Tag Archives: teenage mutant ninja turtles

May 6, 2025

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios April (Version 2) with Professor Obligado

By Joe
Say “Hello” to her little friend.

Back in 2008, when NECA was planning out a line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures that they hoped would run for a long time, they turned to the turtles’ most trusted ally when it came time to do a fifth figure. The line wasn’t long for this world, and that figure of April O’Neil from issue two of the Mirage Studios run of comics ended up as a convention exclusive. She had a couple of variants, and came packaged with Mousers as well, but she was also the end of the line. Be it poor sales or issues with the master license holder, NECA’s Mirage run of turtles was brief, but has since been resurrected. We’re almost nearing a point where it feels like NECA, not Playmates, is releasing more unique sculpts per year when it comes to this franchise and it’s no surprise that in 2025, in the month of April no less, NECA has decided to return to the character once looked to as the most logical release after the turtles themselves.

An updated April for your updated turtles and newish Casey.

Version 2 of April is presently shipping as part of the Target Haulathon, that oh so expensive time of year for those who collect NECA TMNT. The old figure is one I never bought. April was a little rough in her debut appearance and creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were not too proud to admit that it took them awhile to really learn how to draw April. That figure fits in well with those early TMNT figures NECA produced as they’re based on the first issue, but for those looking for an April that vibes with the more recent output from NECA a new figure was needed. For inspiration, NECA turned to issue #11 which has become somewhat infamous online over the years. Namely, for those who want to champion that April was originally conceived as being black or at least mixed race. While it was true that her name came from April Fisher, a woman who is of a mixed race, Eastman and Laird have always been pretty clear over the years they envisioned her as a white woman. In issue 4, she received a new hair style – a perm. Combine that with the name thing and the fact that Eastman and Laird often used people in their orbit to base April’s looks on and you can see why this became such a big thing.

April’s got a new look.
The inspiration for this figure.

Apparently, Eastman has at least embraced this retcon of sorts as this new April from NECA depicts her as a black woman. And why not? NECA already did a white April (well, many if you count the cartoon and movie lines) and people seem to like this idea. Some don’t, which is often the case when you start talking about race because there are racist assholes out there, but this is Kevin and Peter’s baby and if they like this depiction of April then that’s good enough for me. We know Kevin at least does since he did the artwork for the box. I guess Peter could hate it, or he could be fine, or indifferent, it doesn’t matter. It’s an April action figure and all that really matters to most would be is it any good?

“You know, I’m something of an artist myself.”

April is a figure sculpted by Richard Force and Tim Miller. Or I should say, April and her boxmate are sculpted by the duo. I’m not sure if one sculpted April and one sculpted her pack-in, but at least we know they both contributed where as most toy companies don’t give us that much info. Paint is credited to Geoff Trapp, Mike Puzzo, and Holly Knevelbaard. April stands at around 6″ to the top of her hair. She’s depicted in her outfit from issue 4 of a pink shirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and a brown jacket. At least those were the colors in the earliest color versions I have seen, though for me I’m most accustomed to seeing April and everyone else in black and white.

Not a figure made for the classic (and probably sexist) female pose.

The presentation for April is fairly basic. That’s not necessarily a negative, it’s just the reality of an action figure based on a normal woman. There’s no crazy super powers to capture or outlandish costume, it’s just a woman in casual attire. She has her poofy hair which is done in brown with some light brown brushed over it. Her expression is serious, but fairly neutral. There’s some linework on her cheekbones and her lips are red and outlined in black. She has a simple gold necklace sculpted around her neck and some big hoop earrings which appear to be part of the sculpt for the hair. The jacket and shirt feel like they’re an overlay, but the material is more firm than usual. There’s a lot of black linework on the clothing and the paint job on the sneakers is pretty complex and mostly clean. The paint is sharp and the appearance of the figure is too. My only critiques would be it looks like they missed a paint app on the zipper of her coat as it’s just left brown. They also gave April a serious case of “flat butt,” why did you do her dirty like that NECA?

This little guy gets all the stuff.

April comes with three sets of hands: open, fists, and gripping. That’s it. I wish we got a second portrait from the panel where she shows off her new haircut as she just looks really happy in that shot and it would be nice to give her the option of being happy on the shelf. Her articulation is pretty basic for the line as well. If you have Kirby or Baxter then you should have a pretty good idea of how April moves. Her hair really limits the range at the head to basically a swivel. The shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees all work well and as expected. The range at the hips is good, but she can’t quite hit a split. Ankles are a bit limited and for some reason the left ankle on mine doesn’t want to pivot (it’s gummy and just snaps back into a neutral position). The waist is a ball joint, but it just swivels for the most part because of the size of the overlay. The torso isn’t going to do anything and the gripping hands have the wrong hinge, not that she has anything to hold. Her feet being relatively small, she can be a deceptively difficult figure to stand. I’ve had her topple over numerous times already in the short while I’ve had her.

I think I’ll keep the hat on him.
Plenty of Utroms these days, and I didn’t even bother with the little one from the robot.

That’s April, but she’s technically not alone. Joining her is Professor Obligado, an Utrom ally with a series of short stories by Stephen Murphy. He’s very similar to other Utrom characters we’ve received in that he’s a little more than a slug figure as he has two articulated tentacles. He also gets the bulk of the accessories as he has a fedora, pipe, pick axe, paint brush, can of ink, and two extra tentacles one of which has a can of some spray molded to it. He looks fine and the swapping features are fun, but I would have liked something for April. It’s almost like NECA saw doing another April as an obligation, but rather than make her as much fun as they could, they threw in another character after doing the bare minimum.

At least Casey has weapons to spare.

This review has taken on a negative tone, but I should stress that this figure of April isn’t a bad one. It’s just fine. There’s nothing special about it, it does what you would expect, and the execution when it comes to the sculpt and paint is up to NECA’s standards. The articulation isn’t great, but still what one would expect of the line. It just lacks imagination. Obligado is fine, and those who really dig the Utrom characters will enjoy adding him to the mix. That doesn’t shake the feeling that I only bought this figure because I want an April and I would have bought anything. At least she turned out far better than the cartoon one. If you’re feeling inclined to pick this one up, April sold out online, but can be found at Target. If you don’t want to shop there for any reason, know that she’ll eventually show up elsewhere, but with the current state of things who knows what she’ll cost? Right now, the MSRP is $35 and hopefully it stays that way.

There are plenty more heroes and villains from NECA’s TMNT line of figures based on the original comics:

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Karai as The Shredder

Where do you take your heroic comic book franchise when you kill your main villain in the first issue? Well, you first undo that rash decision by bringing him back! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird famously killed The Shredder in the first issue of their comic. They never intended to…

by Joe

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Rat King

Rats! Is what Charlie Brown would say at the sight of today’s subject, the almighty king of the rats himself, the Rat King. Rat King has always been a favorite of mine when it comes to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villains. Like a great many, I was introduced to the character via the cartoon series…

by Joe

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Kirby

Say the name “The King” to a comic book fan and they will immediately know of whom you speak. Jack Kirby is a titan in the world of comics. Creator or co-creator of a great many characters known throughout the world today, it’s hard to imagine what a comic book would look like without his…

by Joe

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April 22, 2025

JoyToy TMNT April O’Neil

By Joe
We’ve got another April, is this one worth getting excited over?

The JoyToy line of 1:18 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a, well, joy to collect! We’ve talked about the turtles, their chief adversary the Shredder, and his two cronies Bebop and Rocksteady. Now, just in time for the month of April, is their friend and liaison to the human world April O’Neil herself. April has seemingly always had a bit of a rough go of things when it comes to toys. The old Playmates figures were a bad fit, stylistically speaking. Most of those sculpts were detailed and a bit gross where as April was basically a Fujiko style bombshell in the cartoon. Playmates tried a few different things including even taking something of a Barbie or She-Ra approach to the character, but few would cite an April figure as their favorite. To I think everyone’s surprise, even NECA’s entry in its toon line was kind of bad. I felt it was the worst figure in an otherwise stellar line when it dropped back in 2020 and it seemed like April was just a character that was always going to be snakebit.

She’s tiny, but feisty.

When I saw that JoyToy was turning its gaze towards the ravishing reporter I was a little skeptical of how it would turn out. April has been a tough nut to crack and it would seem a smaller scale would only add to the challenge. I’m happy to report my fears were unfounded as JoyToy’s take on the ’87 version of the character just might be the best April figure that’s ever been brought into being.

She seems to be sized okay when compared with the rest.

April is packaged in the same window box as all of the rest with a few product shots around the box. She also comes with the same sewer street scene base that the turtles came with as well as a logo disc stand. The direction of the character is clearly inspired by the 1987 cartoon series. This line, so far, has been an interesting mix of the 87 looks and the 2003 looks and if I had to predict what direction JoyToy was going to go with I would have probably thought 2k3. Or something all its own. This April is instead very much an ’87 version as she features the same haircut, the yellow jumpsuit, white boots, and comes packaged with Channel 6 equipment. The only deviation from the cartoon with this figure is that her jacket is open revealing a black t-shirt underneath which matches some black gloves she’s sporting as well. The ’87 look is probably the most iconic for April so it makes sense to see JoyToy adopt it here.

This April also works for Channel 6.

April also appears to be pretty true to her proportions from the cartoon as well. She’s fairly tall for a woman and the figure checks in at right around the 4″ mark. If you do the math, that would make April a 6′ tall woman. That might be a little overboard, but she is wearing healed boots. What’s more important is how she scales with the rest of the line. With the turtles, she’s about the same height, and if anything she’s just a touch taller. These turtles seem to exist in their own universe where they’re depicted as much taller than is typical for them. Against Shredder, she’s noticeably shorter, but not by a whole lot which basically conforms to the cartoon scaling. What is more noticeable is she’s far more slender than the very chunky turtles and muscular Shredder. She is long of leg and certainly has hips. Her sometimes much celebrated curves from the show have been toned down to a more realistic bust as well, but she’s hardly what I would call petite in that area so put down your pitchforks, fellas. If you consider the ’87 version to be the source material for this one then it’s pretty damn true to the source in terms of her shape and height.

She can handle a camera pretty well.
This April is more of the investigative type than an on camera reporter.

The accurate proportions mean a pretty nice sculpt, all in all. The face has a hint of a smirk like she’s fearlessly pursuing a hot story with no regard for the danger it may be putting her in. The jumpsuit is loaded with detail in the form of seams and wrinkles. There’s a pack going around her torso which is a separate piece and the pocket on her right thigh is no longer a pocket, but a pouch held on by straps which could be slipped off if you so desired. Maybe JoyToy felt that yellow would clash too much on the shelf so they covered this one with a black wash. The jumpsuit has a dingy appearance as a result and even the boots are dirty. This is apparently a reporter who prefers to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. There’s also a wash applied to the hair which helps take away that plastic look. My only criticism would be that I think the boots would have popped rather nicely without the wash, but I understand why it’s here and I think it’s part of the character they’re trying to get across. The details on the face are handled well, though the printing for the eyes came out quite glossy. It almost looks like she has tears in her eyes. I found it distracting out of the box, but the longer I have this figure the less I notice it.

Remember 8mm cameras? I do.
The Turtlecom looks nice, but it’s a shame it can’t open and close.

I very much like the look of this one and I’m happy to report that it moves perhaps better than any other figure in the line. The head may be the most limited as the collar of her coat plus the sculpt of her hair prevents the figure from looking up, but the range otherwise is solid. She has a butterfly joint at the shoulders which may be a first for the line (I skipped the Foot) and it gives her a little range going forward and back which will come in handy later. She has a bicep swivel plus a swivel at the elbow which can bend a little past 90 degrees. The ball hinges at the wrists work well, though they are more exposed than the wrists on the other figures in the line (but also move better). There’s a ball joint in the diaphragm and at the waist so she can bend forward and back and rotate at both places. Legs go out to the side almost to splits and kick forward just fine and there’s the usual thigh swivel. The double-jointed knees work as expected while the ankles hinge allow the feet to move forward and back a generous amount. The only spot that I’m less than satisfied with is the ankle rocker which barely moves. If you push the foot forward as far as it can go you can eek out a bit more from the rocker, but it definitely could be better.

Look out April!
Oh, nice one!

Aside from those ankle rockers, April can basically do what most will probably want her to do. I don’t find myself fighting with this one as I pose her which I had to do to some degree with the other figures in the line. Nothing was stuck or loose and the figure can do cool ninja poses or reporter stuff – it’s your call. Some people may not like how exposed the wrist joints are, but they don’t bother me and since they work fine I’m not going to complain about them. Who would have predicted that an April figure would be the most fun to mess with in a TMNT action figure line?

