From Ghost to Satanna to Dreadknight, the annual SDCC Marvel Legends box sets have given us some pretty obscure characters for the first time in 6″ form over the years. But this year’s Battle for Asgard set takes the proverbial cake with a character who’s not exactly a household name–but who just might be one of the best Hasbro figures in one of these con exclusive sets ever! He’s already selling for 40-50 bucks on the aftermarket because he’s just so cool: Marvel Legends Bor!

The Right:

Okay, so if you asked 1,000 people off the street who Bor is–heck, 10,000 people–you’d probably get a grand total of zero who had ever heard of Bor (and many asking if you meant “Thor”).

So for those of you who don’t know him, Bor is Thor’s father…. ‘s father. Yup, appearing in some capacity in 24 comic books over the course of over half a century, it’s the good old Grandpappy of Thor himself!

So yeah, Bor is not exactly a well-known, iconic character that fans were crying out for a toy of. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a kickass action figure…

As the father of Odin himself, the Marvel Legends Bor figure ought to be pretty large and imposing–and he definitely is, standing over 8″ tall. He absolutely towers over the Odinson and Jane Foster Thor figures in this set, and is clearly an Asgardian God you do not wanna mess with.

Continuing with this theme, Bor features a disapproving scowl on his face that makes clear that he is not a hugger. I might have preferred a fierce battle expression, but the stern expression on Bor’s wrinkles face works pretty well to show that he’ll tolerate no tomfoolery, and the piercing pupils in his eyes are so well-painted it’s downright scary.

While I don’t believe the underlying body mold for the Battle of Asgard Bor figure is actually new at all, it’s a bit tough to tell because he’s almost entirely covered in newly-sculpted armor from head to toe!

I want to really commend Hasbro’s design team for the outfit on this action figure, because it’s one of the most diverse and interesting costume overlays that they’ve ever done onto an existing mold.

From the plates of his chest armor (which have a great dark wash on them) to his furry skirt and wrapped boots, this figure just looks awesome. I foresee a lot of Masters of the Universe Classics and Four Horsemen Mythic Legions collectors wanting Bor to use with their collections, whether they’re familiar with Odin’s daddy or not!

Bor has a solid super-articulation scheme, although his large amount of armor does tend to get in the way of some of the articulation. He has ball-hinge shoulders/elbows/hips/wrists/neck; double-hinged knees, swivel biceps/waist/thighs; and hinged ankles with rockers.

There’s also some sort of chest articulation (ab crunch?), but his armor makes it unusable. That and the non-double-jointed elbows are the only real disappointments as far as articulation goes, as the lack of double-hinged elbows is a real hindrance in the number of two-handed axe-wielding poses that are possible.

The Bor Marvel Legends figure comes with two accessories: a giant axe and a shield. I’ve got some problems with the shield that I’ll talk about in a bit, but the axe is quite nice.

There’s some texture to the handle to give it a wooden appearance, and I love all the nicks and scratches in the blade that give it a real battle-worn look.

The Wrong:

The primary problem that I have with the Hasbro Bor figure isn’t with the figure itself–it’s with one of his accessories. While Bor’s giant axe is huge and cool, his shield is… not as good.

Besides a quality control issue I’ll talk about in a moment, my big problem with the shield is the cheap plastic used for it. The shield comes out of the bubble all bent and warped, and it just doesn’t feel or look quite right despite the great detailing on it.

Making matters worse, my particular Bor figure came with the handle/clip of the shield out of it already because the warped rubbery shield grooves wouldn’t hold the clip in place.

I managed to hold the shield on via  the grooves in the back of the shield just being pressed against his fist to hold the shield on. This works surprising well, mind you, but obviously jamming the shield onto Bor’s fist is no substitute for just having a clip or handle that reliably will stay in place without popping off due to poor plastic quality.

I haven’t heard of anyone else reporting receiving a Bor whose shield is as rubbery as mine and is having the same issues, but I’d be willing to bet I’m not the only one with this problem.

Overall: Bor is another character I could have easily gone my entire life without owning a toy of, but Hasbro went all-out to make this the best and only Bor action figure that will ever need to be made. The quality-control issues with the shield and limited abilities to wield the axe two-handed because of no double-jointed elbows are the only true negatives of this figure, with practically everything else about this figure being outstanding.

Large, great paint and sculpting detail, limited, and the ability to fill in as a generic Viking outside of Marvel Legends–Bor is a winner that will appeal to far more collectors than I ever would have expected. Very good stuff from Hasbro.

GRADE: A