Review - Avengers: Infinity War 6 Inch Figures by Hasbro

This is it, ten years and 18 films have all lead to this moment. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters this spring and it is bound to be the biggest comic book superhero film of all time. Heroes from all corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will assemble to battle the mad titan Thanos and I absolutely cannot wait to experience it. I can still remember my friends looking over to me in the theater at the end of Iron Man, asking me what the "Avengers Initiative" was, and my trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. I never expected an onscreen universe as immense as this, and done so perfectly. A film of this magnitude is obviously going to have an incredible amount of merchandise associated with it and today I'm going to take a look at one small portion of it.

Possible Mild Spoilers

Last year I took a look at Hasbro's 6 inch line of Spider-man: Homecoming budget action figures and I was pleasantly surprised. Since then I've picked up a few more, but it was these figures I was most looking forward to for the Infinity War toy launch. Well, these, and the Marvel Legends but more on those later. Today I'm going to be taking a look at the 5 figures that make up the first wave of kid friendly Infinity War Toys: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Star-Lord, and Black Widow. I know there's a deluxe Hulk and Rocket & Groot 2-Pack out there, but I haven't been able to get my hands on them yet.

These guys come PACKAGED on a good old fashioned blister card, similar to the Homecoming figures but this time Avengers themed, obviously. It's kind of interesting seeing Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet take center stage on the card art, it's a nice change of pace. The bubbles are all nice and sturdy, and show off the figures well. This time around the packaging is a little cluttered though, showing off that each figure is compatible with the Hero Vision gimmick. I don't mind added play features with figures designed for kids, as long as it doesn't interfere with the figures themselves. This time I'm happy to report the characters are gimmick free, and it's the infinity stone accessories that interact with the Hero Vision AR experience.

All in all, the SCULPTING is solid all around. I feel like Hasbro stepped up their game since the Homecoming figures. While those sculpts might have felt a little soft everything thing here is nice and sharp. Even the likenesses aren't half bad. Black Widow's face sculpt is shockingly good, with Thor's probably being the next more recognizable. Cap isn't bad, but it's not quite there. Iron Man and Star-Lord are both wearing helmets but they both look great.

Each character is dressed in their Infinity War costumes and all the sculpts are nice and sharp. I wasn't sold on the design of Iron Man's armor at first, I was a huge fan of the Civil War suit which I thought was the best looking armor since the Mark III, but it's growing on me. It's got a much more organic look too it, I think it will be interesting to see how that plays into the film. I'm really digging Thor's new look, it really harkens back to the first film costume and I'm really happy they brought back the 6 disks on his chest. I also think Star-Lord might be rocking a new jacket but it's hard to tell. His jacket has a nice texture to it, and it even looks like he has little pegs sculpted on his hips to hold his blasters but sadly they weren't included.

Nomad, uh I mean, Captain America is essentially in his Civil War costume just with the sleeves rolled up and the star removed from his chest. The character is in an interesting spot and I think they did a great job conveying that with the slight alterations to the suit. The beard also helps. Black Widow's costumes don't change drastically from film to film but this figures is definitely unique. Most of that comes from the color, but for some reason this look feel a little bit more armored that previous versions. These guys stand right at about 6 inches tall, so they wont quite fit it with Marvel Legends which are usually around 6.5 inches.

The PAINT on these guys is pretty basic, but nothing really feels left out. Star-Lord, Cap, and old Shell Head probably have the best paint but they also have the most complicated costumes. There's a little bit of slop here and there but nothing egregious. My one little nit is that there isn't more gold in the new Iron Man suit, but that's a design thing and not a figure thing. Thor's overall paint it great but the colors are a bit drab. From what I've seen both his costumes in the movie are really dark though. Black Widow's costumes paint is pretty basic, just black and green really. But the paint on her face again is top notch. The only thing I'd say to watch out for these guys is the eyes, but that true across all toy lines.

While everything else felt like a nice big step forward, the ARTICULATION is absolutely a step back. What's the deal Hasbro? Where did the knee articulation go? Below the hips the figures are completely solid which firmly plants them in kid toy territory. What articulation that is there works pretty well. Each figure has a ball jointed neck, shoulder, elbows, and swivel hips. It's a little disappointing especially compared to Mattel's recent Justice League budget figures. So if you're looking to get your articulation fix, save your money for the Marvel Legends versions.

The ACCESSORIES are a bit of a mixed bag, but pretty good overall. Three figures come with movie accurate weapons: Thor has his new hammer Stormbreaker, Cap comes with a Wakandan shield, and Black Widow comes with a staff which looks like her billy clubs stuck together. Star-Lord comes with a huge gun that definitely looks like a Rocket Raccoon design, and Tony has a large rifle looking thing. I mean, from artwork the new Iron Man armor looks like it can make some pretty crazy looking weapons, I'm just not sure we'll see this design in the movie. Same thing with Star-Lord's mega blaster.

Each figure also comes with a different colored Infinity Stone that works with the Hero Vision feature mentioned above. I know it's sort of like an Augmented Reality experience and Hasbro has a special Iron Man helmet out that works with a smartphone, but I don't know the finer details about the feature. Each weapon also has a little peg on it that allows the stones to be attach to it, it's noticeable but not super obvious or in your face. As a side note, while I'm a tad disappointed Thor doesn't reforge his classic hammer I think it's really cool to make the new one Stormbreaker. We better see Beta Ray Bill in Thor 4!

OVERALL, at the end of the day, I think these are fun solid line of figures. Especially compared to the 4" Age of Ultron junk, or the 2.5" Guardians of the Galaxy figures. Hasbro, this is absolutely the way to go with a kid focused toy line, just add 3 or 4 more points of articulation and you'll be set. Most collectors probably won't give these figures a chance, but I can appreciate them for what they are. Plus, it might be a good way to get more side characters into the toy lines, I look forward to what Hasbro cooks up next!