She don’t need no stinkin’ turtles to save her.

April also comes with a generous selection of accessories. For hands, we have a set of gripping hands, open hands, a right trigger finger hand, a left wide gripping hand, and a left “peace” hand gesture. She also has a set of red boxing gloves if you want your April to mix it up or maybe just be trained by Splinter or the turtles. She has one alternate head, a first for the line, which features a surprised expression. It looks fine, but has the same glossy eyes of the default portrait. For her hands, she has an assortment of reporter equipment. There’s a microphone with a Channel 6 logo on it. The logo is fairly plain, but I suppose it gets the job done. She also has two cameras: a handheld 8mm and a larger camcorder. The camcorder works well with the trigger hand or she can carry it via the handle on top. Lastly, she has her Turtle-Com which is in an open position. Nothing on the accessories articulates so the handle on the camcorder can’t be folded in nor can the Turtle-Com be closed. They are pretty well painted though which is impressive for such a small scale.

These are our smallest Mousers yet (I think, maybe the 2k3 Playmates ones are smaller). Left to right: Mattel Mouse, JoyToy, NECA, JoyToy.

Lastly, April also comes with a pair of buddies. Or rather, a pair of foes. Joining April in what is a bit of a throwback to her Mirage origins are two Mousers. These little guys follow the same basic design as the comic and the cartoon of this almost bird-like posture with a big, chomping, head. The sculpt is on point while paint is kind of minimal. The main body is just white plastic with a few hits of black at the hips, toes, and the jaw hinge. There’s a red stripe where the “eye” is assumed to be as well. Articulation for these little guys is pretty much the same as the Mousers we got from NECA. The head rotates and can look up and down. The jaw opens and closes while there’s another joint at the base of the neck for added nuance. The hips are simple swivel joints while the knees and ankles are hinges. It’s literally the exact same setup as the NECA versions and the only real difference is the scale and the eye appears to be bigger relative to the rest of the body. And these little guys are great, it’s an awesome pack-in accessory and I love that we got two of them.

Now the turtles have someone to document their epic confrontations.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this April figure is my new favorite in this line. And I’ve really enjoyed the other figures to come out. It’s a terrific take on the 87 version of the character, and as much as I enjoy this scale, I do wish I could blow it up into a 1:12 version for my toon collection. The NECA April redo was better, but still hardly what I’d call perfect. This one gets all of the details right and she comes with plenty of stuff and can move pretty well. We in the toy collecting world call that the total package. The only real negative here is the same as the major one with the rest of the line: she’s not for sale in the US. That doesn’t mean she’s unobtainable for those in the west, but your options are limited. And with all of the tariff business going on these days, it may get harder to import this one before it gets easier. I purchased my figure from LT Cave for about 40 bucks. That’s fairly steep for this scale, but compared with a Star Wars Vintage Collection figure which may run you $25 these days it feels like a good deal. I’m also willing to spend a little extra on a toyline that has an endpoint for me. April was released alongside Splinter, but I wasn’t really into the look they came up with for the character. JoyToy has also shown a Slash, Tokka, and Casey, but I’m good. The one I do really want though is Krang and I placed a preorder for that one which may do it for me. I’m sure I’d be happy with the other figures as well, but I don’t need them and this is going to be an awesome little collection when all is said and done. If you do decide to undertake the hassle of importing these then I think you’ll come away impressed just like I have.

There’s plenty of stories out there.

Missed our coverage of the other JoyToy TMNT figures?

JoyToy TMNT Rocksteady and Beebop

No, that is not a typo you see in the title of this entry. This is a review of the JoyToy versions of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles henchmen Beebop and Rocksteady. I don’t know why it says Beebop on the box, but this is a Chinese company and English is probably not the primary…

Keep reading
by Joe

JoyToy TMNT Shredder

Every hero needs a villain, and for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that number one villain is The Shredder. Setup as a foil in his original appearance, Shredder really became the main guy when the cartoon series was put into development. That show needed a villain who was always around and Shredder was the best…

Keep reading
by Joe

JoyToy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

It’s been said before and it will be said again: everyone is making Ninja Turtles. It feels like the list of companies not making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is smaller than the list of those who are. Viacom has not been shy about licensing the brand out to toy makers and it’s reaching a point…

Keep reading
by Joe

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April 15, 2025

NECA TMNT Toon “Start Shredding the News!” Ultimate Shredder

By Joe
Shredder is back, but is he better than ever?

I am back! If you’re a regular reader then you probably didn’t notice much as far as content goes, but I’ve been out of commission for weeks now due to my laptop crashing. I was able to fix it, but it took some time to get around to it and it’s been a really long time (for me) since I’ve talked about toys. I’ve been going a little crazy not being able to do so because it’s a compulsion – I like to voice my opinions on the stuff I buy. I wasn’t sure where to start when it came time to finally making a new entry, but I figured I should make it as topical as possible and talk about a new NECA drop from its mega popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line and that’s Ultimate Shredder.

Original NECA Shredder on the left with the new Archie Shredder on the right.

Shredder was included as part of the inaugural release for this line way back at San Diego Comic Con 2017. That Shredder was a reworked version of the original Mirage Shredder that was cancelled (but eventually released) and then repurposed for a set based on the 1989 arcade game. Because of that, the likeness to the cartoon version of the character wasn’t perfect, but it was still far and away the best representation of the character ever committed to plastic. Not that the competition was stiff. I didn’t go back and re-read my thoughts on the figure (I think I will after I write this), but I’m pretty sure I was pretty happy with it. It’s a very good representation of the character from the show and it was done with a level of quality we hadn’t seen before. In 2025, the figure is certainly showing some age, but it’s still not even close to being a bad figure. The thing that stands out the most to me when I look at it is just the torso. It’s lacking in articulation and the figure doesn’t have the same amount of paint figures in the line are prone to contain so it looks a little cheaper.

He scales pretty well with the good guys.

NECA seemed to think that was enough to warrant a redo. And since Shredder is THE villain from the show, it makes sense. Revealed last year is this “Ultimate” take on the character. It’s a noticeably chunkier Shredder that largely corrects all of the aspects of the original release that were inaccurate to the source material. And as I theorized when I looked at the recent Archie Shredder, it contains some of the parts used to craft that figure (but probably not as many as you would have expected). And by and large, it’s an improvement. If you opened this review wanting to know if this Shredder is better than the old one then the answer is yes, in almost every way. The real question when it concerns this figure is will most want to spend $35 on another Shredder?

And he fits in pretty well with his crew.

Shredder comes in the Ultimate style packaging designed to mimic the old f.h.e. home video releases. Titled “Start Shredding the News!”, this is a figure sculpted by Tomasz Rozejowski with a credit also going to Kushwara Studios. Paint was handled by the frequent duo of Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and Susan Capone is credited with tailoring. The artwork for the box was done by Aaron Hazouri and it’s a fun image of Shredder in front of several villains from the show all of whom have been captured in plastic by NECA save for Mr. Ogg (and I’m fine if he never gets a figure). There are product shots of the figure and it’s all pretty nice. I will say that Shredder looks off model to me, but I also don’t save the packaging so it’s not something I care about. And if you enjoy reading the little blurbs they put on the boxes, then you’ll probably get a kick out of this one.

Many plots in 80s and 90s cartoons revolved around a very important floppy disc.

Shredder stands at approximately 6.875″ tall to the tip-top of his helmet. If we bring in the old Shredder, we find he’s closer to 6.5″ while Archie Shredder is basically right at 7″. I do like this height differential when we bring in a turtle. More than the height though, this Shredder is chunkier, thicker, and it fits in better with the turtles than the slender old one. The wraps on the forearms are now accurate to the show as are the spikes on the shoulder pauldrons. The sculpt is all new compared with the original so there’s not much else to compare aside from the paint job and overall approach. That original Shredder had some embellishments on it to give it a gritty feel. Maybe it was a holdover from the Mirage take, but he has little scuffs and marks on his armor. The blades are also painted gray where as they’re white on the new Shredder which is more in-line with the show.

“For book club this month, we have this diary by the Kojima brothers. No, Rocksteady, not the guy who created Metal Gear…”

The paint is what stands out the most as a change. The paint on the original Shredder has cel-shading with grays and blues on the armored parts. On this new Shredder it’s all light gray with white blades. There is no cel-shading. There’s black linework throughout, but not shading like we saw with most of the line. I’ve always been kind of torn when it comes to NECA’s cel-shading. I don’t think it’s bad, it’s just not that ambitious and the black outlines and such seem good enough to me. I do wish this new Shredder had some shading on the helmet, at least. Just a little hit of white in places would help to create that illusion of steel the cartoon often utilized. A black line in the center of the faceguard might have worked well too, but that’s something that may have been tried and was nixed because it didn’t look right. Both the old and new have a soft approach to the chest in contrast with the Archie Shredder which is pretty faithful to the show. NECA reused the abs from the Archie Shredder which isn’t accurate, but it doesn’t look bad. I would have preferred total accuracy, and maybe just not doing the black lines for the abs would have done it, but it’s not ruining my enjoyment of the figure or anything.

“Hah, Donatello, I have the device!”
“Looks like you’re missing an important part, bucket head!” “Blast!”

What is not different across all three figures is the cape and this cape kind of sucks. It’s a very cheap looking material and it’s an almost shiny purple. The cartoon Shredder had a softer purple color to his cape and the way this one bunches up around the neck also doesn’t look great. We should be able to see his neck, but it’s all swallowed up by the cape. And there’s no wire in it. There’s some tailoring around the neck to keep it in control, but it’s nothing extravagant. Capes are a weak area for this line with only Dark Turtle having a good one. It’s a shame that the big villain of the series couldn’t get a comparable one to the Loot Crate figure.

“Mommy…”
“Perhaps mother would enjoy this necklace?”

This Shredder comes with a whole bunch of new stuff as is befitting the Ultimate release model. For hands, we get fists, gripping, open, and a left hand with a tight grip. That hand is designed to hold some of his smaller accessories like a wad of bills which appear to be Shredder bucks and a little blue floppy disk. He also has an amulet which he can hold in that tighter hand or with basically any hand since it’s a necklace. The gripping hands are for use with the Medi-Laser, an item from the first episode of the third season. It’s a gun that heals things, so not exactly a dastardly villain weapon, but Shredder stole it in the episode so that’s why it’s here. And it’s a new sculpt. It’s painted really well and looks pretty nice. The gray piece in the handle is also removable which I think is intentional because it was pulled out in the episode as a way to deactivate the gun. It’s tiny, so don’t lose it, but that’s a cool touch. Shredder also has a yellow book which is the diary of the Kojima brothers. It’s from a season 5 episode and Shredder used the book to summon some dead guys. Shredder also comes with a picture of his mother (aww!) which is in the same style as other pictures in frames we’ve seen before. The image inside is a render of the character and it looks okay, but it’s obviously not a figure and I wouldn’t hold my breath on one coming in the future.

“At last! The power is mine!”
Useful for when he has to shave.

Lastly, we’ve got some extra heads to talk about. Shredder’s default portrait is what you would expect, but it has the creative inclusion of being able to remove the crest. This is useful for the other helmeted head which doesn’t have a faceguard. but has the crest with the completed Eye of Sarnath from the season two episode “Curse of the Evil Eye.” The face sculpt and paint looks nice and the crests swap easily so you can power-up Shredder if you want. It unfortunately doesn’t swap with the Baxter Stockman head with Shredder’s helm and I’m surprised the Eye wasn’t on that Baxter head. Removing the crest on either head allows for the use of the included chef’s hat. I think this is from “Pizza by the Shred” and it’s the kind of silly, goofy, inclusion I like. We need a proper delivery boy Michelangelo now. Lastly, there’s a completely unhelmeted head which is very well done. Swapping heads is, unfortunately, just as difficult with this release as it was with the Archie Shredder. Use heat and I guess try to keep the cape dry if using water. If you wanted to, you could also probably use any of these heads with the Archie Shredder, but I can’t get the head off of mine and I don’t want to heat it up and find out. The hands, at least, are pretty painless to work with. One note with my figure is the right gripping hand is really loose. All of the other hands are find, save for that one. A little coating of super glue on the post could possibly remedy that.

“How ’bout some pizza, dudes?”
“The only currency that matters! Shredder bucks!”

