Yes, I went there. But how can you not? Someone who truly put the WWF on the map and helped make wrestling the amazing entity that we knew it to be in the '80s is FINALLY taking his rightful place in collections worldwide. He's a man who's no stranger to merchandising or action figures, but due to licensing has been relatively missing from actual WWF/WWE collections. You may know him from the A-Team, but to wrestling fans he was that celebrity friend of Hulk Hogan who helped the then-WWF Champion battle the evil trifecta of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Cowboy Bob Orton, and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. To the world he was one of the biggest stars of the 1980's. He's Mr. T.
This figure served as an announcement of sorts that the licensing rights to Mr. T were finally available to manufacturers of WWE products. Word of a Mr. T WWE-branded Funko Pop figure had made the rounds, but the unveiling of this figure sealed the deal. It's Mattel's 2020 WWE San Diego Comic Con exclusive. Following last year's "Slim Jim" Macho Man Randy Savage, the company knew that it once again had to go big to make an impact. Seeing as that it is indeed an exclusive and meant to be as such, I will refrain from complaining too much about distribution. This figure was not meant to be widely available nor in stores. More on that at the end.
Early hints released on social media showed the "First Time In The Line" symbol which greatly resembled the classic Coliseum Video logo. It does indeed appear on the package, but to see it you have to break the seal on the outer box. A sturdy cardboard makes up the outer box which resembles Mr. T's famous chains. The superstar was well known for his "bling" well before the phrase was coined. At this point a great dilemma pops up for collectors who don't open their toys. Do you break that seal so that you can see the figure? Is it not truly mint then? In actuality it's all down to personal preference. I can't imagine owning an action figure and not being able to see it.
Once the outer box is removed we see why the Coliseum Video logo was parodied. The inner box is a tribute to those great VHS clamshell boxes, specifically that of the first WrestleMania. While this figure is not based on that look (another point we'll explore), the art is clearly taken from it right down to the "electrified" ring ropes. Upon opening the clamshell we get photos from WrestleMania and the build to it and on the other side of course the figure itself. Yet another dilemma appears as Mattel has included a removable plastic film over the tray that the figure is in. Do you remove it? It's cloudy if you don't. It should be noted that at this point you can actually lift the plastic bubble out of the clamshell box. And while I won't be getting mine autographed, where would you get the autograph if you did? How much would you remove?
The figure itself is a combination of two looks. The camo shirt is based on promo photos from his brief 1987 World Wrestling Federation run as "special enforcer." The gear underneath is from an appearance on Saturday Night's Main Event. Neither are really iconic wrestling looks for T which, again, will be addressed at the end. Included are a plethora of accessories including the aforementioned shirt, belt, wrist gauntlets, and the famous chains. "Wrestling hands" sans the famous rings are also included. With all of these accessories the look is very adaptable.
The body used is pretty spot-on. I always found it funny how pumped-up and immense Mr. T looked outside of wrestling. Next to the WWF superstars, he looked very small. Perhaps I'm the only one who felt this way, but I guess that's Hollywood magic. The face sculpt/scan is good, but could be better. I see Mr. T in it, but I don't necessarily see him standing there. He actually looks more like older Mr. T, perhaps during his WWE Hall of Fame induction, than he did in 1985.
It should be noted that while this is Mr. T's debut as a WWF/WWE figure, there was an earlier Mr. T wrestling figure. Galoob Toys, who had the rights to Mr. T thanks to the A-Team licensed, released a "Wrestling" figure of the star complete with "Real Wrestlng Robe." It was a re-issue of the A-Team figure with new packaging and accessories, but was the closest that collectors had until now.
This is a great figure with an outstanding, if not overdone, presentation. The outer box worked for Savage last year as it was to resemble an unopened box of Slim Jim snacks, but I'm just not sure it's necessary here. I like the Coliseum Video-esque clamshell even if in the final execution it actually looks more like the WWF Columbia House Collector's Edition VHS releases of the early '90s. All in all it's a fun and splashy debut for a long awaited character which is exactly what Mattel intended by making it their San Diego Comic Con exclusive.
Now, as promised, I will get to the attire. It's easy to see why this was chosen. It's two lesser known looks for T in the WWF. Since this is a figure that not everyone will get their hands on, it makes sense that the more recognizable looks will be saved for more mainstream releases. A two-pack of T and Roddy Piper recreating their boxing match from WrestleMania 2 ("What The World Has Come To") has already been announced. An inclusion in Mattel's Masters of the WWE Universe line has been revealed as well combining three 1980's pop culture phenomena by merging T, wrestling, and He-Man. I could easily see two more looks being released and I know exactly how I would release them. I would include T in his WrestleMania wrestling gear as part of the standard Elite line and then do a two-pack of T and Hogan as they appeared on the poster artwork. Aside from training gear and a few different t-shirts (WrestleMania, Hulkamania), Mr. T would be fairly complete at that point.
Mr. T is here and we're about to have more of him than we ever imagined. Next week we're celebrating an anniversary. What is it? One that's near and dear to my Pittsburgh heart, that's for sure.
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