Marvel Select: Thanos

Available: Now
Toybiz/Diamond Select Toys
Price: $17.99

42 images

REVIEW by Brian Borst

Ever have one of those days when you purchase a new action figure that you’ve been waiting impatiently for? I mean one of those figures that you always dreamed would make an excellent toy and then someone actually makes it – and just the way you imagined it would be? Well, today I get to review one of my most sought after figures that I’ve dreamt of owning for years now – one that has never really been given the attention he deserved. That figure belongs to Diamond Select Toys exclusive Marvel Select’s series and his name is Thanos.

(time for another lengthy Buzzscope character introduction….)

Often considered an overwhelming foe on his own terms, Thanos the Mad Titan was born on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn to a royal family of Eternals. Thanos was a morose child who found solitude his only friend, and throughout his lonely years of exile, Thanos became obsessed with the idea of death. Thanos has received several bionic transplants that have augmented his strength and powers to such a degree that he soon became an unstoppable force amongst his people. Through power he craved conquest and bombarded his own home planet with nuclear-level devastation that murdered millions of his planets inhabitants, including his own mother.

His infatuation with death led him to his own mistress, Death herself whom he felt could only be pleased if he fulfilled her own job task – to become death. He knew actually becoming death was improbability so he sought out the tools to undoing all life and creation throughout the entire cosmos. Through deep research, Thanos learned of the five mysterious Infinity Gems: Soul, Mind, Power, Reality, Time and Space. By collecting each of these gems and defeating the masters of each, he could do and undo anything he ever wished. His first wish – the deaths of exactly half of the Earth’s population. He went on to battle a collective of Earth’s greatest super heroes and even facing the Living Tribunal.

The aspects of this character and the newly found powers he possessed were so great that even Japanese videogame manufacturer giant Capcom based an indirect sequel to their X-Men based fighting title called Marvel Super Heroes, in which Thanos was the end boss and used each of the Infinite Gauntlet as his source of power. From time to time, Thanos is called fourth onto the pages of various Marvel comic books – he even had his own short-lived title, but now he lies back in obscurity and is hardly a conceivable threat. Judging the impossible deeds he was able to accomplish in the Thanos Quest and Infinite Gauntlet mini-series, I think it’s about damn time that someone gave this character the real attention he deserved – and it’s finally here.

Thanks to Diamond Select Toy’s exclusive Marvel Select action figure line, so will the real Thanos the Mad Titan please stand up?

Packaging: The Marvel select line is still host to some of the biggest packaging standards you’ll find for only having a single figure included. The line has strayed greatly from its original intended roots but the packaging style certainly hasn’t. Thanos is packaged in a humongous 13” x 10” x 4.75” blister card, has a wide open bubble to see all the figure in his massive glory, a decorated left art panel and a highly congested back card filled with various covers and images featuring this big gray-faced thug, Thanos. Not even an assembly of Marvel’s greatest superheroes could contain this guy but for Diamond Select, it only takes a few wire ties and plastic to do the job.

Sculpture: To say that this figure is big is nothing but a gargantuan understatement. In the realm of the MU, Thanos is considered one of those big-bruisers who ranks up there in the strength class of the Thing and Thor, and can handle himself against even the Hulk when his rage is maxed out. So I’m happy to report that the sculpting wizard behind this figure, Phil Ramirez has done a tremendous job in recreating a colossal character out of solid plastic and PVC.

Thanos stands approximately 9.25-inches tall, and that’s pretty damn big for a Marvel Select figure. He’s dressed in his oddly designed Demi-God space suit complete with shoulder flaps, headdress, skintight blue suit with tightly gripped yellow gloves; knee-high boots and the always-silly reverse style underwear with short skirt. The likeness of the character pays great tribute to the character that Ron Lim ripped from Marvel limbo. His small, beady eyes are set far back into his skull, the nose is almost microscopic and pug-like in shape and size, and the rest of his face is stretched out by the broad cheekbones, heavy upper lip, wide snarl and ribbed jaw line. I have to say, of all the figures I’ve covered in the Marvel Select line, this figure has the closest and most accurate likeness (maybe Black Cat is the only exception).

As small of a head he may have, it looks like a pebble compared to his hulking physic. Every curve and contour of his muscles are heavily exaggerated to empathize his tremendous god-like strength and power. The upper torso is covered by malleable soft PVC to allow the arms so upward mobility, and the skirt is made of the same material just for the legs case. Although he’s not as ridiculously disproportionate as the Hulk maybe, this figure will easily intimidate any other figure you may have in your collection regardless that he does wear a skirt.

In terms of scale, I actually prefer his immense size and he looks to fit the proper size against Toybiz’s smaller Marvel Legends figures. Thanos is a heavy and well-balanced figure that may stand a little bow-legged but for what it is, I can’t complain at all.

Paint Application Like almost any great superhero/villain in any universe, costumed characters usually come in two-tone colors, and Thanos is no exception. Thanos’ yellow and blue colors are solid all the way through – the blue portions of his outfit are lightly washed over with a light black to help accentuate his intense and super-detailed physic. The shoulders cover, boots and gloves are painted with as metallic sheen that set off nicely against the solid blues of his costume. Most of application is pretty solid and fairly clean but there are a few spots found on the skirt where the gold smudges off the boarders.