Shredder looks pretty good and he comes with a lot of stuff, but can the thing move? As is often the case with NECA, the answer is “Ehh, for the most part.” NECA never sells out for articulation and this Shredder is basically the same as the Archie one when it comes to articulation. It’s completely pinless and the elbows and knees were lubricated at the factory so they move pretty freely. Nothing is loose or overly tight. With Archie Shredder, I couldn’t get the waist to do anything, but this one has a waist swivel that is unencumbered and moves fine, but it’s just a swivel. There’s no ball peg so all of your crunch is going to come from the diaphragm joint, and like Archie Shredder, it’s not very effective. It rotates and tilts a bit, but it barely moves forward and back. The posing is very basic. It’s better than the original Shredder from 2017, but not by a lot. It did drop the toe joint though, but since that old Shredder has a bad toe joint I don’t consider it a loss.

He’s a pretty handsome devil.
“Get back here with my helmet you imbecile!”

And that’s NECA’s “Ultimate” take on the Shredder. Does it live up to that name? For the most part. It looks like the character from the show which is what the line places the greatest amount of importance on. There’s no real quality control issues and it comes with a lot of stuff for $35. I have seen some people complaining that he doesn’t come with a sword and I suppose that’s valid. If you have been collecting this line for awhile then you probably have no shortage of swords laying around so I don’t personally care, but if you’re going to call a Shredder release the ultimate version then I don’t blame you for thinking it should have a sword. The same could be said of the lack of a communicator, but again, that’s another thing I personally don’t need more of. My only real complaint is just the cape. I don’t like this cape, I’ve never liked it, and I know NECA can do better.

The battle that will never end.

If this release is something that interests you then you can currently find this guy at Target stores. As of this writing, the first online drop has not happened and I don’t know when Shredder is going to be made available there. I found this guy in stores and there were a lot of them. It’s part of yet another Haulathon and this time the figures are being stocked in a cardboard display stand which, from my experience, could be literally anywhere. I nearly missed it in my store because it was in a little opening between sporting equipment and home lighting. Yeah, really odd placement. He was stocked with Dark Leonardo, Hunter Leonardo, and the Mirage Battle Damaged Shredder. This is the only release I personally wanted and I’m not sure how much I’ll be buying from this latest round of releases (a pair of two-packs are expected, Panda Khan, and more Mirage figures), but this is the one I had to have. And since it’s Shredder, I’m guessing it will be the most sought after, but also the most plentiful so don’t panic if you haven’t found it yet and keep looking out. And help each other out, if need be. Good luck!

If you’re interested in more Shredders and all things turtles, we got you covered:

NECA TMNT Adventures Shredder

Conventions are always a great time, even from home, because lots of toy companies use them to show off their latest and greatest. Last year had a number of surprises from NECA where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were concerned. And some of those surprises were pretty damn big. When those conventions end, it’s always fun…

Keep reading
by Joe

NECA Cartoon TMNT Accessory Set

We’re well into the cold of winter and spring feels like it’s just around the corner which means it must be time for another NECA Haulathon. Haulathon, if you don’t recall from last year, is basically a tandem promotion between NECA and Target which was just an excuse to get NECA some more visibility in…

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by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

April 8, 2025

NECA TMNT Secret of the Ooze Keno with Scooter

By Joe
Pizza’s here!

It was a little less than two years ago that NECA unveiled not one, but two, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exclusive items for San Diego Comic Con. One of those, the four pack of turtles from the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, I purchased and reviewed in this space as I often do. The other, the first ever action figure of Ernie Reyes Jr. as Keno from the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, I passed on. Not because I disliked the release or was limiting myself to only one item, but because NECA wanted 100 bucks for it. I have said in this space before that I do not like the second movie in the TMNT film franchise. I found it enjoyable as a kid, but it’s a bad movie. Reyes Jr. gives a fine performance as Keno and he’s not the reason the movie is bad, it’s a lot of things. Still, I was interested in adding a Keno to my figure shelf because he was a part of it and a part of my childhood. And if I was going to add a Keno, a Keno from the beginning of the movie where he’s delivering pizzas is my ideal Keno. I’m just not willing to spend 100 bucks on it.

I guess two Kenos are better than one?

Driving the price of Keno was the inclusion of his scooter, but driving the price even higher was a bunch of swag being tossed in. If you ever purchased one of the NECA themed Loot Crates then you know what I’m talking about. You get an action figure that’s worth maybe half the value of the total package while the rest is made up of a t-shirt, keychain, and other assorted junk. It was all stuff I didn’t want and didn’t want to pay roughly 40 bucks for. The following summer, NECA released a Keno and Foot two-pack that I did end up getting. It depicted Keno from his test with the Foot Clan as he was trying to gain admission. Again, not my preferred Keno, but I figured why not? Maybe a month or so ago we found out that Keno and his scooter were coming back. NECA didn’t say how or when, just that it was happening. Fast forward another couple weeks, and he’s a surprise inclusion at Walmart Collector Con. Best of all, he retails for the now standard two-pack price of $60. Waiting almost two years got me the price I wanted, but it also got me to buy a different Keno set I might have passed on had I just spent the 100 bucks in the first place so I’m actually out $120, but I have two Kenos. And a scooter. And a plus-sized Foot ninja. Win?

“Hey! It’s that kid we’re friends with for one movie!”

The Keno and scooter set is exactly the same as the one sold for Comic Con. As far as I know, there was no stamp or sticker or anything put on the box of that release, it was just the extra stuff that ended up being exclusive. The figure, accessories, and the deco all appear to be identical. This is Keno from his first appearance as a delivery boy for Roy’s Pizza. He’s in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans and has the scooter and other equipment to make sure those pizzas arrive fast and hot. The figure is the exact same height as the training Keno at roughly 6.3″, but by default this one has a unique portrait with a very wide smile. He looks ready to laugh and it’s not a very good likeness. His forehead seems huge and there’s just these deep grooves around the mouth area that really makes it protrude almost like a feline. The sculpt for Keno’s signature mullet looks fine, but the paint around it is sloppy. It looks like they would have been better off doing the head in two pieces so the hair didn’t need to be painted as carefully. It’s not typical NECA quality.

I do not care for this portrait.

The sculpt for the rest of the body is mostly fine. The shirt is done with an overlay for the torso while the sleeves are molded as part of the arms. There is a disconnect between the painted red on the overlay and the rest plastic used for the arms with the sleeves being noticeably darker. Again, an unusual issue for NECA since they tend to just paint over everything anyway, but they apparently opted not to with the arms. The white portions of the shirt are covered in tiny spots to simulate dirt and grim, I suppose. I honestly didn’t notice it in the promo shots and thought my figure might be defective. I then thought that maybe these new splatters were an update to differentiate it from the first release, but nope, both have it and once I saw it on the figure I started noticing it in the photography. The shirt is greasy and gross in the movie, but it looks more authentic for someone handling greasy pizza. Here it looks more like he was riding his bike behind a truck in a rainstorm.

Back to work, kid!

I mentioned my dislike for the default portrait so it’s probably a good thing that Keno comes with an alternate head. This is the same head that’s included with the training Keno set and it’s a more subtle smile. This one looks like Reyes Jr. to me so it’s the one I’ll rock. And it also works out that I had the more intense head on my training Keno so I won’t have to display them with the same head (you can also use that head on this figure, if you were wondering). For hands, we get a set of fists, gripping, and open hands. And since he is a pizza delivery boy, he comes with the warming sleeve or whatever those things are called for the pizza box to go into. And yes, there is a pizza box as well. To my surprise, there’s no actual pizza in the box, but that’s probably because they would have had to sculpt a newer, smaller, pizza because this box is tiny compared to what came with the turtles. I think the thickness of the sleeve forced them to go smaller because the scale looks fine, but maybe it too is a little small. It’s hard to say. It’s also possible the pizza box that came with the turtles isn’t in proper scale.

“All right! Keno with the hook-up!”

Articulation for Keno is fairly basic. We get a double-ball peg at the head which works fine, but the hair will limit posing somewhat. Shoulders are ball-hinged, elbows are single hinges with a swivel, wrists rotate and there is a hinge. NECA gave Keno’s gripping hands a vertical hinge which is normally the preferred way to go, but since he has them to primarily grip handle bars, it’s actually not the best choice. I usually find myself complaining about the lack of vertical hinged gripping hands when it comes to NECA figures, but here we have the opposite. There is a diaphragm joint in this guy, but the overlay makes it functionally useless. Waist does rotate and there are ball-socket hips that swivel. He can kick forward all right and almost hit splits, but again, the overlay causes problems. If one were to cut the slits already present in the side of the shirt it might allow him to hit full splits, if you care. The knees are double-jointed and they’re the kind with the peg and hinge at the top and bottom so you get a little swivel out of the top of the knee as well, if you want. Ankles hinge forward and back and rock side-to-side.

“What the hell is this, man? You think this little thing is going to feed the four of us?! He’s holding out on us!”

Keno can hit some of his martial arts poses from the film, but nothing crazy. He does have one real flaw when it comes to articulation and it concerns the other half of this release: the scooter. The scooter is basically being priced like a stand-alone figure. It’s made up of a fairly hard plastic and has actual rubber tires. The handle bars rotate and rotating them does cause the front wheel to turn with them which is cool. There isn’t much detail on the dash, but the entire body of the scooter looks pretty convincing. The plastic has a little shine to it which works for a motor vehicle. The headlights are non-functioning, but they’re at least cast in translucent plastic. The scooter even has accessories of sorts, or you could just think of it as some assembly required. The carrying case for the pizza goes on the back and the frame for it has to be plugged into the scooter first. After that, it just tabs on and looks good. Best of all, it’s fairly lightweight and the scooter has no issues supporting the weight of the case with or without the pizza pocket inside it. There’s also a kickstand to keep the bike upright, though it’s a little loose and I found it giving out on me a lot when trying to pose Keno with the bike.

Looks good from the side…
Looks good from the front…
Hmm?
Umm…
I guess?

And that’s the inherent flaw with this set: Keno cannot sit on this thing convincingly. He just doesn’t have the range of motion in his torso to get hunched over properly. Or, the scale is messed up and he just can’t reach the handlebars in a normal, seated, position. He’s always going to look a little goofy and unnatural on this thing. The best pose is probably to have him in the process of getting on or off the bike or it’s to just have him stand beside it. It’s a real bummer because if you’re going to put out a figure and vehicle combo then you should make sure the two are truly compatible. If it’s the torso range that’s the cause, then NECA should have gone soft goods with the shirt. We see Batman figures come with cloth capes for that very reason when they’re being paired with a Batmobile. Or they should have gone back to the drawing board if it was a matter of scale and figured something out. Either way, it’s a bummer.

Maybe he’s just better suited to do martial arts stuff instead of deliver pizza?

To summarize, we have a figure of Keno with a sloppy paint job and iffy likeness with at least one of the heads. He comes with an out of scale pizza box, but at least it can be hidden in the pizza warmer thing. He also has a scooter that looks great, but doesn’t really work with the figure. And this package will set you back 60 bucks. Is it worth it? On the surface, a 1:10 scale action figure and vehicle combo at 60 bucks is a pretty good deal. There are not a lot of figure and vehicles out there in this scale for cheaper. On the other hand, it’s an imperfect figure that doesn’t work well with said vehicle. And it’s a part of NECA’s movie subline of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which actually has a pretty sterling reputation. These are some of the best figures NECA has ever done, but unfortunately, Keno lowers that bar. He doesn’t lower it as much as Danny did, but he’s not the equal of the turtles or even the other Keno which I enjoyed quite a bit. This is an underwhelming release and I’m glad I didn’t pay 100 bucks for it in 2023 because then I might have been kind of pissed. Now I’m just disappointed. I like that I have a Roy’s Pizza Keno in my collection, but that’s where my enthusiasm ends. If you want to pick this up and sort out your own feelings on the subject, Keno is currently exclusive to Walmart like most of the movie collection. As of this writing it is still in stock on Walmart’s website (fulfilled by NECA) and I assume it will start showing up in stores as well.

Did I mention I blog a lot about TMNT? Here’s a few other relevant reviews you might find interesting:

NECA TMNT Secret of the Ooze Keno and Foot Soldier

I’ve been spending parts of the past month or so ducking in and out of any Walmart I come across in search of the Masters of the Universe Origins Turtles of Grayskull Krang. You see, it’s a store exclusive and if you know anything about toy collecting it’s that toy collectors hate store exclusives. Especially…

by Joe

NECA TMNT Secret of the Ooze 4-Pack and Accessory Set

It’s that time of year when a lot of folks are reflecting on the past year and all of the things that happened. This usually coincides with list-making for favorites and worst of the year in basically every category you can dream of. And for action figure enthusiasts, there’s definitely a lot of list making.…

by Joe

NECA TMNT Secret of the Ooze Ultimate Shredder

For the first time in a long time we went a week without a blog entry here. That’s because I took a much needed vacation and didn’t schedule anything. I’ll probably be backing off a little bit as we dig deeper into 2022 since there’s a certain holiday I need to get crackin’ on if…

by Joe

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February 25, 2025

NECA TMNT Adventures Shredder

By Joe
Shredder and Krang together at last!

