Mattel's New WWE Figures - The LYT Review
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Jan 4 2010, 6:01 PM
For more than a decade now, the WWE toy license has mostly been in the hands of Malibu-based company Jakks Pacific, a company that has both thrilled and frustrated fans. Thrilled, in that the length of time Jakks has had the license allowed them to deliver unprecedented roster depth (whoever thought we'd see figures of Abdullah the Butcher AND Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz?); frustrated, in that Jakks mostly utilized a limited number of sculpted body parts over and over again, often resulting in grievous errors of scale (when Bob Backlund, Brock Lesnar, and Arn Anderson all share the same torso, that just ain't right).
New decade, new company. As announced earlier on Geekweek, Mattel now has the license, a move that was at least partially made possible by WWE's recent decision to go all-PG-rated. The new toys officially rolled out on New Year's Day, though some leaked out early, and other stores have scads of empty pegs awaiting shipments. Toys R Us and Target are your best bet for now.
Let's take a look...
Mattel's figures come in three main types -- Basic, which have mostly the same articulation as Jakks' Ruthless Aggression style, plus an added cut-joint at the top of the wrestler's boot; Elite, which feature additional side-to-side ankle joints, ball hips, double-knee joints, ab-crunch joint and removable ring-entrance wear; and FlexForce, which have spring-action wrestling moves similar to the old Hasbro figures from the '90s. All are in the same scale, a welcome change from Jakks.
Additionally, the Basic figures have at least two sub-types: Entrance Greats, which re-create specific ultra-elaborate outfits like Rey Mysterio's Aztec headdress and Triple H's Conan-style King of Kings gear; and Heritage, which features less-elaborate event-specific attires, and also includes the occasional legend, like Steve Austin and, um, Randy Orton prior to getting his full-arm tattoos.
I spent New Year's at a wedding up north, but stopped at a few stores on the way back to nab a few. So how do they measure up?
P1040095
One of the biggest questions on collectors' minds has been scale. Above, from left to right, we have: a Jakks Ruthless Aggression Rock, Mattel Elite Undertaker, Mattel Elite Rey Mysterio, Mattel Basic John Cena, and Jakks Deluxe Aggression Randy Orton. By actually being in decent scale to each other (though I think Taker is a tad too tall), the Mattel figures are all over the place when compared to Jakks. You can get away with sharing rings and accessories, but the difference is noticeable after that. It's not like Mattel doesn't re-use: Cena, Batista, and Triple H all have the same torso, which is unfortunate, as Batista's distinctive giant veins merit their own body, but it's hardly a faux pas.
Here's one more comparison: Mattel Undertaker with an older Jakks Titan Tron Live Undertaker. It's a slightly better match, arguably...
P1040097
Like Jakks, Mattel utilizes RealScan technology for the heads, but from a distance, they look a little cartoonier -- that, however, is only because Mattel uses a much simpler color palette, eschewing washes and texture details. John Cena's denim shorts turn out neon blue this way, and Beth Phoenix's hair looks not unlike mozzarella cheese.
Speaking of Beth Phoenix, she comes in a two-pack with Santino Marella that is simply outstanding. Down the line, Mattel may re-use this as a standard diva body, but I hope they don't, as Beth has a very distinctive, more muscular physique and this suits her perfectly. And even though the two-packs are supposed to be Basic, Beth has the ball-hips and ab-crunch of an Elite figure.
Santino has never been done in this style in this scale -- Jakks did a mini-version, but their larger figures were more based on his debut, good-guy look. Here we have the unibrow, the mohawk, the arrogantly dorky smirk...it's one of the best renditions of a real person in plastic I've ever seen.
Here's a pic, with a Jakks Sunny figure for scale comparison...
P1040096
If you're a serious fan, and you make only one purchase from this line, "Glamarella" should be it.
Elite Undertaker comes with trenchcoat, hat, and removable elbow pad, but isn't quite as cool a figure as he should be. As you can see in the picture below, the coat is so rigid it stands by itself, so forget about posing him in it. If you want him to look scary on an entrance ramp, he can, but heaven (or hell) forbid you want him to raise his arms -- getting the coat off is about as easy as teaching a small child how to put a jacket ON for the first time. Other than that, not bad.
Elite Rey comes with a cloth T-shirt and removable outer mask. Like all the figures, they come with stands that fit the foot-peg so snugly you can even hold action poses (though not so much with the top-heavy Taker); none of the poses in these pictures required hand support. Cardboard name plates stick in the top, and these are probably the worst idea in the line, as kids will lose or tear them immediately, and collectors will find preserving them a chore. Stickers would have worked better.
P1040093
Most impressive on these figures are the small details -- Cena's armbands, Santino's tights, everybody's tattoos. Jakks was stepping it up with their tat work, but Mattel takes it even further up a notch.
P1040098
And while the figures are slimmer and less bulky than Jakks, this allows for more poses -- characters can reach across their own chests now, which means CM Punk can finally be posed doing his trademark wrist-flexing.
More quality, though, equals more money. Elite figures will run you around $15. It's worth it for Rey, but less so for Taker. From best to least best:
Rey Mysterio: A
Glamarella: A- (loses a bit because of Beth's hair, but Santino is A+)
Taker: B-
Cena: C+
If you're a Jakks purist, however, just wait until summer: they'll be rolling out TNA figures as well as NWA Legends...undoubtedly using the same 15 or so body parts they've been using for years. Mattel is off to a great start here, but it's instructive to note that Jakks actually did try going this route once, with a line called R3 (Real Scan! Real Scale! Real Sounds!). The first series was excellent, possibly the best figures they ever made, but the quality didn't last. Before long, the old habits resurfaced, and R3 started to mean Rehash-Repaint-Rerelease.
