Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor Review & Photos Ragnarok

While the upcoming MCU movie this fall may be called “Thor Ragnarok”, the characters everyone is interested in talking about are Hela, Hulk, Loki and Valkyrie, with the titular character nowhere to be found. So it’s not a big surprise that, even in his own 6″ figure series, the Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor figure is readily available for MSRP and easy as pie to find online. But while he’s not exactly a hot commodity, it turns out that this 6″ Gladiator Thor Ragnarok figure is one of best figures in the wave…

Marvel Legends Ragnarok Gladiator Thor Figure ReviewThe Right:

Poor Thor! Upstaged ever in his own movie franchise. First, nobody wanted to talk about anything in Thor The Dark World except the return of Tom Hiddleston Loki, and now the God of Thunder is eclipsed by practically the whole cast of main characters in Ragnarok.

But while Thor himself may not be the most-loved character in his own movies, he’s still getting plenty of love from Hasbro–including this lovingly-crafted Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor figure that’s packed at two-per-case in the Ragnarok series.

Marvel Legends Ragnarok Thor 6" FigureWhile the body here is going to be shared with a future Target exclusive, for the moment I believe it’s a 100% new unique sculpt. And as such, Hasbro went all-out with lots of sculpting details on the costume, including seams, wrinkles, pockets and so forth. This gladiator attire isn’t really a classic look for Thor, but it is well-designed and likely to be popular for pairing off against the Gladiator Hulk Build-A-Figure I reviewed earlier this week.

6" Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor Chris Hemsworth PortraitAlthough the head sculpt on this figure isn’t the spitting image of Chris Hemsworth that we get from Hot Toys or anything (nor should anyone expect it to be), I can actually see some Chris Hemsworth likeness in the portrait. Compared to most Hasbro MCU heads, this is a huge winner.

Back of Marvel Legends Thor Ragnarok Gladiator Thor CapeWhereas the Ragnarok Loki Legends figure that I reviewed earlier in the month had major issues with getting the rubbery pegs on his cap to stay attached, there’s no problem like that for Ragnarok Thor. His cape attaches firmly at his shoulder and hip, and I’ve had zero incidents where it fell off accidentally.

Thor Ragnarok Marvel Legends Thor vs. Hulk FiguresWith any kind of action figure wearing armor, I worry that the articulation scheme is going to end up paying the price for the aesthetic of the armor. But in the case of the 6″ Gladiator Thor Legends figure, the armor ends up not being a real problem at all.

Gladiator Thor Legends Six Inch Figure HasbroThor’s arms and legs have a full range of motion, with his soft skirt only getting in the way a tiny amount. Meanwhile, the armor on his shoulder and leg don’t inhibit anything, so he has full use of his double-hinged knees and elbows. Ankle rockers are present, as are the ab crunch and ever-popular swivel biceps/thighs/waist.

Other than perhaps swivel boots/calves, there’s not a point of articulation I’d want that isn’t covered here.

Removable Leg Armor from Hasbro Gladiator Thor 6" FigureIn case you don’t like Gladiator Thor’s right leg armor for some reason, it can easily be snapped on or off. I think it adds color and looks quite cool, and since the Target exclusive Thor coming soon doesn’t come with this armor piece, I’m leaving it on this particular Thunder God.

Thor Ragnarok Legends Gladiator Thor Figure and AccessoriesIn addition to his Gladiator Hulk BAF piece, the Gladiator Thor Marvel Legends figure includes two additional accessories: twin swords for him to wield in the arena.

Hasbro Thor Ragnarok Marvel Legends Thor PackagedI’ll be complaining about the plastic quality of these swords shortly, but I do really like the sculpting details on the swords and the fact that Hasbro painted the hilts instead of giving us unfinished-looking one-color weapons (such as the trident poor Mattel Justice League Aquaman comes with).

Marvel legends Gladiator Thor Bendy Swords with Cape OffThe Wrong:

I expected my main complaint with this figure to be that “it’s boring”, but that turned out to be a fallacy–this Marvel Legends Ragnarok Thor action figure has been well thought-out all-around and is actually much more fun to pose and play with than I had expected.

What lets this figure down, however, is some of the plastic quality. I know, I know–I’m starting to sound like a broke record here, but there are just too many occurrences where poor plastic has led to issues in the Marvel Legends toy line in 2017.

Close-Up of Gladiator Thor Marvel Legends Helmet BentThankfully, the rubbery plastic is only present in a few places on Thor: his helmet, his swords, and his knee joints. But while his swords warp easily (I managed to heat and straighten one–the other won’t stay straight no matter what I do) and getting his helmet’s prongs to stay straight is annoying, it’s nowhere near as disappointing as Hulk’s flaccid hammer or Loki’s nearly unattachable cape. The bad plastic is a hindrance, but not a deal breaker.

Gladiator Thor vs. Hulk Thor Ragnarok Action FiguresThe only other thing I’d like to be different about this figure is the lack of an interchangeable head. I know we’re getting unhelmeted Thor in the Target exclusive Valkyrie two-pack this fall, but if you want Thor with face paint and no helmet, you’re out of luck. A minor gripe, but something I would have liked.

Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor Review 6"Overall: While he’s far from being the most hyped figure in the Thor Ragnarok Legends series, the Hasbro Gladiator Thor 6″ figure is actually a very solidly-executed figure with great sculpting, paint deco and articulation. I’m annoyed by the rubbery plastic on the helmet, swords and knee joints, but otherwise this is a fantastic movie figure. With better plastic and an interchangeable head, this would be an ‘A+’. Excellent work by Hasbro.

GRADE: A-

Comments

Marvel Legends Gladiator Thor Review & Photos Ragnarok — 2 Comments

  1. I like this figure quite a bit, my only complaint is that he is a bit too tall when posed beside other Marvel Legends figures, particularly MCU based figured. That’s pretty minor though. Hela is my favorite figure in this wave so far although I have yet to open Ares and Jane Foster Thor.

    Sorry to see you got some warped swords, you are having some bad luck with these figures. That is a shame for a $20 purchase. So far my Thor’s swords have been OK (as has Hulk’s axe), guess I’ve been lucky.

    Finally quick note that I thought some site visitors may be interested in: Toys R Us is having a buy one, get 50% off of a 2nd Marvel legends figure for the next 48 hours (I think). They’ve sold out of a bunch of figures already but still have some from the GotG 2 wave 1 & 2, as well as some older figures.