It’s a toy. It’s a statue. It’s an inanimate piece of plastic. It’s unique. It’s the Lightning Gremlin.
This is an odd “figure” to review. It has zero articulation. It has no paint. It pretty much sits there, glowering menacingly at me. You’re going to know whether you’re the audience for this figure or not just by hearing the words “Lightning Gremlin.”
The Story behind the Figure
This variation of the popular Gremlin aesthetic comes to us courtesy of the second Gremlins movie, a wild brainscrew of a movie that breaks the fourth wall, the fifth wall, and then goes back and hits Leonard Maltin in the face with bricks taken from the first three walls. He deserves it just for that beard. When one of those mischievous gremlins gets turned into pure electricity, the Lightning Gremlin was born, zapping and sparking his way all over the place, providing a crucial plot element as the movie continues.
It’s an odd effect to capture. I think the toy probably did it as well as anything could. My initial reaction when I was opening him was that he reminded me of Videoman from the Amazing Spider-Friends. I don’t know why, other than the jagged weirdness of him.
The Figure
There’s two parts to him: the main body of the Gremlin himself, and a stand that he slides down into. He’s perfectly stable, and looks good with the other Gremlins. Scale seems fine, sculpt is good for what he is, and…yep, that’s all I can really say about him.
I’m all in for the Gremlins line, especially since it’s not a guaranteed line and it needs all the sales it can get. I want unique representations of any and every legitimate Gremlin and Mogwai I can get, and the Lightning Gremlin is as unique a representation as they come. He’s available at ToysRus.com and at Toys R Us stores wherever you can find him. He’s not going to be the most playtastic toy you’ve bought this year, but he’ll be a hell of a conversation piece.
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