PowerTown Arrives: Magnum T.A. & Kerry Von Erich

The young lions of the 1980’s are back. Two of the most promising names in the wrestling industry, both cut tragically short in their paths due to entirely different reasons. Still, both carry on with their legacies and the lasting influence of their work. Magnum T.A. and Kerry Von Erich, two grapplers tremendously underrepresented in action figure form, are back in our collections thanks to PowerTown. Have either been captured in such form and detail before? Let’s take a look.

As with all six of the PowerTown Ultra Series 1 figures, the packaging is impressive. The magnetic flap, the detailed bios and amazing graphics. You see exactly what you get, yet, it doesn’t feel as if things are floating. There isn’t any wasted space which is a problem with a lot of action figure packaging these days. With the recent crackdown in “wasting resources” for toy packaging, you would think that other companies would adopt a striking yet compact design like this. Due to a manufacturing/shipping snafu of unknown origin, Von Erich shipped a tad later than the other five figures in the set. He was worth the wait.

Both figures include removable jackets, alternate hands, removable knee pads and, most importantly, championship belts. For the first time ever we have figure-sized replicas of both the NWA United States and WCCW Heavyweight championship belts. For longtime collectors and figure photographers these, like the other titles in the series, are game changers. To have officially released accessories of these trophies is unthinkable. Both are perfectly replicated and, while the early renders had collectors excited, came out even better than the previews had promised. Due to the length of the straps on each you may have to work a bit to use them with figures from other companies (unlike the AWA Championship included with Verne Gagne), but it can be done.

This is only Magnum’s second released figure. I gushed over the Mattel release right in this very blog. It was mind-blowing to finally have a figure of the ‘80s legend and that’s still a worthwhile item to own. Times change as does figure manufacturing. The PowerTown version does eclipse it. The stance and body type are just that much more realistic. The belt puts it over the top and you can practically hear Magnum talking to David Crockett and Tony Schiavone on a TBS Saturday morning. The red tights also make the figure stand out. The Mattel version was originally designed to be in red but was switched to black.

The jacket, while rubber goods and as with most accessories of the type can be difficult to get on and off, really sells the Magnum image. The Mattel version included a vest and you could honestly view both as different eras of Terry Allen. The prototype of this figure was slated and shown to have wrist tape. It was omitted from the final product, likely by accident. It doesn’t bother me and can easily be remedied by applying some small strips of tape. That fix also enables you to remove it if need be. The boots, as with all PowerTown figures, are removable for easy application of the knee pads.

While Kerry Von Erich has had a few more figures than Magnum, ultimately this is only his fourth. Kerry’s face was as chiseled as his body which likely makes getting a good facial likeness relatively easy. The past three figures (Hasbro and Mattel, respectively) have all resembled Kerry in his later years. Our PowerTown offering is definitely a younger, softer likeness and still hits all the marks. Considering that most if not all of the family members are said to be signed for the line, there’s no better place to start than with “The Modern Day Warrior.” Personally, I’d take every Von Erich including Lance. No, I highly doubt he’s included.

It wouldn’t be a Von Erich figure without an “Iron Claw” hand which is removable. The body sculpt is well done and the colors are new for any figure of Kerry. We now have him in a multitude of colors, different with each figure. Kudos to PowerTown for paying attention and giving us previously unreleased looks for those wrestlers who’ve already had past figures. That being said, I think everyone would want these even if the looks remained the same. They simply feel different in your hand or on display than most other figures. If PowerTown wanted to start a wrestling figure revolution, I do believe they’ve done it and have silenced the naysayers at the same time.

Another amazing couple of figures from the new guys on the block. We’ve only got one more to go in our ongoing series of reviews of the first batch from PowerTown, but I can’t wait until the next legends arrive. For those of you wanting to know how you can get your hands on Series 1, there is a bit of news. Via their Facebook page, PowerTown states that some additional figures MAY be made available once pre-orders have been fulfilled. If you skipped the initial pre-order it would be wise to keep an eye on their official social media accounts and strike while the iron is hot. That being said, I do believe that all six of the men represented in this first series would warrant alternate releases in the future. All six are headliners and have different looks that could be explored. 

Yet two more examples that prove that “Where Wrestling Lives On” isn’t just a slogan…