Mattel shouldn't fall into that trap, but they have of late been an equally frustrating company in other ways. Collectors love their figures, but hate how difficult they are to find sometimes. That said, this a license aimed at kids as well, so expect better quantities on this than the DC Comics collector series.
P1040092
More on Geekweek
New decade, new company. As announced earlier on Geekweek, Mattel now has the license, a move that was at least partially made possible by WWE's recent decision to go all-PG-rated. The new toys officially rolled out on New Year's Day, though some leaked out early, and other stores have scads of empty pegs awaiting shipments. Toys R Us and Target are your best bet for now.
Let's take a look...
Mattel's figures come in three main types -- Basic, which have mostly the same articulation as Jakks' Ruthless Aggression style, plus an added cut-joint at the top of the wrestler's boot; Elite, which feature additional side-to-side ankle joints, ball hips, double-knee joints, ab-crunch joint and removable ring-entrance wear; and FlexForce, which have spring-action wrestling moves similar to the old Hasbro figures from the '90s. All are in the same scale, a welcome change from Jakks.
Additionally, the Basic figures have at least two sub-types: Entrance Greats, which re-create specific ultra-elaborate outfits like Rey Mysterio's Aztec headdress and Triple H's Conan-style King of Kings gear; and Heritage, which features less-elaborate event-specific attires, and also includes the occasional legend, like Steve Austin and, um, Randy Orton prior to getting his full-arm tattoos.
I spent New Year's at a wedding up north, but stopped at a few stores on the way back to nab a few. So how do they measure up?
P1040095
One of the biggest questions on collectors' minds has been scale. Above, from left to right, we have: a Jakks Ruthless Aggression Rock, Mattel Elite Undertaker, Mattel Elite Rey Mysterio, Mattel Basic John Cena, and Jakks Deluxe Aggression Randy Orton. By actually being in decent scale to each other (though I think Taker is a tad too tall), the Mattel figures are all over the place when compared to Jakks. You can get away with sharing rings and accessories, but the difference is noticeable after that. It's not like Mattel doesn't re-use: Cena, Batista, and Triple H all have the same torso, which is unfortunate, as Batista's distinctive giant veins merit their own body, but it's hardly a faux pas.
Here's one more comparison: Mattel Undertaker with an older Jakks Titan Tron Live Undertaker. It's a slightly better match, arguably...
P1040097
Like Jakks, Mattel utilizes RealScan technology for the heads, but from a distance, they look a little cartoonier -- that, however, is only because Mattel uses a much simpler color palette, eschewing washes and texture details. John Cena's denim shorts turn out neon blue this way, and Beth Phoenix's hair looks not unlike mozzarella cheese.
Speaking of Beth Phoenix, she comes in a two-pack with Santino Marella that is simply outstanding. Down the line, Mattel may re-use this as a standard diva body, but I hope they don't, as Beth has a very distinctive, more muscular physique and this suits her perfectly. And even though the two-packs are supposed to be Basic, Beth has the ball-hips and ab-crunch of an Elite figure.
Santino has never been done in this style in this scale -- Jakks did a mini-version, but their larger figures were more based on his debut, good-guy look. Here we have the unibrow, the mohawk, the arrogantly dorky smirk...it's one of the best renditions of a real person in plastic I've ever seen.
Here's a pic, with a Jakks Sunny figure for scale comparison...
P1040096
If you're a serious fan, and you make only one purchase from this line, "Glamarella" should be it.
Elite Undertaker comes with trenchcoat, hat, and removable elbow pad, but isn't quite as cool a figure as he should be. As you can see in the picture below, the coat is so rigid it stands by itself, so forget about posing him in it. If you want him to look scary on an entrance ramp, he can, but heaven (or hell) forbid you want him to raise his arms -- getting the coat off is about as easy as teaching a small child how to put a jacket ON for the first time. Other than that, not bad.
Elite Rey comes with a cloth T-shirt and removable outer mask. Like all the figures, they come with stands that fit the foot-peg so snugly you can even hold action poses (though not so much with the top-heavy Taker); none of the poses in these pictures required hand support. Cardboard name plates stick in the top, and these are probably the worst idea in the line, as kids will lose or tear them immediately, and collectors will find preserving them a chore. Stickers would have worked better.
P1040093
Most impressive on these figures are the small details -- Cena's armbands, Santino's tights, everybody's tattoos. Jakks was stepping it up with their tat work, but Mattel takes it even further up a notch.
P1040098
And while the figures are slimmer and less bulky than Jakks, this allows for more poses -- characters can reach across their own chests now, which means CM Punk can finally be posed doing his trademark wrist-flexing.
More quality, though, equals more money. Elite figures will run you around $15. It's worth it for Rey, but less so for Taker. From best to least best:
Rey Mysterio: A
Glamarella: A- (loses a bit because of Beth's hair, but Santino is A+)
Taker: B-
Cena: C+
If you're a Jakks purist, however, just wait until summer: they'll be rolling out TNA figures as well as NWA Legends...undoubtedly using the same 15 or so body parts they've been using for years. Mattel is off to a great start here, but it's instructive to note that Jakks actually did try going this route once, with a line called R3 (Real Scan! Real Scale! Real Sounds!). The first series was excellent, possibly the best figures they ever made, but the quality didn't last. Before long, the old habits resurfaced, and R3 started to mean Rehash-Repaint-Rerelease.
Mattel shouldn't fall into that trap, but they have of late been an equally frustrating company in other ways. Collectors love their figures, but hate how difficult they are to find sometimes. That said, this a license aimed at kids as well, so expect better quantities on this than the DC Comics collector series.
P1040092
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