Conventions are always a great time, even from home, because lots of toy companies use them to show off their latest and greatest. Last year had a number of surprises from NECA where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were concerned. And some of those surprises were pretty damn big. When those conventions end, it’s always fun to rearrange the list in my head of what I’m looking forward to the most. Vaulting to near the top of that list was a figure I hadn’t even really considered would be shown: Shredder. Not just any Shredder, but the Shredder from the Archie Comics run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures.

I have detailed in several of these figure reviews that I wasn’t a regular reader of the Archie run of TMNT. I should rectify that some day, but I had honestly forgotten what Shredder looked like in those books. I mostly saw those issues via the covers and covers alone and on those he was often depicted as he was in the cartoon. In the books themselves, Shredder was usually colored with a blue body suit and purple cape. The metallic portions of his traditional outfit was colored white with blue highlights. This isn’t that unusual as if you take a look at just about any depiction of Wolverine in a comic his claws are often white. We know they’re steel and probably wouldn’t be white in reality, but that’s comic book coloring logic. The cartoon went with gray for Shredder with minimal shading. The toy went with blue. Shredder was all over the place, but this white and blue look was certainly unique and something about it works. It’s classy!

I could have easily filled this with a bunch of NECA Shredders, but most probably just want to compare this one to the toon Shredder.

NECA is rounding out its line of TMNT Adventures slowly but surely. There’s basically a three-issue arc or so in the comic that NECA has focused on. In it, we meet Slash who comes into contact with Krang. They meet Bellybomb and he in turn helps Krang take over Shredder’s body. Yeah, it’s a bit weird, but since Krang is a brain I guess it makes sense that he can take over the body of other people. He doesn’t have to always ride around in an android’s stomach. That’s why if you come cross this Shredder in a store you may be surprised to see Krang on his shoulders. This figure is Krang as Shredder (Kredder?), but NECA wisely included a traditional Shredder head in the box. It’s a little more eye-catching with Krang in place and likely to get some double-takes by people unfamiliar with this depiction. I suppose NECA is taking a risk with impulse buyers in that the Shredder head isn’t front and center, but I’m guessing most people into this line basically know what they’re in for.

“There, there, Krang, you’ll have a body some day. Just not mine!”

This Shredder, or Krang, comes in the same style of window box as other figures in the line. It’s adorned with original artwork by Ken Mitchroney which all features the Krang head in place. The figure is an entirely new sculpt by Tomasz Rozejowski with a credit to Kushwara Studios. Paint is once again handled by the duo of Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. And following in the footsteps of the Stump Wrestling turtles, this Shredder is pinless. NECA is gradually making the move to a pinless approach with the elbows and knees of its future figures and the results have been smooth. I’m not exactly offended by the presence of pins, but the ones NECA has used in the past can be a bit on the large side. They’re usually good about using the proper color and painting over them when necessary, but there have been a few where they stick out a bit too much (mostly their Bebop and Rocksteady figures, for some reason) so I’m happy to see them gone. Especially because we’re not losing any function, and as we’ll see when we get to the articulation, we’re not running into any new issues either.

Shredder has enough chunk to compete with the turtles.

This Shredder is a much beefier version of the character than we’ve received in the past. The NECA Shredder mold is getting quite long in the tooth. It’s been used for multiple versions of the Mirage Shredder as well as toon and video game versions. It’s not terrible, but it’s a very lanky Shredder. This new sculpt is likely also the base for the new Ultimate Toon Shredder that should start showing up any day now (unless it’s being held back for another Target event that everyone will surely love) and I think fans are going to be pleased. He’s big in the arms and broad in the chest and stands at a commanding 6.75″ and should look formidable beside the turtles. The sculpt has that slightly soft, rounded, but muscled look to it that was featured in the comics. The body is a dark, flat, blue with basically all of the muscles outlined with black. The details on the white portions of the costume are also brought out with black linework with a hit of light blue for shading. The face guard is dark blue with a nice swash of white and the visible portion of his face is a warm flesh tone and the detail work is impressive.

“Ha! You may have fancy black pajamas, but no weapons to save you!”

There’s almost nothing for me to critique when it comes to the presentation, but I’ll do my best. The linework is exceptionally clean. Given the presence of white surfaces, it could have gone off the rails in places, but it does not. I had to hunt for paint imperfections and I found one, black, speck on the right forearm band. That’s basically it. Aside from that, my criticisms are more subjective. There’s a cut in the abdomen that goes through the top of Shredder’s abs. I wish the cut went above the abs instead and followed the rib cage, but maybe that wouldn’t move as well. He also still has a soft goods cape that’s very basic. I’m fine with the choice of soft goods over plastic, but it’s very thin and there’s no wire. It’s basically the same cape as what’s included with the toon Shredder which is a pretty basic cape with just some minor tailoring around the neck. With the exception of Dark Turtle, capes in the toon TMNT line have been pretty weak and that has apparently carried over to the Archie line.

We now have two Archie Krangs. Left is old, right is new.

This edition of Shredder has a pretty solid assortment of accessories. I’ve been reviewing this as if it’s a Shredder, but the actual, default, head is Krang. Krang follows the same styling as the one included with Bellybomb only this time he has an angrier expression. Or rather, he’s showing more teeth and his eyes aren’t as asymmetrical as the prior one. His tentacles are on little ball joints so they can move a little bit, but he plugs onto the ball joint like any other portrait would. Which is why it’s a shame that the Krang that came with Bellybomb wasn’t equipped to do the same. Did they not want to tip their hand that this was coming? Maybe, but that’s a silly reason not to do it. It would have been a great way to get multiple portraits for Krang into the mix so it feels like a missed opportunity. Krang is very well painted though and if you’re only going to have one Krang head for a figure at least it’s a good one. You may notice there are no pictures of Shredder with Krang for a head. That’s because once I swapped heads I couldn’t get the Shredder one off. I actually had the whole neck apparatus come out, and since I’m not going to display this figure as Krang, I wasn’t going to go through the trouble of getting this head off.

This polearm looks like it would hurt.

The rest of the accessories are a mix of obvious and perhaps not so obvious. For hands, Shredder has a set of fists, open, gripping, and fists with his signature blades on them. The blades kind of come and go in the comics and it was pretty important to have an array of hands without them. Still, I do wish we got a set of open and gripping hands with the blades in place too. For the gripping hands, Shredder has this big poleaxe of sorts. It basically looks like a bo staff topped with a bladed head that’s serrated on one side while the other side almost looks like a giant bottle opener. It’s cool though and I like the size. It’s also pulled right from the comic and if this Shredder was only going to have one weapon then they picked the right one. Shredder also has his little banzai tree which, sort of like Slash from the cartoon and his “binky,” is an important item to Shredder so it’s a fun thing to have even if it’s not the most exciting. It’s really well painted and I might just keep it on my desk.

Now Shredder has his own binky.

Shredder features a new articulation scheme in some respects, but the end result is mostly the same as usual. He has a double ball joint for his head, hinged shoulder pegs, bicep swivels, double-jointed elbows, forearm swivel, wrist swivel and hinge, diaphragm ball joint, ball-socket hips, swivels at the hips, double-jointed knees, shin swivels, hinged ankles and an ankle rocker. The elbows and knees both have no trouble bending past 90. They’re a little stiff out of the box, but not exceptionally so and I didn’t have to heat anything with this figure. The diaphragm joint swivels side to side with a decent arch back and a slight crunch forward. There’s no waist articulation, which is odd, but maybe it’s not present because the oversized sash would negate its use. The forearm and shin swivels are really well integrated into the sculpt to basically be seamless. At first, I couldn’t even tell where the shin was swiveling as it’s not at the very top of the boot. The gripping hands also feature vertical hinges, finally, which is great to see. More of that please, NECA. Though it is a bit ironic that the pole weapon doesn’t get much use out of them, but if you want to give him a sword or gun it will work well. Nothing is loose, nothing is floppy, and nothing was so tight I felt like it was going to break. The only joint that’s being stubborn for me is the right shin swivel. The factory generously lubricated the elbows and knees, which I’ve actually never seen before, and it certainly seemed to help.

“You freaks will never have my body!”

This Shredder is just a fantastic figure to behold. I just keep finding my eyes drawn to this guy and he’s been on my desk for weeks because I don’t want to place him on my shelf and then rarely touch him. If this is how the new toon Shredder is going to turn out, then folks are going to be very happy. I doubt it tops this one though because I just love this color combo. The white and dark blue just pop well and in such a different manner than other figures in the line. I’ve grown accustomed to a lot of bright colors with this group, but Shredder proves you can pop with dark. This Archie line has really become the most exciting TMNT line for me. Maybe NECA’s 2012 line will top it eventually, but for now I am far more excited to see what’s next from TMNT Adventures than I am from the cartoon or comic lines. Only thing we really need now are proper Archie turtles. Those wrestling ones are great fun and were maybe the best figures I got in 2024, but I think the people want some more conventional looks as well. I’m sure they’re coming, as are more Mutanimals and familiar foes and they’ll all have a hard time topping this Shredder. If you’re looking to add him to your collection, he’s currently shipping to Walmart stores in the US. Since it’s TMNT Adventures, he should eventually make his way to other places, but if you don’t want to wait you’ll have to brave your nearest Walmart. Good luck!

Check out these other figures from NECA’s line of figures based on TMNT Adventures:

NECA TMNT Adventures Bellybomb

Sometimes, a character design so fun and outrageous can be enough to motivate one into dropping $35 on an action figure. Such was the case with NECA Toys’ Bellybomb figure from its subline of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures based on the characters from the Archie Comics series. Of course, in this case it…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Mondo Gecko

.The NECA Cowbunga Collection is a content creator’s dream. Here we are deep into October still talking about figures that dropped in August. This time it’s another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures action figure and it’s fan-favorite Mondo Gecko. Most TMNT fans probably know Mondo from the Playmates action figure line. He also made the…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Stump Wrestling Four-Pack

When I was a kid, I didn’t really get a lot of comic books. I most often would encounter them at the grocery store and I always hoped my mom would end up in the check-out aisle with the comics instead of candy so I could maybe convince her to get me one. And when…

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by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Comics, toys

February 18, 2025

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Rat King

By Joe
Born on the 21st of May.

When Super7 unveiled their tenth wave of Ultimates! action figures for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles they learned an important lesson: don’t mess with the classics. For years, Super7’s line of figures has essentially focused on remaking the vintage figures first released by Playmates Toys in a new scale with updated articulation, sculpting, and paint. Fans have come to expect that when a new figure is revealed in the line, it’s going to harken back to those old figures. When Super7 messed with expectations and revealed a Rat King that did not much resemble that old toy, the Internet revolted! After what must have been a sizable amount of backlash, Super7 relented. They pulled their new Rat King, which fans dubbed Hot Rat King because of his lovely cheekbones and smile, and replaced him with Karai, a character never released in the vintage line who was essentially immune to backlash. Rat King was retooled to better fit that vintage aesthetic and moved to wave 11 where he has now seen release.

Internet rage accomplished something by making sure this figure never came to be.

In truth, the original take on Rat King Super7 first sent out there wasn’t exactly the company trying to do something different. Rather, it was forced upon them. Ever since this line gained steam it has been at odds with what Playmates is doing. That company still holds the master toy license for TMNT and because of that has a lot of influence with Viacom, who owns TMNT. Even though Viacom owns all of the designs, the company is sensitive to the relationship it has with Playmates and is at least willing to hear them out when it comes to what Super7 is doing. They got Super7 to ditch the weapon sprues that used to come with all of their figures and has also been able to extract some meaningful change. Playmates is protective of what it sees as being unique to the figures it still controls, and since they started re-releasing much of these old toys (including Rat King), they actually do have a leg to stand on. Super7 hasn’t come out and said just what orders they’re receiving from Viacom, but it sure seems like if a look only existed in the toyline then it’s no longer fair game. Since that Playmates Rat King is pretty unique, Super7 must have felt like they couldn’t really do it justice so instead they based their version of the character off of his appearance in the video game Shredder’s Revenge. He had a bit of anime styling, a pipe, but was still recognizable as the character from the cartoon. Fans, apparently, just weren’t interested.

No stupid, sexy, Rat Kings here.

