I am no stranger to starting new lines to collect within my action figure hobby. In fact, 2020 has been a pretty big year for that with this likes of G.I. Joe: The Classified Series, Ghostbusters Plasma, etc. However, the one I have REALLY been looking forward to this year is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ULTIMATES! from Super7, and dudes and dudettes, it does not disappoint.
You would think that, being hip-deep in the midst of collecting amazing NECA TMNT action figures based on the movies, cartoon, video games, and comics, I would be well-past good in terms of my TMNT needs. You would think that. However, when I consider what the Ninja Turtles mean to me for nostalgia and overall love of the property, there was still one BIG corner still left untapped: the vintage toy line. That was my gateway into TMNT, and still remember the day that my brother and I were at K-Mart with my dad on a Friday evening and were given the chance to each get “one thing” from the toy aisle.
Initially, we were eyeballing some Looney Tunes figures, but as we made our way down the action figure pegs, something caught my little brother’s eye, and it would start a lifetime of love for TMNT. Yes, he spotted Krang, and that freaky little brain in a bubble captured his imagination so completely, there was no way he was going to put him back. Now, I think by that time we might have seen a few commercials for TMNT toys, but we had not yet seen the cartoon, so we had little to go by. Being the pragmatic kid I was, and thinking Krang was pretty neat, I wanted to get something so we could actually play together in a way that made sense. I did not need the card back (but I stared at them for HOURS after going home) to know that we would need a Turtle, so I picked up the only one that was on the shelf: Michelangelo. Sure, Donatello would eventually become my favorite Turtle, but I will NEVER forget the faithful day when that first TMNT figure came into my life.
So, we have finally come full circle, as it is, and I have gotten my first Turtle (and more!) from the new ULTIMATES! line: Super7’s take updating the vintage Playmates line designs. As is the case with most (all?) ULTIMATES!, they have joined forces with the Four Horsemen, and as you can expect, this is already looking to be the line that will match what has been put forth with Masters of the Universe Classics, ThunderCats ULTIMATES!, etc., and I am HERE FOR IT. That last bit of TMNT nostalgia has been brought back in pretty perfect style, and I am already going crazy for the next wave to land on my doorstep, and for series four to be revealed.
I got a taste of what we should expect from this line via the SDCC (or Stay-at-home-icon) Bug Zapper Baxter Stockman, and while I adore that figure mightily, this first series is real main course. It seems like there has been a high amount of curiosity bordering on anxiety for the release of this series, and I know people were wanting to see about the overall quality and execution of the line right out of the gate. Baxter, as well as the recent ULTIMATES! of Toxie and Conan gave me hope for these, but a couple of reviews from people who grabbed these early in various parts of the world were scattershot in terms of their takes. Well, nothing replaces the experience of having new toys in-hand, and as I can now count myself as being there, I love these things. Like, a lot.
As is the case with ALL toys lines, there are some areas for improvement with some of these, and, as usual, some of the figures are stronger than others, but when taken as a full cumulative series, this first offering is a big-time winner. For style and looks, as well as compatibility with other ULTIMATES! releases, this line is already accomplishing what it set out to do, and the execution and quality is strong overall as well. I had some specific expectations and thoughts on particular figures going in, and some of them were certainly validated, but it is always fun finding the “sleeper” of any wave, and that one is a dangerous thing here, because you are gonna want to buy more and more. Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge.
Oh, but before I get into the individual figures, I do want to call out the packaging a bit, as I normally skip that. It remains inline with the ULTIMATES! series on the whole, and it is just beautiful. So much so that I am actually keeping the boxes and slip covers for now, which, again, I never do. I will say this, there is certainly a LOT of packaging when it comes to these as there is the actual slip case for the figures, but then those are contained in a plastic bag, which is then inside of the brown box. At the very least, these are well protected, but make sure you have plenty of space in the old recycling bin if you do not plan on keeping all of it. Anyway, on to the figures!
BAXTER STOCKMAN
I am going to start with Baxter because he was already the most familiar to me, and frankly, aside from the obviously fun glow effect, this standard figure takes all the good things from the exclusive and makes them even better. I don’t mean that to decry the SDCC version, but it is an exclusive built on a good gimmick, and this series one version was always going to be standard Baxter that needed to be strong to hang with the collection. Overall, he still has the coolest look and most detailed sculpting work for the first series, and his standard colors really shine on this base. I have always loved the purple, and orange, and teal used for this figure, and those colors work so well that, even if Baxter wasn’t a giant human fly person, he would still stand out on your shelf.
