Krusty the Clown
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.45 stars by RMaster007
Given that Krusty's the most merchandised man in Springfield, it's no surprise he'd get the Ultimate treatment. Krusty appears how he almost always does, in his clown makeup. Without it, he'd look like Homer but with more hair. The default portrait is the stock happy Krusty face, with clean paint and good texture on the hair, but his other two heads reflect his off-air personality. One catches him in the middle of a scream of agony/frustration, with mouth wide open and squiggly tongue, and the other is a bored, grumpy Krusty. All three heads look great, and fit the character perfectly. The last head was originally going to be a more annoyed look smoking a cigarette, but Disney told them no smokes, so they had to replace it (hopefully Krusty's wearing a nicotine patch). Standing about 7...[See More]

Evil REX-1 (Terminate the Turtles)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Last year saw the arrival of REX-1, one of the most wanted characters, in NECA's TMNT cartoon line, and I assume we all knew they'd follow up with the evil clone Shredder made of him. About a year later, here it is, and much easier to find, too! The packaging stands out from the rest of the single-packed toon figures in that it's based specifically off FHE's "Sewer Heroes Series" tapes, the first to have such a style since the GITD Muckman from '22. The art, done by Aaron Hazouri in his usual cartoonier-than-the-original-series style, depicts poor Donatello at the mercy of this evil robocop, while the bio on the back is a corrupted version of good REX's bio. The exterior is great, but the interior is the problem, as there's a ton of those damn plastic ties. Why NECA is so obsessed with...[See More]

Iggy (with Magic Wand)
Super Mario (Jakks Pacific) - Basic Series
Rated 3.95 stars by RMaster007
It's been almost ten years since Jakks Pacific enhanced their presence in the action figure market through their partnership with Nintendo, making many of their properties into figures. Nowadays, the main focus is on the world of Mario, and it's not hard to see why, with plenty of characters and variants to make. I've mostly been getting their Sonic line, but I'm slowly getting back into their Super Mario line, and the low prices make them nigh-irresistible to get. I've been with the World of Nintendo line from day one, and as years went by, it went from a uniform packaging motif to graphics specific to the properties. The Mario figures are a traditional cardback with stock art on the front, and character bio and cross-sell on the back. It's sorta generic, but it works fine for a line...[See More]

Bartman
Simpsons (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
When Super7 announced they got the Simpsons license, I was excited, as was many others. The idea of a fully-articulated Simpsons line with tons of accessories was neat, but over time, some of the initial excitement died down when it became clear Super7 was focusing more on various characters than the main family, let alone in their regular outfits. They announced a while back that they would begin making the regular family beginning in wave five, but unfortunately, Disney pulled the license and dropped the company, cutting the line short and preventing the fans from getting what they really wanted. Aye carumba. On the brighter side, Super7 still had three waves they were able to release, with waves two and three out now, and wave four should be here soon. And more good news, Jakks...[See More]

Power
Chainsaw Man (Bandai) - S.H. Figuarts
Rated 4.95 stars by RMaster007
Even though both Good Smile and Tamashii Nations putting out Chainsaw Man products, the latter has clearly proved the better option for most. The S.H. Figuarts line has handled the designs better, with more articulation and somewhat better prices. I had the figma Denji/Chainsaw Man on pre-order before cancelling in favor of the Figuarts, but the figma Power I didn't bother with, since the Figuarts looked so much nicer. At least Good Smile's the only one doing an Aki figure right now. By default, Power bears a fitting sinister expression for someone as maniacal as her, with her crosshair-like pupils, sharp teeth, and horns giving away the fact that she's not human. Tamashii captured her look very well, with clean printing for the pupils and realistic wash for her hair, but the paint for...[See More]

Riker
Star Trek - Next Generation (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.30 stars by RMaster007
Since its inception, Star Trek has been nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, ranging from TV series to feature films. While the original series is the most famous, its successor, appropriately titled "The Next Generation" is just as iconic. Super7 took a shot at the license and produced plenty of ReAction figures, but also a couple Ultimates, the first wave of which I was able to get for a great deal not too long ago. Bearing the usual packaging for Ultimates, the slipcover has a starry look with the Enterprise symbol on the front, while the box underneath is pretty simplistic in appearance. The window shows off everything clearly, while the back contains a bio and photo of the character in question. The boxes are pretty much the same across the figures, but they did well with them,...[See More]

Fei Long
Street Fighter (Jada Toys) - Ultra Street Fighter II
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
I may be sounding like a broken record, but Jada's Street Fighter figures are great, thanks to top-notch quality and articulation for a price not too far off from the work of big wigs like Hasbro and McFarlane. I was able to acquire two more through Target recently, and they’re the last ones for now until Jada gets to work on putting more up for pre-order. I'll start with Fei Long, since he came first alongside Ryu. He's basically the Bruce Lee of the SF universe, most notably in the face. He bears an intense glare similar to the late martial arts legend, and a somewhat similar hairstyle as well. It looks like face printing was done for the head, as the eyes are rather clean, but the eyebrows could be a little nicer. As with the others, he gets an alternate head, with teeth showing a bit...[See More]

Minotaur (Show No Mercy)
Slayer (Super7) - Ultimate
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
Super7 has been doing pretty well when it comes to music figures lately, with artists such as Notorious B.I.G. and Cliff Burton receiving some of the most well-made Ultimates they've done. One of the latest isn't an artist, but rather someone fictional. This minotaur character comes from Slayer's debut album, Show No Mercy, and whilst done in ReAction form before, the Ultimate saw release not too long ago. Ultimates can have some pretty cool packaging from time to time, and the Minotaur is a good example of such. The slipcover has the Slayer logo on front, but it's stenciled into the back as well, along with various cut out shapes. The pentagram on the window box is neat, and I love the look of the flames on both the box and cover. There's a few ties to snip out, but it's all...[See More]

Squidward Tentacles
Spongebob Squarepants (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
Given that one half of the second wave of Super7's SpongeBob Ultimates is dopey, cheerful Patrick, it's no surprise the other half is his opposite, the sophisticated, grumpy Squidward. Like the others, Super7 seemingly relied on older model sheets for designing these sculpts, and while Squidward is accurate, he's also a little off-looking. His default portrait has a zombie-like stare, and the mouth looks weird due to how curved back the corners are. Giving him half-lidded eyes would make him look better, and give him a fitting expression. The additional heads are much better, with one being a more exasperated look, wearing the Krusty Krab hat, and the other is his ever-memetic "unsure" look. The unsure head is my favorite of the three, thanks to the great detail, but it needs some more...[See More]

Patrick Star
Spongebob Squarepants (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
There's been many SpongeBob toys and collectibles over the years, but Super7 may be the first to make action figure that cater to today's standards. Their first wave of Ultimates, featuring SpongeBob and Sandy, benefitted with great sculpts and paint, useful articulation, and plenty of classic accessories. The second wave came out not too long ago, and with it is the long-awaited arrival of SpongeBob's best friend Patrick Star. It looks a bit more obvious this wave that Super7 was basing the sculpts off stock art, and Patrick in particular looks close to how he did in season one, with a notable underbite and the forehead leaning in a bit. Even if it's an older design, the sculpt is accurate, and paint is good too, although there's some uneven edges for the eyes. He also comes with the...[See More]