To their credit, Viacom listened to both the fans and Super7 and allowed the company to do a more faithful recreation of Rat King from his Playmates days. And by faithful I mean they pretty much let Super7 just redo that old figure. When I heard he was getting a redo, I just figured it would mean a new head or two that better reflected that ugly, old, design. I was not expecting to get a figure that had all of the little sculpted oddities of that old one. The new Rat King is barely different from what Playmates did. He has the same face, same rats, same odd yellow bones, and giant centipede all sculpted into the body. The only real differences that I can easily spot are that Super7 did not include the pair of black bugs on the figure’s lower half (though they did retain the one on the headwrap) and they adjusted the placement of the rat who was on the original figure’s left foot. There, the change wasn’t to appease anybody, it was just to move the rat up so it wouldn’t interfere with the ankle joint.

The Super7 Rat King takes the title of tallest Rat King at 7.75″

Aside from those minor changes, this really is the upscaled and modernized version of the Playmates figure most fans wanted. Rat King is still an ugly dude with red eyes, missing teeth, missing patches of hair, and this weird, patchwork, suit of unknown origin. The centipede on the chest is now painted black, but the rest is basically the same. The rats are still essentially one color and the stitches in the suit are unpainted. The texture of the shirt has also been changed. On the original it’s dimpled, but here there’s just a lot of linework giving it a rough appearance. I always assumed it was fashioned out of many, many, rat pelts or perhaps the pelts of those who threaten the rats. Either way, it probably smells horrible. The figure is pretty well painted as there are numerous wraps of green, white, and brown on the figure and everything is covered in a dark wash to really give Rat King a grimy appearance. This is a dude who lives in a sewer surrounded by rats and he very much looks the part. This is a figure I can almost smell.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a Super7 Splinter to pose him with.

This is a figure who is impressively ugly. That’s a compliment to whoever sculpted Rat King. His face is covered in scars like maybe he was a burn victim and every bit of this thing is textured. His clawed hands can be painful to work with because they’re so pointy as is the hair in some places. It’s a figure that takes me back as I used to love looking over those Playmates figures to see what I could find hidden in the sculpt. I know we started this thing off by pointing out how Super7 got into trouble by deviating too much from the old toy, but I almost wish they sculpted more weird stuff into the figure to give us some more stuff to look for. The only other criticism I could levy at the sculpt is I wish the chest was just a little broader. He’s got these big arms, but comparatively small chest. At least it’s not really noticeable when he’s wearing all of his stuff.

Rear of the cat bandolier when wearing conventionally.
It’s a little less cumbersome to wear the cat backwards.

The original solicitation was pretty light on accessories limiting Rat King to a single instrument, some rats, and extra heads and hands. This one really outfits the Rat King with weapons some of which call back to the vintage figure. It would seem that was the line Super7 was given by Viacom: you can recreate the old figure, but you need to do something new for accessories. The most memorable accessory from that vintage figure is the dead cat belt. Rather, it’s actually a snake that serves as the belt, but it had a dead cat draped over the front like a loincloth. It was cartoony which is how Playmates was able to get away with packaging a dead cat with its figure, and I’m sure Super7 felt like they had to pay tribute to that very odd attire. And they did, only it’s no longer a belt but a bandolier. The snake is gone and it’s just a dead cat that fits over the should and there’s a rat biting its tail to complete the circuit. It’s all orange with a black wash and the teeth and X eyes are painted. It’s a good way to meet the fans and Playmates halfway. I’m pretty sure it’s intended to go over the chest of Rat King, but you can also drape it over him reverse which looks just as good if not better since the cat is pretty cumbersome. Especially if one makes use of the weapon storage built in.

This is a Rat King who likes to get stabby.

In what is likely a reference to the toon version of Rat King, the bandolier has what appears to be the remnants of soda scans built into the front. These act as holsters for Rat King’s three, primary, accessories. The first is a crudely fashions knife. It’s a serrated blade jammed into a piece of pipe and then bound with the same green material Rat King uses to fashion that attractive diaper he features. The blade looks dented and dulled and you know anyone who gets stabbed by this thing better be up to date on their tetanus shot. The middle holster is for Rat King’s scepter. Not much of that old figure really played into the fact that this guy thought of himself as a king so this accessory is a pretty thoughtful one. It’s just a seated rat and the handle of the scepter is his tail. He has a gold crown atop his head and it leads me to wonder who the real king of rats is: the Rat King, or this little guy. The third holster is for his pipe. It’s usually referred to as a flute and it’s something that appeared in the cartoon, though it resembles a clarinet more than anything. It’s all yellow with a green wrap on it and it’s basically the only remnant of the Shredder’s Revenge version of the figure that was scrapped.

“Me know not how play ‘dis ding.

In order for Rat King to utilize his toys, he’s going to need some hands. And for Rat King we get a set of fists, open, gripping, and a set of pipe playing hands. These hands are kind of pinched in the middle like he’s making a “Too Sweet” gesture as made famous by the nWo in WCW in the mid 90s. The instrument can slot into these hands just fine, but the articulation makes holding it in a convincing manner a tad cumbersome. He also doesn’t really have a portrait intended for playing this thing. For heads, we get the vintage inspired head as well as an alternate expression where he’s yelling. For the third head we get the Hot Rat King. For the few who were looking forward to that figure, Super7 included one of the heads. It’s the smiling portrait and the sculpt certainly presents a far more attractive version of the character. It’s not painted as well as the other heads though as it looks like they didn’t paint the skin tone on and instead hit it with a wash. He’s got a bit of a jaundiced look going on as a result when I would have preferred a warmer complexion, not that I plan to use this head (sorry, Hot Rat King). The final accessory is a little bit of a callback to the original figure. That one came with a rat grappling hook and this Rat King has his own version of the same. The old one was comprised of two rats while this is just a single rat with a really long tail and some mighty incisors to serve as the hook. It’s all sculpted plastic so it can’t really do much and I don’t see a storage spot for it on the bandolier, which is a bummer. I suppose you could loop it basically anywhere, it’s just a tad tricky figuring out how to make it look like it’s hanging naturally.

This Rat King was made for shampoo commercials.
The instrument is more this guy’s style than the other guy.

That’s all the stuff that comes in the box, but one pressing question remains: can he articulate worth shit? Articulation is not this line’s strong suit as I would describe it as an aesthetics forward line. And Super7 has some antiquated views on what articulation is needed and what isn’t. In the case of Rat King, the articulation is about what is expected of this line. It’s mostly basic stuff: double ball-jointed head, shoulder-hinged arms, bicep swivel, single-jointed elbows, swivel and hinge wrists, ball-jointed waist, pin and hinge hips with a thigh swivel, single-hinged knees, and ankles that hinge and feature an ankle rocker. All of the wrist hinges are horizontal which is disappointing as even the pipe hands would be better with vertical hinges. The waist joint, despite being a ball-joint, is basically a swivel only point as there’s no real forward and back motion. The right shoulder on my release is very tight at the hinge. Rotation is fine, but that hinge sucks to move every time. It looks a little funky, like it was miscut at the factory, so maybe that’s only a problem with my figure. The left wrist is also a little tight in that it’s hard to get the hands to seat all the way into the joint. There’s a slight gap which honestly isn’t the worst thing in the world as it comes out easy enough. Rat King also has floating wrist straps that can slide over the joints, if need be.

“Your place or mine?”

By far, the best thing about the articulation with Rat King is that there’s no looseness. My wave 11 Rapper Mike was pretty floppy in the hips, but Rat King does not suffer from the same fate. The range there is also pretty nice as he can kick forward about 90 degrees and perform some splits out to the side. The knees and elbows won’t give you 90 though, but that’s become expected of this line. I’m just happy that the exposed knee on the figure’s left leg is not broken up by the articulation so it looks fine even when bent because they painted the exposed part. The previously released Triceraton unfortunately can’t say the same thing. I do wish there was a joint in the abdomen, but then they would have had to move the centipede (so what?) and it’s a shame he can’t convincingly play his pipe, but since that thing is really here for Hot Rat King then I guess who cares?

“The sewers belong to me now, reptile!”

Rat King is not a perfect action figure, but he is a damn good one. For a Super7 Ultimates! release, the usual caveats apply where articulation is concerned, but aside from that there’s little to complain about and plenty to praise. The sculpt is what most TMNT fans want – a highly detailed throwback to the vintage Playmates figure with lots of paint. I love the gross factor added by the wash and the new open mouth portrait especially looks terrific. The accessories are appropriately themed for Rat King and I enjoy the new take on the cat belt and its available weapon storage. The only thing missing that somewhat surprises me are some stand-alone rats, but considering he has three on his person plus three more across the accessories then I guess we’re doing fine when it comes to meeting the rat quota. Mostly, Rat King is exactly what fans of this line want. He’s well-executed and is a figure that earns its $55 asking price. There are no wait for a discount encouragements here this time. If you’re a fan of Rat King and that old Playmates release then I think you’ll enjoy this one. And if you’re one of the few bummed out that Hot Rat King was scrapped, at least you get a head with this package. Hot Rat King may be gone, but he hasn’t been forgotten.

The King of Rats is well-represented in action figure form:

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Rat King

Rats! Is what Charlie Brown would say at the sight of today’s subject, the almighty king of the rats himself, the Rat King. Rat King has always been a favorite of mine when it comes to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villains. Like a great many, I was introduced to the character via the cartoon series…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Rat King vs Vernon

When I last reviewed a NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles two-pack it was the Splinter vs Baxter Stockman set and I referred to it as potentially the last essential set for some. The key word there being “some” as I am not “some” and didn’t consider myself “some” when I wrote that, for there are…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Robotic Bebop

Robotic Bebop might be the reason, or one of the reasons, why wave 7 of Super7’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! figures was so delayed. If you recall, this was put up for order back in the winter of 2022. Robotic Rocksteady, who we reviewed here back in November of 2023, was supposed…

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by Joe

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February 11, 2025

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Rapper Mike

By Joe
“The name’s Michelangelo and I’m here to say, I like pizza in a radical way!”

Is Super7 going to finish a set of variant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?! Maybe, as we’re now three-fourths of the way through the rock n’ roll turtles as released by Playmates. Punker Don, Classic Rock Leo, and now Rapper Mike make 3 with only Heavy Metal Raph remaining. As of this writing, Raph hasn’t been shown or even really teased. I only bring it up because Super7 has given us 3 of the 4 disguise turtles – Sewer Samurai Leonardo, Sewer Surfer Mike, and Raph the Space Cadet with Undercover Don left out in the cold. Seemingly in lieu of that figure, we received Slam Dunkin’ Don as part of the ninth wave with no indication that more sports turtles are on the way. I guess what I am saying is don’t expect anything or purchase any of these figures with the expectation that you’ll eventually get a complete set.

A lot of the sculpted elements of the old figure have been turned into accessories, but not these speakers on the back.

Rapper Mike was previously released as Rappin’ Mike in the Playmates line. Unlike Punker Don, I have no issues with pairing Michelangelo up with hip hop. It makes sense for him, the party dude, though he could be melded with other genres without much issue. He was also a figure I had as a kid, but since I wasn’t much of a hip hop fan, he wasn’t among my favorites so he’s been lost to time. And personally, I really like the other three figures from this set so I’m mostly getting Michelangelo here for the sake of completion. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a good figure though, and like the prior two in this set, he’s a pretty faithful recreation of the Playmates figure. The head, creative, person on the line at Super7, Kyle Wlodyga, sat down for a pretty expansive talk with Nick of the Robo Don’t Know YouTube channel and discussed some of the design choices with this figure. He sometimes has to dance around issues where it’s obvious Playmates is exerting some influence over Viacom when it comes to approving Super7 releases, but I didn’t pick up on any of that with this figure. It sounds like most of the changes were made voluntarily.

He may be an MC, but he still needs some ‘chuks!

And there aren’t many changes. Mike still has his white tank and green hat with what I guess are intended to be MC Hammer style parachute pants. He still has the usual arm bands and knee pads to go along with a big, toothy, grin. The biggest changes may just be taking what was previously a sculpted element and turning it into an accessory with the giant clock necklace and pink sunglasses. One highlighted change by Kyle was the choice to change the message on his brass knuckles from Mike Raps to Mike (sic) Drop. The old figure also had a chunky turntable on the front of his belt which has been removed. The belt is a little different, since it’s now more visible, and the shoes have a slightly different deco. The sculpt of the shoes is largely the same, but before they were all green and now they’re painted green and white. When I look at this one I do find him a little less interesting than Don and Leo, but is that just my bias against the genre showing through? I do think Super7 should stay close to the Playmates designs because I think that’s what their customer wants more than anything. Maybe a big, soft goods, coat that rips off the old Starter jackets would have made for a fun addition? I do wish the design was a little louder, but that’s partly the fault of the original figure.

