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Review of The Avengers Loki action figure
Wal-mart exclusive

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

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Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Introduction

The Avengers is still my number one superhero movie of the year, and that's saying quite a bit, since I just saw The Amazing Spider-Man today. Trust me, that's a great movie, better than any of the Raimi versions, but it's still not quite as good as the Avengers.

Any great superhero movie needs a great villain, and that requires a bad guy with just the right attitude - cocky, over confident, insane, with just the right touch of smart assery. Tom Hiddleston did a fantastic job combining all these proper qualities in the new film, and I'm up for any action figure version of his character.

Hasbro is doing a 6" version, but there's a catch - it's a Wal-mart exclusive, part of an exclusive series that includes Captain America (whom I already reviewed), Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Hulk.

These are only at select Wal-marts, making them fairly tough to find for most folks. If you get lucky and come across them, they'll run you around $15 each.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Packaging - ***
The package is sort of, kind of, a little bit collector friendly.

Slice the tape on either side (in back), cut the bottom of the bubble, and you can slip the tray out. While that's not completely without damage, it's closer than we usually see with this style of packaging, especially at mass market.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Sculpting - ***
Loki is a puny God, coming in at just 6" tall. That fits in nicely with the rest of the series though, and actually fits in well with other Marvel Legends and DCUC figures.

He's definitely Loki, although I'm not sure he's exactly Tom Hiddleston. It's close enough for most folks considering the scale, and with the helmet in place he looks great.

It's not so much the likeness that bugs me as the expression. Too often, sculptors go for extreme grimaces or open mouth screams in an attempt to be intimidating. Instead, it ends up looking silly. However, it's possible to go too far in the opposite direction, giving us an expression that's so far from intimidating it could be Mr. Rogers. That's what's happened here. While the articulation will allow for an aggressive pose, the face won't really match up in attitude.

Also on the down side is the soft plastic. It seems much weaker and softer this time, especially in the limbs.

The figure stands great on his own, and the hand sculpts work extremely well with both poses and the accessories.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Paint - ***
There's a few minor slip ups, and a stray mark here or there, but the overall look is solid B work.

I'm not a huge fan of the unpainted skin tone, since it ends up glossy and toy-ish in appearance, but the cut lines on the uniform are very strong.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Articulation - ***1/2
Like the Marvel Legends series, this Loki is very well articulated.

It starts with the cool true ball jointed neck, which tilts, turns and twists nicely. I did find that it popped off a little too easily, but it also popped right back on just as easily.

There's pin/disc ball joints at the shoulders and hips, along with cut joints at the biceps and hips. The knees and elbows are double pin, while the waist and wrists are cut joints.

Perhaps the best joint of the bunch is the ankle. Here, there's not just a ball joint but a rocker as well that allows the feet to sit flat on the floor in even the deepest stances. That's a huge benefit, and makes the figure look much more realistic.

The soft plastic could have been a negative here, but I hit him up for it as part of the sculpt instead.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Accessories - ***1/2
Unlike Cap, Loki comes with a decent number of extras.

Since the cape is easily removed, I'm counting it as an accessory. The sculpt and paint are great, and it's held tight enough to the body by the post that it doesn't throw off his center of gravity.

Along with the cape, he has his funky horned helmet, made from a soft enough rubber that it fits over his head easily yet hugs the face and head tightly.

He also has the power spear as seen on screen, scaled to fit his hands pretty well. The paint is a little sloppy here, but the sculpt is good, and he can hold it in one or both hands.

Finally, there's his display base. I didn't include a separate shot since it's quite easy to see in the package shot. It's inclusion is also proclaimed loudly on the front of the bubble. I hear this is just a re-use from one of the figure based games...Heroclix perhaps...making it a whole lot less exciting.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Fun Factor - ***
Loki is a nice version of the character, with decent sculpting and great articulation. My only issue here is that soft plastic - I have my worries that real kids giving these real play may break some of those softer joints, and that wouldn't be fun for anyone.

Value - **1/2
These will run you around $15 or so, depending on the area of the country. Yes, different Wal-marts charge different amounts. It's a pretty average price for a 6" action figure, and since these are a lower run exclusive, I can live with an average score here.

Avengers Loki exclusive action figure by Hasbro

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Things to Watch Out For -
While I didn't have any sticky joints, you'll still want to be careful if you do. That soft plastic seems a bit iffy...

Overall - ***
The bland expression and soft plastic are really the only two things holding this guy back from another half star, at least for me. The articulation and paint are good, the accessories are great, and he'll be a lot of fun facing off against Thor. He'll just look really bored doing it.

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

Where to Buy 
These guys are a Walmart exclusive, where you should still be able to find them. That's assuming you have one of the rare Walmarts in your neighborhood that actually gets exclusives in stock!

Related Links -
Just a week or so ago, I covered the Captain America in this series. Stay tuned for more!

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

Discussion:
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Avengers Loki exclusive 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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