  The paint on the face is suitably life-like, and the hair gets some nice accenting, giving it that slightly dirtier look.  He also gets the full detailing on his t-shirt design, which is pretty fun.  Thor is packed with Stormbreaker, as well as the arm to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mostly, I bought this guy for the Korg piece.  That said, I also did quite dig this look from its initial appearance in the teaser photo.  I like how it works with the general Flash Gordon-y vibe of the first film (and, I assume, this one, too).  This figure is honestly pretty fun, and he’s a neat progression from the Bro Thor figure.

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

#3126: Gorr

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

GORR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Wielding a powerful and terrifying weapon, Gorr will let nothing stand in his way.”

With Loki, the Frost Giants, Malekith, Hela, The Executioner, and Surtur off the table (and the Enchantress effectively adapted into Sylvie in Loki), the Thor franchise had to move to more recent additions for an antagonist in Love and Thunder.  Enter Gorr the God Butcher.  Introduced during Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s Marvel Now!-era run on the book, Gorr has no ties to pre-existing mythology, and was a new creation in wholesale.  He doesn’t exactly have a ton of comics appearances, but he played a role in the run that led up to Jane Foster becoming Thor, so including him in this particular story isn’t the craziest idea.  For the film, he’s played by former Batman actor Christian Bale, making him the second live-action Batman to join the MCU as a villain.  Bet George Clooney and Val Kilmer are feeling real skipped over right about now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gorr is figure 2 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends, which is entirely based on Love and Thunder.  This is Gorr’s debut in action figure form, making him the one truly new figure in the bunch, although it was also the first time we’d gotten an MCU Jane.  But this is our first Gorr regardless of universe.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Gorr’s articulation scheme is slightly more modernized, matching up with robed characters from other lines.  Obviously, he’s restricted on the legs, due to the skirt, but otherwise mobility’s pretty solid on the range front, and he’s also got the pinless joint construction on the elbows and knees.  Gorr’s sculpt is all-new.  It’s not a bad piece.  For the movie-verse, Gorr’s design is slightly less inhuman than his comics-counterpart, largely to keep Christian Bale’s face clearer for the purposes of emoting.  It makes for a slightly less distinctive design, but I’m sure it’ll work better within the movie proper.  The sculpt does a respectable job of capturing the design, at least based on what we’ve seen so far.  The face has a rather spot-on likeness of Bale, and the texture work on the outfit is rather impressive.  I don’t much care for how floaty the cape is, but other than that, the sculpt works well.  Gorr’s paintwork is rather on the drab side, seeing as he’s really just a lot of off-white.  It’s largely molded, but he gets a little bit of accenting on the exposed skin, as well as getting some pretty in depth printing for the face.  Gorr is packed with a black sword, which is presumably All-Black the Necrosword, Gorr’s weapon in the comics.  He also includes the left leg for Korg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I know nothing of Gorr, at least from personal experience, so I’m pretty much banking off of a hope that I’ll like the character’s appearance in the movie.  Also, I wanted Korg.  So, there was that.  I honestly picked him up for that.  It’s not a bad figure, though.  Design’s a touch on the bland side, but the likeness is really good, and he’s pretty posable, especially on the upper half.

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

#3125: Mighty Thor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

MIGHTY THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Jane Foster’s life is forever changed when she mysteriously comes to possess the hammer Mjolnir…and the power of the Mighty Thor!”

In two weeks time, Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installment in the MCU’s Thor franchise, hits theatres.  One of the film’s earliest selling points was the return of Natalie Portman in the role of Jane Foster, as well as the confirmation that the film would be adapting her time in the role of Thor from the comics.  The MCU hasn’t really touched on the whole concept of other people taking on the mantle of Thor the way the comics had by the point Jane took over, so it’ll be interesting how exactly they handle it on screen.  It’s not like it’s a terribly confusing concept, though, and with Taika Waititi at the helm, I’m sure there will be some humorous quipping about the exact ins and outs of it in the final film.  Whatever the case, there are toys, and where there are toys, there is me, reviewing the toys.  Well, some of the time.  I mean, I don’t buy *everything*.  But I did buy this, so I’m gonna review it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mighty Thor is figure 1 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the tie-in assortment for Love and Thunder.  It’s an assortment entirely based on the movie, which seems to have become the norm after years of mixing MCU and comics stuff.  Jane is seen here in what I can only assume will be her main attire from the film.  It’s a pretty solid recreation of the design she sported in the comics, with the necessary adjustments for it being on a real person and all, as well as tying her in a little more closely with the prior cinematic Thor designs. The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  As with most recent releases, she has the pinless joint construction on her elbows and knees, allowing for a generally sleeker design.  Jane Thor’s sculpt is an all-new offering.  It appears to be a pretty accurate rendition of the movie design, going by what we’ve seen so far.  The detailing is generally pretty sharp, though there are a few soft spots on a couple of the armored parts.  I quite like how the cape has turned out.  There’s a really convincing drape to it, especially given it’s heavier rubber construction.  Jane Thor includes two different heads; one with helmet, and one without.  The helmeted look feels just a touch goony looking; it’s something about how the eyes and mouth work within the context of the whole assembly.  It’s not too terrible, though.  The unmasked head is sporting a respectable likeness of Natalie Portman, certainly on par with the Padme from a few years ago at the very least.  Jane Thor’s color work is at best described as the bare minimum.  Well, okay, it probably goes a little bit beyond that, to her credit.  There aren’t any obviously missing details, but there’s also very little in the way of accenting.  It’s especially notable on the silver section, where some of the sculpted detailing winds up a little lost.  That said, the application is all rather clean, and the face printing makes her look sufficiently lifelike, as per usual.  Jane Thor includes Mjolnir and the right leg of the Korg Build-A-Figure.  Mjolnir is an all-new sculpt, showcasing its reassembled nature in the film.  Interestingly, it’s a larger size than the ones we’ve gotten with standard Thor (and Cap for that matter), making it our third different scaling for Mjolnir within the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I myself only had a somewhat passing familiarity with Jane’s time as Thor in the comics, but Jess was a huge fan, and collected the whole run, up through its end.  I know she would have been thrilled about it getting adapted, so that’s kind of translated to me being excited about it too.  I’m hoping that actually giving Natalie Portman a little bit more to do in the role might make her a slightly more compelling character.  The figure’s at least a promising start.  While I’d have liked to see them be a little more in depth with some of the paint, she’s otherwise a pretty solid release, and thus far looks to be the star of the assortment, at least as far as the general public is concerned.

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