Picture #54: Thor Hangs a Picture

As I mentioned in my last post, I finally acquired the Hammer of Thor, a life-long ambition. For years I'd been popping into Halloween stores, only to be told that the surprising inexpensive comic book adaptation model ($20) was sold out.

Sure, I could have ordered it online, but there's a certain fun searching things out in brick and mortar shops - online shopping seems like cheating, at times. So when I saw this beauty sitting a shelf in the Disney Store in Times Square after seeing the movie on Friday night, I knew I'd succumb. Fortunately, Toys 'R Us had it for about $5 cheaper, at $20 as well.

It's actually a really well-made and pleasing toy. You can't really tell, but it's made of soft, smushy rubber, hollow inside, yet the thing still has a nice heft to it. Much less damaging than my mother's meat tenderizing hammer, and much more pleasing! It lights up and makes thunder sounds at the press of a button, and also has a dorky foam missile that can shoot out of the top, which I will never use. And aside from being too narrow in the hammer portion, it doesn't condescend to kids by being too toy-like - it looks and FEELS right. My only other complaint apart from the narrowness is the lack of a strap. No doubt a safety concern... which I shall promptly ignore by making it a strap.

Anyway, I figured since I had the intention of making a Thor summary video, I'd be saving myself the time it would take to make a hammer out of cardboard and paper. Unfortunately, that time was then taken with me running around my apartment pretending to be Thor. Eventually I did get around to cobbling together my Thor costume seen above... Which I found myself horribly tickled by.

FOR ASGARD!!!!

Picture #53: "Did you eat that whole #@*%ing thing?!?"

This is my roommate Luke's awesome Galactus toy (with planet drill) that was released in the 90's, I believe. It's a great, simple, iconic adaptation of the character.

Literally the day after taking this shot, I walked into Toys 'R Us to get a Mjolnir toy I've been wanting ever since I saw it on the shelf for the Thor movie tie-ins (and really, a toy I've wanted ever since I was a kid - I remember using a meat tenderizer mallet as my makeshift Uru hammer), and when I walked into the Marvel section, low and behold I saw this!!!

It's a little bigger, has more detailing in the way of bits of Kirby-esque circuitry and whatnot, talks and comes with a Silver Surfer figure, not to mention a very nice display box. That said, I wouldn't say it's superior to the older version - just different. And it doesn't have the planet drill.

Fortunately/unfortunately, buying the Thunder God's hammer (and perhaps some Godzilla figures...) left my toy budget tapped for the month (and really, for the next several months), so I left the Devourer of Worlds on the shelf. Someone else will have to deal with his cosmic hunger...