Tag Archives: kang

October 31, 2024

Super7 The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror ReAction

By Joe
It just wouldn’t be Halloween without The Simpsons.

Happy Halloween fellow toy enthusiasts and fans of The Simpsons! Every year since 1990, there has been a Halloween edition of The Simpsons. The annual anthology style episode called Treehouse of Horror is basically appointment viewing each and every year. Sometimes it arrives before Halloween, sometimes on Halloween, and often times after Halloween (as it’s doing this year for some unknown reason). It would be nice if there could be some consistency when it comes to that aspect of the annual show, but at least with Halloween occurring on a Thursday this year it’s not a long wait until Sunday.

Here at The Nostalgia Spot, much time was spent on Simpsons action figures in 2024, and in particular, those from Super7. The company announced it had the license a few years ago to produce action figures based on the show, but it took a long time to get things moving along. As a result, Disney may or may not have grown impatient or they just didn’t like the returns they were getting from Super7 because the company yanked the license (along with all other Disney licenses) away and gave it to Jakks Pacific. That lead to three waves of Ultimates! figures getting released in a short window earlier this year with varying degrees of quality (most not great). I enjoyed some of those figures, but I also did not enjoy some and I was pretty harsh at times. This isn’t an apology though, the figures are what they are, and the criticism was warranted. When I finished that though I opined on if I should make a post about some Super7 figures based on The Simpsons that I did enjoy. Namely, the ReAction brand.

The ReAction figures are a little bigger than the new Jakks 2.5″ (Bart on skateboard) line, but a lot smaller than the Jakks 5″ line (far right).

Super7’s ReAction brand is its retro-style action figure. Loosely based on what Kenner started in the late 70s with Star Wars, these are approximately 3.75″ figures with five points of articulation: head, shoulders, hips. All of those points are simple swivels and Super7 has used this format for basically a whole bunch of licenses over the years. Personally, I don’t have any nostalgia for the original Star Wars line from Kenner so I typically am not interested in these intentionally ugly, limited articulation offerings from Super7. It also doesn’t help that they’re usually around 20 bucks (ouch). However, for some properties Super7 alters its approach slightly to basically sculpt and paint the figures to match the source material and that’s what it did with The Simpsons.

Each wave of Simpsons Treehouse of Horror ReAction consists of four figures.

Super7 did four waves of Simpsons ReAction. One was based on the movie within the show, McBane, while another was a series of Troy McClure two-packs (and they were great). The other two were devoted to Treehouse of Horror. Wave one consisted of Reaper Homer, Skeleton Marge, Inside Out Bart, and Kang as Bob Dole. The articulation across the board is terrible, but the sculpts are pretty nice and these figures are fully painted. What really helps sell them is the yellow paint for the skin, something the much larger and more expensive Ultimates! figures skimped on at times. The Marge sculpt, in particular, is very nice as she has a skeleton body with her normal head (in a horrified expression). Inside her rib cage is a trapped Snowball II and even the little kitty appears to be fully painted. She’s a bit tough to stand because the hips are a touch loose and her hair makes her top heavy, but overall she’s rather nice looking.

Finally! I have Bob Dole’s boneless face in plastic!

Homer also looks great. This take on the “Reaper Madness” segment where Homer became the Grim Reaper captures the likeness well. He has one skeletal arm and one normal one. Plus, he has two accessories: his scythe which he can hold okay with his left hand, and the scroll ordering him to kill Marge which he can hold with his right. He’s even more limited articulation wise, but these things are basically just little statues. Kang-Dole is depicted from the moment in the segment where Homer yanks the Bob Dole mask off of his head exposing the top of his eyeball. The Bob Dole mask is an accessory and it’s kind of creepy. The details on the figure are nice though and it’s certainly a memorable segment from the show. Inside Out Bart is perhaps the least interesting of the bunch. Even though the concept should lend itself well to figure form, there’s less paint since they were able to just mold him in pink and just paint a few veins here and there. His expression is also odd, but he has his cane and top hat and looks fine. It’s just the limited posing (even for this form as his legs do very little) of this form factor that lets the figure down since this character only exists for a dancing segment and he definitely can’t be posed in any dancing maneuvers.

Not the most creative character selection, Super7.

Wave two was surprisingly more of the same for Super7. It once again features a version of Homer, Marge, and Bart and then throws in a side character, which in this case is Groundskeeper Willie. Marge comes in her witch attire from “Easy-Bake Coven.” She has a laughing expression and comes with her broom. She, of course, can’t really ride the broom and even though she’s wearing a long skirt Super7 still gave her hip articulation by splitting the sculpt. I hate when they do that and it’s one reason why I’ve never been tempted by their Misfits ReAction figures. They left the robed Homer alone, but not Marge. It just looks stupid, and the limited articulation doesn’t add much. Still, she’s a good representation of this Marge, even if a little less exciting than the skeleton one.

