Hot Toys | Thor: The Dark World | Loki

I was stupid and passed on the Avengers Loki figure. I thought it looked nice and as much as I enjoyed the movie, I didn’t think I would be collecting the Avengers figures. But then I got Iron Man and Thor, and suddenly it just seemed strange not to have the rest of the gang, including the antagonist Loki. Once Hot Toys announced they were producing figures for the second Thor movie, I figured I had to get my order in.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I was really mesmerized at Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the God of Mischief. He was so good at being so bad and he still maintained that aura about him in Thor: The Dark World. So I had high hopes for the figure especially because I passed on the first. Once I picked him up from delivery I couldn’t wait to get home and open the figure to have him stand with the rest of my Hot Toys collection. And then I opened the package and well, I was less than blown away. It’s not a bad figure, not by a mile, but it doesn’t give me that same gusto I felt when I watched the movies.

To be quite honest, after opening the figure, and taking pictures, I just don’t feel all that excited to write about it and I think that’s indicative of how I feel about it. I personally think the Avengers version is superior in almost every way even though I don’t have it to compare. And let’s see why.

Overall the figure is very nice and it’s a great representation of Loki, but there’s something about the portrait. I don’t know what it  is exactly, but it’s not quite there. If this was say 8 years ago it would be groundbreaking, but today not so much. I think it has to do with the proportions because the head looks like he put on a few extra pounds since the first movie. Tom Hiddleston is on the thin side so this portrait just seems a tad heavy to me. If nothing else, Loki was in prison but it looks like he ate well. And as much as I like neutral looks, for Loki, an ever so slight mischievous grin would’ve done wonders, much like the Avengers version. The last issue I have with the head is that it’s bigger than Thor’s. That just shouldn’t be. I also think maybe the thinner body would’ve been a better choice because he looks like he could take Thor in a wrestling match.

Loki’s costume is very nicely done with fine detail. I’m always amazed at the stitching job Hot Toys produces. it really blows my mind how close to the edge they can get. That being said, I still hate pleather. There’s really no comparable substitute except for maybe thin leather, but that’s about it. So while the tailoring and outfit are nice, I’m scared about the longevity of this figure. It might seem unfair that I’m basing my score on the future, but it can’t be helped at least for me. One other issue is it would’ve been nice to have the helmet and cape as those are signatures of Loki, but since it wasn’t prevalent in the movie until the very end, I guess they weren’t compelled to include it. Give another point to the Avengers version.

The paint work here is immaculate and looks very real. Don’t know how they do it. What I really like about Hot Toys is that they don’t overdo it. The wash is very subtle and I wish a lot of customizers would understand the concept of less is more. I have seen so many custom figures where the paint is just so overdone and caked on that I lose interest. I guess it’s the same principle of make-up where less is often better.

Unlike the his brother Thor, Loki can attain most poses not inhibited by his outfit. His upper body is a bit more restricted than the lower, but it’s still decent enough to create nice poses. I don’t have any issues here and I don’t really have anything else to add. It’s a Hot Toys body which means good stuff.

Loki comes with the usual assortment of hands, shackles, his dagger, a stand, and if you got the Sideshow Exclusive he also came with an LED lit Aether. While it might seem like a lot, it feels somewhat lacking. At least the first version came with his helmet. But it’s not a deal breaker for me so overall I think the value is quite decent.

He’s pretty sturdy and is in line with most Hot Toys figures in build and quality. I just hope the pleather holds. However, in the event a joint breaks, there’s really no good way to replace it. otherwise he should be just fine provided he’s not given to a kid which by now should be a standard operating procedure. If you’re giving Hot Toys figures to kids, either you are really loaded or completely out of your mind.

It’s really a very good figure. If you missed out on the first one, it’s a perfectly good alternative but it just makes me want the first one even more.