When Hasbro released the first Marvel Legends figures from Avengers : Infinity War in 2017, a number of the earlier figures were based on concept art and early designs. That led figures like Proxima Midnight and the BAF Cull Obsidian to be quite a bit different in figure form than what actually turned up on screen in Infinity War. In 2020 Hasbro announced their intention to right a few of these figures with a new exclusive set called The Children of Thanos. The set, exclusive to Amazon, would include screen accurate figures of Cull Obsidian and Proxima Midnight as well as tweaked figures of Ebony Maw and Corvus Glaive and a new variant of Thanos.
When you consider that Thanos and Cull Obsidian are essentially Deluxe figures, the packaging for this set was always going to be enormous - but it is still quite a surprise as to how expansive it actually is. The set uses a rectangular window box format with a black base colour and gold highlight colours as per the Infinity War movie logo. The figure window is shaped and bordered in the gold with the Legends logo top right and Infinity War logo base and centre. Underneath this is a gold flash with the set name "Children of Thanos", and this goes on to be repeated in a number of other languages.
The figures themsevels are arranged with Thanos in the centre and two either side with accessories slotted into the space around each figure. The side of the box are headed with the Legends logo again and then a checklist of characters Both sides include Thanos at the top. The right hand (as we look) then shows illustrations of Cull Obsidian and Corvus Glaive. The left features Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw.
The back of the box has a large colour illustration of Thanos, surrounded by his children with Proxima's spear protruding from the illustration to the black border underneath. To the side of this is the background text we see on all Legends releases
"The Children of Thanos, powerful and vicious warriors, will stop at nothing to harness the power of the Infinity Stones"
The package opens via the top or bottom flap, and the figures are set into a plastic tray, there are no ties to hold the figures. The tray is then sat into a cardboard inner tray that has also been providing the figure backdrop. With the figures removed, you can see this carries a design of an exploding Avengers "A".
4.0
The first figure of Proxima Midnight, like Cull Obsidian, was based heavily on early art and concepts for the character and while the sculpt was not far off accurate the colour pallet was very wrong. This new Children of Thanos version corrects this with a full repaint of the figure to a screen accurate look.
The head has now been re-sculpted, or at the very least heavily retooled around the nose and mouth. The skin tone is toned back to a pale, sickly skin tone with visible scar on the right cheek and black stripe down the chin. The same black is used around the eyes which look out from beneath the ridged brow and those curved horns that stretch up and round into the hairline where the hair is dialled back to a dark blue/black finish.
The costume is darker and more menacing, with the a body suit that is textured with swirling designs and lines throughout. The white segments from the old figure have been moved to a dark grey
The costume is darker and more menacing, with the a body suit that is textured with swirling designs and lines throughout. The white segments from the old figure have been moved to a dark grey. The armoured sections from the left shoulder and right leg are now a steely metallic finish.
The extent of Proxima's full décor makeover to align with her onscreen look is striking when you compare new and old side by side. The updated head takes the figure to another level and coupled with the repainted body, this is very much the definitive Proxima for your MCU display.
4.5
Proxima still includes her pronged spear weapon, and this has been updated too from the original inaccurate bronze to a sleek steel finish. The blades of each prong at both ends have been painted in an electric blue to reflect the energy blade seen on screen - although it is perhaps still too dull a tone to carry that off.
The spear fits into the right hand of Proxima for posing and the left, while can be used for support for two handed poses. It might have been good to get a gripping hand extra on the left to help with the more dynamic spear poses.
And the upgrades don't end there. Proxima is now also given her sword that she uses when they assault Wakanda at the end of Infinity War. This new sculpted piece includes a ridged handle in black and a silver blade. It too fits in the right hand and holds securely.
4.0
Proxima has a full range of articulation with a total of 18 points of articulation. As a larger female figure, there is sufficient plastic in the arms to afford her double joint elbows along with a bicep swivel and this helps with the weapon posing in particular.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle rocker
With no cumbersome armour, the arms have nearly full motion with just a little bit of sticking point on the left shoulder where the armour sits across the joint. The torso joint does not add a great deal of movement but allows for some rotation and to bend and angle the upper torso as though looming over an opponent.
The legs are fully mobile and Proxima can sit, kneel and crouch in various positions. There is a little bit of looseness in the hips which may become problematic in the future - but other than this all the other joints are secure and tight and there are no standing issues on this Proxima, something that plagued the first version.
4.5
I remember giving my first Proxima figure a 4 out of 5 score when I reviewed it, and of course this was before Infinity War had been released. Just two years later, this new version is a huge improvement on that original and it is great to see Hasbro have updated the head as well as the paint to make this the Proxima Midnight we see on screen.
The whole goal of the Children of Thanos set seems to be a correction of previous issues, and Proxima is certainly a success in that regard and with the addition of the sword we can now recreate her Scotland and Wakanda scenes.
My only build on the figure would have been the inclusion of an alternative left hand for the weaponry. Everything else works really well, although I suspect the articulation may become problematic over time.
I score the Children of Thanos Proxima Midnight a total of 4.5
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, marvel. legends, hasbro, avengers, infinity war, thanos, children of thanos, the black order, cull obsidian, proxima midnight, ebony maw, corvus glaive.
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