This was, without a doubt, the most unexpected SDCC exclusive that Hasbro revealed. While there is a large and vocal group of people that have been pestering Hasbro about the rights to Rom for years, the very last place that anybody figured him to debut was as a Mighty Mugg, a line that I didn’t know had any life left in it. What this says about the rights is anybody’s guess, but since it is in both the technical and literal sense of the word a figure based on Rom, I had to have him, despite not having a Marvel Mighty Mugg collection.
Besides, one less thing to customize is never a bad thing.
Rom joins the Thing as the only other official, non-custom Mighty Mugg I own. Which means I have this issue…
… in Mighty Mugg form.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is flavor country.
As for the Mugg itself, Rom carries forth the Mighty Mugg tradition of translating sometimes complex designs into minimalist representations while still maintaining the essence of the original. Or, in other words, it has to look like what it’s supposed to look like while being stumpy, stubby, and free of sculpted detail. Paint does the lion’s share of work on a Mugg, and there’s no way to look at this and not see Rom. Even Rom’s signature oddly-shaped head translates as well as can be expected without actually altering the round Mugg-head through clever use of dark silver married with a lighter that draws your attention to the important details and makes you ignore the unimportant ones.
Rom features the standard Mighty Mugg articulation, which is shoulders and neck. Which means he qualifies as an “action figure” by the slimmest of margins, but it’s enough to be able to say I own an official Rom action figure… from a certain point of view.
He comes with a very stripped-down version of his main weapon, a Neutralizer, which banishes Dire Wraiths to limbo.
I knew I had to have this as soon as he was announced, and even though I overpaid a bit on eBay to be certain I wouldn’t miss out on him, I’m glad to have this representation of one of my favorite Marvel characters. If there’s any way this somehow leads to an actual 6-inch figure, then all the better, but if not, then at least Rom got representation somewhere. After all, it’s only been 35 years since his last figure.
Rom is (for now) still available at Hasbrotoyshop.com
