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Thanos & Adam Warlock

Marvel Universe
by yo go re

Genetically engineered to be a perfect human, Adam Warlock instead wound up with powers echoing those of the immortals. Chasing his destiny in space, he tangles with forces well beyond the human realm. The colossal Thanos is just such a force, possessing the might of the Eternals. When the two collide, something has to give. The fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance!

Hey, what a surprise that Hasbro would want to put a Thanos toy out right now. Why, it's almost like he just appeared in a huge movie and they're moving to capitalize on the sudden increase in his profile. Sure, there was already a Marvel Universe Thanos, but he's one of the hardest figures in the line to find, so redoing him in a Comic Pack is not unwelcome.

Thanos shares his body sculpt with Juggernaut, the biggest, bulkiest body available in the standard MU line. The boots and gloves are new, naturally, and he's accessorized with the lower "skirt" edge of his shirt and the armored plate he wears on his shoulders. That was all true on the previous Thanos, too.

The only thing new about this Thanos (other than the paint, which replaces bright blue with navy and the orange-gold with yellow-gold) is the head. The old one had a wicked scowl, while this one has more of a sinister grin. Creepy! Sadly, he also doesn't include the Inifinity Gauntlet: the solo carded version did, as a replacement hand.

Thanos may have had a figure before, but his fellow in this Comic Pack definitely hasn't. Adam Warlock has been a Marvel Legend and a Minimate, and had three different figures from ToyBiz in the '90s, but this is his Marvel Universe debut.

The figure uses the body that was introduced with the Jim Lee Cyclops, which seems to be replacing Black Spider-Man as the go-to generic body for the line. It's a good sculpt, heavily detailed with muscles but not with any sculpted costume details, so you can see why they'd do it. This is the first time I've gotten a figure using it, too, so the re-use hasn't gotten annoying yet.

Warlock's costume is a solid black suit with metallic red gloves and boots, which is a very striking design. His skin is vibrant orange, which already puts him one up on the ML release, and his wavy hair is the same yellow as the lining of his cape. He has a very stern look on his face, which was pretty much his default expression at the time.

Even with the giant cape, Adam's articulation is good. He has a balljointish swivel head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, balljointed torso, swivel waist (yes, that means two joints are providing the same range of motion), balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel shins, and swivel/hinge ankles. Now, normally the shins and ankles would also have duplicated each other's range, but these ankles are the sort that allow you to rock the foot side to side, rather than twisting, so in this case they don't "overlap," so to speak.

His accessories include his his wooden staff, which is carved with a bird motif at the top. It's never really been clear what the bird was all about - if it's supposed to represent something, no comic has ever said what. His right hand is molded to hold the staff tightly. And while Thanos didn't come with the Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock does. He is one of the people who have worn it in the past, so that makes sense. it's not a replacement hand, but rather a hollow shell that slips over his left fist - and that also means you can give it to any character with an appropriately sized hand. The gems are painted in the proper order, and the glove itself is molded from yellow plastic.

Since this is a Comic Pack, it includes a comicbook - in this case, The Infinity Gauntlet #3. It's a decent issue, but a lot heavier on the "set-up" portion of the story than on anything interesting happening. This Comic Pack is hard to find, but I know I missed it at least one time in stores. How can I be so sure? Because I found this comic laying on the shelf behind some Lego boxes, which means some dickhead torn open the package and stole the figures, but left the comic behind. What, you're too good to just buy the set, swap in some figures you don't want and return it, like all the other sad losers do?

Pairing Thanos and Adam Warlock was a great move - and great timing, with Thanos' star on the rise. They really should have included a large-sized Infinity Gauntlet to complete the package (because we know it already exists), but even omitting it isn't a fatal flaw. No, you can't have a Gauntlet vs. Gauntlet fight, but it's still worth finding this pair.

-- 07/30/12


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