I don’t usually do year-end wrap-up posts. My collecting is usually too narrow to really warrant it, but this year I felt a little different. I probably spent way too much on my hobby in 2023 as there were a lot of releases that came in bunches. It’s probably going to have a somewhat negative impact on my collecting in 2024 as I try to narrow things down and stick to what I really want as opposed to what just looks cool. I’ve already made the decision to not collect NECA’s The Last Ronin line as I just have too much TMNT as it is and I don’t love the designs from those books enough to warrant figure purchases. Plus, where would I put them? I’ll probably be scaling back on Turtles in general since most of what I want has already been produced. Am I going to stop? No, not entirely, but I’m finally at a point where I can see something new on the shelf and not feel like I have to buy it.
That’s 2024’s business, let’s talk 2023 one last time. Rather than just rank the figures I reviewed in a top 10 or something, I figured I’d do it more like an awards show only my awards are both celebratory and dubious. You can’t have good without the bad, so if you’re one of those types that just hates anything that could be perceived as negative then maybe skip those. I’m also limiting this to figures I purchased in 2023 that were also current. Getting a figure that was new to me didn’t qualify if it was released prior to 2023. On the other hand, release dates are pretty loose so it’s possible you personally got something on my list in 2022 that I received in 2023. That’s just the action figure business at work. Let’s get to it though as so that we’re not here forever.
Longest Wait of 2023 – Mezco Batman ’89
This figure took so long to come out that I was starting to think it was never going to come out. Mezco isn’t known for its communication so folks who had preordered this thing, and paid in full, in 2020 were left completely in the dark. Maybe it would come, maybe it wouldn’t? 2023 ended up being the year where that wait finally came to an end. Was it worth it? Probably not. If I had a category for most interesting release of the year this figure would win that as well. It’s certainly an experience. Mezco did nail the Keaton likeness though which was the most important factor for me. I just question how well this silicon body is going to hold up over the years. Runner-Up: Super7’s The Simpsons Wave One
Best Figure not in 1:12 or 1:10 Scale – Mondo Sabretooth
I mostly collect 1:12 and 1:10 scale action figures, but every now and then a company gets me to dip my toes in something else. Usually that something else is 1:18, but Mondo has absolutely been killing it with its 1:6 scale line of figures from X-Men the animated series. There have been 3 releases in 2023: Magneto, Jubilee, and Sabretooth, and it’s Sabretooth that takes the crown for me by just a smidge. He looks awesome, poses well enough, and came loaded with accessories. These figures half shelf-presence for days. The only negative is the cost and space and that Mondo solicited 5 figures in 2023 which really did some damage to the old toy fund. Gambit should be arriving any day now too with Logan and Omega Red coming in 2024. I better make room! Runner-Up: Mondo Magneto and Jubilee
Worst Company – Hasbro
Sorry to kick you while you’re down Hasbro as the company just announced a layoffs to take effect next year, though maybe look at the top of the company instead? Either way, Hasbro keeps getting worse with its action figure offerings. The Power Rangers brand is stale, the Dungeons & Dragons stuff based on the old cartoon were riddled with quality control issues, and prices keep climbing on Marvel Legends and Star Wars while accessories and paint apps get cut. They’re putting out their most bare bones releases ever in those lines, but at a price greater than we’ve ever seen for those lines. More expensive plus poorer quality is not a recipe for success. I currently have two Hasbro action figures on pre-order and I’m not looking to add anymore. Runner-Up: Super7
Best Company – NECA
Basically, see what Hasbro did in 2023? NECA did the opposite. For the most part. Yes, their prices have gone up as well, but we haven’t seen a reduction in the product to go along with that price hike. NECA still keeps putting out tons of unique sculpts that are fully-painted with a generous assortment of accessories. They also managed to deliver their long-awaited Turtle Van and the product turned out pretty damn awesome. Now, lets just not talk about the pricing debacle that is the TMNT Sewer Lair. This is supposed to be a positive entry. Runner-Up: Jada Toys (even though I didn’t review any of their stuff here)
Best Original IP Release – Robot Reaper (Super7)
Super7’s The Worst is their own collection of takes on popular, villainous, tropes, I suppose. Their first wave in their Ultimates! collection didn’t thrill me, but I could not keep myself away from wave two’s Robot Reaper. This thing is just a fun, clever, design and it’s also a fun action figure to mess around with. Some of the accessories I could do with out, and part of me feels like a sucker for paying full MSRP knowing full well it’s sure to be discounted, but when a company puts out something good I don’t mind paying full price. Runner-Up: Boss Fight Studio Saurozoic Warriors
Best Figure that Costs Too Much – MAFEX Scarlet Spider
