Drunken Fist brings us another guest review for Mattel’s new WWE lines. This time we’re rounding out our first looks at the the Elite Collection (Salem Crow hit 3 of 4 Elites in his review) with Edge and CM Punk, and a couple of the 2-packs with Beth Phoenix / Santino Marella and Shawn Michaels / Chris Jericho.
Mattel’s new WWE products have been raining down on us like the Blitzkrieg, and collectors of wrestling figures are divided. Are they better than what has come before? For me, at least, that’s an easy question to answer. Today I’ll be looking at Edge and C. M. Punk from the Elite line and the two-packs featuring Shawn Michaels & Chris Jericho and Beth Phoenix & Santino Marella.
Packaging: The Elites are packaged in a small window box that clearly displays the figures and their accessories. There are windows on all side of the package except the bottom, giving you a very good look at what’s inside. This is a great packaging decision by Mattel, as it makes it very easy to check the figure out before you buy. The two-packs are on a standard blister card, perfectly adequate, but no frills. The stands in the two-packs are rather tough to remove, so fair warning. The packages feature similar graphics across all lines, giving them a nice consistency on the shelves. The HBK vs. Y2J set, in particular, looks great, with the figures posed so that Jericho is on the receiving end of a vicious superkick. (Unfortunately, I open pretty much everything I buy, so there are no MOC photos of these figures.)
Sculpts: This is easily one of the best things about the Mattel WWE figures: they actually have different builds! They’re not all the same height! Every one of these figures features a build that is well-suited for the person they are meant to represent. You’ll certainly notice some re-use here, but it is only present where it is appropriate. There are a few things, such as wrist tape, that are painted on, rather than sculpted. I normally resent this, but it honestly doesn’t look too bad. The exception is Beth Phoenix’s outfit. The upper part is merely painted on her torso, and it does harm the appearance of the figure a bit. The worst part is where the ties on her back are nothing but paint, and it looks quite bad. Fortunately, it’s in a spot where it’ll rarely be visible (unless you have a habit of displaying your figures facing the wall).
Beth’s build is pretty much spot-on. Slightly larger arms would be nice, but what we have is pretty good. The bust size isn’t too crazy, which is always appreciated. Her head sculpt is close, but not perfect. You can easily tell who she is supposed to be, but the head does fall a bit short compared to some of the truly great ones that are on the shelves alongside her, as we’ll see.
Santino is just right, in all the ways that matter. His build is just right, and his head is absolutely perfect. Honestly, there’s no way you can look at this head sculpt and find a flaw. The expression is vintage Santino, and the unibrow is included at no extra charge. I’ve seen a lot of new head sculpts in this line the past few days, some weak and some quite good, but Santino’s is easily the best of the bunch.
Jericho and HBK share the same torso, arms, and feet, but the parts sharing is appropriate for both men. The head sculpts are good, but Jericho’s has one weakness. While HBK has a slight sneer on his face that gives the figure some character, Jericho, one of the most charismatic men in the business, has a bland, expressionless face. I can’t fault it for the likeness, but a less bland expression will be appreciated on future figures. Jericho’s boots are the same as Edge’s, but again, it fits. HBK’s pants are a very good sculpt, with wrinkles in all the appropriate spots, and details like the tiny laces on the back of his waist weren’t forgotten.
Moving on to the Elites, Punk and Edge seem to share some body parts, too. They both have strong head sculpts, with Punk’s expression suiting his character to a T. Photos of Edge prior to release did not make the head sculpt look very good at all, but thankfully, it looks much better in person. I’m glad that he’s not simply staring ahead, zombie-like, but I would prefer a less dopey-looking expression. Still, we’re seeing some strong work here on all of these figures. Everyone has the right build, the headsculpts look like the people they’re supposed to look like, and they’re all even in scale with one another. Basic figures and elites can mix with impunity, which is much appreciated.
Paint: Paint is strong on all of these figures, and especially impressive on figures with tattoos. Punk is the clear standout, as all of his tattoos have been faithfully recreated, aside from the copyright-infringing ones. They’re even colored where they’re supposed to be! Some of the colors look a bit too bright, but that’s really nitpicking. Santino, HBK, and Edge all have their tattoos accurately rendered, as well. Some of Santino’s are even bisected by his singlet, and they still line up with no spillover or slop whatsoever! This is very impressive work, and a far cry from the work JAKKS does. I’ve included a couple of comparison pics of Punk that really hammer this point home.