This paint hit under the arm is an odd choice that I can only assume was either an error or a budget one.

Paint across the board with Mikey is a step up from Punker Don. The shoes, especially, look clean and the linework on the face is pretty nice, all things considered. The printing on his pants now reads “Shell Shock” and it’s styled reasonably well. The two speakers on the rear of his belt are fully painted as are the audio cables attached to them. The painted elements and different materials give the figure a nice finish, though it clashes slightly with the soft, orange, plastic used for the elbow and kneepads. They just come off a little cheap in comparison. There’s also a paint error where the under arms are painted this sort of cream color which matches the visible portion of plastron. On all other turtles, this part of the shell is green so it’s pretty odd looking. I went back to where I bought the figure, Big Bad Toy Store, to check the glamour shots to see what it was colored then, but they removed those images. Super7 still has them up, but they’re inconclusive. There’s also a minor defect with my figure where the portion of the overlay that’s supposed to connect at the crotch is disconnected. I’m guessing it was supposed to be glued. It’s an easy fix, but it might be something that impacts other figures or just mine.

These two ends tab together, but not securely since the plastic is soft. I’m guessing there was supposed to be a hit of glue applied.

Articulation for Mikey is pretty standard for a Super7 turtle: double-ball head, hinged balls at the shoulder, single hinge and pin at the elbow, swivel and hinge at the wrist, waist twist, ball-hinged hips, pin and hinge knees, ankle hinges and rockers. Punker Don was a floppy mess while Classic Rock Leo was damn near perfect. Mike slots somewhere in between. He’s not as floppy in the hips as Donnie, but he’s also not as tight and smooth as Leonardo. It’s frustrating that Super7 still struggles with this joint in what is now the 11th wave of the line, but it is what it is. Maybe we’ll finally see a big change with the 2003 turtles due up next? Some of the other joints are pretty tight too and in particular the left knee of my figure. It will need heat to function. Mikey does have one extra articulation feature and it resides under his hat. The old figure wore his hat backwards, but this one spins so you can have him wear it however you wish. It’s a good idea and a fun addition. It does mean that the hat doesn’t work with the other portrait, but that doesn’t strike me as a big deal.

Evil doers beware, getting punched by Rapper Mike is going to both hurt and leave behind a pun.

The accessory load-out here is pretty solid, but also mostly unique when compared with the vintage figure. The optional sunglasses and necklace are here to mostly complete the old look. The sunglasses are like other glasses accessories in this line in that they don’t plug in or anything, but they’ll stay in place on your shelf well enough and better than the sunglasses for Sewer Surfer Mike. The big necklace is gold and contains a new pattern on it. Instead of a clock, it’s like a bronzed pizza which I guess is fine. I prefer the clock, but maybe they feared a lawsuit from Flava Flav? There’s also a second gold chain provided. It’s a bit cumbersome to feature both at the same time so you may prefer to prioritize one over the other, but as you can see from my pictures it is possible to get both on. The optional hands are all unique to this figure since they need to feature the brass knuckles. They include fists, gripping, open, and what I guess are meant to be turntable hands that could also serve as a pointing gesture.

I think this is how I’ll be displaying this accessory.
I don’t think he’d an effective DJ with his hands smacking that handle bar.
You can kind of fake it.
This look makes me think of the kid from E.T.

The old figure came with this turntable on a strap that Mike wore around his neck and the device was held out in front like an actual table. Super7 opted to alter this one so that it’s now a turntable and boom box all in one. On one side, you have the boom box which looks pretty nice and it’s painted well. There’s an articulated handle on the top and Mikey can carry it or put it up on his shoulder reasonably well. The reverse side is where the turntable is found and it looks fine, but is harder to pose the figure with. It lacks a strap to have it draped on the figure like the old one and since it isn’t an actual table it can’t be setup in front of the figure. Super7 really should have included an optional stand. Just a cheap piece of folding plastic or just optional legs that could be plugged in. This limitation means it’s likely to remain a boom box for me, but you can kind of get it in place if you slot the handle over the hands. It just won’t look like a practical way to manipulate a turntable. And in order to sing along, Mikey has some nunchaku where each handle has been replaced with a microphone. This is a recreation of a vintage accessory and it’s a welcomed inclusion. The real chain is almost a gold color which adds a nice splash of color on the shelf.

This extra head could have been so cool.

The last accessories are an alternate portrait and some headphones. Since the alternate portrait lacks the hat, the turtle shell themed headphones fit better on this head than they do the default one. This extra head though was of real interest to me going back to the solicitation. When it’s come to Michelangelo figures from Super7, I haven’t been too impressed with their portraits. The alternate head on the original is just odd looking and the Sewer Surfer portraits are large and cartoony. Even so, I’ve been using one of those heads for my Wave 3 Michelangelo, but this new one looked like a real upgrade. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Like the other variants, the proportions aren’t a match for the original turtle figures Super7 made. The heads are slightly larger and if you can manage to get this onto your figure (it was tight, though getting the old head off was really the hard part) it may look too much like a bobblehead for your taste. Worse though is the color difference. Rapper Mike has a skin tone that’s close to a green-blue where as the original figure is what Crayola probably described as a forest green. It’s not going to look very good as a result and combine that with the oversized nature compared with the other brothers and it’s an all around failure of something that could have been awesome. It’s just a shame because I really like the look of the sculpt. It fits in very well aesthetically with the alternate portraits of the other guys, but Super7 went and Super7’d it up.

I probably won’t be sticking with this display.

Rapper Mike is largely more of the same, which is both good and bad. I think the sculpt turned out pretty well and Super7 did a good job of keeping what made the original fun while also adding a few new elements. The paint is an improvement over Punker Don and the accessories are fine, it’s just that it has too much of that Super7 feel to it. And if you have handled many of their figures, you might know what I’m talking about. Despite looking pretty good, and costing quite a lot relatively speaking, the feel in-hand just isn’t there. Mikey feels clunky and some of that is definitely owed to the floppy hips. As I said above, they’re not as bad as Donnie’s, but that doesn’t make them good. They don’t feel nice when moved almost like the figure doesn’t want you to mess with it. The stubborn knees, subpar range at the elbows, and little imperfections just add up.

It’s going to be a long while before this band is complete.

In the end, Rapper Mike is another figure from Super7 that struggles to really earn its $55 price tag. From the shelf, I’m generally happy with what is here, but there are enough faults and the in-hand experience is lacking enough that I don’t feel great about it. I absolutely love the vintage set of four so I’m attached from the onset when it comes to the Super7 versions. I just remain disappointed that Classic Rock Leo, the first in the set released, wasn’t a sign of things to come. If you love those old figures and are happy with Leo and especially Don, then you might as well go ahead and add Rapper Mike to the band. If Punker Don was a bad experience that you aren’t sure if you want to repeat, then approach with caution. For the other fence sitters, the usual Super7 caveat largely applies here where you may feel a lot better about your purchasing decision if you can score it on discount somewhere down the road. And with 2003 turtles on-deck for the next two waves from Super7, don’t expect a confirmation on Heavy Metal Raph anytime soon. We won’t see him until 2026 at the earliest, and maybe even longer since Super7 has cut way back on their preorders. We know 2003 is Wave 13 because they showed off a teaser back at San Diego, but it has not gone up for preorder yet with Wave 12 due in June right now. If they’re waiting for that wave to deliver before solicitation, then we won’t even see Wave 14 solicited until 2026 and that, ultimately, kind of sucks.

Check out these other rock n’ roll turtles from Super7 and some more Mikey:

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Classic Rocker Leonardo

When I was a kid, I had parents with divergent musical tastes. Dad likes oldies from the 50s and 60s while mom was more into modern rock (then 80s). One area where their tastes overlapped was Bruce Springsteen. We had several of his records in my house and I distinctly remember that cover to Born…

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Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Punker Don

It’s been awhile since we last took a look at a figure from a wave of Super7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! It was back in July 2024 that I gave a rather glowing review of the first of a presumed four turtle figures based on the old Playmates Rock n’ Roll Turtles – Classic…

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Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Sewer Surfer Mike

We are back with one more look at Wave 6 of Super7’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of Ultimates! action figures: Sewer Surfer Mike. This, like every figure in the line so far, is a recreation of a Playmates Toys figure from the vintage line of TMNT action figures, and in this case it’s of…

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February 4, 2025

JoyToy TMNT Rocksteady and Beebop

By Joe
The henchmen have arrived!

No, that is not a typo you see in the title of this entry. This is a review of the JoyToy versions of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles henchmen Beebop and Rocksteady. I don’t know why it says Beebop on the box, but this is a Chinese company and English is probably not the primary language of many involved in this project. Viacom, as licensor, must not be a huge stickler for packaging on product made for an overseas market. Maybe Bebop is always spelled as Beebop in China? I don’t know, but for the rest of this entry he will be referred to as Bebop as I’m not relearning a spelling I’ve known for over 35 years.

They may be small by conventional standards, but Bebop and Rocksteady should look big beside the other figures in this line.

JoyToy’s take on TMNT in its 1:18 scale has been delightful to experience. I’ve taken a look at the turtles and Shredder so far so you must have suspected that I was going in for Bebop and Rocksteady. The henchmen crafted for the ’87 cartoon series have wormed their way into the hearts of turtle fans over the decades. They had to fight and claw to get out of that cartoon as TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were dead set on keeping them out of the movies. When the turtles rebooted in 2003, the idea of including the pair wasn’t even really considered. They did get to shine a bit in the 2012 series with an all new take on the pair, and they also showed up in that Michael Bay movie I pretend doesn’t exist. They’ve probably shown up elsewhere and it’s escaping my mind at the moment, but the point of this preamble is that the two are most associated with the ’87 series and its toy line. This JoyToy line having a more mature take on the property is a bit of an odd fit for Bebop and Rocksteady. It doesn’t feel like they belong here, but I’m glad JoyToy disagreed.

Bigger isn’t always better.

The JoyToy approach for Bebop and Rocksteady is a little like Super7’s. They seem to think these guys should be big and intimidating. They’re not just some comic relief, but actual physical forces the heroes need to deal with. Both stand around the 4.625″ mark to the top of the head and both get close to a full 5″ when factoring in Rocksteady’s head gear and Bebop’s mohawk. This makes the pair a little taller than both Shredder and the turtles, but more than height is the added chunk both possess. These are beefy figures as everything about them is more substantial: biceps, hands, feet, heads, etc. Just sizing them up, it looks like four turtles would be needed to take down these two. The attire both possess are very much in-line with the ’88 Playmates figures and the ’87 cartoon looks. Rocksteady more than Bebop leans into the toon as he has cargo pants and a yellow tank. Bebop has his patchwork pants, left knee brace, red vest, and a lot of the little details you probably remember from the old toy. The logo on the back of his vest has been tweaked. It’s still a weird looking skull, but has been updated with paint and a message that reads Turtle Hunter.

There’s a nice blend of toon and old toy with these guys.

The differences between the designs and old looks are pretty minimal. Most of which can be summed up as the characters looking a tad more realistic. Rocksteady has what looks to be an actual snapping turtle shell on his belt while Bebop’s shoulder pads are relatively unchanged. He does get some sweet mutton chops though and they’re purple to match his mohawk and rat tail. The blue glasses are pegged into the head and can be flipped up to expose some blank, white, eyes which look pretty menacing. Rocksteady’s pants are also an olive drab as opposed to brown and he has some off-white kneepads. Both characters make liberal use of colored plastics, but there’s also a heavy wash applied which helps to add some grime. It feels like if the ’88 toy line were restarted today with a collector focus that the characters would look something like this as there’s really no trace of the dimwitted duo from the toon.

No paint in the mouth is a bit of a bummer.

What surprised me about this pair is that there’s very little parts reuse between the two. I think it’s basically just the hands and maybe the forearms. The rest is all unique, but the proprtions and construction is close enough that the articulation is basically the same. We have heads on a double-ball peg which has decent range. Bebop’s rat tail being curled up helps to allow his head to look up as far as the joint will go. Rocksteady has his helmet glued to his head and it also has goggles that can be lowered over his eyes which is a nice touch. Both feature a hinged jaw and one of the few eyesores about these two is that the inner portion of the mouth was left unpainted. Shoulders are hinged balls with single-jointed elbows that peg into the bicep to allow for rotation. Unlike Shredder, these two go with the double-ball peg setup for the wrists and the range is pretty good. They work better here than they did with the turtles.

Rocksteady’s rear knife is finally removable and Bebop’s logo (?) has been expanded upon.

