Any time is a good time for more Bruce Campbell. With a new Sam Raimi movie in theaters, whether you’re a Sam Raimi or Evil Dead or Bruce Campbell fan–or all the above–it’s a good time to capture Super7’s line of Army of Darkness action figures, available here at Entertainment Earth. Featuring Campbell’s Ash Williams, one of our favorite members of the Borg Hall of Fame, check out the cardbacks, figures, and variant packaging below.
Last summer we previewed the first phase of a new, retro style line of GI Joe action figures for fans of the 1980s animated GI Joe: A Real American Hero series and the corresponding reboot of GI Joe toys. The first wave of G.I. Joe ReAction figures–the Kenner-style 3.75-inch figures with less articulation joints than the originals but now with better sculpts–included Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Baroness, Cobra Commander, Destro, Kwinn, G.I. Joe infantry (in three skin colors), and Cobra Troopers (in three skin colors and two costume styles)–for 15 variants in all. Get ready to add Storm Shadow, Roadblock, Roadblock PSA, Flint, Snake Eyes, Mutt PSA, Duke, Lady Jaye, Bazooka, Major Bludd, Gamemaster, Navy Blue Shirt Sailors, Shocktroopers, and ready-for-battle Cobra Commander, Baroness, and Firefly to your collection, all available for pre-order now at the above links at Entertainment Earth.
Take a look at our preview of the new line of figures and packaging below.
Just as MEGO and Super7 begin to re-establish their Star Trek action figure footprints, a nostalgic toy company from the past is going to revisit and expand its own vintage toy line. The company with the best, broadest, and most fleshed out variety of Star Trek action figures is back, beginning with figures for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Discovery, and a movie line beginning with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. With a similar look as its original toys, Playmates Toys isn’t catering to collectors pursuing realistic sculpts, but those who miss the 1990s toys. Check out images of just the first wave of the coming retro fix below, along with a look back at the first versions.
Normally this would be the kind of news you’d find at San Diego Comic-Con, which was canceled this year again because of the pandemic. Hasbro is farming out to action figure and pop culture collectible company Super7 to deliver two new action figure lines, rebooting the classic small-scale action figures based on the 1980s G.I. Joe animated series. One line will he a step down from the original articulated figures from the 1980s, and the other will be a step up. The step up is the Ultimates line, articulated 7-inch scale figures with extra arms, heads, and a variety of other accessories. The step down is the Kenner-style 3.75-inch ReAction line, with less articulation than the original line, but with more series-accurate designs and still more variety–including new figures–to come.
The first wave of G.I. Joe ReAction figures includes Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Baroness, Cobra Commander, Destro, Kwinn, G.I. Joe infantry (in three skin colors), and Cobra Troopers (in three skin colors and two costume styles)–for 15 variants in all. The first Ultimates wave includes four figures–Duke, Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander, and the Cobra Battle Android Trooper (BAT). These are in addition to the new -inch and 12-inch figures that are tie-ins to the coming Snake Eyes: G.I. Joes Origins movie (check those out here).
See detailed views of each figure below. You can order the Ultimates line now and pre-order all the ReAction figures from the first wave via the above links.
The Munsters have arrived in collectible toy lines before, but none who could hang out at the Death Star or Mos Eisley cantina and mingle one on one with your other action figures. So it’s kind of a big deal for the 1964-1966 classic horror comedy series to be getting its Kenner-scale debut this month from toymaker Super7 and its ReAction line. How would you design a line of figures from this famous monster family? All black and white? Grey tone? The new sculpts and packaging seem to be the best of both worlds, providing a bright yet spooky look, along with some fun, displayable packaging. We first previewed the prototypes of the new figures (shown below) here at borg in February 2020 before the world ground to a halt. Note that the packaging art has been updated.
Check out the final designs below. You also can order all three figures from the new line via the below links.
Super7, the toy company known for its wide variety of action figure licenses and its retro Kenner style carded, 3.75-inch action figures, greatly surpassed its delivery at last year’s Toy Fair (shown here and here) by bring hundreds of prototype figures, card back mock-ups, and final versions to New York Toy Fair 2020 this past weekend. More than the typical sneak peek, Super7 previewed a huge variety of action figure cards for its ReAction line, with pre-ordering forecasted for later this year and some items available now here at Amazon.
