Merchandise Review:
The Silver Surfer Animated Series hit the airwaves in 1998 as part of the FOX Kids Saturday lineup. The action-figure line hit the shelves at around the same time, and series one featured Thanos himself, who was the main villain on the show. Unfortunately, the show became a victim of Marvel's financial problems and disagreements with co-producer Saban. Still, we got a pretty cool Thanos figure out of the deal, which I'll review below.
 = crap on a cracker, = passable, = well done, = NICE!
PACKAGING
This series features an oval-shaped card, and a large image of the Silver Surfer on the front (natch). The blister features the usual figure-info, and the whole deal is fairly sturdy. The back of the card features the character bio and instructions, and photos of all the other figures in the line. All in all, its rather well done. Solid if not spectacular, and it makes a nice MOC display.
SCULPT
A very solid effort. Thanos is stocky and powerful-looking, and the awesome face-sculpt seems to be based off the work of Joe Madureira. Hes also solidy made, and cast in a sturdy grade of plastic. However, I do have a few issues with the sculpt. First off, what's the deal with Thanos' pointy left index-finger? I know he's a villain and all, but hasn't anyone told him the pointing is rude? Seriously though, it does look rather odd, and the point combined with that huge grin makes it look as if Thanos has just pulled a practical-joke and is laughing at the hapless victim. Secondly, he's just a touch too short, and that also ties into my issues with the articulation. His legs are sculpted into a permanent crouch, which doesn't help his height at all.
PAINT
The paint-applications are few and done in bright colors, with no washes or highlights. Since this is figure is part of an animated series line, this is to be expected. The bulk of the figure is molded in a mid-range blue, with fists molded in bright orange. The eye-guards, skirt, and shoulder-guard are all molded in gold. The paint-apps are done in gold, bright orange, blue, purple, black and white. Most of the figures I have come across have decent paint-jobs, and that's a plus. I hate having to search for a well-painted figure. Overall, the paints are solid.
ARTICULATION
Thanos has 8 points of articulation, whereas most of the figures in this line boast 10. Thanos has Head, waist, and wrist swivels; T-crotch hips, and ball-jointed shoulders. He loses half a gem for lacking hinged elbow and knee joints. Also, the positioning of his neck-swivel makes it look as if he tilts his head from side to side (like a dog that's just heard a strange noise) as opposed to actually turning his head to look at something, and the effect is rather odd. I think one of the reasons for the lack of elbow and knee joints ties into the nature of the huge rifle he comes with, which I'll discuss below.
ACCESSORIES
This version of Thanos comes with a fairly neat accessory in the form of a huge "Cosmic Infinity Blaster", a toy-rifle that fires a light-up projectile. All of the figures in this wave came with light-up projectiles and launchers. The projectile itself is a large energy "bullet", molded in translucent purple plastic. Inside the bullet are a pair of red LED lights and a little watch battery. A switch allows you to turn the blinking LEDs on and off, and and you can unscrew the back of the projectile to replace the battery. The blaster itself is absolutely huge, and fits into Thanos' right fist via little peg. Its molded in silver plastic, with extending claws on the front molded in the same translucent purple plastic as the bullet. A plunger on the back of the rifle allows you to launch the projectile a fair distance. All in all, its a fun accesory, if a touch too large.
VALUE
At $4.99, these figures were an excellent value. You got a nice action figure, with a neat accessory. You really couldn't ask for more. These days, if you can grab one MOC for less than $15, you've done well.
THE VERDICT
At the end of the day, this Thanos figure is a pretty nice piece of work. Sure, he's not perfect, but he looks pretty good, and he's fun. And lets not forget that this line was made with the kids in mind, and thus fun should be the primary consideration. As such, this figure gets high-marks.
Photos:
Taken with my Fujifilm Finepix A 345 Digital Camera. As always, click for the bigguns!
Review by CORVUS - Saturday, January 7th, 2006
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