Both Homers look pretty great.

Homer is in his Snake form from the segment “Hell Toupee.” That means he looks like regular Homer, only he has a gray shirt and hair. Somewhat to my surprise, Disney let Super7 sculpt his pack of cigarettes under his right sleeve. It’s a small detail, but they’re so averse to smoking in anything that I’m surprised they didn’t insist on removing it. He also comes with a corkscrew with Moe’s heart stuck on the end. It’s pretty gruesome for such a small item, but I appreciate his right hand being sculpted in such a way that he holds it properly. The Bart in this wave is technically not Bart, but Hugo from the segment “The Thing and I.” His shirt is a little darker than usual and his clothes are tattered. The remnants of his shackles are still on his ankles and he comes with a glass of milk and plate of fish heads. His grip on the glass is pretty loose and can get annoying as dropping that tiny accessory can lead to a long search for it. The plate of fish heads also just kind of rests on his right hand and can be precarious since it throws off his balance. Basically, once you get him right, don’t touch him! The sculpt looks nice though and he’s well painted, though the tattered bits of the hem of his shirt could have been done better. It’s basically seamless with his body so it looks odd upon close inspection.

Willie, with his Jakks counterpart.

The last figure in the wave is Groundskeeper Willie in his Freddy Krueger attire from “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace.” He is perhaps the most preposed of the line (Hugo is as well) as his knees are bent and his arms are situated in such a fashion that he can hold his included rake with two hands. It basically just means he has one pose so the articulation on this guy is almost pointless. He looks great though and I’m definitely not upset about his inclusion or anything. I do think this line is open to criticism when it comes to character selection. We get two each of Bart, Marge, and Homer, but no Lisa? After the Ultimates! completely shut out her, Marge, and every female in Springfield it was disappointing to see the ReAction figures almost do the same. We could have easily received a witch Lisa instead of Marge, or maybe sorcerer Lisa, Einstein Lisa, snail Lisa, or a multitude of others. Hawk Lisa with a shrew Maggie (or whatever she was supposed to be in “The Island of Dr. Hibbert”) could have been a way to get both of the Simpson daughters into the line.

I love what Super7 gave us, but could we have sacrificed a Marge for a Lisa? I get that Homer and Bart are the most popular, but we needed a Lisa!

All other criticisms of character selection mostly stem from the line only lasting two waves. It’s a shame, because Treehouse of Horror is ripe for more figures. I might have preferred a fly Bart or werewolf Bart to the inside out one, but it’s not like Inside Out Bart is a bad pull or anything. Plus it comes from one of the best editions of Treehouse of Horror. With this line, Super7 had a great process. The sculpts were on model, they didn’t sacrifice on paint, and even the scale looks pretty good. I was certainly looking forward to more and it’s a shame this is it. If you want to collect what’s present here, you definitely won’t want to wait. Most places are sold out with figures only available on the aftermarket where folks are looking to get more for them now that the line is cancelled and no more are coming. At 20 bucks a piece, they were already too expensive for what they are. I could forgive it because at least they looked nice (and I got some of these on sale too), but at any more than that it becomes a really hard to sell. You have to be a hardcore fan of The Simpsons and Treehouse of Horror in particular to spend more than that, and if you are such a fan there’s a good chance you already have them. Happy Halloween!

For more Simpsons figures, and even some Treehouse ones, look no further:

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Kang and Kodos

We are onto the third wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. Like past waves, plenty of questions abound when it comes to Super7’s character selection and they’re not unfounded. Perhaps the two most questionable inclusions in this third wave are the subject of today’s post: Kang and Kodos. These are two separate…

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by Joe

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Devil Flanders

Last week, we concluded our look at the third wave of Super7’s line of figures based on The Simpsons and now we embark on the fourth and final wave. That’s right, Disney pulled the rug out from under Super7 and handed The Simpsons license over to Jakks. Their products will start rolling out this fall.…

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by Joe

Jakks Pacific The Simpsons Homer and Bart

I think it was early this year that we found out Super7’s line of ReAction and Ultimates! action figures based on The Simpsons was ending after just a couple of years. That meant Super7 was done after four waves of Ultimates! and four waves of ReAction figures. We had seen figures for a possible fifth…

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by Joe

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May 2, 2024

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Kang and Kodos

By Joe
They do not come in peace.

