A Bad Guy Of Many Colors

“The Bad Guy” is one of those characters who will never fade away. He started in 1992 as a “Scarface” rip off and, due to the previously untapped charisma of Scott Hall, became one of the best loved WWF stars of the 1990s. It’s actually weird to think that Hall only portrayed the character for roughly four years. It certainly feels a lot longer. It’s also weird for me to think, after doing some research for this blog entry, that I own all but two Mattel figure releases of the character, those being one of two Basic releases and the original “purple” release in the Defining Moments line. Those are actually probably the only two Razor figure releases in all that I don’t own, but this isn’t about me. This is about a Bad Guy…or two.

Like the Elite Legends line, the Ultimate Edition Legends line is also exclusive to a certain bullseyed retailer, though we have seen plenty of Ultimate Edition legends figures released by other means. This is the first to have a proper “chase” figure. Personally, I feel that the whole “chase” deal is out of control in every corner of the wrestling figure world, even if it has yielded us some great alternative looks. I wouldn’t have reviewed this figure had I not had both to present to you. Since there ended up being an opportunity to grab the chase at retail price (remember folks, I’m not an “influencer,” these companies send me nothing), we’re gonna dive in and look at both.

The Ultimate Edition packaging has changed little since it was first brought out. It’s very functional for what it houses, but I just wouldn’t ever have the desire to get these autographed with hands and things just floating around. You get that with Elites occasionally, too, but it’s much more obvious here. It’s a great showcase for why these figures are supposed to be “ultimate,” I just don’t think that it lends itself to carded/boxed collecting. I actually feel a bit guilty when disposing of some of these Ultimate Edition boxes, but it isn’t my fault that there’s so much material there. I didn’t design them and, on the flip side, I have absolutely zero room to keep them.

The difference between the regular and chase editions is interesting. I’m guessing that the purple version is the chase due to the aforementioned purple Defining Moments release of many years ago. The reason I say that is that the regular version is so much more interesting. Though the look is totally authentic, I don’t recall the yellowish gold vest with red trunks ever being done as a figure before. The vest showed up in an early Jakks figure and the trunks on the iconic Hasbro, but together? As you can tell by my comments, I greatly prefer the regular version. This is the Razor I’d have displayed with Ric Flair for a ’92 feel, if I did displays. Don’t get me wrong, the solid purple is great, too, and of course takes us back to the Hasbro re-release.

In either release you get three different heads, four sets of hands (including the thumbs up hands that it felt like Mattel didn’t want to do for the longest time), the vest, the gold necklace and the Intercontinental Championship belt. The "Ultimate Edition" torso has never struck me as worth the extra cost, but considering Razor's broad shoulders it does work here. The logos are well done everywhere including on the backs of the vests. The heads are probably the best ones we've seen to date as, for whatever reason, Hall was a tough likeness to nail down as a figure. Most over the years turned out too cartoonish. These, especially the smiling face, are just right.

I have to split this one down the middle. Both are great figures, but unless you happen upon a chase I don’t think I can recommend needing to necessarily break any doors down to get this one immediately. Unless you’re a huge Razor fan, of course, which in that case commence breaking. We’ve had other great figures of him before and, to me, the “Ultimate” stylings don’t make a huge difference. The red dot retailer is known for constant sales both in store and online. With the higher price of these Ultimate Edition figures it’s sometimes better to just wait. The stores tend to do a lot of clearance, too, although there’s no real guarantee with that.

Just be sure that you take care of them. Why? Because… “Something happen to these figures, something happen to you, chico…”