So this had to be in the works before the movie came out, right? Because otherwise it seems like a very odd pick.
The Eternal Ikaris possesses powers fueled by cosmic energy, and became part of human folklore when he guided Atlantian [sic] refugees to safety.
Yes he did. Them and some of their animals. On a big boat. Two of every animal. Yeah. In case you didn't read the review of MCU Ikaris, the Eternals were created by Jack Kirby after returning to Marvel after his time at DC. Their story - immortal beings who inspired Earth mythologies - was influenced by the 1968 book Chariots of the Gods, basically the origin point for all that general "aliens built the pyramids" crackpottery, with the added wrinkle that the Eternals themselves were not aliens, but were an evolutionary offshoot of early proto-humans, created by the Celestials soon after our line split off from the apes'. This is apparently something Celestials do on the reg, which is why you can find Skrull Eternals, Kree Eternals, and probably lots of others.
The majority of this figure is a new sculpt - love to see that! In the '70s, Marvel published an official fanzine (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) called FOOM, or "Friends of Ol' Marvel"; the book would preview upcoming Marvel projects, which is how the All-New, All-Different X-Men appeared there (in issue #10) before Giant-Size X-Men #1.
Allegedly. The art has Wolverine's redesigned mask, and the text talks about Chris Claremont taking over the writing, so it's definitely presented like the reader is seeing it after. Anyway, FOOM #12 gave the first look at Ikaris in the form of the art that would be used in the upcoming comic's cover corner box: boots and gloves with ribbed sections in between raised rings, a skirt with jagged lightning bolt lines converging at a circular buckle in the front, a black harness on the chest with four small discs on the abdomen and three larger ones on the chest. Rather than simply try to paint those on, as you might expect, it's all sculpted - even the flat lines on the chest and skirt get raised edges! Dang, remember when every Marvel Legend used to be like this?
While the body is pure Kirby, the head is decidedly not. In keeping with the "classical Mediterranean society" theme of Ikaris' name, Kirby gave him sort of a Caesar cut, but this head had full-on shaggy He-Man hair. That and the face are directly based on the 2008 Eternals comic drawn by Daniel Acuña: the lines of the cheeks, the fall of the bangs... it's unmistakable, and perfectly captured.
Since Ikaris has Superman-level abilities, it's fitting the character wears red and blue. The colors are really nice choices, too, a bit darker than Kal-El would typically wear, and accented with gold instead
of simple yellow. Meanwhile, his skin is vibrant pink instead of a muted tone, making it really pop against the costume.
Because of the discs molded on the edges of his chest near the shoulders, there was no room to add pectoral hinges to this new sculpt. That means the articulation is the usual stuff - ankles, boots, knees, thighsm hips, waist, chest, wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, and head. It's a barbell head, unfortunately, meaning this flying character can't look up or down, and the design of his skirt means the waist doesn't want to turn very easily. At least we get our choice of fists or open hands?
He also includes the right back leg of this series' Build-A-Figure, Zabu.
Ikaris is pretty much the main character of the Eternals, the point-of-view lead in every new story. It's fitting he'd be the first Eternal released by himself (remembering that Sersi was only available in a two-pack), but it's still surprising that the toy is so good! A dedicated sculpt where it needs to be, a BAF piece, paint on the back of the figure and not just the front... this is exactly what Marvel Legends is supposed to be! I wasn't looking forward to this figure very much, but he's turned out to be the best of his series.
-- 11/18/24
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