Marvel Universe Valkyrie

Presenting the Valkyrie from the Marvel Universe Infinite Series Toyline.

This is the Valkyrie  Brunnhilde  - she who was chosen by Odin himself to lead the Valkyrior, "the Choosers of the Slain, a group of warrior goddesses who would appear over the battlefields of mortal worshippers of the Asgardian gods and choose which of the fallen were worthy to be taken to Valhalla, the land of the honored dead in the dimension of Asgard".

To the uninitiated this is also Annabelle Riggs - an archaeologist who has the distinction of being Valkyrie's human host - after having been killed by a rage-filled berserk Valkyrie who then, remorse filled and with the help of Clea, gave up... half her existence (?) so that Annabelle could come back to life. Today they switch forms. Whenever Valkyrie is needed, that's when she appears.

Which suits Annabelle just fine being one of Marvel's openly out lesbian characters who actually kissed the bi-sexual Valkyrie the first time they met:

Unfortunately Valkyrie later rebuffed Annabelle's advances:

Note that Valkyrie is just as arrogant as Thor and Kaycee is Annabelle's ex. Anyway, the Annabelle Riggs/Valkyrie gestalt later hook up with their fellow Defender, the human with Inhuman lineage Ren Kimura - a dancer who gained her powers upon exposure to the Terrigen bomb:

Unfortunately the Fearless Defenders were cancelled by Marvel right after that. Boooooo!!!

The Marvel Universe Infinite Series Valkyrie's blister card reads "Once a goddess of Asgard, Valkyrie was chosen to carry the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla. A master swordswoman, she now wields her enchanted blade, Dragonfang, in defense of humanity alongside Earth's mightiest heroes." Valkyrie was last seen, as of this writing, fighting alongside the Avengers gathered by the inverted Victor Von Doom in the defense of Latveria against the inverted Scarlet Witch.

What's to like about the Marvel Universe Valkyrie?

FIRST:  The Sculpt. There is a certain... "arrogance" in the way she is sculpted.  As you can see here, she stands with a certain swagger on very powerful legs. Valkyrie's arms are wide apart thanks to a broad chest - and we don't.... do... mean breasts, but chest.

She's all solid muscle just like her former lover Thor  - without losing though any of her femininity. SECOND We're particularly found of her very North European thick-jawed, ice-blue eyed head sculpt and the work that went into the braids in her hair - one braid goes down her back, one braid goes down her front.

Simply put the Infinity Series Marvel Universe Valkyrie stands like an MMA fighter about to enter the ring with a drooling Frost Giant who she sees as nothing more than a nuisance.

Yup Valkyrie would also look great with a spear, but sadly she did not come with one.

Here's a closer look at the Marvel Universe Valkyrie's head-sculpt:

THIRD: She carries a kick-ass sword with a dragon head-hilt (Dragonfang) that can be slipped into her belt or carried in either hand or double wield:

FOURTH: Articulation is excellent. Try giving her the Black Knight's ebony blade which she also used to wield:

What's NOT to like about the Marvel Universe Valkyrie?

FIRST:  The limp noodled sword Dragonfang. It is made out of plastic soooo soft that getting the Marvel Universe Valkyrie to actually grip the sword is a challenge.

Leave it in her hands for a while and the sword will start to go soft and look more like a beat up cheap blade made of rusty iron than the mighty Dragonfang.

SECOND:  Yes, that mop of hair does limit her poseability specifically because the two braids tend to hold her head in place.


THIRD: No spear? Oh well.

This particular Marvel Universe Valkyrie was purchased we believe from the black-market of Greehills for PhP 695 (Roughly US$ 15.44) She is available on Amazon for US$ 10.17 (Roughly PhP 457.65 plus shipping).

It would have been really, really great if this was the Valkyrie Marvel thought of releasing was this:

Or this :D

But it's still a great figure to have especially if you are a Thor fan.