“Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to MUMM-RA, the Ever Living! Also, make me glow, if you can.”
Fellow ThunderCats fans, we are getting close. Yes, I know we have seen one series of ThunderCats ULTIMATES! released already, but… Super7 sent out an update last week that series two, you know, the one with Tygra, Grune, and Mumm-Ra The Ever Living, will be shipping to us soon. I know we all probably feel a bit of battered victim syndrome with how many times a comprehensive ThunderCats line has been teased and taken from us, but now, well, it is finally happening. To say I am excited would be a giant understatement, and I am ready for 2021 to be the REAL Year of the Cat.
However, as a lead-in for the rest of the year, Super7 has partnered with our friends at Big Bad Toy Store to bring us an exclusive “Evil Glow” Mumm-Ra exclusive figure. As we all know, the time between TCats ULTIMATES! series one and series two has had be stretched a bit, so having this new release in between is a very welcome and timely release. Super7 has been doing some great work with their glow-in-dark figures as of late (like Toxie), and since I have a bit of a weakness for them as it is, I was quick to jump on the pre-order for this figure last month. Well, he released faster than I thought, and shipped even faster, so I want to thank BBTS for getting him in-stock last Friday, and at my door step by SUNDAY. I almost couldn’t believe it, but I am very happy to be sure.
As I have been with this ThunderCats line since the Mattel days, this is my third “Decayed Form” Mumm-Ra, and as you can tell, it is the most different from the other releases. Don’t get me wrong, each release has brought some new pieces and differences, but getting a full-blown GITD Mumm-Ra is new for us, but it is such a perfect effect for the character. In terms of form, this release matches the previous ULTIMATES! figure, even down to the accessories. However, everything has gotten an aesthetic overhaul here, be it in GITD or otherwise, so it is very sensible as a variant. I think the U! figure is very strong and has a lot of really nice qualities, and all of those have been carried over here. In fact, this release has actually given me a chance to enjoy some of the things I might have looked past a bit in the previous release, such as the alternate head and second cape.
So, if you have that previous Mumm-Ra figure, you will pretty familiar with the overall make-up of this release. However, like that ULTIMATES! GITD Toxie, everything feels very different here, and not just like rebuying a figure just for the heck of it. Sure, this is not REQUIRED buying, but if you are a ThunderCats fan, this is a nice variation that brings some nice effects to your collection. As usual, Super7’s presentation is slick, with consideration put to every detail, so the variances between this figure and standard even occur within the packaging, and the theme matches in several different places. So, this Mumm-Ra has a box and slip cover with shiny foil finishings, and the color scheme extends all the way down to the new robe colors, so it all fits together quite well.
The figure itself and all of the accessories, except of course, for the capes, are recast in glow-in-dark plastic and painted to accent that effect. So, Mumm-Ra himself, his staff, book, necklace, and other things are the color of the glowing plastic, with some paint accents (mostly black) here and there to bring out the details. The glow effect is VERY strong, and it matches the intensity of the aforementioned Toxie and Baxter Stockman. Like them, S7 didn’t just deliver a figure cast in GITD plastic and call it done, so the paint washes throughout and the applications on the everything (especially the heads and staff) retain the quality and detail of what you would expect from ULTIMATES! at this point.
I love getting alternate heads in action figure releases because it allows you to choose how you want to display, but I am usually left with an unused head that must spend most of its existence filed away in a bin. This Evil Glow Mumm-Ra not only work great for its gimmick, but it also gives me a chance to display the open-mouth head as a contrast to the standard figure. This head works the best on this version in my opinion as well, as that gaping maw looks much more threatening with the glow effect than the more placid expression. I have also included the necklace for display on this figure as it add another nice pop of glow against the cape clasp.
Speaking of the cape, you get both the plastic and soft goods cape with this figure, but this time, they are both presented in a more muted red, almost a light maroon. This makes for a nice change from the original, and as I mentioned before, it matches the color scheme of the slip cover and box. All of the capes are, as you might have guessed, swappable from the regular Decayed Form Mumm-Ra to this Evil Glow version, so you definitely have some options. As the glow is the main selling point of this piece, being able to have the cape more open in display is a nice feature to have, which brings me to my main point about the cloaks…
I actually prefer the cloth version for this figure. I know, mark it down as I am usually one who always takes the plastic over the soft goods, but the posability and quality make this one the easy choice. Plus, again, it compliments my standard figure with the plastic cloak. I didn’t get to comment on the regular release cloth cloak, but man, these are SO well done. The tailoring is about as good as you can get at this scale, and the addition of the wire framing around the edges adds dynamic posing options, but also helps to keep things like the hood more natural-looking on display. I am very impressed with this, especially the hood, and I look forward to what this effect can bring to future figures like Pumm-Ra and others in the line. I am quite happy to display this figure with this dynamic cloak, and it looks just great.
Yes, this is a bit of an appetizer to the upcoming new ULTIMATES! waves coming this year, but man, it’s a tasty one. Super7 does such a wonderful job with their presentation and it has extended to the overall execution of this figure. The glow-in-dark feature is not essential, but it looks wonderful, and it is in-character for Mumm-Ra. I have a tomb made by Amaro Studio that goes great with this figure, so my display has become a lot more dynamic and diverse with this release. This is a Big Bad Toy Store exclusive, so you need to go there to get it, and I would NOT hesitate. Here is where you can order him:
I hope we continue to see sensible variants like this in the line. A “Spirit” variant of the upcoming Jaga figure makes obvious sense, but a JLN deco for Lion-O would be a lot of fun, too, so the list goes on. ThunderCats fans, I think we are finally there, and the line we have been dreaming about is finally going to start to come together in ULTIMATES! in 2021. It is so exciting (also, a big relief), and this new Evil Glow Mumm-Ra is a great way to kick it off.