Aside from tattoos, the rest of the paint work is still quite good. There is some minor spill here and there, notably on Punk’s black and yellow boots, but nothing too bad. Santino’s stubble is done perfectly, and Edge, HBK, and Jericho have a wash in their hair to bring out some of the detail. HBK’s is not quite the right shade, but it’s not too bad. Beth’s hair seems a bit too bright and yellowy, and could have used a good wash. There is also a seam sculpted along the middle of Beth’s back that is not painted, and it looks rather bad. It’s an easy fix, but it really should have been painted at the factory. Still, paint is very strong overall, and I’m quite pleased with the work done on all of these figures.
Articulation: Here’s where we start to see some real differences between these figures. The Elites sport articulation that is more in line with DC Universe Classics and Masters of the Universe Classics, while the basics have articulation that is, well, more basic. Santino, HBK, and Jericho each have 24 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, cut waist, pin & disc ball-jointed shoulders, pin elbows, cut wrists, hinged hands, T-crotch hips, pin knees, cut calves, and pin ankles. HBK is a bit different, as he has a cut at the tops of his ankles instead of on his calves. This is a pretty good articulation model, with the exception of the T-crotch. That’s the only thing that really limits what you can do with these figures, and it’s the one thing about the articulation that I’m really not happy with.
The Elites feature all the articulation that the basics have, with the following additions and differences: a hinged torso, a different hip construction that allows for outward movement, thigh cuts, double knees, and a rocker joint in the feet. These additional points of articulation make a world of difference, particularly the hips, and greatly improve the figures. Beth, surprisingly, features the elite articulation. Her hips don’t move out quite as far, and her torso joint is more limited, and she lacks the hinges on her hands, but this extra articulation was a very nice surprise. Some of these figures, Pun k in particular, have some of their articulation hindered by knee pads that are made of a very rigid plastic. Santino and Jericho have smaller pads, so it’s barely an issue, but Punk’s knees are damn near immobile with his knee pads on. Mattel really needs to start making these out of a softer, more pliable plastic than what we have here.
Overall, the basics feature articulation that is quite good, if a little limited, while the elites have just about all the articulation you could reasonably ask for.
Accessories: Most of the figures are pretty light in this category. The two-pack figures each include a stand. Period. That’s not nearly enough. The Glamarella set, for instance, is specifically inspired by the 2008 Summerslam match featuring Beth and Santino capturing the Women’s and Intercontinental titles, respectively. It would make perfect sense, therefore, to include those belts with the figures. They’re not there, though.
Edge and Punk also have the display stands, along with one other goody. Edge has his coat, which is so rigid that he becomes an unposeable statue when wearing it, and Punk has his shirt. It’s cloth, and has a strip of Velcro on the back. It looks surprisingly good on him, although the edges do look a little tattered and ratty.
I understand that Mattel is just getting started, and they’ve invested a hell of a lot into all the new tooling for this line, but we really should be getting more in the way of accessories. And that rigid plastic has got to go!
Overall: Punk: ****1/2, Edge: ****1/2, HBK:****, Y2J:***3/4, Santino:****1/2, Beth:****1/2
Punk and Edge are both excellent figures, and some of the best examples of what the Mattel WWE is all about. Great sculpts, realistic proportions, excellent articulation, and some truly impressive paint apps make these two fantastic figures. If Punk’s knee pads and Edge’s coat were more pliable, and if they included another accessory or two, they’d be five star figures, easily.
HBK and Y2J are great examples of what the basic line aspires to. The articulation isn’t everything I prefer, but it is good, and the same quality work is present everywhere else. The slightly limited articulation bumps them both down half a point, and the lack of accessories accounts for the rest. Jericho almost lost another half point because of his spaced-out expression, but in the end, the likeness is so strong that I only knocked off ½.
The Glamarella two-pack is one of the best purchases you can make from this initial batch of figures. Santino exemplifies the very best the basic line has to offer, plain and simple. His eerily lifelike headsculpt alone earned him an extra half star. Beth is an Elite figure at a basic figure’s price, and that’s very nice indeed. Despite the annoyance of a few painted details that really should have been sculpted, she’s such a strong figure overall that she demanded a top score. These two are held back by a lack of accessories, and slightly limited articulation in Santino’s case. If you’re looking to dip your toes in the Mattel WWE pool, this is an excellent place to start.
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