Past the deco work, this figure is very much the same as the SDCC release that I detail HERE, and I mean that in a good way. Baxter is a solid chunk of a figure, with clean paint applications, strong joints, and overall good engineering. Don’t get me wrong, I love the GITD effect and translucent plastic of the Bug Zapper version, but the sculpted details shine even more with this version, so as far as I am concerned, this resets the standard already. You get all of the great inclusions and accessories here, just like before, and the Mouser still remains the highlight of those offerings. I will say it again: this needs to be released in a multi-pack for people to army build. I want TONS of Mousers, but I have no practical need for an army of Baxters, so hopefully that is in the cards for the future.
I think Baxter will likely be overall favorite for most people for the first series. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Turtles, but this figure shows where this line is really capable of going in terms of crazy mutant designs, and he has be BEYOND primed for Bebop and Rocksteady.
SPLINTER
I think Master Splinter is a good choice for a figure in the first series as he is the father/teacher of the Turtles, but also one of the original ten figures released in the vintage line. Like all of the figures, Super7 has done a great job of pulling that original figure into the modern line, but if I had to pick a least favorite of this series, it would probably be him. It is less about this being a weak figure (it is NOT), but more about the other three just being more fun/interesting to me. Splinter is pretty beholden to all of the vintage stylings in terms of look and standard accessories, but like the rest, those things have been plussed up, and I am particularly happy for one inclusion in particular.
The vintage Splinter always had a bit of an odd design for me, at least with the look of his head/face. Now, I go back and forth (mainly) for my preferred look for any individual character between the vintage toy line and the ’87 cartoon. Like, for Splinter, I have always preferred the cartoon, but for someone like Ray Fillet, the vintage toy is a million times better. So, just as a matter of personal preference, the NECA cartoon figure will be more up my alley, but I had and loved the vintage figure, too, so this one is just as essential.
Like Baxter, the Horsemen have recreated and modernized Splinter in a way that makes this figure very dynamic. At the time, the single digit articulation points of the Playmates line worked (mostly) fine, but the old ninja master can now move like never before. He has all of the articulation you would expect from and ULTIMATES! release, and unlike Baxter and Foot Soldier, he ab/torso articulation. It does not function as well as I would like, but it is there, so you can have him more upright for fighting or more hunched to rely on his walking stick. As shown from early production photos, the figure can even sit convincingly, but he does have a bit of an raised bottom of the foot sculpt so he stands on a bit of an incline that is tough to balance without the use of the tail.
Splinter has the highest accessory count in the first wave, and not only do you get the vintage weapons which include the bow, arrows, ninja stars, and dagger-concealing walking stick (in painted versions and on the sprue), but there is also a new standard walking stick, tea mug complete with steam effect, baby turtle, swappable hands and an alternate plastic kimono. Now, I am pretty beholden to displaying these figures as they would best represent the updates to the vintage versions, so reason would dictate that I would use the soft goods cloak as my default option. Well, even though it does look great, I cannot bring myself to choose that over the plastic version (unless I am doing some action photos) so I am so glad that is included. I know some earlier looks showed difficulty keeping the plastic belt closed, but I have not had any issues with it staying put.
For some reason, even though he is not my favorite of the series, Splinter really shows how effective it is to get an updated take on a vintage figure in this line, and he is already growing on my since I first got him. The extra inclusions are kinda nuts in terms of variety and amount you get, but this is the ULTIMATES! line, so it is appropriate and it definitely helps in justifying the premium price.
FOOT SOLDIER
Man, that vintage Foot Soldier was a weird-looking dude, wasn’t he? It always confused me that his old Vital Statistics card called him a “mummy” (carried over here), so Shredder’s grunts have run the gamut of being actual people, to robots, to mummies, apparently. I never thought of them as the latter, but still. I also only ever had one Foot Soldier as a kid which, looking back, seems like a crime, but now that I waste my disposable income on what I want, I will most certainly have more now. I guess I am glad I am getting the army builder out of the way early because it certainly ain’t cheap building in this line.
So, I mentioned above that every action figure series has a “sleeper” in the line-up as the surprising good figure you did not expect, and for this one, it is most certainly the Foot Soldier. I am actually kind of surprised by how much I love this figure, especially since I never really had any attachment to the vintage version (my brother mostly collected the bad guys). I would say that out of all of them, this guy has benefitted the most from a modern update simply because, well, he can actually stand upright now, and is TALL. Yes, that only a small part of the full update, but it is pretty cool since he (like Shredder) was doomed to a life of a weird hunch over back in the day.
