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It's been a good long time since we've had a Marvel Legend of whom I have no idea whatsoever who the character is, so here we are today with Male Keith!
The ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim,
Malekith the Accursed uses dark magic to bring vengeful destruction to the universe.
Marvel does tend to play fast and loose with their mythologies, don't they? For example: in real Norse myths, Dark Elves live on Earth - or at least, under the earth (they may be dwarves, not elves) - while it's the Black Elves who live in Svartalfheim. Yes, Dark Elves and Black Elves are different things. Unless they're not! You know in Dad of Boi how Kratos goes to the one realm where it's war between black insect-lookin' emeffers and blokes in white robes? Those are the game's take on Dark Elves, warring with the Light Elves in Alfheim. Meanwhile, Brok and Sindri are the natives of Svartalfheim. Everything is confusing! So short version: Malekith is Joker with Two-Face's good looks.
Classic Keith!! Always with the wacky!! Keith was portrayed by
Christopher Eccleston in Thor: The Dark World, a film that literally no one remembers, and looked nothing like the action figure here. It's a weird pick for a Marvel Legends figure, and not one that'll really comfortably fit into a display - it's not like there's an armybuilder of Dark Elves for him to lead. Still, this is a unique enough design to be at least an interesting action figure, so let's have a closer look.
Keith is a bright and colorful figure with long flowing blonde hair framing his bizarre blue-and-black face, on top of his bright red-and-orange costume. He looks positively ridiculous but also big and powerful; in our Black Knight review, we declared that that figure was the only Marvel Legend who could comfortably mix with the Mythic Legions (his short stature aside, naturally). In truth, this doofus would also look cool fighting some knights and other medieval figures, just in a goofier direction. Magical and wild.
The paint here is solid, with good detail over the entire body and head. The more I look at him, the more I think he's a really interesting design; like a very colorful, over-the-top Yin Yang, where half
of the costume (and face) is specifically colored one thing and the other half the most ridiculous other thing. The hair might be the only part that doesn't completely work, not only because it's one straight color, but because it's such a bright goofy thing it looks more like taffy than hair. Though, to my mind, this only adds to the fun. Why wouldn't Keith adorn himself with candy on the head? When this figure was released as an SDCC exclusive, the costume was darker, but the face was lighter - you'll need to decide for yourself which version looks better to your eyes.
He only has one major accessory (outside the
right arm and hammer of Cull Obsidian) but it's a good one - a very large, very cool-looking blade, with a long enough hilt that he can wield it in two hands as well as one. This is, of course, bolstered by his terrific articulation, with the usual kit that makes these figures stand out. It's really amazing to see just how far we've come since the earliest Marvel Legends, with what already stood out as impressive articulation, to what we consider "standard" for these figures now. Amazing stuff!!
So that's Keith - I'm pretty sure most purchasers snag him solely to complete their Cull Obsidian, and they would not be alone. Still, here's a particularly unique-looking, fun toy to add to the collection, and he did just lead Marvel's big "War of the Realms" crossover event, so maybe we might see some Dark Elves in the future for him to lead? Probably not, but it's fun to think about regardless.
-- 07/08/19
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