By and large a wrestling star from prior to the '80s has to have some sort of reason to be produced into an action figure. For most collectors a person simply has had to have stepped into the ring for us to want a figure of them. Unfortunately the manufacturers don't feel the same. It's the reason why the '70s are grossly underrepresented in the figure world. Sure we have iconic legends such as Bruno Sammartino, Superstar Billy Graham, and Andre the Giant, but what about the other guys? One of those stars just happened to be the father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I'm not saying that Rocky Johnson only has a figure in the Mattel line because of that, but he just isn't a name that pops up on too many lists.
This isn't Rocky Johnson's first foray into the figure world. "The Soul Man" lived to see two different figures in the Jakks WWE Classic Superstars line and a total of three releases. While they were nice looking figures, they regrettably came later in the line when Jakks decided to use cheaper plastic thus making the figures notoriously breakable with just a few simple poses. I'm sure that Mattel was hoping to improve on those prior releases in every way as any good company should. As Johnson is the "Collector's Edition" release accompanying Mattel's WWE Elite Series 80, they have the opportunity to do just that.
I'm still not a fan of the "Collector's Edition" releases, but I've gone over that ad nauseam. As long as they remain relatively easy to obtain I'll continue to keep my complaining to a minimum. The figure looks good in the packaging and the robe is set off to the side likely to show off Rocky's physique. It's hard to say if the robes should be on the figure in the package or not. Some figures seem to end up "stained" when the robes are on for the long haul. While I don't think that would've happened here, I guess it's just another reason to open your toys. Also included are an open pair of hands to alternate with fists.
As far as the design of the figure itself goes, there's a whole lot to like. The figure differs greatly from the prototype. The biggest difference is one that put collectors into an uproar when prototype pictures first surfaced. Originally Johnson's familiar bird pectoral tattoos were missing. Soon after the uproar began it was said that this would not be changed. Obviously the squeaky wheel got the grease. It also seems to me that the head sculpt was tweaked somewhat. I was not seeing Rocky Johnson in the photos as much as I do here. The body of the figure is reused but they couldn't have gone with a better choice going by what they have at their disposal.
I won't say that I was a huge fan of the man in or out of the ring but figures of the '70s stars are few and far between. He's integral to anyone collecting wrestlers of the past and it's important to show Mattel that "obscure legends" (their words, not mine) will sell better than the endless Seth Rollins figures clogging shelves nationwide. If you're interested in the figure I would pick it up when available as this is definitely one that I can't see getting a re-release. If we've only had one Bruno figure in the entire Mattel run, I just can't see another Rocky Johnson. Certainly, though, I've been proven wrong with similar predictions in the past.
Nonetheless, long live disco, harvest gold appliances, and '70s wrestling.
No comments:
Post a Comment