The Eternals' Kro

By Hervé St-Louis
October 17, 2021 - 23:35

Kro is one the Eternals’ first major villain, introduced in The Eternals #1 in 1976. In the comics, he is a shapeshifter granted with the power of immortality, much like the Eternals. Thus, he is one of the few Deviants, the Eternals’ main enemies, to continue to be alive since the creation of the two races by the Celestials. In the comics, Kro uses his longevity to remain an important Deviant, pretending to be one of his descendants or masquerading as other people. Kro has also been in a Romeo and Juliet type of relationship with the Eternal Thena. This has been hinted in the trailer, but again, it is impossible to know how much of that storyline will be adapted for the movie.

It is unknown to me what the Eternals’ movie Kro origin and powers are but so far, he seems different from the other more animal like creatures seen in the film’s previews. There have been no Kro action figures in the past and it seems that besides possible Lego adaptations, the current version released with the Eternals is the first. I had not intended to buy this figure, seeing it as more expensive and an odd design. I do not regret getting Kro. Let’s find out why.

Likeness

Very few pics of Kro have been seen. Again, as the movie as not been released. The Marvel Legends action figure appears to have many sinews in his face and an irregular body structure. However, the previews have shown a much more stable face with not as many sinews. His sinews can grow out from his hands in the trailers, and it appears that he can reshape them as hands which is what we can see with the figure. The colours on his body shift constantly from dark greys, black, greens, turquoise, and gold. There are spots of purple and red throughout his body and face. I find that the external pair of eyes is not as visible as they are in the movie trailer. Kro reminds me of the wilder versions of DC Comics’ Martian Manhunter.

Sculpt

Kro has a dropped down allure, especially when the tentacles are on. It’s a beautiful shape if you let the tentacles fall to the ground. It is as if he is anchored and weighted down by his arms. The details in the sinews across his body shaped on a pitched black body are incredible. He feels like someone suffering. But when raising the arms and pointing them forward, he looks menacing. Smaller tentacles grow out of his arms and shoulders. What is neat about those is that they are not glued on but sculpted in.

He does have two extra tentacles on his back that I wish that he will morph into wings in the movie. These must be attached to his back and have peg shapes that are different. One is square, the other one, a cut off circle. That means that they are not interchangeable. They are long but help stabilize the figure by giving him some support on his back and acting as counterweight if you raise the arms up with the tentacles. The two tentacle arm extensions have a L and R inside of them, meaning one attaches to the right arm, the other to the left.

Kro’s legs are uneven in length. Thus, he cannot stand up normally without bending one leg. In the movie trailer, he appears animal-like, like a satyr. This is not a pose that is easy to achieve, unless you bend his hips to push forward his torso. One thing that is less aesthetically pleasing are the flat and large feet who look more like puddle of goo, than menacing an sinew-laden feet. Of course, the design does help with his stability, but it feels more something one would see on a Groot action figure than a biological creature.

Paint

The paint job is the highlight of the figure. It is metallic and looks random, even though we know it is not. Colours shift with beautiful metallic hues going from gold to turquoise, reds, purple, and black all at once. It is beautiful, but the major problem is that it buries his four eyes, making them less menacing and visible. The tentacles also have the same paint application. Be careful, as some collectors report that the paint on the tentacles can chip away. An interesting byproduct of this action figure is that it traps light easily with the base darker colours. You will need more lights to see his shape well.

Scale

Kro appears to be about over eight inches, thus much taller than most Marvel Legends action figures. His greater scale is not a problem as he is supposed to be much bigger than the Eternals. Because of his size, the room needed to display him, and his darker colours, he will probably recede in the back of most collectors’ displays, after a few days. It’s a shame for such a cool action figure.

Stability

The figure is stable because of the large flat feet. You will probably pose him with his knees slightly bent as his legs are uneven as mentioned above.

Articulations

In terms of articulations, as mentioned above, there are places to peg each tentacle on his wrists or back. Watch out for that. I have seen some collectors interchanging the wrist articulations though so it seems that it can work too. But the ones on his back cannot be switched.

Kro has a lot of articulations even for a bigger figure. His head sits one a ball joint that gives it a lot of motion when looking up, down, or shaking side to side. When looking up, there is a huge gap under his jaw so watch out for that if you find that less visually pleasing. When pushing the head back, watch out to not accidentally chipping away some of the tentacles growing on his neck. Yeah, he has some there too! He has a good diaphragm crunch that can rotate 360 degrees and rock. It gives him a twisted look when you bend his diaphragm.

He arms have no butterfly joints but can rotate 360 degrees. They can be raised at no more than 45 degrees unfortunately. He has full biceps curls and double elbow articulations. The elbows can ben but are still stiff. Be aware than the arms bent or not will not support the weight of the attached tentacles for long. At the forearms, the wrists and hands can be replaced by the tentacles. Thus, the tentacles can rotate too. There are no wires inside the tentacles in his arms nor the ones on his back. So, the default pose is what you get, although some of the tentacles are flexible enough to be moved slightly.

Kro’s hips can be raised up at about 90 degrees. He can do the split at about 60 degrees. The gap between his coccis and thighs is too huge. He has thigh curls that look bad when used because of the sculpted sinews. The misalignment does not look as bad as the Snake Eyes movie Storm shadow’s thighs though, because Kro’s thighs are pitched black. It is less noticeable. Kros’ knees have double articulations. They have a good range and are not too stiff. He has no calve swivels, but his ankles can bend backward well-enough. However, he cannot bend much upwards. He can pivot his ankles well. None of his articulations feature hidden pins, unlike the other Eternals.

Plastic

Kro appears to be entirely made of flexible plastic that could be PVC. Yet, his construction appears durable and less fragile than other figures. He is quite heavy compared to others.

Props

There are no props with Kro unless one counts the tentacles as props.

Packaging

Kro comes in a large horizontal box with a polished photograph of the action figure on the back and nice art on the sides.

Cost

Kro is $31.99 in the United States and about $45.99 in Canada. He is a deluxe action figure and thus more expansive than others from Hasbro.

Availability

Kro has started popping in many stores since the end of September 2021. Because of the size of the packager and its price, there may not be as many on the pegs as other Eternals’ figures. Because Kro is ideal for Venom and Carnage customs.

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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