As distribution problems and other business decisions that can only be described as "wonky" continue to plague the line and frustrate collectors, Mattel has at least continued to crank out product. Occasionally fans can get even get their hands on the figures. Sadly, it's become even a chore to obtain figures that are slated to be online exclusives. One set that we can deem "so far, so good" about is the Amazon exclusive "Fan Takeover," which is now in it's second series.
The concept of "Fan Takeover" is that fan vote allegedly decides which outfits that the figures will be decked out in. I guess we should believe that. From a company noted for being notoriously tight-lipped on such issues as the Harley Race debacle, it's sort of hard to believe that the results would be on the up-and-up. Nonetheless, thus far we've received Ricky Steamboat, Adam Cole, Shayna Baszler and Seth Rollins in Series 1 and Johnny Gargano, Randy Orton, Christian and X-Pac in Series 2. The former 1-2-3 Kid is our subject today.
This version of X-Pac, "as chosen by the fans," is decked out in his 2002 nWo look. It's a look that Jakks produced at the time in the old "TTL" style. The packaging is the standard current shape (said to be changing yet again soon), but the colors are much more vibrant and therefore more attractive, in my opinion. This one looks good boxed and the extra hands aren't floating that manically as sometimes is the case. Amazon isn't known for their great packing in mailings. I must say that this one came boxed and well-protected while Gargano arrived in a bubble mailer. I need say no more.
You get a variety of accessories with X-Pac including a removable nWo t-shirt, bandana, three sets of hands and a Kane mask. I don't particularly remember the angle where X-Pac wore the Kane mask, but I do remember a lot of interaction between the two over the years so I'm sure that it happened. It doesn't fit perfectly but it's still a fun accessory. The hand choices were well done and removable bandanas and headbands should be the rule for every such figure. The nWo t-shirt is always a coveted accessory and allows other figures of a similar size to "join" the New World Order.
In addition to the particular hand choices the facial likeness is great. Coupled with the removable bandana you could honestly label this the "ultimate" X-Pac. For a man such as Sean Waltman who's had plenty of figures down through the years, this is a helluva statement if I do say so myself...and I do.
While the first Fan Takeover series sat available on Amazon for some time, Series 2 has been sporadic at best. If you checked enough you were able to lock in pre-orders on any of them. There could be an upcoming moment where they're all simultaneously available as the first series was, but that has yet to happen. If names for a third series have been unveiled, they have yet to hit my radar. I like the mix of eras in the sets, though as usual I'd prefer a heavier legends presence. If you know me, though, that's my rule. Perhaps we can get the WCW Ricky Steamboat that "didn't win" the Series 1 vote in place of a re-release...
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