Marvel Select Ultimate Thor

Marvel Legends
Marvel Select Ultimate Thor
By Hervé St-Louis
September 26, 2004 - 15:30

The Marvel Select Ultimate Thor continues the company's foray into the deluxe action figures distributed exclusively through Diamond. In the Ultimate Universe, Thor is a former nurse who had a breakdown and discovers that he really is the Norse God. This figure captures the pride and power of this eco-warrior as he is about to strike the Ultimate Hulk during the latter's rampage throughout New York City.

Likeness

The figure resembles the character drawn by Bryan Hitch. The character's pinch are evident to. One funny aspect of this figure, is that it feels like the rendition of a wrestler, not a comic book character. That's due to realism which naturally occurs in Hitch's work.

Sculpt

The figure's sculpt is almost perfect. Thor has a hunched back because his neck is overly muscular. It's as if he had no neck. His pose is standard which increases the playability. What would have been great is if his arms were sculpted so that one could pause them as if he was about to hit something, as in the cover of The Ultimates # 4. Thor tends to lean forward, although his articulation allows corrections.

Paint

There are paint spots all over his body. The painters gave the Ultimate Thor a cool construction's worker's tan that works well for the character. However, they made all his veins blue. As they protrude a lot from the sculpt, they draw too much attention. The painters didn't add much shading in the lower part of the character. There's some glow in the dark paint on the circles on the character's chest and belt.

Scale

Thor is a perfect match with fellow Ultimates members, Iron Man and the World War Two Captain America. He also matches other Marvel Select action figures such as Elektra and the Green Goblin. The Ultimate Thor does not fit well with regular six-inches Marvel Legends action figures, such as the Thor version of that line.

Stability

Thor is very stable. If fact he is so stable, that's is easy to pose him on top of the Hank Pym base he comes with. However, there are no peg holes in his feet. Depending on the pose of his hammer, there could be problems with stability.

Articulation

At sixteen articulations, this is one of the most movable Marvel Select action figure ever. His neck has a ball joint, allowing for superior poses. Other articulations are at the shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles. The ankles are very solid and support the figure's weight well. However, there is constant problems with the right biceps. It falls off very often or as soon as it's touched.

Plastic

Toy Biz used two types of plastics on this figure and the mix is not perfect. On one hand, Thor's head, arms, legs are solid and thick, while his torso is made of brittle plastic that doesn't covey the paints as well. Although this is a huge figure, it avoids the problem of being top-heavy, but sounds too hollow. If the base plastic is made from glow in the dark materials, then that would explain the cheapness factor.

Diorama

There's a huge Hank Pym/Giant Man/ Ant-man base, half covered with rubbles. It looks great. The details in the rubble and the paint job are awesome. There are no pegs on this base and in the back, there is a wall-mountable peg hole. This base is so weird, that people never understand what it is exactly!

Props

Thor comes with Mjolnir, his enchanted hammer. It's made with hollow plastic so even though it is large, it doesn't add much weight to the figure.

Packaging

The packaging for Marvel Select action figures is always huge and bloated, compared to recent DC Direct releases. However the artwork on the box is nice. It's a collage of several Thor comic book covers and a painting of the Ultimate Thor on the other side.

Cost

Like all Marvel Select action figures, the Ultimate Thor cost more than two Marvel Legends action figures. Toy Biz and Diamond Comics, the exclusive distributor claim that it's because more effort is taken during the design process. Had they made Thor's torso of superior plastic, the price would have been more justified.

Availability

This action figure set is readily available in comic book shops and specialty stores where Diamond Comics' products are resold. Although popular, this figure is not rare. Some great deals have even been spotted in the secondary market, like auction sites. This figure is the most articulated Marvel Select I have purchased. It's also very beautiful, although very much a deluxe wrestling action figure.

Read related reviews such as:

Ultimate Captain America

Marvel Select Elektra

Marvel Select Green Goblin

Ultimate Iron Man

Ultimate Wolverine