We held onto this feature until #TurtleTuesday, but did you know that yesterday was the 30th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze? THIRTY. YEARS. As far as I am concerned, there is no better way to celebrate a movie’s anniversary than with cool toys, even when the toys are better than the actual movie.
I love that we are getting so many TMNT movie figures from NECA. I mean, some I expected/hoped for past the main Turtles themselves, but 2021 is already showing us that we are getting April as a core cast member, but also figures like Danny(!!!) and this new “Shadow Master” Super Shredder to help fill in some of the background. I mean, did you realistically expect to get a Danny Pennington or a Chef Boyardee Super Shredder tribute figure in this line? I certainly didn’t, but what a crazy and amazing collection this is rapidly becoming. I know that the standard Super Shredder figure is still shipping, so this is a keen variant that NECA has put together, and while I originally took it as a novelty for my collection, it has actually become more than that.
Now, I have made it pretty clear in the past that I am not a fan of TSotO as a movie (I don’t know how you can like it if you like the first movie), but I do like the Tokka and Rahzar and Super Shredder designs, so there was no way I was passing on this figure. It is exclusive to Wal-Mart, and I was fortunate that my local store got plenty of these (like, 20+), but if the interwebs are any indication, this healthy distribution is happening nationwide, so be on on the lookout. It is, for all intents and purposes, a repaint of the original Super Shredder figure, but I have to say, I think I prefer this one to the standard version.
I am going to link to my look at the original Super Shredder figure because just about everything discussed for that figure in terms of quality and construction applies here as well. This figure has good quality and strong joints, with none that stick or feel brittle. The did heat up the wrists before swapping out the hands due to the soft plastic on those, but that is it. The included hands, ooze canister, and spear are all carried over here, and aside from the some slight deco differences here and there, they all appear to be the same.
It is the paint on this figure that really sets it apart. As mentioned above, this is a tribute to the Chef Boyardee mail away Super Shredder figure from back in the early 1990s. That was a black repaint of the original vintage Super Shredder, so you can easily make the “Shadow Master” connection. I know some people wanted there to be less purple and more black in terms of the deco on this figure, and I get that, but I have to wonder if there were some restrictions about how close NECA could tread in terms of similarity to the old Playmates offering.
Either way, the new color scheme makes for a cool-looking figure, and what was sacrificed in terms of similarity to the vintage toy, is made-up for by the fact that this Super Shredder almost feels more screen-accurate to me. It is darker and bit more monochromatic, so it feels more of a match to that very dark under the docks scene from the end of the movie. I don’t doubt for one second that the original version matches the costume’s colors and highlights to a tee, but but I like the ambiance this figure brings to the display, so I think I am making this my default version on the shelf. The good news is that you options now, and really, you cannot go wrong.
The cape is the other big difference between the two releases, and this one, while missing the patterning from the first, also feels more “Super Shredder” like to me. It is larger, made of a more substantial material and hang like, well, like a mutated cape should, I guess. I will forego the discussion about he mutation of the costume in the movie, if that is your biggest issue with the flick, you are missing some pretty glaring miscues. I like most parts of this cape better than the previous, but the pattern on that original sure is cool.
Hey, if you missed the original Super Shredder figure, or are a helpless completist like me, this is a fun release. Even if you just collect toys based off of Chef Boyardee releases, you are in luck. This is a fun variant that actually hits closer to my preferences for Super Shredder, so you will not want to miss this one. Like I said, he is exclusive to Wal-Mart, so keep your eyes peeled, he should be landing on a shelf near you now.
