“When there’s no future how can there be sin? We’re the flowers in the dustbin. We’re the poison in your human machine. We’re the future, your future.” The Sex Pistols, “God Save the Queen”Like the Tomorrow Kings, 3A’s Tomorrow Queens have been a staple of the brand’s output since Ashley Wood Met Kim Fung Wong and they made the decision to create a toy brand together. Like the majority of 3A’s original properties, not much has been revealed with regards to their backstory, so all we really know is the Tomorrow Queens are sword-wielding terrors on high heels. Or, in the case of the Search and Destroy Tomorrow Queen here, a sword-wielding terror in a pair of really mean-looking boots.
This “UKTQ,” as she is also known, was released alongside her male counterpart the Search and Destroy Tomorrow King. Normally the Tomorrow Queens aren’t my thing when it comes to 3A toys, but I made an exception in her case because her overall look is so badass. I mean, it’s a pretty by-the-numbers punk look, just like the UKTK, but it’s a look we don’t see often in action figure form, so it’s a positively refreshing take on, honestly, what has become a bit of a tired concept. So while the UKTQ certainly is a “Tomorrow Queen” in form and function, she’s much more interesting in design than the majority that came before her.
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The UKTQ’s art box is beautiful, and we get something of a hint of a backstory on the card that comes packed in the box. Like most 1/6 3A releases, there’s a poster included that is just the art on the box blown up to poster size. I like it, but I have no room to display it, so in the box it will stay.
The figure itself is an absolute knockout. What I like best about her is that apart from the short skirt — and there’s really no tactful way to put this — she doesn’t appear to be the typical overly sexualized female action figure from 3A. The Tomorrow Queens have always been something that have made me feel a little weird. Everything from their clothing (or lack thereof) to their anatomically correct and, in some cases, pierced genitalia has really made me wonder how much I really want to add anything from this series to my shelves. In the case of the UKTQ, however, she is downright modest compared to many previous Tomorrow Queen releases, and while there are design elements here consistent with the Tomorrow Queen concept in general, there’s enough here that’s new in execution (at least new to me) that picking up one for myself was actually a no-brainer.
Her head sculpt is pretty standard TQ-fare, but her hair is what makes her unique. I love the sharp angles and points, and the two-tone coloring looks so cool. I especially like the white portion that’s supposed to look like a very close buzz on the exposed side of her head. All of this makes for a very colorful head sculpt that makes her pop on the shelf.
Her piercing is an interesting feature in that it looks to be going straight through her eyeball. Is this a new trend Ashley Wood is trying to get off the ground? I’ve seen pics of some other UKTQs, and the piercing is in the same spot on all of them, so this wasn’t a misplaced anomaly, so I have to wonder.
While her head sculpt is great, her outfit is what really makes her an outstanding figure. Like the UKTK, her leather jacket looks worn and lived-in, as does her skirt, and the extra belts that are attached as fashion accessories succeed in making her look pretty tough. Her tattered and distorted Union Jack on her shirt adds a much-needed burst of color in what is basically a pretty dark outfit. And, like the UKTK, she also comes sporting what looks to be a fox tail for some reason. I’m still not sure what that’s all about.
She was made using what seems to be a pretty standard Tomorrow Queen body, so she’s highly poseable and has points of articulation all over the place. Her boots and jacket do limit her range of motion a little bit, though, but it’s not terrible, and with a little effort it is possible to get her in many dynamic poses. Her coat is, of course, removable, but it just occurred to me that I never took it off her for a pic. On the back of her shirt is another Union Jack design that’s similar to what’s on the front of her shirt.
The UKTQ and the UKTK look awesome together, and if you’ve got one, then you really do need the other. I know there are very line-specific collectors that don’t collect both, but I really have to wonder why these two figures weren’t simply offered as a 2-pack. It makes so much sense since they’re such a matched pair.
Also offered during the sale was the Shadow UKTQ — she was a surprise drop, meaning she popped up on Bambaland for just a minute or two a few times during the sale. I happened to be logged into Bambaland at the right moment and was able to snag one, and I really felt as though I needed her to complete the set. Now, I’m not really a fan of the “Shadow” figures in the strictest sense, so I wasn’t sure I was even going to keep this figure since in order to get her, you basically had to order her sight-unseen apart from a sketch (which is now the art on the box). Luckily, I think she’s another fantastic figure in this set, and I’m totally happy to have her on my shelf as well.
What’s cool is she isn’t simply a variant of the UKTQ. Well, she is, but she’s a unique character onto herself, which is basically what I’m getting at. She is, for all intents and purposes, the same figure as the standard UKTQ, only she is just black from head to toe. Even her fox tail is solid black, which I guess would make it a, what? A panther tail, maybe? No idea.
It’s a simple concept and an easy way out in terms of offering a surprise drop during a sale, but the execution here is far cooler than the figure really has any right to be. I’m glad I was able to pick up one for myself.
These figures were offered for pre-order on Bambaland back in April, so if you’re interested, the secondary market is the only way to go at this point. I highly recommend every figure in this “UK” series. In fact, right now I feel pretty comfortable in saying they’re my favorite figures released this year, 3A or otherwise.