ADVANCE LOOK: WizKids Marvel HeroClix Thor: Ragnarok Movie Gravity Feed

– Review and photos by Scott Rubin

The HeroClix world is still basking in the glow of the just-released Mighty Thor set, but there’s even more Asgardian god of thunder goodness right around the corner.  Coming straight from the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster is a gravity feed set celebrating the characters of Thor: Ragnarok!

The latest sequel hits theaters here in the U.S. on November 3^rd and comes from the visionary director Taika Waititi.  We only know what we’ve seen in the various trailers, but it looks like quite the ride for Thor as Hela takes over Asgard, Mjolnir is destroyed, and our hero finds himself battling as a gladiator for the Grandmaster… with one of his opponents being his “friend from work” the Hulk!  As always we must issue a spoiler warning for movie HeroClix, though I don’t think there’s anything in here particularly revealing.  Also, take any potential spoiler with a grain of salt as these figures were designed quite a while ago and the film could have changed the character details.  With that out of the way, let’s check out the gravity feed that hits comic book and game stores in October.

The gravity feed display box for this set rocks the same awesomely retro graphics, fonts, and colors that we’ve seen grace the Thor: Ragnarok film promotional materials.  Three sides and the top feature the film’s title logo, while of course the HeroClix logo appears everywhere as well.  There’s a really cool image of the characters Hulk, Thor, and Valkyrie that’s in full on the back panel and miniature on the front.

Then the sides have different background images of Thor and Hulk charging into combat, and over them are overlaid 3D renders of some of the figures in the set: Hulk, Loki, Hela, Grandmaster, Thor, Heimdall, Valkyrie, and another we can’t reveal just yet.  Pop open that front flap and you’ll find the single figure boosters repeating the artwork from the box with some full figure 3D renders.

Here’s what we pulled in this gravity feed display (your results of course may vary):

Commons (including duplicates)

• 001 Thor
• 002 Loki
• 003 Hulk
• 004 Heimdall
• 005 Valkyrie
• 006 Thor
• 007 Loki
• 008 Hulk

Rares (including one duplicate)

• 009 Heimdall
• 010 Grandmaster
• 011 Odin
• 012 Valkyrie
• 013 Grandmaster
• 014 Odin

Chase

• 015 Fenris Wolf

This set does some things similarly to previous gravity feeds and some things a bit different.  First off, I pulled two copies of each common figure which is (I think) ideal.  Then there was one each of the rare figures with the exception of Heimdall who was in there twice, and finally a chase!  So it’s not quite the flat rarity we saw in Wonder Woman, but if you’re buying a handful of single packs you’ve got a good chance of getting some rares and you “probably” (depends on if your luck is like mine) won’t get duplicates.  On the other hand, like Wonder Woman this set features some sculpt reuse.  In what I pulled every sculpt but one (the chase Fenris Wolf) was used for two different figures.  All of those pairs had different dials that did at least some things differently, and in some cases radically.  So on the one hand yes, there are two different Thors, two different Hulks, etc., it also means that you’re actually more likely to pull the headlining characters.

Headlining the set is exactly who you’d expect, Thor!  He appears to be pulled directly from the “gladiator” scene we see in the trailers, fighting for the amusement of the Grandmaster and his audience.  By all accounts this takes place after the destruction/disabling of Mjolnir, and so in lieu of his magic hammer Thor wields twin blue swords as he cautiously stalks his opponent.  His light armor with helmet is colorful and bears interesting markings in red, the same color as his ragged, billowing cloak.

Next up is the thunder god’s “brother” and frequent MCU villain/annoyance Loki.  The character everyone loves to hate is back in what might be the absolute perfect pose.  His arms are held up at his sides in what looks to me like a “what, me?” gesture though if you look closely he is walking forward – distracting you as he prepares to make his move.  Then there’s the big guy, the Hulk!  He’s appropriately huge, towering over the rest of the characters standing on the ground (though interestingly this time around he’s not a Giant), and he’s quite bulky.  Hulk wears a smattering of armor since he doesn’t really need the protection, though the kilt, helmet, and one arm armor is reminiscent of his Green Scar/Worldbreaker appearances and the purple highlights are a nod to the classic purple pants.  Oh, and of course he carries his homemade weapon consisting of what appears to be a huge engine block on a stick.

