Odin

I feel like it would have been more appropriate to review this figure on a Wednesday rather than a Monday - Woden's day, not Moon's day. The king of Asgaard, protector of the Nine Realms, and father of Thor, Odin has learned to appreciate peace over the centuries. There has already been an MCU Odin figure released - but Thor came out in 2011, when Hasbro was committed to the 4" scale over the 6" scale, so he was either little or just far away. I actually have the figure, but just never got around to reviewing it. (Heck, I still have Iron Man 2 toys I never got to, too, so he's in good company.) But the Infinity Saga line is all about making up for old omissions, so at last he gets to be a normal size. The Thor movies have never shied away from embracing the ridiculous Jack Kirby aesthetic for their costumes. It's at its strongest in Ragnarok, but the influence has been there since the beginning. Odin's wearing brown and gold, making him look regal yet distinct from Thor's blues, Loki's greens, and Frigga's teals. The armor is intricate (though not as much as the main characters') and though he's just wearing normal pants, they have an overlapping sculpted texture that makes them look nearly quilted. Like his favorite son, he wears a giant red cape - it's non-removable, sunken into the big shoulders on the chest that hold it in place. The "Kirbiest" part of the design (what costume designer Alexandra Byrne calls "ancient modernism") is the helmet. The base of it is fairly simple and standard, a golden bucket that holds the head inside, but there are wings on the sides that are nearly as large as each of Odin's arms, and a pair of horns curve out to the sides from the forehead. It's absolutely nuts they could make this work in 3D, and absolutely like something we would have seen in the comics. Odin was played by Anthony Hopkins, hamming it up for all he was worth. Fun fact: four people have played Hannibal Lecter, and three of them have had major Marvel roles. Step your game up, Gaspard Ulliel! [He's allegedly been cast in Disney+'s Moon Knight, so that's four for four --ed.] This figure gets two nearly identical heads, with the only difference being how voluminous the hair is. Odin's helmet is removable, so one head has the hair squashed down a little more than the other. Why? Why not just make the head and helmet one? The "bare" head may be sculpted with a hint of a smile instead of stern disapproval, but it's not nearly enough to worry about claiming they're different. Especially since the larger hair means the helmet won't really sit right on that one. The likeness is wonderful on both, with the scars and the eyepatch and the full beard. Like so many Thors, Odin's articulation is stymied a bit by his cape. Plus, the ankles don't want to move very well, because the hinges are stiff and the peg for the swivel feels soft. That's that's the swivel that goes into the foot, not the one that goes into the shin - the ankles have both. There are also double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, a balljointed waist, swivel/hinge wrists, double-hinged elbows, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge shoulders, a balljointed neck, and a barbell head. We do see Odin being active in his younger days, but by the time he looks like this, his job is basically to stand (or sit) around and look imposing. Odin comes with his spear Gungir. It's a simple design (by Thor standards), just a golden spear with a few extra pieces of flair along the head. Right out of the box, Odin has two hands meant for holding the spear, but you can swap those for one right fist and one left relaxed hand. There are no BAF pieces, because that's how these special overpriced mini-lines roll. Thor's daddy wouldn't have been my first choice for inclusion as part of the Infinity Saga toys (Heimdall? The Warriors Three? The Destroyer? The Jane Foster?), but he'd definitely have placed above Darcy on a wishlist. It makes sense that we'd get him, but it's hard to say he's worth the couple dollars extra Hasbro is asking. That's why I ordered him from GameStop when they were having a sale. -- 09/27/21

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