In the torso, we have a double-ball setup in the diaphragm. This allows for some forward and back and rotation. Bebop, because of his vest, is a little trickier to bend back, but the jacket is soft so it’s possible to get something there. His joint is prone to popping apart, but since it’s a ball joint the figure goes back together with relative ease. The waist is another ball joint and between the two both characters get some solid crunch forward. Hips are ball sockets and both characters can nearly perform splits going out to the side, but kicking forward is still mediocre. Bebop can kick forward a little better than Rocksteady, but it needs improvement. There’s a thigh twist and double-jointed knees which work just fine. Ankles feature the usual hinge and rocker and these two also have an added toe hinge. It’s not a great toe hinge, but if you don’t like it then you don’t have to use it. It’s a pretty solid assortment of range for these bulky boys and I don’t think the limitations will be a problem for most.

Rocksteady has stuff, but not as much as Bebop.

In terms of accessories, one of these guys got a little more love than the other. Let’s start with Rocksteady. He comes with two sets of hands: gripping and trigger finger. He has one of each on by default and swapping hands is actually pretty easy. The opening for the ball peg looks small, but the hands are soft enough that getting them on is easy enough, just watch for the bracelets flying off. He does have some accessories on him in the form of a grenade and bundle of dynamite. They’re pegged onto his belts and can be removed, if you so desire. Otherwise, the accessories in the box include his rifle, sewer lid shield, and his big knife. All of these are from the vintage Playmates release just spruced up with better paint. It’s a real nice brushed, gun, metal, finish. The knife slots into the back of Rocksteady’s chest strap like it did on the old cartoon (and was almost never removed). Rocksteady also comes with a boom box as JoyToy really wanted to embrace the musical component to their names. This boom box is also a rocket launcher in disguise. There’s a fold-out handle on the bottom and the side panel pops off to reveal an opening. There’s a missile included which fits in here, though it doesn’t click in or anything. If you push it in too far it practically disappears. Still, it’s a fun addition and I like the creativity.

Bebop has a lot to be excited about.

As for Bebop, I think someone over at JoyToy really likes the big guy because he comes with a bunch of stuff. Some expected, and some that came out of left field. We’ll start with the hands. Bebop has gripping hands, trigger hands, a devil’s horns left hand, a very specific gestured right hand that we’ll get to, and fists that each sport some spiked, brass, knuckles. That’s pretty rad as normally I’m not that into fists for my action figures, especially ones that have other accessories, but put some brass knucks on them and it’s a lot cooler. Like Rocksteady, the hands are pretty soft and come off and go on pretty easily. He does have a bracelet on each hand so, as was the case with Rocksteady, try not to send them flying.

The brass knucks are a nice touch.

As for weapons, well Bebop has some stuff you probably expected. He has his drill gun, which basically looks like a conventional electric drill. I only call it a drill gun because this thing did shoot lasers in the cartoon. It looks great and follows the same style as the weapons with Rocksteady. He also has a machinegun which is very similar to an early gun he used in the cartoon. It’s also basically the same gun that came with the Playmates Triceraton as well as the NECA Triceraton so if you want a more conventional looking gun this is the one for you. He also has his trash can lid shield, which…looks like a trash can lid. The only weapon he doesn’t carry over from his Playmates days is his knife. Instead, Bebop gets a lead pipe to crack some shells with. It’s fine and it’s sculpted to look a little beat up which is a nice touch.

Bebop has been held down too long, it’s time he realizes his dream.

The accessory that stands out though is the double guitar. Technically, it’s a double bass as it only has four strings on each instrument. It’s this black, stylized, guitar with flames painted onto the upper body. It has a real Guitar Hero vibe to it, though it very much is sculpted to look like a real instrument and it’s pretty damn cool. I’m real impressed with the sculpt and paint on this thing as it’s pretty damn small compared with the Super7 Classic Rocker Leo. The strap for the guitar is also lined with bullets so it doubles as a bandolier. It can’t connect to itself though so in order for Bebop to brandish it as a bandolier he has to wear the guitar. That other gesture hand appears to be a picking hand, though he doesn’t have a pick. I guess if this is a bass then that makes sense since many bass players just use their fingers. The trigger hand seems to work the best as a way to grab the neck, but it would have been cool if he received a dedicated fretting hand. As far as I can tell, there’s no hidden weapon here like there is with Rocksteady’s boom box. This is just a double bass guitar for rockin’ out and apparently that’s something Bebop likes to do.

“Donnie, you sure about this guy?” “Hey, we needed a bass player and I got us a bass player.”

Both figures also come with a disc stand and a portion of a base. The disc stand looks like a manhole cover and if you’re looking for a little added stability it will probably get the job done. The base is the same piece that came with Shredder. It’s that white stone with a portion of a manhole cover in the middle. This piece is also included with the Foot Soldiers so if you have one of them plus Shredder then you’ll be able to assemble it. I passed on the Feet so I just have the three. I did preorder April so if she comes with one I’ll be able to assemble a full base, but I don’t remember which piece she comes with.

Unlike their toon counterparts, these two seem like they may be up to the task of taking on the turtles.

Both figures come with what you need and a lot of what you don’t so that’s pretty great. Rocksteady does come up short in the hand department and there may be some who wish Bebop had his knife, but I’m pretty content with what’s here. The only thing I really wish came with Rocksteady was a blast effect for that rocket launcher. That would have been cool and really added a little something extra to the package. Aside from that, it kind of sucks that the tongues aren’t painted on either figure, but I’m struggling to find real faults here. These two figures are great and if you’re into what JoyToy is doing then you’re going to enjoy these figures. They’re a little tricky to track down because you have to import them, but it’s not too hard and each one is going to run you around 40 bucks. I got mine from Cool Toys Club and have no complaints about my experience. There is at least one seller on Amazon that has these going in and out stock and I know some people got them from LT Cave. If they sold out just keep checking because JoyToy may produce more. I’m not all-in on this line, but I am excited for more because this is a toy line I never knew I wanted, but is one I’m really enjoying.

We have more from JoyToy below as well as plenty of Bebop and Rocksteady reviews:

JoyToy TMNT Shredder

Every hero needs a villain, and for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that number one villain is The Shredder. Setup as a foil in his original appearance, Shredder really became the main guy when the cartoon series was put into development. That show needed a villain who was always around and Shredder was the best…

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by Joe

JoyToy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

It’s been said before and it will be said again: everyone is making Ninja Turtles. It feels like the list of companies not making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is smaller than the list of those who are. Viacom has not been shy about licensing the brand out to toy makers and it’s reaching a point…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Toon Vacation Bebop and Vacation Rocksteady

Pack your bags and grab the sunscreen because today we’re heading to Florida! It’s vacation time folks, and even the bad guys deserve a little fun in the sun sometimes. Coming from NECA Toys we have another fun variant of the duo Bebop and Rocksteady. Always more comic relief than true threat, the boys come…

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by Joe

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January 28, 2025

MOTU Turtles of Grayskull Two-Bopsteady and Metal-Boto

By Joe
The end of the Target exclusives for the Turtles of Grayskull line?

Thanks to Christmas and my affinity for only posting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle posts on Tuesdays, we have quite the backlog of action figure reviews to get through and this should be the last of them. 2024 is going to be known for a lot of things, and one such thing for me was Mattel’s Turtles of Grayskull crossover series featuring familiar faces from Mattel’s own Masters of the Universe brand and TMNT. It was sold basically everywhere, but the two, main, big box retailers in the US each got their own exclusive figures. For Target, that took the form of a build-a-figure line of four releases that started late in 2023 with the Mouse-Jaw release. That means collectors have had to keep track of these build-a-figure pieces for about a year as the final of four “deluxe” releases hit stores in November of 2024 in the form of Two-Bopsteady.

“Aww boss, we don’t wanna share a body!”

Two-Bopsteady is perhaps the most interesting release of the four. It takes the famous henchmen of Bebop and Rocksteady and mashes them up with the MOTU villain Two Bad. Two Bad, if you’re not aware, is two characters merged into one so for this release Mattel opted to merge Bebop and Rocksteady into one two-headed monstrosity. I love the concept and I’m left wishing this was something the old cartoon had done because there is a lot of comedic potential. And as a toy, it’s an interesting concept to get a two-headed figure and especially so in a toyline intended to be modular. Can they do it right without breaking the format?

Just one big knife? I guess we’re not going with a “Two” gimmick.

The answer to that is yes and no. The torso obviously needed to be unique to accommodate two heads which meant it has to also be wider than typical. It also seems flatter and it is a bit odd looking. The two heads, Bebop on the right and Rocksteady on the left, also seem undersized compared to the other characters in the line which was obviously needed to fit both in place. I also don’t know much about Two Bad, but I do know that the blue one on the right has the fins on his head which have been given to Rocksteady who is on the left of this release. I can see why they wouldn’t want to mess with Bebop’s mohawk, but why not reorder them then? It’s not an issue for me, but MOTU purists might find it annoying.

The flair is just a recolor of the same accessory that came with Krang. A bit weird this non-mechanical character has to remove a hand to use it.

Aside from the odd proportions though, I really like the look of this figure. Most of the figures in this line utilize a lot of colored plastic and this figure isn’t particularly different from that perspective. There is more paint though and the plastic in use has a real matte appearance. The shades are fairly earthy in tone and it all blends together in a very pleasing way. The gray on the torso is painted and it matches the gray plastic of the left arm very convincingly. The vest and harness is an overlay and there’s “metallic” overlays on the legs which have a slight blue hue to them. The paint on the two heads are pretty clean, there’s a tiny bit of purple slop on Bebop’s glasses while the big turtle shoulder pad looks pretty nice. The only really plasticky looking bits are the feet. The torso is a little odd and the figure is sort of bow-legged, but the different shades just work really well for me so I find myself just really liking the look here.

Do these guys strike fear into the hearts of turtles?

Articulation for this figure is exactly like the rest so I won’t go into detail. The ankle rockers work well and I point that out because it’s been the most inconsistent aspect of this line. His feet are tiny though so standing this one can be a bother. Accessories are limited to two, a big, yellow, knife and a ball on chain. The knife is a solid callback to both Playmates figures, more Rocksteady than Bebop due to its design. It’s fine, though I don’t like the use of bright, yellow, plastic here. It looks really cheap which clashes with the look of the figure. Maybe a bronze would have worked better? Or just copy the steel color of the armor. The ball and chain accessory is exactly like the one included with Krang, but it has a blueish chain and a yellow spiked, ball. It plugs into the wrist and it’s a bizarre choice. I think Two Bad comes with a gun so why not get representation for that aspect of the mash-up via the same? I don’t even know if a flail makes sense for Two Bad.

It took about a year, but Metal-Boto is now complete.

Since this figure comes with the final parts needed to build Metal-Boto, we should probably discuss him. He is a mashup of Metalhead and Roboto which makes sense. Despite that, I don’t think this figure shares many parts with Roboto aside from some of the accessories. I also don’t know if it’s all new sculpting, but it’s pretty intricate and detailed. This looks like a MOTU Origins Metalhead to me, and the only real Roboto aspect to it is the red mouthguard. Well, that and the hidden surprise in the chest. This figure has an action feature as the head connects to the torso via a different connection. It reduces the modular functionality, but when you turn the waist it makes the red piece flap up and down. And if you remove the green chest cover it reveals some transparent plastic with plastic gears behind them which also move with the head. It’s the same feature Roboto has and I actually didn’t even know it was there until I put everything together.

The shell can come off, but also be used to store his various attachments.

Metal-Boto is constructed like the other turtles in that he has a removable shell that can double as a shield. His shell also has plug holes for his accessories. On his arms, he has plugs for these extra attachments done in blue plastic. There’s a grabber and an axe head as well as a gun arm and drill bit. He also has an extra forearm which has a bit more of a turtle look to it. To use them in place of his hands you need to first insert an adapter. One came with Mouse-Jaw and one here so there’s one for each arm. They work fine, but they also add length to the arms so they look a little goofy. Especially if you want to use that alternate hand, Why they didn’t make that plug into the wrists I don’t know. I like the look of it, but it looks so stupid on the figure.

Pop the chest piece off to reveal his inner workings.