New action figure licenses at the show include Army of Darkness, An American Werewolf in London, Aliens, Andre the Giant, Back to the Future II, Knight Rider, The Munsters, Archie, Red Dawn, Beavis and Butt-Head, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Son of Frankenstein, Spongebob Squarepants, Halloween II, and a new line of NBA All Stars. Bands with new figures seen for the first time in the Super7 line include RUN DMC, Notorious B.I.G., and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
Plus past figure lines will see more additions this year. Those include Universal Studios Monsters, Peanuts, several Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Nightmare Before Christmas, lots of Transformers, Toxic Crusader, Thundercats, Ghost, Misfits, Mars Attacks, Alien, Chucky, and Robocop, and Super7 displayed several final figures this weekend that were previewed last year here at borg, including They Live, Teen Wolf, Major League Baseball All Stars, MLB Mascots, and characters from the Rocky movie series.
Take a look at close-up views of just a sampling of the action figures on display at this year’s event:
Of all John Carpenter’s films, They Live may be the most riveting. It’s one of those uses of science fiction to advance social commentary, and it did it like nothing before. When you think of science fiction movies, the big franchises probably come to mind first, but then there are those gold nuggets that had a mid-level of success that reflect unique, special visions. Films like Total Recall and They Live built fan followings over time. Right before They Live star Roddy Piper’s death, he was in discussions to attend a local event, but it wasn’t meant to be. But 31 years after the film’s release, who wouldn’t be excited for Super7 to get their mitts on the They Live license for some retro Kenner-style action figures?
We first previewed the cards for the figures coming out of this year’s New York Toy Fair. The slated figures were for Roddy’s lead badass and a male and female alien (the movie and Super7 call them ghouls, but we all know they were aliens). The figure of Roddy was destined to be one of the coolest figures ever, based on the great prototype displayed at Toy Fair. Unfortunately, the incredible sculpt for the Roddy Piper figure (his character was called Nada) didn’t make it to the production stage for failure to secure the image or similar rights and so the two alien figures are the totality of what is being released for the film. (Keith David’s character Frank would have made a great figure, too).
Roddy Piper’s Nada prototype figure from Super7 would have included his sunglasses and three weapons as accessories, but no bubblegum.
In the film, aliens have arrived and coerce some humans to sell out–to allow the aliens to dig their claws into society and take over. A small group has discovered the truth, and its band of resistance fighters uses specially developed sunglasses and contact lenses to identify the aliens among us. The show’s heroes acquire the glasses and learn that it’s not only the people hiding secrets, but an entire world of subliminal messaging has lulled the bulk of society into complacency.
This week Super7 previewed a variant for the male “ghoul” (which may be available for a single or both of the “ghoul” figures, but we’ve only seen the male so far). And its packaging may be Super7’s best retro “ReAction” packaging yet. So what’s so great about the variant figure?
It’s been fifty years since talking apes first took over theater screens across the world. Planet of the Apes first screened for U.S. audiences in the spring of 1968, ushering in the dawn of a new age in sci-fi and dystopian film and the rise in a level of movie make-up on a scale not seen before. In the battle for your movie-going dollars, the conquest was won many times over by each additional entry in the franchise. All told nine times the story would gain new light on the big screen–so far–it would return with four sequels, two television series, numerous graphic novel adaptations, a remake, and a modern film saga. Fortunately for fans the war will never end. Beneath it all was Pierre Boulle’s original novel published only five years before, La Planète des singes, still in print and available here. All these years later you still cannot escape the iconic imagery, first and foremost that way-too-far-past the spoiler alert image of the upper half of a destroyed Statue of Liberty perched on the beach. And we eagerly await each new way to title a sequel that the next creators taking over can come up with.
