Freyja of Deadhall

Elmer Fudd had better watch out! The name of the legendary warrior Freyja of Deadhall has been both feared and lavished with glory throughout the ages. Relegated by many to the realm of ancient myth, her terrifying ability to repeatedly resurrect herself frightens friends and foes alike. An ally of Attlus the Conqueror, she is believed to command an army of unstoppable warriors with abilities similar to her own. Despite her willingness to join forces with the band of the Noble Bear, Freyja's power and methods have been a point of contention, even among her own allies. If you're anything like us, you would love to know how an apparently immortal valkyrie came to spend her time hanging out with the survivalist nuts who are out there pooping in the bushes. Maybe it was process of elimination? The fundies probably wouldn't have been accepting of her background, the army would have wanted to exploit her more directly, the hippies were probably too much about defense and not enough about offense, and the wizards were too interested in theory and philosophy. The woodsmen were probably the only ones earthy enough for her. She's a viking - she's going to want to drink and party and fight and dick down, and who else is going to be able to accommodate her? To help sell the valkyrieness of it all, Freyja gets a unique top: the boob-cups are perfectly round, with concentric circles etched in. You know, basically the metal bra pop culture viking ladies always wear. She has the plate armor bodice below that, the leather boots and gloves, and what the Horsemen refer to as the "Ornate" belt and faulds. Her loincloth is just that - unarmored cloth - and, like another 4H-created heavenly woman with wings on her ears, she's not wearing anything beneath it. Party Freyja! Yes, you read that right, Freyja's helmet has big wings on it. The entire head is a new piece, with three big braids in her cascading hair, a Nordic woven pattern running alongside the helmet's crest, and dragons sculpted on its (non-moving) visor. The face is severe and no-nonsense, which suits her. The wings, done in gold and black, plug into the helmet via the same large pegs that all the other helmets use for horns or whatever. And while other figures have been coming with wings since Series 1, those looked like actual feathers, while these are slightly more stylized. She's got the same modular construction as the other Mythic Legions toys, and has the same articulation: balljointed head, swivel neck, swivel/hinge shoulders and elbows, swivel forearms at the top of the gloves, swivel/hinge wrists, a balljointed torso, swivel waist (though that's more for construction purposes than play and poseability), swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge knees, and swivel/hinge/swivel ankles. The length of her hair prevents the head from turning very far, but she seems more like an "attack from on high" kind of warrior than a "flail about in the middle of a crowd" warrior. Freyja's main weapon, packaged next to her in the tray rather than bagged behind her, is a spear. Since valkyries are associated with spears in the public consciousness, giving it such a place of prominence is the right choise. Her other gear includes the plain sword, the leather strap to hold it, and the round wooden shield. She's also got the Ornate shoulder pauldrons, and the adapters that let you use the Gothitropolis wings, something that makes a ton of sense for a valkerie - though you won't really be able to use it, because the cape would be in the way. The capes on Mythic Legions have been notoriously frustrating, but Freyja's takes the cake. As usual, no specific thought went into how she's supposed to wear it, but this time, the random holes poked in the top of it a) aren't aligned with the body of the cape at all, and b) are too small for the pegs on the pauldrons to fit through anyway. What did she, buy her cape at a factory error outlet? Considering the cape was one of the main reasons I pledged for this figure in the Kickstarter, it's annoying. The fur trim was easy enough to figure out (it's a separate piece, and has no holes; it's just held on by sliding it beneath the shoulder pads), but the Four Horsemen need to bite the bullet and design a cape that goes onto the figures in a certain, understandable way. No more guessing or "do it however you want," make something that works. Honestly, that's the only problem with this figure. If her cape worked better, she'd be outstanding. The fur trim is a clever extra and looks great when it's in place, and the simple weapons make sense for the character. It's just the ongoing headache that is Mythic Legions capes that keeps her from being as good as possible. -- 09/14/19

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