In 1997 I was living and working in Dallas, Texas. I was two years removed from college and was on my own. Well, I was living with my soon-to-be wife, but there were no parental attachments. I was paying my own bills and spending money on things that I thought I needed to spend money on, like weekdays at the movies, tons of stuff from Target, Walmart, Starlight Video, BlockBuster Video, Lonestar Comics, Keith’s Comics, Planet Anime, KB Toys, and Toys R Us. There was this tiny period of amazing back then. Toys were cheap (like under $5), abundant, and the superhero pop-culture was just starting to bubble into something amazing.
Collecting toys in Dallas at this time was war. There were a few of us hardcore collectors going from shop to shop, leaving “Guess what I got!” messages on each other’s answering machines, resulting in lunchtime toy runs, morning toys runs, late-night toys runs, and middle-of-the-night toy runs. Jealousy and pride were the tickets and it was a dog-eat-dog world. Areas like Plano were gold since most people did not want to drive out there and pick up toys; other areas like the Toys R Us at Northpark Mall were flat-out war zones. Oh, how I miss those simple days. Driving all over Dallas in my Volvo when gas was 89 cents, no AC, and the tempature running in the upper 90s or 100s.
In 1997 one of the hot lines to grab was ToyBiz’s Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Avengers featuring Loki, Scarlett Witch, Captain America, and Thor. And these were some of the first 6-inch action figures. They had roughly the same articulation that you can find on most of the 5-inch figures from the time, but the sculpting was an ambitious step forward. We were starting to see the roots of Marvel Legends, a concrete move towards more realism in the anatomy and designs. Loki is a fantastic example; he still maintains his comic look, but there is a departure from “toy-etic” anatomy to more “organic” anatomy.
The sculpt is clearly based on the Walt Simonsen version of Loki during the ’80s “Ragnorak” storyline. And it’s perfect; this design is one of my all-time favorites in the Loki wardrobes.
The articulation is very simple. There’s not much, and I would love to have a Marvel Legends figure of this costume. The breakdown is:
T-crotch
Swivel waist
Ball shoulders
Hinged elbows
Swivel neck.
Not much. But as a statue-type of figure, it doesn’t need to be more than that!
The figure, to me, represents a huge turning point in ToyBiz’s Marvel development. It is a clear move away from the 5-inch figures both in scale and sculpt. Keep in mind that shortly after this figure debuted the “Marvel Legends -1” Spider-Man Classics made their way to store shelves everywhere.
It’s an awesome piece for any collection.
You can still pick it up at:
And here is a packaged pick that I found on Figure Realm:
