Marvel Legends The Infinity Gauntlet Thanos figure review

Thanos was a major threat in the Marvel Universe long before Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame pushed him to the forefront to the mainstream. It’s been a little frustrating for longtime collectors who’ve had to make do with the Marvel Select Infinity Gauntlet Thanos figure while seeing several MCU versions get made for Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.

Now after years of listening to us complaining and clamoring for a true Infinity Gauntlet Thanos, Hasbro comes through with an updated version of the Mad Titan that seems ideal for the centerpiece of a cosmic display.

Ironically unlike the Infinity Gauntlet, we don’t have to assemble pieces to complete this version of Thanos. Let’s see how fast I can snap through this review.

Packaging:   For these deluxe figures, Hasbro has gotten progressively better with the packaging. This one has a lot more personalization instead of a basic “Here’s Thanos!” setup. Although in fairness, we probably would have been just fine with that too.

We get a nice Infinity Gauntlet logo and the six Infinity Stones atop the package. The side package art features Thanos with the completed Gauntlet while the back shows him triumphant on his throne with Lady Death standing at his side.

The write-up is short, but the questioning nature gives me old school file card vibes so I love it.

And in another bonus you can use the package insert as an easy backdrop for him. Throne not included.

Likeness:  It’s pretty simple on this one. The closer classic Thanos looks to Infinity Gauntlet Thanos drawn by George Perez the better.

With that very simple mindset, this figure mostly meets my expectations. Thanos’ costume matches up well with the classic look with Hasbro even sculpting the straps along the shoulders and torso.

There’s still some modern figure reuse though with extra details in the gloves and boots. I’m not sure if the gloves and boots are as long as I’d envision though they seem about the proper length for his arms and legs.

I’m torn on the head sculpt though. It’s got a terrific dismissive sneer that captures his full overconfidence upon gathering the Infinity Stones yet it feels like Thanos is in the middle of two expressions — the iconic Thanos creepy smile or a closed mouth smirk.

What we get isn’t bad as it fits for Thanos, but I would have liked some alternate portraits.

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Paint:  Most of the paintwork is nice and clean though I’m sure you would quickly be able to guess the challenging areas with the gold trim along the inner portion of the helmet and the white of the teeth. Yellow and white are the hardest paints to apply evenly and thoroughly so this wasn’t shocking.

Otherwise, the paintwork is mostly good. I especially love the work with his eyes, which are set deep in the socket. There’s occasional overspray of the gold over the blue, but it’s nothing that’s too excessive or distracting.

Scale:  The bulk is just right so he’s not towering over Hulk (or a classic Drax). He should be closer in height to Captain America, but I prefer this slightly taller size.

Articulation:  Thanos is a big guy, which does put some restrictions on his movement notably the elbows, which only take a single-joint articulation point. That’s the biggest weak spot in terms of poseability though.

 

He can strike some fun poses and his larger feet allow him to have a stable foundation for one-leg stances.

Thanos has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbow (with swivel)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Butterfly shoulders would have been great but wouldn’t have worked with the shoulder pads.

Accessories:  Thanos comes with a finger snapping left hand and a gripping right hand.

I appreciate these options as you can mix and match to help aid in poses and display options.

Thanos also comes with an alternate King Thanos head sculpt that’s apparently from the dark future where Thanos beat everyone. The King Thanos outfit is significantly different with shaper armor points so it’s not the best stand-in.

I think just another expression head sculpt would have been a better option in this case, but I appreciate Hasbro trying to think outside the box for additional value.

Worth it?  I got Thanos from Target and was able to take advantage of a decent sale to get him cheaper than the $30 price. In a lot of cases, Thanos would be a modern Build-A-Figure so getting him for $30 without having to grab some figure you didn’t want is a good deal.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Thanos was definitely a desperately needed figure for Marvel Legends in his classic look. Hasbro could have given him an extra head and double-jointed elbows, but this is a fantastic figure and a worthy upgrade from the Marvel Select figure.

Where to get it?  You can still grab him from Amazon.

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