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Review of Goliath, Thor - Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles
Walmart Exclusive action figures

Hasbro
Date Published:
Written By:
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Introduction

With the Thor movie doing gangbusters at the local cinema-plex, Thor action figures are all the rage. One of the most recent comic releases is the Walmart exclusive Gigantic Battle set of Thor and Goliath.

We've seen a Walmart exclusive Goliath before - just last year in fact. But this version is from the Civil War comic series, and they've included issue number 4 with the figures, which is quite appropriate.

This Goliath is Bill Foster, one of the few African American superheroes in the Marvel universe. In the issue included with this two pack, *SPOILER ALERT* he is killed by Thor (actually, a clone of Thor). *END OF THE SPOILER* so you can see why the included this particular issue.

Walmart is also doing Savage Frost Giant and Loki, which are Civil War characters as well...and Thor characters too. I doubt it's an accident that they timed the release of these particular comic characters with the release of the live action movie.

The Thor included is the clone version from the comic as well, although they have a normal Thor pictured on the back of the package. You can find these at Walmart if you're extremely lucky - I've only seen this guy once, and I've never seen the Frost Giant/Loki set. Expect to pay just shy of $30 if you're lucky enough to find him in the store, and on ebay prices are in the $40 and up range right now.

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Packaging - ***
The box is well designed, and quite thin - this makes it even easier to store for the MIBers, always a plus. It's also very sturdy, and should be able to hold up to normal shelf wear and tear.

It's not *quite* collector friendly, but it's about as close as mass market packaging gets. The interior tray slides out without destroying the outer box, and rather than use twisty ties, they went with strong string ties. You can either cut these, or simply untie them (much easier than twisties) to release the figures. You can always put them back, but you'll probably want to skip the frustration of retying the strings.

The comic is taped to the back of the inside cardboard tray, but this tape can be cut or removed carefully, and you can avoid ripping said tray.

I mentioned this earlier, but it's worth repeating - they pictured a normal faced Thor on the back, rather than the clone version. Not sure if there's a variant floating around out there, but the clone is really the one you'd want anyway.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Sculpting - Goliath ***1/2; Thor **1/2
Normally, you're not going to see the sort of realism on a comic book portrait - especially one from Hasbro or Mattel - that you'll see from a Hot Toys or an Enterbay. That's true here as well, but this Goliath gets about as close as I've seen.

The hair is extremely well detailed, and the face has some texture to it, including small wrinkles on the lips. This is one of the best head sculpts to come out of Hasbro in this scale (remember, he's not technically a sixth scale figure even though he comes in at 12", but rather a 4" scale figure who happens to be giant), and is a big plus for the figure.

The body, not so much. It's the same body we've seen used a number of times now on this series, and in fact, I think it might be the exact same body we saw with the previous Goliath with just a new belt. One hand is sculpted in a fist, while the other is in a soft gesture pose. The skinny limbs, especially the arms, look out of scale to me.

The smaller Thor is also one we've seen before, with the addition of the 'clone' face. You can see the Terminator-like damage to his right eye and cheek, which is well done considering the tiny scale. He's also in that 4" scale, but stands big at about 4 1/2" tall.

I'm not quite as enamored with his sculpt, however. The soft wings look a bit silly, and the thick clumpy hair is poorly done. The hands are over sized, while the noggin is a pinhead, exacerbated by the big cloak. While he stands great on his own, and is going to be a welcome variant on the Thor's you already have on the shelf, his overall appearance doesn't do a whole lot for me.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Paint - ***
While the paint work is decent, there's nothing here to elevate it beyond the average.

Goliath's costume has the usual fuzzy lines that you've come to expect from this series, and is common with the larger figures. The smaller Thor has some clean work considering the scale, but there's some gloppiness to the wings and helm. I'm not thrilled with the work on the clone section of the face either, and some of the cast color pieces - like the hair - could use some detailing.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Articulation - ***
Like most of the Marvel Universe series, these are well articulated figures. Not all the joints work quite as smoothly as I'd like, but there's plenty here.

Goliath has a traditional ball jointed neck, and it tilts and leans fairly well. It would be nice if it could lean back just a bit more, but it's a small issue at best.

He also has post/disc ball jointed shoulders with the usual cut joint at the bicep, single pin elbows, double pin knees, pin ankles, a cut waist, an ab-crunch, post/disc ball hips, and cut thighs.

Thor has similar articulation, but he has the funky try ball joint hips that just don't work all that well. There's decent side to side movement, but almost no forward and back.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Accessories - ***
This is a tough one to call. Is this a two pack of figures, or one big figure with a small figure as his accessory? Which way you look at it can effect your score here.

I'm taking it as a two pack, which means there's three additional accessories. Thor has his hammer and cape, both nicely done. The hammer fits in his right hand and looks good (lots of nice sculpt detail on the surface), and the cape pops on and off with the use of two pegs. The cape is long enough to assist in some poses, and doesn't get in the way of others...too much. He stands great without it as well, so you have more than one display option.

Goliath doesn't get any extras, but there is the copy of Civil War #4, a critical issue for these two guys.  I'm not a huge fan of paper extras, but at least this one makes complete sense and is a good read.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Fun Factor - ***
Both figures stand well, are properly articulated, and make for excellent conflict play. They fit in with the rest of the Marvel Universe too, so any fan (young or old) of the series will enjoy adding them to the collection.

Value - **1/2
These are pushing $30, but that's no real surprise, is it?  Considering how expensive even the small Marvel Universe figures have gotten, I'd say that paying retail on these is a reasonable value.

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I'd be a tad careful with some of the joints, as they are quite tight (at least on Goliath), but overall the build quality is high enough that you shouldn't have any issues.

Overall - ***
I have a soft spot in my heart for the large Marvel figures, but this particular skinny body isn't their best work. The sculpting on the Goliath portrait is great, and the articulation is decent, but the paint work pulls both figures down a bit.

I've been searching high and low for the Frost Giant and Loki, but no luck in my neck of the woods. That set is likely to be the more popular, and from what I've heard the work on the Frost Giant is excellent.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Goliath ***1/2; Thor **1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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Where to Buy 
This set is a Walmart exclusive, along with the Frost Giant and Loki.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other related reviews include:

- if you're looking for a big, cool Marvel character, check out the Galactus (shown in one of the photos to the left).

- back when Walmart had the other Goliath/Iron Man two pack, they also produced a large Skrull/Captain America set.

- I've looked at some of the smaller MU figures, including the regular Cap, Hulk and Thing, Iron Man, Black Panther, Wolverine and Punisher, and Silver Surfer, Daredevil, Human Torch and Spidey.

- You can check out other 12" Marvel figures in this style, like Giant Man (BAF), Sentinel (BAF), Galactus (BAF), Apocalypse (BAF), Nightcrawler, Phoenix, Collosus and Daredevil, Silver Surfer and Torch (Icons), Magneto and Cyclops (Icons), Doom and Punisher (Icons), Ghost Rider (Icons), Thor (Icons), Venom (Icons), Spider-man and Beast (Icons), and Wolverine (Icons).

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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Golaith and Thor Marvel action figure by Hasbro

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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