Ancient Spirits of Evil — transform this decayed form …
… to Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living! Well, at least we are going to get the form in our ThunderCats Classics collection, right? As we headed into the penultimate month of Matty Collector’s existence, we were, at the very least, anticipating the arrival of the ultimate villain of Lion-O and his furry compatriots. After yet another delay, Mumm-Ra has finally started hit the doorsteps of collectors around Earth (and possibly Third Earth, too), and I am happy to say, he was worth the wait.
I am saving my send-off to this line for later in the week when I check out Panthro, but that doesn’t make a feature like this any tougher to contend with. Especially since, in my opinion, the figures keep getting better in each subsequent month, and Mumm-Ra is the perfect addition to the already strong Lion-O and Jackalman. Now, Matt K is going to take a look a Pumyra in a couple of days, but I can say that, overall, this line has been a hit and with the fact the line is in limbo after this month is a damned shame, but I will keep my fingers crossed that Super7 will pull off a miracle and help this line continue, because we need it.
So while we may never see the “Ever Living” form of Mumm-Ra, Club subscribers have the pleasure of adding this figure to their collection, and for a first sub-exclusive figure, this was a PERFECT choice. This “Decayed Form” incarnation is not the one that would be fighting in any battles, so it was going to leave the more popular version for the main line, but the choice is also a callback to original vintage line, where the crusty old Mumm-Ra was a mail away figure. Yes, I know, these are ALL mail away figures, but the exclusive nature of the release rings true and it shows that, at the very least, whatever team was running Matty at the time it was decided, they were making solid choices.
Of course, the figure is beyond great, and once again, we have the Four Horsemen to thank for it. I had a chance to talk shop with Eric Treadaway a couple of SDCC shows back, and we discussed this figure in particular because it was one of his first fully-digital sculpts. Mumm-Ra was a good subject for breaking from the traditional route because this figure is 100 percent unique in the sculpt, and thus, the tooling, from any other figure they have ever worked on. The detail is absolutely fantastic, and when you are sculpting on a compute where you can zoom into the sculpt as close as possible, I am positive that helps. What might be even more amazing is that, despite the completely new sculpt, and the fact Mumm-Ra is all digital, this figure still captures Treadaway’s style just as well as his use of wax and clay.
Immediately this is best Mumm-Ra figure ever made, not that that is a surprise or anything, but this is also instantly my favorite TCats Classics figure yet. Sure, it is always great to get a completely new sculpt, but I also think they captured the character more successfully than the rest of the crew. That is not to say the rest of the figures are not successful, because they are, but everything from Mumm-Ra’s build, to his bandages, to his expression is just perfect, and I have a feeling I will not be alone with my love of this figure.
Sure, they could have taken the easy way out and cut corners with the functionality of this figure (the vintage version was pretty much a block of plastic), but you knew that would not play, so instead they delivered a home run. Like I said, this guy won’t be physically fighting the ThunderCats anytime soon, but he will look great hobbling around in his tomb. Every inch of this figure is covered in bandages, and every bandage is covered in sculpted details. The paint detail is nice, too, but these bandages are not smooth anywhere, but instead are textured to resemble ancient mummy wraps. Just about every figure gets a few “smooth” spots where a sculptor is not required to provide extra detail, but Mumm-Ra looks to have put Eric through his paces, and he came out great because of it. The articulation is good too — it is not anything crazy in terms of points or range, but it is definitely serviceable for crusty old Mumm-Ra.
But the bandages are not even my favorite parts of the figure — it is the head, for sure. I love everything about it, and Decayed Mumm-Ra has been captured perfectly. I am particularly fond of his expression, and while it is not the enraged look of his Ever Living form, it is menacing, plotting, and pretty creepy. Frankly, as a kid, I found THIS version of Mumm-Ra to be much more scary than the bulky fighter, so I am glad this figure is in full creeper mode. Due to the size relationship between this line and the original, this Mumm-Ra fits in perfectly with the vintage tomb play set, so that only enhances the creepiness on my shelf. I really dig him.
To help complete his look, Mumm-Ra needed his cloak, and we were actually able to get two for the price of one with this release. I love that this is the case, but the alternate cloak is actually the focus of my only real gripe with this figure. The “closed” cloak is pretty much perfect as it fits him well, and the hood comes down over the head naturally. Sure, the articulation is more inhibited with this one, but you would not really expect him to be in action poses with this one. The “flowing” cloak is not as successful for me, though, and it is mostly due to the fact that hood doesn’t fit around the head naturally. This is a persisting problem with hoods when they are separate from the head, and that, coupled with the slightly awkward flow, makes this one destined for the part bin. I will say, that it DOES capture that split second from the original cartoon into when Mumm-Ra’s cloak is windswept, so I hand it to them there.
In addition to the two cloaks, Mumm-Ra also comes with several other accessories: a set of alternate hands, his snake charm, and the requisite staff. The latter is by far the best piece, and it is sculpted and painted well, and Mumm-Ra can hold it just fine with either the right or left gripping hand. Speaking of hands, Mumm-Ra fares a bit better in that department as well, especially over Lion-O and Jackalman, because the poses are more unique, and the open hand is befitting of the character. The Sword of Plundarr hilt piece is cool, but even more of a tease that the Ever Living Mumm-Ra is not on the horizon with the full bore..
Damn but if this line has not captured my heart. Panthro is my favorite of Cats, so sending the line off with him in a few days is gonna be tough. Meanwhile though, I think this Mumm-Ra is class of this short-lived Classics line, and he really did turn our great. Alternate cloak hood issue aside, I have absolutely no beef with this figure, and he is already looking great on my shelf. Like I said, this Mumm-Ra is the Club-exclusive figure, so if you are not a subscriber, it is off to eBay for you, but if you have to spend a bit more money to get him, you will probably want to. He is well worth it.