How many kids sat up at the end of the film asking how the Statue of Liberty got all the way to the ape planet? Somehow even the young ones got it, and we’d get our early taste of movie tie-ins in the form of trading cards and model kits (my own prize for weathering a hernia surgery at 4 years of age was the great Dr. Zaius model from Addar Plastics Co.). As part of the observance of 50 years of the original film, Entertainment Earth has just begun accepting pre-orders for its first-ever line of Kenner-style vintage action figures (click on each of the six images below to learn more and/or order). General Ursus looks great! (Toymaker Mego had its own line of larger figures back in 1974). The 50th anniversary is also celebrated with a Monopoly tie-in, 1960s style (available here) and a great retrospective look from Abrams Books at the vintage trading card series (reviewed here). No single box set assembles all the films, although you can get a recent release of the original five films here and the recent trilogy here, all at Amazon.
When we speak in terms of genre landmark franchises we usually begin with the 50-year mark of longevity with the big or small screen, including James Bond, Doctor Who, Superman, Batman, and most recently Star Trek. Planet of the Apes took its first step into that rare class with the novel’s anniversary in 2013, but it is now forever cemented with legendary status. Here is a vintage TV trailer that played on your wood-grained Zenith console 50 years ago this week (although most of the U.S. watched this in black and white, as the new-fangled color TV was too expensive for the average household):
We’ve been covering the Kenner-style retro action figures being sold by Super 7 since the toy company first partnered with Funko and revealed its first line of vintage style Alien “ReAction” figures at San Diego Comic-Con 2013. At the end of 2016 Super 7 discontinued partnering with Funko and returned to manufacturing and distributing the multi-license toy line on its own. Super 7 revealed its 2018 plans for the ReAction line this weekend at New York Toy Fair 2018, with some new surprises and expansions to current action figure licenses. Projections for any toy company at Toy Fair don’t always match reality. Compare borg.com‘s coverage of Super 7 at New York Toy Fair 2017 here, and you’ll find several Super 7 action figures only now inching their way into the market. The biggest reveals at this year’s show for Super 7’s ReAction line for fans of sci-fi/horror include two beloved film classics: Alien and Planet of the Apes.
Super 7 is returning to its first pre-Funko toy line in revisiting its Alien action figures. For the next wave, characters include more refined sculpts than the early waves, with new characters Brett, Parker, and Lambert, Jonesy the cat with new Ripley, Ash with removable head, facehugger Kane in spacesuit, and a new Xenomorph head with jaws out. Although the company has previously hinted at the possibility, it doesn’t look like we’ll see figures from Aliens this year.
It’s been a year since we saw the prototypes for Planet of the Apes figures on display at New York Toy Fair 2017. Finally the first figures are now expected to be released in two months, beginning with Taylor, Nova, Zira, Cornelius, General Ursus, and Dr. Zaius in the first wave.
Super 7 must expect some good sales results with the first wave for POTA as prototypes were on display at Toy Fair for Wave 2, also, including a Cornelius in astronaut suit, ape warriors and another ape general, a giant Lawgiver statue set, and the mutants from Beneath the Planet of the Apes with removable outer heads to reveal those (gross) inner-heads as seen in the movie.
For the Super 7 Universal Monsters license, it will revisit past ReAction figures (The Phantom of the Opera, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon), while adding some new ones, including the Metalluna Mutant and the Mole People.
Stranger Things took the world by storm last year, bringing its mix of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and nostalgia to the small screen. Stranger Things is not only Netflix’s best show, its second season is the most eagerly awaited series this year. Now a household name, star Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) signed on for the second season along with Winona Ryder, and fan favorite Sean Astin will star as a new character aptly named Bob Newby. The other kid stars are back: Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), sporting Ghostbusters outfits at their grade school on Halloween Day 1984–a great choice for the season opener since we’ll be watching the episode premiere on Halloween day.
And like the many throwback movies the series pulls from, Stranger Things is getting its own line of action figures. Funko has produced the first line of figures rapidly considering so many shows don’t get tie-in toys at all. Six figures have been finalized for the first wave from the series. Fan demand for everyone’s favorite ill-fated friend Barb will no doubt necessitate at least a second wave.
Best of all, there’s something doubly nostalgic about these figures. They are from Funko’s ReAction line, which itself bridges the classic 1970s and 1980s Kenner style action figures with modern TV series and movies. It’s easy to imagine the kids in the world of Stranger Things would appreciate seeing themselves as action figures that look like their own Star Wars figures.
