I
wanted to close the week out with a Superstar that is not only one of
the greatest and most respected of all time, but that is also
synonymous with WrestleMania.
But
that’s still over two decades of WrestleManias.
His
opponents have ranged from absurd to demonic to legit competitors and
every single time ‘Taker has delivered something that was not only
memorable, but that was distinctly WrestleMania.
We live in a time where it is easy to name and recognize wrestling
legends, but Undertaker has a weight and presence that no other
competitor has ever had and likely none ever will. There’s a
gravitas to him that transcends the sport. Regardless of the angle
he’s involved in or the opponent he is facing, ‘Taker is serious
business.
Which
brings me to the Big Evil/Bikertaker era.
I
don’t think I fully appreciated at the time just how remarkable
‘Taker was with that persona or how great it must have been for him
to be able to portray that character. For the first time in a decade
he had the opportunity to do something truly different from his
normal act and play a more traditional wrestling role. As with any
performer that stays with WWE for an extended amount of time, he had
great feuds and he got saddled with some real garbage (Nathan Jones),
but he gave it one hundred percent all of the time.
This
is Undertaker as he appeared at his WrestleMania debut at
WrestleMania
VII,
where he faced off against “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka.
First
Glance
Undertaker
wears a lot of black. This makes him ominous and scary and kind of a
dull-looking action figure. That’s not good or bad, it’s just how
it is. The figure had to be made like this; it’s not like they
could have made him pink and orange or something.
I
wish the figure’s face looked exactly like the picture on the
package.
Packaging
Because
the picture on the package looks an awful lot like a beardless Jim
Stacy,
owner of the best restaurant in the world, Pallookaville.
This
WrestleMania Heritage packaging is something different from the
regular Elite boxes. The color scheme is different and while the
focus is definitely on the figure, the “WWE” and “WrestleMania”
logos are prominent and eye-catching. As a fan or collector of
wrestling toys, you will immediately notice these in the aisle
amongst the other offerings. They stand out.
Rather
than putting a bio on the back or something epxclaining this
particular figure’s appearance and storyline, Mattel opted for a
boring, lazy, and even inaccurate rectangle of information. ‘Taker’s
isn’t as bad as Kane’s
was, but it’s still off. Undertaker has never
weighed 212 lbs. He didn’t use the Last Ride as a finish until
years into his career as his biker persona. And I find it bizarre
that there’s no mention that this is his WrestleMania debut.
This
is basic stuff easily verified by under a minute of internet
searching, Mattel. Stop fucking it up.
Looks
So
Undertaker isn’t as visually exciting as the Ultimate Warrior or
Brutus Beefcake. But once you get past his limited color scheme,
there’s some nice detail going on.
The
likeness is spot-on. My only issue with the head is that the beard
would look better stippled as opposed to the solid color they used.
But they actually sculpted the stubble on his face, so that’s
great. The position of his eyes make him look bored of fed-up, but
they’re rolled up like that to resemble ‘Taker’s trademark look
– head bowed but still looking forward. And yes – that is a thick
coat of guyliner around those eyes.
He’s
rocking a sweet mullet. There’s just no other way to say that. The
important part is that it looks right on its own and
the hat fits over it properly.
The
shirt looks great. It’s textured to look like fabric and features
folds and wrinkles to make it look like a looser-fitting article of
ringwear. There’s a pretty ugly seam so that Mattel can re-use the
torso with different collars and shoulders. There are stitches rather
than buttons, which shows that the sculptors pay better attention
than the package designers.
The
torso – like Kane’s – is a little on the skinny side, which is
weird because unlike Kane’s, ‘Taker’s torso is only going to
work for ‘Taker. Nobody else has this shirt.
The
tops of the gloves are actually separate pieces that sit over the
wrist joints. That’s good, because the left one on my figure was
turned around the wrong way. I left it that way so you could see it
in the pictures.
Actually
I left it that way because I didn’t notice it until after I had
already taken the pictures and I didn’t want to retake them.
The
sculpt of the glove tops is great and they really work visually. This
was a fine alternative to sculpting all-new forearms.
Undertaker’s
boot spats look kind of huge, but that’s because they work the same
way as the glove tops – they are separate pieces on top of normal
boots. They look like they’re supposed to look, but they’re just
a bit poofy. I think I would’ve preferred a sculpted calf. Of
course, this method is preferable to just painting a boot-top grey,
so I’ll take it.
Accessories
Undertaker
comes with a hat and a trenchcoat.
The
hat has a sculpted interior that keeps it secure on the figure’s
head and in the correct position – with the front dipped down extra
low. It looks good.
The
trenchcoat is another one of Mattel’s weird, solid plastic
garments. These things mystify me because they’re not exactly a
soft plastic but they aren’t too difficult to get on and off of the
figures. It looks like it should look.
I’m
not sure how I feel about these things. They are strictly for figures
that just stand around. There is no posing you figures once they’re
in these things. I’ve got Edge, Goldust, William Regal, and a
couple of others that have gear like this and I say they just stand
there, but that’s if you’re lucky. You can’t adjust the
figures’ articulation under these, so if they don’t stand up in
their robes or coats, they are never
going to stand up.
Additionally,
Mattel released a Ric Flair with a fabric robe. It looks fantastic,
but it’s odd next to all of these other guys with their big,
plastic coats. I’m torn of soft goods a lot of the time, but I do
think that you have to choose one method and stick with it. You can’t
be switching things up within a line.
Fun
Okay,
after five of these I’m a little tired of describing the same
articulation and play value.
These are fun figures. Rather than
finding different words to say the same thing, here’s a funny
video:
Overall
This
is a very good figure of the Undertaker as he appeared at
WrestleMania
VII But
all in all I’d rather have the Elite Series 23 ‘Taker with the
purple gloves and boot covers.
Still,
this is a good Undertaker and if you’re a collector of all things
‘Taker or maybe – like me – just started collecting again and
have an Undertaker-sized hole in your collection, this is a perfectly
good starter.
4
out of 5
Mattel
has made a ton of Undertaker figures. Now that I’ve started to look
into them, there are a number I’d really like to have. Out of all
of the Elite figures that have come out in the years that I stopped
collecting, the various ‘Takers are the ones I’m most irked about
missing.
Well,
those and Billy Gunn and Road Dogg. They came out right before I got
back in and I actually remember seeing and being tempted by them in
stores. Multiple times. Now they’re going for around forty bucks
and I’m not doing that.
I
haven’t seen Kane and Undertaker in stores since I found mine at
Target, but if you’re patient I bet you’ll see them soon. If
you’re not patient, go ahead and order them her and help out
Needless Things!:
I saw these guys today at TRU for 9.99 on sale, but I passed. Kind of wished I hadn't now.
ReplyDeleteThey also had the newest WWE elite wave, except for Paige. I really want Paige but I fear she's going to be tough to find and expensive.
The other day my local store had everyone except for Paige, Rusev, and Doink. I'm wanting the former two. Today we went back and Cena was the only one left, so I'm hoping they might get restocked soon. I'm also keeping an eye on TRU.com and Amazon. I've gotten a lot of good Elite deals on Amazon.
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