We are onto the third wave of Ultimates! from Super7 based on The Simpsons. Like past waves, plenty of questions abound when it comes to Super7’s character selection and they’re not unfounded. Perhaps the two most questionable inclusions in this third wave are the subject of today’s post: Kang and Kodos. These are two separate releases, but since the figures are practically the same it makes sense to review the two at the same time. These aliens could be described as fan favorite characters and they owe much of that status to their close ties to the annual Halloween celebration that is Treehouse of Horror. For awhile, these two aliens could be counted on to make at least a cameo appearance, but the show seems to have mostly dropped that. They’ve probably appeared in more than they’ve missed, and their debut occurred in the very first installment of the Halloween tradition. Still, they take up two slots of a wave that includes four figures and not one of them is an actual member of the Simpson family (though one does make it into this wave as an accessory) which is more than a little bizarre. Why not save the pair for a Treehouse-themed wave? Devil Flanders is in the fourth wave, so they’re only one figure short. Oh well, Super7’s poor planning is not the fault of these figures so let’s just see if they can stand on their own merits.

Robot Scratchy has been overthrown.

The aliens of The Simpsons are green, octopus-like creatures with one eye and a massive maw that is constantly overflowing with saliva. The aliens apparently need a very specific type of mix to the air they breath so they are most often seen in a large glass helmet that covers their head, but still allows for their tentacles to be free. I had never paid much attention to how many tentacles each alien has, but if Super7 can be assumed to have done its homework then the answer is five. Kang and Kodos are siblings and in one episode Kang refers to Kodos as his sister, though I think they refer to the character as a “he” in later episodes. Since they are largely from the Treehouse of Horror anthology episodes, their appearances are basically non-canon anyway so their circumstances change to suit the jokes and situations each plot presents. They did have one non-Treehouse appearance, but it’s an episode most consider to be pretty terrible and I have no idea if it’s considered canon or not by the show’s writers. Regardless, as action figures these two present an obvious challenge since there isn’t a whole lot to articulate. They’re also massive and come at an inflated price of $75 each. That was too rich for me initially, though once the line was cancelled I felt better about extending myself to make sure I had a full collection. Plus, I took advantage of an influencer discount at Entertainment Earth (Preternia, if you’re curious, since that guy is always alerting me to great action figure deals) and free shipping was just enough to get me to bite now rather than hold out for a possible discount later. These two arrived in a massive box which was honestly pretty exciting.

“We find your lack of mass amusing.”

The packaging for Kang and Kodos is consistent with the first two waves so slipcovers are included. The cardstock in use for their oversized boxes is thicker than usual and both actually got a little beat up in transit. They’re too big to save anyways so I tossed them, but they’re definitely two of the bigger Ultimates! boxes I’ve encountered. I think both the Power Rangers T-Rex and Dragonzord were wider, but these were deeper and taller. They’re also held in place with lots of tie-downs and twist-ties which is annoying, but they did seem to keep everything in place.

Everything about this pair is big.

Kang and Kodos are exactly the same size. Their “heads” are a little over 7″ alone and once you put the dome on their bodies you’re talking about something that’s over 11″ tall. They are big and impressive to look at, but I stress the “look at” part. In-hand, they feel shockingly cheap. Shockingly because they don’t look how one would expect them to feel. The heads are hollow so they’re very light. Some parts of the heads appear to be painted and some appear to be colored plastic made to fit in place. The mouth area is all painted well, but the green spots on the tops of the heads can be iffy. Kodos, in particular, has some bad paint up there where some of the spots are unfinished. Worse though are these domes. They’re plastic and are manufactured in two halves and then glued together. I think, because they don’t want to separate. Both were pretty scuffed up right out of the box and since they were packaged well I’m assuming they went into the box in this condition. Once again, it’s Kodos that gets the worst of it as their dome has a pretty nice scrape on it near the top and also a random black dot. Unfortunately, both eyesores are on different sides so one is always visible and the seams around the whole thing do limit the display options. Oddly, Kang’s was packaged differently and included a soft, plastic, hose around the tip of the dome though the tip on Kodos’ dome arrived fine without it. Kang also had more plastic wrapped around his head for some reason. Kodos has what appears to be some tape stuck over the left side of the eye that I’m having a hard time getting off too.

It doesn’t photograph well, but the domes are scuffed up on mine. Hopefully it’s an isolated issue.

The domes and badly painted spots are my only gripes about the presentation with these two because they have the size to earn their spot on a shelf. If they can fit, that is. I’ve been displaying my collection on the Arcade 1-Up editions of The Simpsons arcade game and these two aren’t going to fit. If I was determined to pull it off I probably could, but I doubt I’d be able to add any others. Instead, they’re going on a stand beside the cabinet and I’ll probably stick Devil Flanders with them as well.

They basically pose just enough to use their accessories.