Aside from that, I do like the look of this one. As I said, it’s very Metalhead even down to the T logo on his belt. There’s a slight luster to the silver parts and the gold accents are well-painted. The green feet clash, but that’s true of the old Metalhead design. He has red trunks, but they don’t look out of place and I rather like the introduction of the soft, green, chest plate. It’s no gold vac-metal, but it has a nice finish. His articulation is basically the same as the rest save for the fact that his head only swivels. He’s a nice looking figure. I can see how this one may have been more expensive to produce than some of the others so it makes sense that it was the build-a-figure. Even so, he basically costs 20 bucks if you figure that extra five for these deluxe offerings fund this guy. Though in reality, you have to spend 100 bucks across four releases to get him. At least he might be the best figure in the line so that certainly helps. I just wish he had storage for all of his accessories. Basically, the adapters don’t slot anywhere so you have to keep track of either them or the default hands if you’re using some of the weapons.

I kind of like the look of this third hand more than the default ones, but in order to use it you need to plug in an adapter first. Then it just gets weird looking.

These two figures basically put a bow on this line for me. Mattel is rolling out more including another set of turtles, a mutated Shredder, and more, but I think I’m content. I do like some of the new designs more than what I have, but not enough to double dip. I do wish I liked one of the He-Man figures because it feels weird to have a MOTU x TMNT display with no He-Man, but I’m not going to buy one for the sake of it (I already did that with the Shredder figure I’m still just lukewarm on). And my shelf is really full anyway. Fitting these two in there is hard enough. As a line though, it’s fun. It’s not amazing, but it’s also limited by the form of the Origins subline which wants to keep a lot of that 80s aesthetic with better functionality. It is a fun combo though as you have the dominant action figure line of the early 80s mixing with the one that took over at the end of the decade. It’s just surprising it took this long. If you’re still looking for this release, it seems to be in stock at Target still and may even be heading for a post holiday sale price. The other releases in this deluxe line may be harder to find at this point since Target put them on sale to make room for the next one. Good luck!

The true fifth turtle (take that, Zach!).

If you missed the other deluxe offerings in this line and are curious if you’re missing out, see below:

MOTU – Turtles of Grayskull Deluxe Mouse-Jaw

Nothing can be simple in this day and age of retail toy sales which is why the new mash-up of Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toyline features ostensibly 3 SKUs: standard, deluxe, and deluxe with build-a-figure parts. The standard releases are, as you may have expected, released abroad and you can…

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by Joe

MOTU – Turtles of Grayskull Deluxe Sla’ker

It’s a Tuesday, and I have a new Turtles product to talk about, so let’s make it another Turtle Tuesday! And today brings us the second in the line of deluxe Masters of the Universe Origins – Turtles of Grayskull line exclusive to Target – Sla’ker: The evil cybernetic snapping turtle! This is Slash, the…

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by Joe

MOTU Turtles of Grayskull Splinter-Skull

A couple week back I bemoaned the Walmart exclusive Krang from Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Origins – Turtles of Grayskull line for being particularly troublesome to track down. I couldn’t even find one in store or online to purchase at MSRP and had to buy it from a third party – on Walmart’s website…

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by Joe

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January 21, 2025

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Robotic Bebop

By Joe
Looks like Bebop got an upgrade.

Robotic Bebop might be the reason, or one of the reasons, why wave 7 of Super7’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! figures was so delayed. If you recall, this was put up for order back in the winter of 2022. Robotic Rocksteady, who we reviewed here back in November of 2023, was supposed to complete the pairing when he was released. That figure retailed for $65. Bebop, on the other hand, was $55. Did maybe a pricing error on Super7’s end contribute to the delay? Perhaps. I have no real knowledge of anything, but if the figure priced out higher than expected after solicitation it may have given the company pause. They may have tried to find a different factory to take the job, though with one figure in the wave being a complete re-release of Metalhead it would have meant the tools needed for at least that one were probably with a factory already. And this was a wave that also included Guerilla Gorilla, a massive ape priced at $75, and the almost equally beefy Triceraton who was also $55.

He’s pretty big, though regular Bebop is actually a tad taller if you can get him to stand up straight.

Whatever the reason (his heart or his shoes), Robotic Bebop and others were late to the party, but they’re here now. I’ve been looking forward to this one and my anticipation for it went up after getting Rocksteady since he ended up being one of my favorites in the line. If you like those big, chunky, figures, then this one is for you. And like many figures in this line, Bebop is a recreation of an old Playmates design which either loosely inspired the toon version of the same, or was loosely based on it. The main difference with Super7’s interpretation (other than the obvious increase in mass) is the lack of a vac-metal coating and an adjustment to the silhouette. Bebop is even chunkier than his Playmates equivalent. His head is a little smaller relative to his body with the shoulders and chest being inflated. It’s a good update and he strikes a mighty nice profile on your shelf.

Finally, the duo is here!

Bebop, because this wave was supposed to come out so long ago, comes in the standard Ultimates! box with slipcover. Starting with Wave 10, the slipcover is a thing of the past. He stands at approximately 8.25″ to the top of his head and you can add another quarter of an inch to reach the top of his mohawk. He’s not massively tall for the line, but the heft with this one is apparent when picking up the box. The sculpt on Bebop is very detailed. There’s grooves and textures galore with this guy and a few wires down by the calf. He still has the radio controls on his belt, or what look to be radio controls, like the old figure and there are some buttons and dials sculpted onto his chest. The finish on the body is more of a gun metal with Bebop as opposed to a bare steel with Rocksteady. I didn’t notice this difference between the two until Bebop was released, but it’s there in the promo pics. I don’t mind and I like that Super7 differentiated the two. I’m not sure I even have a preference as I like this darker color which adds a menacing vibe to the character, while the shinier approach looks pretty rad with Rocksteady. The mohawk is done with translucent, orange, plastic so he has some light piping just like Rocksteady. It’s not as obvious since the mohawk isn’t going to let in the same amount of light as Rocksteady’s dome, but if the light catches it just right it does indeed work.

Since I don’t have the Playmates ones here’s the Super7 bots with the NECA version from the cartoon.

Paint on Bebop is minimal, but present. There’s some black around the collar and on the sides of the legs which looks neat. The other most present color is blue which is used in a few places, mostly on the chest and the glasses. There’s some on the arms as well and even a little on the back of the shin which didn’t need to be there, but I like it. Of course, it’s not all perfect. The yellow on the chest for the buttons and switches isn’t applied in the most consistent fashion. There’s also a blob of black right at the thigh cut on my figure’s left leg. The green for the shell shoulder pads is a very matte green and it kind of clashes for me. I’m left wondering if the figure would have looked better with a metallic green? The main body has a nice finish though and I can’t tell if it’s painted or not. I’m pretty sure it is since there’s some scuffing on the inner, left, bicep of my figure. The mere fact that I have to question it is a good thing. He looks great and if this was the level of quality we got out of Super7 consistently with this line no one would be complaining. Well, someone would because there’s always someone unhappy, but this guy wouldn’t be.

If you think he needs a shield he’s got it.

I’m going to jump into articulation now because there is an aspect of it that goes hand-in-hand with the presentation. In general, this figure doesn’t articulate incredibly well which I think anyone could guess just by looking at it. This is an aesthetics forward release, not articulation. And it’s actually the perfect type of character for Super7 to attempt since they don’t prioritize articulation in general. You still have the double ball jointed head which gets great range, ball-hinge shoulders with the shoulder pads on hinges to move them out of the way, bicep swivels, single elbows that bend 90 degrees and swivel, swivel and hinge wrists. There is a diaphragm joint, hinged-ball hips, thigh swivels, single-hinges at the knees that swivel, and ankles that hinge and swivel. Range at almost evey joint is compromised to some degree by the sculpt. The abdomen isn’t going to twist all the way because of the boxy design nor does it crunch forward very much. The big, flat, feet only swivel so they lack a true ankle rocker which is a bummer. What’s a little irksome though is that the biceps swivels, especially, aren’t sculpted in such a way that they move freely. You’re probably going to scuff up the shoulder if you twist them a whole bunch. There’s some scuffing on the neck of my figure as well, though I think that was the result of the factory process. The diaphragm and thigh swivels could easily cause scuffing too so be careful. Otherwise, joints are nice and tight with no floppiness which is key for such a heavy figure.

“The filthy reptiles blew off my arm!”

Bebop’s sculpt is going to provide for ample shelf presence and it moves just enough to add to it. The accessories are also going to help in that department. Bebop has a few hand options at his disposal including fists, gripping, and open hands. The gripping hands are very thick and very stiff which is important to note because you will want to heat them up for some of these accessories. The hand you don’t have to heat is the open hand, which has a curl to the fingers. This one works well with the included shield which is the exact same trash-can lid inspired shield that came with Robotic Rocksteady only now it’s cast in blue translucent plastic. It and the two flame effects which plug into Bebops shoulder canons are the only reused parts from Rocksteady (or Rocksteady reused them from Bebop?), which is impressive.

Say cheese?
The flame effect for the shoulder canons work in the gun too.
“I want to be a..a..dentist!”
So this happened during my picture taking which kind of sucks.

For handheld weapons, Bebop comes with a big knife and a gun. There’s not much to say about the knife. The blade is pretty wicked looking and it’s basically the same color as Bebop’s body. It’s handle is painted green and, if you’re careful, you can probably get this into one of the gripping hands without too much fuss. The gun, on the other hand, will need some heat unless you don’t care about taking off paint. The gun looks like a combination of an uzi and a camcorder. It’s more a shiny silver color with a green handle and some blue paint applied to the two viewfinders on the back as well as a little on the side.

“I’m tired of these jokes about my giant hand. The first such incident occurred back in…

Both the knife and the gun are remakes of vintage accessories and so is the next one. Bebop has some interchangeable right hands that double as weapons. There’s this big, blue, connection on the right arm that pops off and can be replaced with this big, robot, hand. For when Bebop needs to smack someone around, he has this thing which looks pretty cool. There’s no articulation at the wrist, but it does swivel where it connects to the arm. I kind of wish the fingers were articulated, but it’s cool and fun and it came with the old toy so it’s good to have. If you prefer something that’s a callback to the original Bebop, there’s also a drill bit. It plugs into the blue adapter in place of a hand and it’s a big, silvery, drill. Bebop is often associated with such since he came with a drill in his original appearance, so as an extra it makes sense. He also has another optional attachment which is a battle damaged limb. I like this one a lot and it plugs into the same spot as the blue adapter. The wires and rods coming out look twisted and crushed which makes me think of Terminator 2 after the T-800 gets its arm stuck in a compacter. What’s not here is the second blue adapter that was featured in the solicitation images. That one had a scope sculpted onto it and was seen paired with the drill bit perhaps as a way to recreate Bebop’s drill gun in a new way? It was cut though, but Super7 never sent out new solicitation images which is kind of shitty. It’s not a big deal that the item was cut, but tell your customers, Super7.

Original promo with the cut blue piece.
Good luck, Donnie. You’re gonna need it.

Robotic Bebop is not a perfect release, but what action figure is? For $55, the sculpt, paint, and accessory load-out is pretty damn good. He moves as much as he needs to and this is a figure that will improve anyone’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles display. This is one of Super7’s bests and so was their first take on Bebop. Maybe they just have a really solid rapport with the character? I don’t know, but I do think their best figures are the bigger ones. They play well with Super7’s approach to articulation and their strength as an action figure producer is their sculpts and big figures really showcase that. I was okay with Robotic Rocksteady at $65 so naturally I think this figure at $55 is a great deal. This is one you don’t have to wait for a sale on. The only thing holding it back is that it’s a bit of an obscure version of a popular character. Not everyone wants a robot version of Bebop, but for those who do, this figure should make them quite happy. For now, this concludes my look at Wave 7 of Super7’s Ultimates! TMNT. I had Triceraton on preorder, but that figure has some problems which caused me to drop my preorder. I may revisit that decision if he hits clearance. As for Guerilla Gorilla, I have no attachment to either he nor Sargent Bananas so that was an easy pass considering the price and shelf space required and I have zero interest in the Metalhead repaint. I’m onto Wave 11 which has actually already started shipping so it shouldn’t be too long before we have more Super7 TMNT to talk about.

We have a whole lot more Bebop if you’re interested:

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Robotic Rocksteady

Last week, it was Space Cadet Raphael’s turn to be put through the ringer by me. Super7 didn’t really impress with that offering, but I did tease at the end of that lukewarm review that a more positive one was on the horizon. This is that more positive review. Robotic Rocksteady is the latest villain…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Bebop

This is a big figure. That’s the take-away and the thing any reviewer has to mention when reviewing Super7’s take on the classic warthog from Playmates. Back in ’88, Bebop was bigger than the turtles, but he was also really hunched over to the point where it was like his neck was coming out of…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady

2021 introduced a lot of good things for collectors of NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of action figures based on the classic cartoon. The toy maker still kept the line a Target exclusive when it came to brick and mortar, but it also started selling a lot of it online to coincide with each…

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by Joe

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