Ever since Hasbro released the Mighty Muggs line of figures, I've been intrigued as I found them rather cute and arty in the way the figures were interpreted and designed. The toys resemble super deformed versions of characters from franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Indiana Jones, G.I. Joe and Transformers. But it was never enough to compel me to buy any of them as my main focus is still 1/6 scale action figures and 12-inch collectible movie figures. Until NOW.
I came across "The Avengers" Mini Muggs 5-pack most recently and I was immediately hooked, line and sinker ;p This was the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2011 exclusive - The Avengers Mini Muggs 5-pack: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and Giant Man (Giant Man is in the traditional Mighty Muggs size) - that was released earlier this year.
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| Click for an enLARGEd view :) |
The assembled team is packed together and sports a domed box that plays off Giant Man's comparatively deluxe scale as his head pops up from the center of the box. How's that for attention grabbing eye catching display :)
The Avengers Special Edition Mini Muggs Collector's Pack is looking Mighty Fine! Just seeing Giant Man's head breaking out of the box is the icing on the cake, and what a nice cake this is. The other four members of the Avengers are Mini Muggs whereas Giant Man is the standard Mighty Mugg size. I really like how the designers played off the scale with each other. It's unfortunate that the Wasp was left out of the lineup :(
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| Click to have a BIGGER and BETTER view ;p |
Beginning from left to right, let's start with HULK! Labeled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", the Avengers originally consisted of Iron Man (Tony Stark), Ant-Man (Dr Henry Pym), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Thor and the Hulk (Bruce Banner).
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| Hulk Smask! |
The Hulk is cast as the emotional and impulsive alter ego of the withdrawn and reserved physicist Dr Bruce Banner. The Hulk appears shortly after Banner is accidentally exposed to the blast of a test detonation of a gamma bomb (referred to as a "G-bomb") he invented.
Subsequently, Banner will involuntarily transform into the Hulk, depicted as a giant, raging, humanoid monster, leading to extreme complications in Banner's life. Creator Stan Lee said the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde plus Frankenstein.
The Hulk has since been depicted in various other media, most notably by Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk in the live-action television series and five made-for-television movies.
In 2003, Ang Lee directed Hulk, starring Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, and Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross. The film was released with mixed reviews and grossed over $245 million worldwide. Marvel Studios rebooted it in 2008 with The Incredible Hulk (with Edward Norton as Dr Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, Banner's girlfriend and General Ross' daughter), which is also viewed as a standalone sequel as much of the plot of The Incredible Hulk is continuous of Hulk. The film earned more positive reviews and grossed $263,427,551 worldwide.
The reboot is also part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the events from the film lead into the 2012 crossover film The Avengers. Mark Ruffalo was cast after negotiations between Marvel and Edward Norton broke down.
Next up: The Mighty THOR! The Thunder god has played a big part in the Avengers and will continue to do so in the film version to be released in May 2012.
This after THOR made its film debut this year with Chris Hemsworth as Thor who is aided by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) after he is exiled to Earth as a mortal for disobeying his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard.
Regarding his take of the character THOR, Chris Hemsworth said, "We just kept trying to humanize it all, and keep it very real. Look into all the research about the comic books that we could, but also bring it back to 'Who is this guy as a person, and what's his relationship with people in the individual scenes?'"
About approaching Thor's fighting style, he remarked, "First, we looked at the comic books and the posturing, the way moves and fights, and a lot of his power seems to be drawn up through the ground. We talked about boxers, you know, Mike Tyson, very low to the ground and big open chest and big shoulder swings and very sort of brutal but graceful at the same time, and then as we shot stuff things became easier".
Being the son of Odin and the elder goddess Gaea, Thor is physically the strongest of the Asgardians. If pressed in battle, Thor is also capable of entering into a state known as the "Warrior's Madness" ("berserkergang" in Norwegian), which will temporarily increase his strength and stamina tenfold, although in this state he attacks friend and foe alike. That's Berserker Rage in Wolverine speak ;p
As the Norse god of Thunder, Thor can summon the elements of the storm (lightning; rain; wind; snow) and uses Mjolnir as a tool to focus this ability, although the hammer cannot command artificial weather, only natural.
In the film, Thor's hammer Mjolnir (the source of his power) was protected by an enchantment until Thor was worthy to wield it.
This Mini Muggs THOR comes with removable helmet :) now that's pretty cool
And here's a look at the thunder god without his helmet. Isn't this why they also call him "goldilocks"?
NEXT: The remaining three members of the Mini Muggs Avengers and group shots of this San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2011 exclusive: The Avengers Mini Muggs 5-pack set
UPDATE May 6, 2012: Check out the Hasbro The Avengers Movie Mini Muggs posted HERE (all six of them)!
Yes I saw this at TRU.
ReplyDeleteThe packaging is simply funny!