Just when it looked like Kingpin was going to slaughter the competition for most-demanded Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure of 2019, Hasbro went and announced—and released!—a figure this week that fans have been asking for ever since Infinity War! You’ll have to pick up six figures from the Avengers Legends 2019 Wave 1 series to build him, so he won’t be cheap (in fact, he’s selling for about 100 bucks alone on the aftermarket!)—is the Marvel Legends Endgame Thanos figure worth all of the hype and expense it’ll take to acquire him?

The Right:

As soon as the lineup for Avengers Marvel Legends 2019 Wave 1 was 100% confirmed, I knew there was only one figure I could ever consider for my first review: the long-awaited Armored Thanos Build-A-Figure.

I had to wait an extra day for my Ebony Maw to show up so that I had all the pieces to put Thanos together, but now he’s fully assembled and I’ve spent some time photographing him and putting him to the test! Has Hasbro perfected the Mad Titan in 6” scale form…?

The first thing I noted when putting this new ML Thanos BAF together is that the portrait is universes better than the head we got on last year’s figure. This fearsome, enraged Thanos head looks absolutely deadly—just the way the most powerful villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should. Great stuff!

This is a figure that really necessitated almost 100% new tooling, and Hasbro didn’t let us down. Endgame Thanos is covered in newly sculpted parts, which I’m sure cost Hasbro a pretty penny. No one likes buying $120 in other figures to get the Build A Figure pieces, but at least in this instance we can see that Hasbro really did invest some big bucks in new tooling expenses.

While there’s not quite as much sculpting detail on this action figure as we’ve seen on the upcoming SH Figuarts and Hot Toys versions, the work here is still rather nice and in-line with what were used to from the Marvel Legends line.

Thanos looks a lot more threatening in this costume than he did in his “gym clothes” from Avengers Infinity War. He actually reminds me a lot of a Halo Brute Chieftain in this gold armor!

I’ve seen a few people question the heft of this action figure, but while he doesn’t feel super-heavy to me, he also doesn’t feel cheap or light. He can hold another 6” ML figure aloft with ease, so I think his weight is fine.

At around 8” tall, I’m not convinced that this Thanos action figure is totally to-scale (I’d prefer him a bit bigger), but he does at least tower intimidatingly over the standard 6” figures.

The Wrong:

Since Thanos is the single most critical villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, collectors expectations for this Avengers Endgame Thanos Marvel Legends BAF to be perfect are sky-high. Those collectors are going to be disappointed.

The single biggest failing of this figure, in my eyes, is the absence of several crucial points of articulation. Do you like dynamically posing your action figures? That’s going to be tough when the new ML Thanos figure can barely balance in action poses due to no ankle rockers.

Swivel biceps, calves/boots or waist? Nope! Those have been omitted as well. There aren’t even double-hinged elbows to help out the arm articulation. We get ball-hinge elbows instead. These missing POA may not sound like a big deal on paper, but in actuality they cause some real limitations in posing potential.

The complete articulation scheme for the Armored Thanos Legends figure consists of ball-hinge neck/shoulders/elbows/ankles; swivel-hinge wrists; swivel thighs; double-hinged knees; ball-jointed hips and upper torso ab crunch.

Likewise, the paint on this figure is “good”, but certainly not “great”. I took photos of Thanos in a variety of lighting levels, so you can see how drastically his good armor’s appearance can change depending upon the light on him. Regardless of the light, though, he always looks a little bland with zero paint wash anywhere on the gold armor.

The sub-par paint situation is most keenly felt on Thanos’s sword, though—while the sculpting on it is okay, it’s cast entirely in gray plastic, which makes it look more like a double-sided toy boat paddle than a deadly weapon.

Overall: If you asked me at Infinity Gauntlet-point if I’d rather have the Infinity War Thanos BAF or the new Armored Thanos from Endgame, I’d immediately answer with the latter. But whether or not he’s a better figure is a little bit more up in the air. The lack of articulation at the waist/calves/biceps and absence of ankle rockers do Endgame Legends Thanos a huge disservice, he doesn’t feel quite big enough, and the unpainted sword looks a mite silly.

That said, even without a paint wash, Thanos’ golden armor looks shiny and beautiful; and his angry/growling head is a humongous improvement over the friendly look on the original MCU Thanos Build-A-Figure.

This is a nice-looking figure and the clear victor as far as my favorite movie Marvel Legends Thanos Build-A-Figure goes, but I do think there are some improvements I wish Hasbro had cost in in order to make this an ultimate version of the MCU’s greatest villain.

GRADE: B

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