Release Date: January 2020 RRP: 6600 yen Avengers Endgame’s moment in the spotlight has come and gone by now, but when you’re working on the kind of timeframe Bandai Tamashii Nations does it’s not surprise to see S.H. Figuarts being released months later. Unlike a lot of the other Avengers Thor was one of the characters whose design was kept completely under wraps prior to the release of Endgame , so not to spoil the big changes the character went through during the film’s five year time skip. So unable to join many of the other key characters in being released in the run up to the film, S.H. Figuarts Thor [ Avengers Endgame ] was finally released at the beginning of 2020 as a Tamashii web exclusive. Once again late to the party, this is the third of four Thor S.H. Figuarts to be an exclusive - the only retail release being the original Age of Ultron one all the way back in 2015.

It's perhaps taken a lot longer than many collectors would have thought, but we finally have a complete line up of the core Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Bandai's S.H. Figuarts line. Whether we'll ever get the likes of Hawkeye or Black Widow is anyone's guess, but for the time being it's great to finally have the main gang together. Following on from Captain America , Hulk and multiple versions of Iron Man is the god of thunder himself Thor , based on his appearance in Age of Ultron played by Chris Hemsworth. With Figma's version of the Hulk not due out until May 2016, Bandai haven't just got them out way before their rivals will - they managed to get them out in a matter of months while it'll take Figma nearly two years.

Among the long lists of anime series that begin each new season, you'll always find a handful that have a certain goal in mind - selling toys. Of course this strategy isn't exactly uncommon on either side of the globe, but in Japan's case these are the year long-running shows that Westerners don't seem to pay a whole lot of attention to, and are eventually forgotten as soon as their last episode has aired. However last year revealed one that everyone immediately paid attention to, as Marvel Comics announced they would be partnering with studio Toei Animation  for a brand new animated venture - Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers. With the pairing of Marvel and Toei having previously brought the world the wonderfully wacky 1978 Japanese Spider-Man series, many were eager to see what would happen when the comics giant teamed up with Toei's animation department instead. The result was not quite what any expected, and a series that could quite easily be summed up as a J...

Not content with simply dominating the market when it comes to poseable anime figures, Max Factory 's Figma line has been expanding its horizons. Having previously tackled Japanese comedians, video game characters and even gay porn stars-turned meme (yes, really), Figma has now turned its attention towards Hollywood. And the most eagerly anticipated of these movie figures is undoubtedly The Avengers . Good Smile Company have been teasing the four main Avengers from the 2012 film for at least a year now, but last month thing ball started rolling with the release of the God of Thunder himself -  Thor , as portrayed by actor Chris Hemsworth.

Marvel Comics has always had a bit of an odd relationship with Japan. The old 1978 Spider-Man  tokusatsu series from Toei was a piece of sureal genius, while the more recent quartet of Marvel anime shows ( Iron Man , Wolverine , X-Men  and Blade ) ranged from forgettably average to mind-numbingly bad. So cue 2014 when the world is still very much in Marvel hype mode thanks to the shared movie universe, and the company has teamed up with Toei once again. This time its something a little more Japanese though, as Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers  takes a typical children's toy-driven anime series and gives it a Marvel comics twist.