For articulation, there’s not a lot to speak of. The heads rotate on the base and the eye is articulated as well. It’s basically a marble that can be moved around which is a nice touch. The two front and one rear tentacle are connected with hinged pegs so they can move a bit, but the range for the hinge is pretty minimal. The two side tentacles function as the arms and are connected to the body in the same manner, but they’re skinnier so the range is better. They’re also segmented and each features an “elbow” and a “wrist” for additional posing. All of the joints are the same hinged peg and they don’t do a ton. I’m not sure if a ball joint would have been better. There would likely be better range, but the sculpt would likely be broken up even more. You’re basically just going to pick your favorite accessories and pose them accordingly.

There are quite a few food-based accessories.

And for accessories, we get a lot of stuff just pulled from the show. Kodos features two tentacle ends that come to a soft point which can be swapped with a tentacle holding a salt shaker, ray gun, serving tray, or the big book on how to cook for forty humans. The ray gun is a really fun design and well painted. The tentacle piece holding onto it is kind of like a “trigger” tentacle and it pegs into the handle of the gun and can be removed. Without the gun, it sort of looks like a thumb’s up gesture. The other items have the tentacle molded to them. The serving tray or dish is a domed one and the dome does come off, though Super7 didn’t provide anything to place in it. I guess they can serve potato chips or a cream pie if you have Homer and Krusty. The other portrait for Kodos is a laughing expression and it’s a nice complement to the more menacing, default, portrait. It’s a bit more visually engaging and I feel drawn to it over the standard look.

Ladies and gentlemen, the only Simpson of wave 3.
At least she scales reasonably well.

For Kang, he has a cheeky grin by default and his alternate portrait is the same as the one included with Kodos except his eye is closed. It’s kind of lame as a result because the moveable eye is the best piece of articulation the two have. If you want the two laughing on your shelf then I guess it’s fine. Kang also comes with his hitchhiking sign that says “Earth Capital.” His default right tentacle ends in a hook shape which can hold it in place if you wish, or it has a peg hole and can be affixed to the gun-holding tentacle end, which Kang also comes with. His other parts are tentacles holding a knife and fork so you can pair the two up for a dinner scene. Kang’s best accessory though is his daughter, Maggie, following the loss of her baby legs. Maggie looks pretty vicious as she has a wide grin with visible sharp tooth. Her pacifier is on one of her tentacles and her head can rotate. She’s painted well and is the only Simpson included in wave three. Since she is in variant form, I guess it makes sense given that was the case for Homer and Bart. If you want to place her with them, she does scale pretty well.

“Go ahead and eat me. At least I’ll be able to die saying I had dinner plans.”

These two look pretty damn good and the accessories included are fine. I would have preferred a better secondary portrait for Kang, perhaps an angry one that pairs with the angry one included with Kodos, but otherwise I’m pretty satisfied with what’s included. I just wish the domes turned out cleaner. They display all right, but look pretty bad up close and for seventy-five bucks it’s inexcusable. That’s the big hindrance with these two as that asking price is crazy. I don’t know what they cost to manufacturer and ship obviously, but when Super7 asks for a premium on these larger figures, but still charges $55 for Bartman and Ralph it definitely makes the consumer feel as if they’re not getting a great value. The cheap in-hand feel of this pair doesn’t help as they don’t feel like $75 figures. I’m left wondering if it would have been better to just do them as soft vinyl figures outside of the Ultimates! line. They would have sacrificed articulation, but that would have been no great loss and looked and felt a whole lot better. They also probably would have been $200 a piece considering Super7’s Super Size vinyl figures are $300 and in some cases are not much bigger. This is what we got though so if you want a Kang and Kodos in this scale better ready that wallet or hope for a clearance event down the road. These two may not have been ordered in the quantities other figures were so it’s hard to know if it will happen, but I’d say it’s more likely than not. Just watch out for a run on them as Halloween approaches.

We have plenty more from the world of Springfield and Super7:

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Krusty the Clown

If you’ve been following along with my reviews on the second wave of Super7’s The Simpsons Ultimates!, then you will have noted that I’ve had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this wave. For the most part, the sculpts and deco have been on point, it’s some of the little things that have been…

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by Joe

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Bartman

When I concluded my review of wave 1 of The Simpsons Ultimates! from Super7 I was thinking that I’d be back with more reviews later in the year. That was in February of 2023. We are now in April of 2024 and finally wave two has arrived (my original order was place January 5th, 2022).…

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by Joe

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Hank Scorpio

If you’re going to market action figures to a fanbase as venerable as The Simpsons, you should probably go after what they love most. Simpsons fans love to make references to their favorite episodes and characters and one of the top episodes from the show is “You Only Move Twice” from the show’s seventh season.…

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by Joe

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