A character I was happy to see return to Thor movie HeroClix is next with two new versions of Heimdall played by Idris Elba!  No longer the guardian/watchman of Asgard in his resplendent golden armor, the warrior is dressed in earth tones for camouflage but with an added red flair.  He stands nearly sideways on his base, brandishing an ornate two-handed sword and watching all with his golden eyes.  A newcomer to the franchise is Valkyrie, a character about whom we know little as of this writing.  Whatever her exact role in the film, she looks pretty cool and that’s translated to her HeroClix form as she swings another one of those neat blue swords.  Eschewing heavy armor she wears black leather with reinforced bracers and a blue half-cape.

The other big addition to the MCU is Jeff Goldblum… I mean Grandmaster!  The Elder of the Universe arrives in style, rocking a pale blue, red, and shiny gold robe as he stands on a green levitating platform (nobody who’s anybody walks on Sakaar).  There’s a great juxtaposition of the casual clothing with the technology of the base, as well as a cool clashing of colors.  Not one to get into fights himself, the Grandmaster stands relaxed with one arm up to gesture toward his gladiators.

A character we’ve come to expect from MCU HeroClix sets, though someone I wasn’t expecting here, is Odin.  While his previous appearances in movie sets brought out the spear-wielding warrior in the Allfather, this version is a bit more sedate as he shows up in flowing robes of orange, brown, and silver.  Odin surveys everything before him sedately with his one eye while holding his hands clasped in front of him, and again, while the two figures of him may look identical there’s more than meets the eye and they play very differently.  And lastly, there’s the chase Fenris Wolf, a character we’ve seen in an extremely brief sneak peek from the San Diego Comic-Con trailer.  The canine is definitely a stand out in the lineup of humanoid characters and looks just like what’s on the box: a black and wolf standing perched on a rocky base.  Fenris turns his head to the right and unleashes a snarling roar, the pink of his mouth and his blue eyes popping from his dark coat.

Let’s take a look at a couple dials, shall we?  We’ve got two for you today, and they’re probably who you want to see the most: gladiator Thor and Hulk.  001 Thor starts off the set with a discount version of the god of thunder after he’s lost Mjolnir.  He’s a lean 75 points with the Asgardian, Avengers, and Warrior keywords, Indomitable, and a really cool trait that gives him knockback and lets him by given a free action to make a close attack but only against an enemy that was already knocked back by one of Thor’s allies this turn (hint: see the Hulk next).  Any ability granting free attacks is very powerful, so you’re obviously going to want to pair this guy with other figures with Quake, Force Blast, and the like.  On the dial Thor starts out strong with Charge, Blades/Claws/Fangs, and Invulnerability.  He keeps Blades throughout but switches to Flurry and Toughness end-dial with a nice last click upswing in attack and defense values.

The next reveal is all smash with 003 Hulk!  The mighty brawler has a lot in common with Thor above: 75 points, Indomitable, and the same “Allies in the Gladiatorial Arena” trait for free attacks against enemies who have been knocked back.  That’s right, you can play these two arena fighters and ping pong enemies back and forth between them for knock back and free attacks and they’re both Indomitable!  While Thor runs right in with Charge, Hulk’s top dial has Sidestep for long moves, Invincible, and Close Combat Expert so set him up for Thor to knock enemies his way.  End-dial Hulk rages out with Charge and Invulnerability with base 4 damage!  Both figures are solid attackers for only 75 points and they go great together.  Hulk also plays well with figures sharing his keywords: Avengers, Brute, Monster, and Warrior.  Lastly, check out the flavor text on Hulk’s card.

Hopefully this preview has you as excited for the Thor: Ragnarok HeroClix as you are for the movie itself.  This set will be in stores next month (October), so make sure your local comic book or game store is going to be stocking it.  You’ve got all of your favorite movie characters including Jeff Goldblum, and it’s a great follow up to the amazing Mighty Thor (comic) set that came out a couple weeks ago.  Oh, and note that while we had good pulls here we didn’t get everything shown on the box… there’s at least one Hela figure out there and I can’t wait to see what she does.  As always, good luck with your pulls!

Visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps, and check Figures.com regularly as we continue our reviews of new HeroClix!

Review and photos by Scott Rubin

Review samples courtesy of WizKids Games

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”masonry” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” album_title=”true” album_id=”1140″]

Keep up with all the latest toy news by following Figures.com on Facebook and Twitter!

To buy action figures, take a look at Hobby Link Japan, BigBadToyStore.com, TheToySource.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and EntertainmentEarth.com.