I’ll never forget the weeks leading up to the release of Joss Whedon’s AVENGERS movie.
A friend of mine who’d been closely associated with the production called me up to tell me she’d seen the finished film. I asked who the invaders we’d seen in the trailer were, as…up to very, very close to the picture’s release…that (what I assumed was a) significant factor had been effectively swept under the rug, across the board.
My question brought about a few moments of awkward silence. “Is she REALLY going to call me up to tell she saw the movie, and then tell me nothing about it?” I pondered to myself.
Then, with an almost amazed realization, she answered simply, “I don’t know…” “But you saw the movie…” I quickly responded. “Yeah, I know, but now that you ask me that - I realize they don’t really spend much time developing the villains. They looks sorta like Saurod from the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE movie, though. So, you should like ‘em.”
A few weeks later, I saw AVENGERS and quickly grasped why my friend struggled to characterize the invaders. They weren’t ‘bad guys’ as much as they were…antagonists…a mechanism to set the key events of the picture…the assemblage of the Avengers…into play. They looked pretty cool and they did wicked things spectacularly, but they were the equivalent of those little mushrooms or fireballs in a Mario game. More obstacles and nuisances than texturing than substance.
This said, these antagonists…whose name is actually the Chitauri….served their purpose admirably. They ‘sploded things nicely and messed with our heroes sometin’ feirce. And, yeah, they do look kinda like Saurod when all kitted out - which is an automatic win in my book.
Presented by Sideshow (with a Sideshow Exclusive Chitauri Rifle, Folded up Chitauri rifle, and Left palm for holding Chitauri rifle), Hot Toys’ Chitauri Commander and Footsoldier set captures the aliens’ essence very nicely. They’re offered in a sixth scale figure twin set, stand approximately 12” high, and weigh in at roughly 9 lbs collectively.
A substantial loadout of nifty accouterments are included with these fellas (cribbed from their Sideshow site listing):
The 1/6th scale Chitauri Commander Collectible Figure features:
•Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness Chitauri Commander in The Avengers
•Movie-accurate facial expression with detailed skin texture
•Body with over 22 points of articulations
•Approximately 32 cm tall
•Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
◦One (1) pair of partially clenched palms
◦One (1) pair of relaxed palms
Costume:
•One (1) removable gold colored helmet with mask
•One (1) gold colored left shoulder armor
•One (1) pair of gold colored bicep armors
•One (1) pair of gold colored forearm armors
•One (1) gold colored body armor
•One (1) gold colored right thigh armor
•One (1) pair of gold colored greaves armors
Weapons:
•One (1) Chitauri arm canon
•One (1) Chitauri grenade
Accessory:
•Specially-designed city rubble diorama stage
The 1/6th scale Chitauri Footsoldier Collectible Figure specially features:
•Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness Chitauri Footsoldier in The Avengers
•Movie-accurate facial expression with detailed skin texture
•Body with over 22 points of articulations
•Approximately 32 cm tall
•Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
◦One (1) pair of partially clenched palms
◦One (1) pair of relaxed palms
Costume:
•One (1) bronze colored headgear
•One (1) removable mask
•One (1) pair of bronze colored bicep armors
•One (1) pair of bronze colored forearm armors
•One (1) bronze colored body armor
•One (1) pair of bronze colored leg armors
Weapons:
•One (1) Chitauri arm canon
Accessory:
•Specially-designed city rubble diorama stage
Exclusive Accessories for this set:
•One (1) Chitauri rifle
•One (1) Folded up Chitauri rifle
•One (1) Left palm for holding Chitauri rifle
One can gather more about the personality and capability of these guys though a quick glance at these figures than was possible in the closing hour of the movie itself. Rendering them a happenstantially vital “enhancement” or “accessory” to the film, even if this was not necessarily intended during their creation.
This said, and perhaps as a paradoxical byproduct of their scant development in the picture, the Chitauri Commander and Footsoldier figures lack some of the ‘oomph’ one might find in, say, the company’s Nolan-BATMAN offferings, or the PREDATOR line. A little less depth of development (again, probably in keeping with their broad-stroke presentation in THE AVENGERS), a little less nuance. Skin is more statuesque than fleshy, accessories are a tad more cursory than subtle/nuanced in their presentation.
To be very clear, none of this is ruinous - not by a long shot. But, at this price point, collectors may be well advised to set their expectations accordingly.
At the end of the day, the Chitauri Commander and Footsoldier figures serve almost exactly the same purpose as collectables that their progenitors did in the AVENGERS film: if you’re collecting Hot Toys’ AVENGERS line, these guys need to be a part of that effort and will make a fine complement to your assemblage of characters from the picture. At the same time, they’re not necessarily beefy enough in their conceptualization or realization to anchor one’s collection. But…for those of you with Hot Toys’ Iron Men or Captain Americas, etc? You know you’ll want your heroes to beat the crap out of these guys. And for that reason alone, these Chitauri are successful in their purpose and mission.
You can learn more about he Chitauri Commander and Footsoldier figures HERE. Sideshow (who was generous enough to provide review product for this piece) is currently showing the product as “Wait Listed.” Don’t let this dissuade you from trying to nab one - I’ve been lucky with “Wait List” items in the past, so victory is possible.
—————
Glen Oliver
"Merrick"
