Tag Archives: Thor: Ragnarok

Dec 9 2019

The Greatest Marvel Hallmark Ornaments

marvel hallmark ornaments

Christmas or Holiday ornaments based on popular IPs have populated Christmas trees for quite some time. Along with the Star Wars and Star Trek ornaments, Hallmark has produced many different ornaments based on superhero properties. One of their most successful lines are ornaments based on Marvel Comics superheroes, whether featured in comic books or on film. Here is a list of the greatest Marvel Hallmark ornaments released by the company.

potted groot ornament

10. Potted Groot (2015):

Sweet, adorable Groot as seen in his seedling form at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy makes for one cute ornament! Although this Groot does not dance, the ornament features the song “I Want You Back”, which Potted Groot dances to behind Drax’s back.

9. Hulk: Thor: Ragnarok (2017):

The Hulk in his full gladiator regalia as he appears in Thor: Ragnarok, is one of the most colorful and intimidating Marvel Hallmark ornaments. The figure easily captures the enraged mood of the gladiator Hulk as he is ready to pounce on his next victim/opponent.

8. The Avengers: Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man (2012):

These were three separate ornaments featuring the three superheroes from The Avengers. They could be hung separately in a Christmas tree or combined at their bases to created a cool diorama. Plus, this is one of the best Iron Man ornaments.

7. Team Captain America (2016):

The year that Captain America: Civil War featured to opposing separate ornaments, Captain America and Iron Man. While the Iron Man ornament is well crafted, the Captain America ornament is hands-down the best one based on the star-spangled hero. Other Captain America ornaments usually have him in a stationary pose. This one, however, captures him in powerful fighting action.

6. Iron Patriot (2013):

The patriotic red, white and blue colors on a re-branded War Machine from Iron Man 3, make this ornament stand out so vividly. Never mind that the film divided fans, it cannot be denied this ornament is beautifully done.

5. A New Breed of Superheroes (2006):

Actually, this ornament is a collection of mini-ornaments featuring classic Marvel heroes that can be combined at their bases into one. This allowed one to either use all six heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, Captain America, the Thing, and Iron Man) together or separately. It’s a highly sought-after collector’s item.

4. The Infinity Gauntlet (2019):

The fearsome weapon that Thanos used to wipe out half of all life in the universe as seen in Avengers: Infinity War, is a powerful ornament indeed. Featuring multi-colored lights emanating from the Infinity Stones, this gauntlet fits surprisingly well in a lit-up Christmas tree.

3. Spider-Man and Green Goblin (2010):

This ornament featuring a mighty battle between Spidey and his arch nemesis, the Green Goblin, stood out from other Spider-Man ornaments just for its concept of having a hero fighting an opponent. The two figures are dynamically posed which helped make the ornament one of the very best ones produced by Hallmark. The company should continue this idea with other Spider-Man villains; imagine what one featuring Doctor Octopus would be like!

2. Comic Book Heroes #3 – Incredible Hulk (2010): 

This Marvel ornament was part of an ingenious ornament series from Hallmark. On one side was a 3D figure on a background that recreated a famous comic book. In fact, the ornament was a mini-comic book reprint of the famous issue. In this case, The Incredible Hulk #181, which is renowned for having the first full appearance of Wolverine. It’s too bad, Hallmark discontinued the series after just four ornaments (the final one being the following year’s The Avengers #4), there are so many other classic and iconic comic book covers the series could have recreated.

first spidey ornament

1. Spider-Man (1996): 

There have been many wonderful Spider-Man Hallmark ornaments. Most of them had our favorite Web-Slinger in wild and spindly poses that accurately represented Marvel’s most popular superhero. But the very first ornament is still the best one. It’s so elegantly posed so that this mini-Spider-Man looks so natural hanging from a tree branch. The strings attached to his hands aid with the illusion that he is swinging around a Christmas tree with its lights that could easily stand in for the bright lights of a city.

Honorable Mentions:

The following are pretty terrific Marvel Hallmark ornaments that are worth mentioning and hunting down on Ebay or elsewhere:

A New Kind of Hero: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017); Black Panther (2018); Captain America: Avengers: Endgame (2019); Comic Book Heroes #1 – Amazing Fantasy #15 (2008); Comic Book Heroes #4 – The Avengers #4 (2011); Deadpool (2017); Groot and Rocket (2018); Hulk Smash! (2014); Iron Man (2008); Iron Spider (2019); Slinging and Swinging (Spider-Man, 2016); Spidey Swings Into Action (2018); Thanos (2019); Thor: Thor: Ragnarok (2017); Venom (2016); Web-Slinging Wonder: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

José Soto

Nov 4 2017

Thor: Ragnarok Is Three Times The Fun

For the third film in a trilogy, Thor: Ragnarok is the liveliest one of the bunch. Frankly, after the dire and listless second film Thor: The Dark World, this third Thor film is a spectacular shot in the arm for the God of Thunder’s films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Loki and Thor

Thor: Ragnarok quickly picks up where the second film left us, with Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) commanding the throne of otherworldly Asgard under the guise of their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) quickly deduces what Loki is up to and the two find out the consequences of Loki’s actions. In Odin’s absence, the Nine Realms that he ruled over have slipped into anarchy. This also means that Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death, who was imprisoned by Odin to escape and wreck havoc on Asgard. Before Thor could stop her, he is accidentally transported to the planet Sakaar, taken captive and forced to fight in gladiator-type games held by the planet’s ruler, the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). As we all saw in the trailers, Thor’s opponent is the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who was last seen going into self exile in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Thor must find a way to stay alive, escape his enslavement and convince the Hulk to join him in saving Asgard from Hela.

thor vs hulk

Now reading the above makes you think this will be another serious-minded Thor film with high stakes and Shakespearean undertones. But that isn’t the case with Thor: Ragnarok. The somber approach worked in the first Thor film thanks to the skillful hands of Kenneth Branagh, who is familiar with Shakespearean drama and brought that to Thor. But this time, Thor: Ragnarok’s director Taika Waititi relied on his comedic tastes and background for the film. In doing so, he brought a welcome change of pace and mood this time around as this film is more of a comedy. This approach mostly works though I have to admit there are times there are just a tad too many jokes and there are moments that should’ve had more weight but come off as too light. It’s clear that Marvel Studios wanted to repeat the look and formula that worked for Guardians of the Galaxy and this is very evident in the scenes taking place on Sakaar. The Guardians of the Galaxy films perfectly balanced its comedic tone with serious drama but Thor: Ragnarok comes up a bit short in keeping that balance.

Hela (1)

Nevertheless, the third Thor film is a fun blast with stunning set pieces and special effects that buttress its lighter tone. Credit for that does not just go to Waititi, but the film’s stars starting with Chris Hemsworth. In other films, Hemsworth has shown that he has quite a comedic gift and he gets to display that in this film. Thor seems less pompous and more laid back in his third outing. It’s almost as if he has thrust off his original regal persona and taken on an ability to crack a joke. This does not mean he takes things lightly. Hemsworth and the director knew which moments to hold back the jokes  and appropriately react to more serious moments. Continue reading →