As a collector in the modern internet era, true surprises are few and far between. We often know about a new toy while it’s still in development stage—months before it ever makes it into our greedy little hands, but once in a great while, something completely new and unexpected will drop and be available for immediate purchase. I love these moments.
Diamond Select Toys have just released The Mighty Thor under their 7” Marvel Select line which will be exclusive to Marvel.com and the Disney Store. The excitement of the surprise release and the fact that it was a fine looking figure caused me to stop what I was doing and immediately place my order. Is this another Marvel Select homerun or should have the Mighty Thor stayed a secret? Let’s find out!
Packaging
Nothing new to report here. They’ve kept the same packaging since the beginning of the line. It’s a large package that both adequately protects and displays the figure. We are missing the usual text on the back, but at this point, I guess everyone knows who Thor is.
Sculpt
The MS Thor figure based on Oliver Coipel’s art is one of my favorite MS figures to date, but this one just might have it beat. Aside from a few titles, I’ve been out of comics for the last 2 years, so I’m not sure where this costume comes from, but as a toy, it’s pretty great looking. With his bare arms and armored legs, it’s a nice blend of classic and modern and the sculpt translates the design quite well. This is a big, beefy action figure. It’s a far more toned down and less blingy version than the Coipel Thor, and I think it suits the character well. There are certainly some finely detailed parts such as the leather belt, shoe buckles, and spiked gloves, but this is a Thor ready to fight. Both headsculpts are grim and serious—which is a nice change from the all the pretty Thor’s we’ve been getting lately.
Paint
MS has made huge improvements in paint apps, and I’m happy to say that this figure keeps the momentum going. The lines are clean and tones match the gritty nature of this Thor. My one issue is with the hair on both heads. The paint was applied just a bit too heavily and it’s a noticeable weak spot in an otherwise well done figure.
Articulation
I want MS to keep articulating its figures just like this one. Thor has most everything you need—with a ball jointed neck, pin and disc shoulders, bicep cut, single elbows and knees, pin and disc hands, ab joint and waist cut, DCUC style hips, thigh cuts, and rocker ankles. The ab joint is a bit limited and just about any figure with a cape will have some limitations in posing, but Thor can hit all the poses you need.
You can check out all the range of motion and articulation in Robo’s video review:
Accessories
Other than the sheer surprise factor (and the fact that I’m just a Marvel Select fan) is that this Thor comes with perhaps the coolest accessories in recent memory. Yes, he’s equipped with Mjolnir—which is really a no-brainer, but he also comes with a Mjolnir with a simulated spinning effect. It’s gimmicky for sure, but it also looks absolutely fantastic! This is DST thinking outside of the box and it’s definitely paid off. Thor also comes with an alternate helmet-less head, extra hand, and a plain black stand which helps when posing with the large spinning Mjolnir.
Overall, I’m very happy with this figure. It’s well made, wonderfully articulated, and a good size for the $25 asking price. Given that it added that elusive element of surprise was just icing on the cake. And please let’s not forget that “spinning” Mjolnir accessory—which is something that should be included with every Thor figure from now until the end of time. It’s just that cool.
Thanks for reading!