Even with the lack of an ab joint, I love the articulation on this guy, and he is very poseable. Hinge and swivel joints for the elbows and knees are pretty standard across all of the figures, but if you think about it, that is a bit of the step up from most ULTIMATES!/Classics figures. These are not built on the same scheme as, say, Marvel Legends, and have always had single knees and elbows, but I find the joints used here, and especially on the Foot Soldier and Raph work very well. His posing is expressive, and since he comes with a bevy of weapons, you can find the right pose (and set of hands) to best fit each Turtle-fighting implement. The Solider REALLY benefits from the rocker ankles (included for all of these figures save for Baxter), so ninja stances and gun-firing poses are no problem.
I think Raph is probably still my favorite of the first wave (SPOILER!), but man, the Foot Soldier is close. Sure Baxter has the best sculpt, but in terms of “playability” and posing, this guy is just too much fun. Plus, his height really established the standard “human” build, which makes these figures bigger than most, but in a good way. Holy Toledo, Rocksteady and Bebop are gonna be massive.
*OH! Just to note: my Foot Soldier had VERY tight elbow and knee joints right out of the package, so I would definitely recommend heating them with a hairdryer, heat gun, or water before moving them much. Once they break looks, they are good to go.*
RAPHAEL
Ah, the Turtle of the group and really the centerpiece for the start of the line in its entirety. I think there was more riding on this figure than the others because, if ULTIMATES! Raph was not successfully realized, that means the other Turtles would have struggled, and then the main characters would likely not be able to help support any longevity for this line. I am happy to say that is NOT the case, and while he does have an issue or two, Raph is great and really fun toy, so hopefully this line has the legs to get us all the vintage line characters.
Like I said, Raph is just a really, really fun toy. He is very posable, he is very true to the vintage figure in terms of looks, but the enhanced details and little flourishes help make this the figure we get to have now, but what we always wanted as kids. These are NINJA Turtles after all, and they can finally move as such. Raph is a great figure on his own, but knowing this will be the basic base for his three brothers as well makes me rest easy in knowing that we are mostly there to have another winning collection of modern Turtles. Let’s face it, if people are going to just get one figure from each of these first few waves, it will be the Turtles themselves, so leading strong pays off here.
The Turtle base is very nice, and seems to be the most articulated out of all of the first four figures. The scheme has some of the basic points from the line, but the shell offers a chance to also have a bit more ab movement since the joint is hidden (it sits low near the hips), but that shell also does not inhibit said hips from moving. The joints are mostly solid as well, and the figure balances well enough to be able to stand on one foot. The front of the shell feels as though it is made of a softer plastic, so it is more flexible than the back, and again- the ankle rockers go miles to give Raph those needed ninja poses.
My favorite part about the sculpting work is the back of the shell (it is so detailed!), and, of course, the two included heads. For me, the most important part of the Turtles figures would be nailing the vintage heads, which they did here, but man, that alternate head is friggin’ great, too. So much so, if you could still find an open pre-order on the secondary market for this guy, I would buy another. I mean, there is no way will not default to that vintage head on the shelf for the Turtles (those are what define their looks more than anything else to me), but it is tough for sure.
Raph gets all of his vintage weapons (again, painted and unpainted on the sprue), but there are actually three pairs of sais here: unpainted, painted, and painted with chrome blades, so that is really cool to have options. In addition to the vintage accessories there are also alternate hands, a slice of pizza, and two Turtles Comms (one open and one closed), so Raph is no slouch in the accessories department either. Even though this is a modern update I am actually torn on breaking apart the sprue to display him with the unpainted weapons like the original, so I will need to think on that for awhile.
If I had to nitpick Raph a bit, I kinda wish the greens and reds were a bit brighter on the figure, and a few joints that are looser than I would like. The Foot Soldier has a bit of this, too, and NONE of them are what I would consider to be floppy or unable to support the weight of the figure, but if Super7 wants to look for a spot to improve with Leo in series two, I would focus on making those hips nice a solid. Overall though, I adore this figure and it really is like having the vintage figure I grew up with now all grown up himself.
Guys, I am so excited for the future of this line. All of the figure possibilities are so exciting (bring me Ray Fillet NOW), but we could actually see a Party Wagon, or dare I say, a Lair play set in this line. These figures are fun to play with, and they have captured that final corner of TMNT nostalgia in the best way possible. I want all of the unique characters in this line, and they cannot come fast enough. If you did not pre-order this series, it is already hard to come by, and I don’t see it getting any easier, so if you see a chance to get it, DO IT. NECA is bringing us the cartoon, video game, comic, and movie figures of our dreams, and now Super7 is supplying the vintage toy line updates. What a wonderful (and expensive) time to be a TMNT fan. COWABUNGA, DUDES!