The face is a slightly different case and isn’t nearly as clean nor accurate as it should be. Thanos is described as having a gray skin color but he’s been painted over with a light plum color and another black wash filling in the gaps. Then for some odd reason, the area surrounding the eyes, cheekbones and nose are washed over with a dark pink color… almost like he’s blushing? While the application is clean and evenly applied, the tones are wrong and the pink wash looks unsettling.

Articulation: Thanos is an absolute Juggernaut is terms of size, so does this means he’s lacking in one of the most important categories in this industry? Nope. Though he’s no Marvel Legend, Thanos includes plenty of articulation to get him by. Although DST’s own site says there’s 14 points included, I’ve counted 22 points of articulation in all that assist this Mad Titan in getting his job done. Points include the neck, pegged/socket shoulders, socket biceps, pegged elbows, and socket wrists, twisting waist, pegged/hinged hips, socket upper thighs, pegged knees and ankles. Toybiz even went as far as adding durable ratchet joints to his elbows, knees and ankles so those joints which will most assuredly will be used the most won’t wear out as fast.

The figure has semi-decent range and not much real mobility but that’s because of how incredibly thick his main body is. The upper torso and waist are so wide that there’s not much room for movement so Thanos is pretty much limited to raising his arms and taunting all your figures with his intense physic and sexy smile.

Accessories: The Infinite Gauntlet is all this Mad Titan needed to win but it was his sense of pride that unwillingly defeated him. The ultimate power of the entire Marvel Universe, the Infinite Gauntlet is a right-handed glove that pops on and off with ease, features each of the six infinite gems encrusted on his knuckles and center of the hand. Each gem is accurately painted and completes this amazing figure. I know it might not sound like much but to give Thanos any more than this would just be unnecessary.

Display Stand: And speaking of not sounding like much, designers at Toybiz have done away with this category yet again, and in trade have provided a back-up figure in its place. That figure is none other than Death – the one entity that Thanos has literally fallen in love with.

In the world of the Marvel Universe, Death takes the shape of an attractive female dressed in a dark purple robe, a C-cup and a supermodels pouty smirk on her face. Purple? Big lips and a C-cup? Can’t say I blame ol’ Thanos. The figure representation of death is just a solid chunk of plastic with no moveable limbs to show for it. Under her hood is an ivory white human skull with one skeletal hand exposed. The figure includes a human mask that plugs over the skull and clasps under the top of the hood. The character likeness to Ron Lim’s version of Death but it’s still a little rough. Her expression is completely blank but hey, this is Death were talking about. She’s not sad, angry or happy – she’s just Death.

The purple cloak is evenly painted, and there’s no mess to really report though the black wash is a little thick in some spots. An interesting addition that has a lot of potential for collectors of any kind but I do wish they had included a section of the floating stone cobble base that he fought his epic battle on.

Variants: From time to time, Diamond Select likes to throw out a variant of a current Marvel Select figure but Thanos doesn’t seem to be one of them. Although I’m not a particular fan of variants I think a “Mad Grin” Thanos would be acceptable, because let’s face it, bad guys are even badder when they’re smiling.

Availability: The Marvel Select can usually be found at most specialty retailers like Tower Records and Suncoast stores but chances are best if you just visit your local comic book store since most all them carry toys and specialty gift items. To check the nearest location, call Diamond Comics special service number (800) COMIC-BOOK and they'll send you in the right direction. You can also find these figures carried by a good majority of the on-line retailers as well. DST has a special page dedicated to finding these retailers on their site located at www.diamondselecttoys.com.

Final Thoughts: Ever since the Thanos Quest 2-part story, Thanos has been a favorite of mine. He’s evil for all the right reasons and good for all the wrong reasons, but overall he’s a dominator that isn’t really given the care or attention in the Marvel Universe that he should have. I’ve watched over the Marvel Legends line over the past three years waiting for his appearance but it’s never happened, but I truly feel that what needs to be accomplished for Thanos just can’t be properly done in that line so the Select line is just perfect for him.

I really think Phil Ramirez has done a truly amazing job on this figure and he’s pretty much everything I expected him to be, the sculpture is absolutely perfect but he does have one problem: the paint application. It’s sloppy paint and a poor choice of colors was used for his face. Not only are they incorrect but also that dark pink was just a bad decision. I don’t like to repaint my figures mostly because I don’t have too steady of a hand but I may have to for this one. I’m not crazy about the subtle paints on these gems - they’re hardly noticeable. I’m also half-tempted to drill out the painted gems on his hand and find actual small glass colored beads or gems to fit in there.

But other than my complaints in the paint department, this is an exceptional figure. I love the scale, the likeness is perfect and his expression is suitable plus there’s more articulation here that what was thought so it’s a big bonus in my book. I wouldn’t mind seeing Ramirez do his own version of the Hulk in just this same way because I sure didn’t care for the Ultimate Hulk from back earlier this year.

Coming soon within the next few months, the Marvel Select line is going to see a few new additions including yet another Wolverine from the classic Days of Futures Past storyline from Classic X-Men, The Watcher and Ultimate Carnage and the most recently announced addition classic Spider-Woman. Thanks to my supporters at Diamond Select for providing an important piece of quality plastic art that I’ve been waiting to fill in a spot for, for a long, long time now.

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