Name: Theriom SoldiersTM
Subtitle: heroic sentries
Line: KR|Enmity
Item type: multi-pack (2-pack) - Nº 2 in the line.
Character details
Name: Theriom Soldier
Classification: mammal (various species)
Sex: male or female
Home: Tahron
Era: 20 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: gunner.
Background
First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity
Brief bio: across the Kingdom of Tahron, the bravest hand-to-hand combatants who also had extensive knowledge of advanced weapons were enlisted by King Li-Khon to fight for the causes of the Therioms as expert marksmen and military tacticians. Thanks to their powerful armaments and transportation devices that allowed them to cross any terrain, the Theriom Soldiers skilfully perfected pioneering techniques to capture enemies and to deactivate robotic war machines. After learning of Wordron’s oppression in O-Kin, their only desire became to keep Tahron and its people safe from the Duke's evil plans. With their strong sense of honour and justice, these exemplary service men and women fought courageously for freedom against the Dark Legion.
Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen for the female figure.
Description
The set includes two figures: a male and a female.
The set includes two figures: a male and a female.
Heads: both figures' standard heads have human features, showing olive brown skin and dark eyes (with Pacific Islander traits for the male figure, who also bears a scar on his left cheek, and Native American features for the female figure), and wear silver helmets with gold details, whose size and shape are adapted to the type of head. Each helmet has a mixed military/sci-fi vibe, and is equipped with an antenna and a cheek microphone at the right side
Bodies: the figures' sculpts use the same proportions seen in other KR human male and female figures; in addition, both wear whole-body grey military uniforms, which show a diagonal blue stripe on each arm (the left one also sports a black strapped sheath for a knife) and thigh (both featuring black strapped holsters for two pistols)
Wearables: both characters wear gold armours with silver details, golden gauntlets (the right one has a little wrist-mounted laser blaster), bulky golden hobnail boots with knee guards, spike-studded golden belts (which look a bit like tank treads) with pincer-shaped buckles pointing downwards, and silver groin protectors. Each armour is kinda hulking and has armholes that look like tank treads, some battle marks and electro-mechanical details here and there, and a blue shoulder belt held in place by a silver spaulder on the right shoulder; the shoulder belt is equipped with loops for cartridges, a golden Theriom emblem (i.e., a seven-pointed star with the two side points elongated) and a double-sheath for two knives, while the spaulder is embellished with rivets and spike-studs. Additionally, each soldier carries a bulky backpack, which bears a bright circle (fictionally a reactor engineered to power some components of their suit) at the centre, several spots to store their weapons, a sculpted rolled-up sleeping bag attached to the lower part, and four power cords that can be connected to the boots, to a specific weapon and to the back of the alternative head (more on this later). Finally, each cuff and knee guard has a notch that accommodates a silver Theriom emblem, whose elongated side points are bent forward in such a way that they resemble spikes.
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| Theriom Soldier's stylised helmet. The part on the top fictionally swings over the face and transforms into a gun. |
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| Theriom Soldier's stylised armour; the oval at the centre of the chest piece represents the Theriom symbol. Size and shape vary according to the body structure of the characters. |
Action feature
In the comics, the Theriom Soldiers are cybernetic fighters equipped with tank technology, who are capable of turning their helmets into gun turrets and their boots into caterpillar tracks. So, each figure comes with an alternate "gun-head" and has tank treads on their feet. The turret-heads feature laser sight “eyes” and pilot mouths worked into their design. Being, like their Foundation and Origin counterparts, experts in the use of capture weapons, their face guns can fire a stream of energy that traps the enemies, allowing them to be held in the stream before being apprehended. To represent the beam, a long, wavy translucent light-blue piece (with either yellow or purple lightning effects twisted around its length) can be attached to the front of each gun and spun using a knob on the back of the head. Finally, their boots have silver&black triangular continuous tracks on their outer sides, which can swing via ratchet joints in order to touch the ground, fictionally allowing them to navigate various kinds of terrain without difficulty and with great speed.
Weapons and accessories
Aside from their alternative tank-heads and energy streams, the Theriom Soldiers come with a nice assortment of accessories, which is especially great for army building purposes. Each has a silver electric cattle prod-like stick: one single-pronged for the female figure, and one double-pronged for the male. Despite they have a relatively simple sculpt, these weapons show a neat futuristic design and a nice little green pincer ornament sculpted on the end of each handle. The pincer piece can be unplugged, so that one of the four cords from the backpack can be connected for powering the weapon. I don’t remember the Soldiers actually wielding these sticks in the comics, but I suppose they are used to cause the electricity supply of the Dark Legion Troopers to short-circuit. The male Soldier is also equipped with a black machine gun and a silver mace with a metallic red head, while the female has a silver axe whose metallic blue blade is characterised by a net-looking texture (clearly, the pincer thingy, mace head and axe blade are all references to the grabber, bolas and net weapons associated with previous versions of these service men and women).
Additionally, the 2-pack includes a silver sword and two differently sized diamond-shaped silver shields (with some scratches and holes) that are intended for the Theriom Knights, who came with too few weapons in my opinion.
Finally, the figures come with two alternative helmeted brown-furred heads: ape-looking for the female Soldier and feline-looking for the male one.
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦ I suspect many collectors would approach these figures as I did - while the Troopers looked like they totally belong in the KR universe and the Knights less so (but still not out of the question), these Soldiers are clearly a novelty
Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ I'm pleased that none of it is hindered by their "tank" parts
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣ I think the guys at PoliganToys did the best they could with the design. I love the scratches and battle marks on the armour pieces, as well as the track-boots, but I'd have been even happier if they had made the gun pieces of the turret-heads removable, to reveal a more face-like mask
Accessories: ♠♠♠ Although I like the "taser" sticks, they’re admittedly a bit boring, since their designs just don’t seem like something you’d see in the hands of these tank soldiers
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ A set of figures with tank heads and feet are clearly one of those last minute “we need a good-guys army builder in this wave” decisions where a designer looked at the Dark Legion Troopers and thought that a pair of tank-looking soldiers would be ideal to fight those tank-shaped robots. A little bit stretched maybe, but at the end I got a great set and a cool addition to the line
Overall: ☺☺☺ The Theriom Soldiers set is something of a novelty, and it’s probably not a must-own item for potential collectors. But I’m glad I got this prototype and I appreciate the option of displaying them with several different heads.
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