Medicom’s MAFEX brand is basically known for being super-articulated and super expensive. Figures routinely cost over 100 bucks for those of us who dwell in the west and it’s hard to figure out why. Sure, some of the licenses they grab don’t come cheap, but Bandai puts out similar or better products for considerably less. And sometimes even for the same license. This Scarlet Spider figure is one I enjoy quite a bit despite feeling like it’s not worth the tasking price. It’s a better figure than what Hasbro is set to release very soon (one of two I have preordered), but I could very easily make the argument that the Hasbro one is a far better value which trumps any advantage the MAFEX figure brings to the table. Runner-Up: Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Robotic Rocksteady
Best Figure With Awful Quality Control – Super7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ultimates! Goldar
I’m not sure if Super7 has ever made a prettier action figure than Goldar from its line of MMPR figures. I mean, he is a sort of dog-faced monster, but the gold armor they sculpted and painted looks terrific and the character looks like it stepped right out of a television set in 1993. I can’t say the same for basically anything else in Super7’s MMPR line. It’s also the figure that I’ve seen break on camera in figure reviews more than any other. Whether it be the neck, wrists, or those damn wings, this is a finicky, fragile, mess of a figure. I don’t even like handling it as a result. I basically selected the head I wanted and the wing options and I don’t intend to change anything or move much. In some respects, it’s a terrible action figure, but also a great one. It’s a conundrum. Runner-Up: None
Worst Action Figure of 2023 – Marvel Legends Spider-Man (Animated)
This is one of those figures you may have received in 2022 that I got in 2023. Walmart put it up for preorder in the fall and didn’t ship them for awhile, if at all, while some were able to find it in-store in December. No matter, it’s my pick for worst figure of the year that I personally reviewed. And it’s kind of getting it on a technicality, as the worst figure I bought in 2023 was a reissue of an old figure in the McFarlane Batman – The Animated Series Mr. Freeze (what’s with figures based on 90s animated shows getting the shaft?). This Spider-Man is the infamous cel-shaded one, but I’ll defend the cel-shading to a point. It’s not awful like most of the X-Men figures were in 2022, though it’s nothing special. It’s fine. Everything else sucks though. The head is a bizarre shape and looks stupid, the body is way too undersized for the character this figure is based upon, and while it articulates better than some Hasbro Spider-Men, it still does some weird things. The accessories, which include two extra sets of hands and some web splats, are also terrible and since it was a Walmart exclusive it was really annoying to have to track down. Hasbro did a whole line of figures based on the ’94 cartoon series and yet they didn’t make the central character, Spider-Man himself, available in his red and blue threads to a mass audience. What a stupid decision and another deserving reason for Hasbro’s status as worst action figure company of 2023. Runner-Up: Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Magneto
Best Action Figure of 2023 – Mezco Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Green Ranger
When Mezco first unveiled its take on the Green Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers I had a feeling it had a chance to be THE Green Ranger for me. I’d have no need for any other. It was another long wait, and the figure was released annoyingly enough as a convention exclusive, but it lived up to the hype. This figure is not perfect, but it’s the best representation of the Green Ranger in 1:12 form. The details look great, the proportions suitable for the source material, and the soft goods actually enhance the figure and not detract from it. It has all of the accessories you could want plus a flight stand. There are effect parts and even an extra holster for the Blade Blaster, if you want it. I was skeptical, and I almost put this guy in the runner-up category for the too expensive, but Mezco delivered a great product. It’s so good that I’m almost tempted to get the rest of the MMPR team, but then I look at the price tag and I feel pretty satisfied to just stick with Greeny here. Runner-Up: None, this figure was in a class by itself
Those are my thoughts on 2023. To my surprise, I didn’t pick anything from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but then again, that brand had a lot of good releases in 2023, just nothing exceptional. I considered doing a “Best Toy Line” and that probably would have gone to NECA’s cartoon TMNT line, but I didn’t feel that strongly about it, nor could I come up with a corresponding worst toy line. As for 2024, I’m looking forward to it. I have a ton of stuff preordered with Bandai and its Dragon Ball line including some figures that I’m already eyeing as potential Figure of the Year when 2024 is nearing an end. And then there’s Mondo X-Men that I have preordered and we’ve seen artwork for Rogue and Cyclops so that line figures to expand. As for Mezco, I may have given them top prize for 2023, but I’m not planning on picking up anything from that company in 2024. Their brand is pretty specific and it often doesn’t appeal to me. It will take a perfect marriage of enthusiasm for a brand on my part and their unique talents to get me to buy another one. And while I may scale back my toy buying in 2024, don’t expect to see my reviews vanish anytime soon. There will still be plenty to talk about.
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