ReAction Readies New Phantom Figure; DC Characters Get He-Man Makeovers




This year’s New York Comic-Con (NYCC) was held last week and, as with most events such as these, two NYCC toy announcements caught my attention.

Super7's ReAction line revealed its latest set of 3.75-inch figures based on classic (and not quite as classic) Universal movie monsters. Four of the figures--the Wolfman, the Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Metaluna Mutant--previously got the exclusive glow-in-the-dark treatment at last summer's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). The fifth figure is the first time that the Mole Man monster gets the 3.75-inch treatment. Yet the sixth figure in the set is truly a rarity for Universal monster collectibles in general: A Phantom of the Opera figure in his Masque of the Red Death costume.


Lon Chaney in the Masque of the Red Death costume in Phantom of the Opera.


Most Universal Phantom figures that I've seen before were based on Lon Chaney's portrayal of the character in the silent 1925 movie version. This alternate figure is based on the Phantom's guise he assumes during a masquerade ball from the same film. The only other Red Death Phantom figure that has been sold before was an expensive collectible figure by Sideshow Collectibles. If this figure sells well, I'm hoping that ReAction will release figures based on less popular Universal monster movies, such as Dracula's Daughter and Monster on the Campus.

A few weeks ago, I published a post about how Funko has given '80s horror icons a He-Man-esque reimagining in its Savage World action figure line. That must have been a hit, because now DC superheroes are getting the same 'roided up redesign in the DC Primal Age line from the same company.




The first wave of this line will include Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Joker, King Shark, Mr. Freeze, and Scarecrow. Oddly, Bane and Killer Croc--the two most obvious choices for this line--are not included, and the muscular version of Scarecrow looks creepy enough to be included with the barbarianized slashers in the Savage World line.

Of the Primal Age versions of the DC superheroes, only Batman and Joker get the extra stuff. They get their own battle steeds: a bigger version of Ace the Bat Hound for Batman and a grinning purple lizard monster for Joker called “the Joker Beast”. Batman also gets a Batcave play set that looks like a redesigned version of the He-Man Castle Grayskull play set. You can read more about Funko’s development of the DC Primal Age line here.


The DC Primal Age Batcave play set (barbarian butler Alfred sold separately).



Related Products:

Universal Monsters Creature from the Black Lagoon Model Kit Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger Savage World Figure Texas Chainsaw Massacre Leatherface Savage World Figure

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