Sunday, January 18, 2015

Action Figure Review: Kane (with chestburster) from Alien ReAction by Funko


     One of my favorite toylines when I was younger was Galoob's Aliens Micro Machines. I loved those things and spent hours playing with them. One of my particular favorites was the playset that looked like an Alien head and opened up to show scenes from the Nostromo interior and LV-426. The best feature, though, was a floor of the playset that looked like the Nostromo's dining hall. In order to reenact Alien's most infamous scene, it featured a table that you could place a small figure of Kane (John Hurt) on that made it look like the chestburster was lunging from his chest. A small wheel allowed you to wiggle the small alien creature around to really enhance the effect! While Kane was one of the figures sculpted in the 1979 Kenner prototypes for an Alien based toyline (in his spacesuit), Funko has added two more versions of Gilbert Ward Kane to the toyline: One has a Facehugger on his head and one has the chestburder bursting out of his chest. The chestburster version is the figure I'm looking at today. Ready for a look at good ol' Kane? Are you perplexed that Kane has more variations than Ripley or the Alien? Then join me after the break...




The Facts:
Height:3 7/8 inches tall.

Articulation: Swivel hips, swivel shoulders, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: None





The Positives:

*Just the concept of this figure is amazing. I mean, not only is this based on the most shocking and disturbing scene in Alien, it's just such a great, novel concept. Would this figure have really existed in a vintage toyline? Probably not! It also joins the rare list of action figures based on dead characters. Not characters who died during a story or who are ghosts, but characters whose figure represents them as being dead. Remember the Prince Theodred figure from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? Yup, that was a figure of a character's lifeless body. So is Kane here. Disturbing!


*The chestburster looks really good! It's a super simple sculpt (as are many of Funko's retro efforts) but there's no denying what this is supposed to be. The way the chestburster protruded straight out of the torso and is covered with a generous spray of bright crimson blood is rather shocking, particularly against Kane's white outfit. Oh, and since Funko doesn't have John Hurt's likeness rights (NECA doesn't have them either for their Kane figure) Funko put a picture of the chestburster from the film on the card. Pretty funny, really.



The Negatives:

*Kane does not come with any accessory. One of the cool things about vintage toylines was that prety much every figure came with something. Whether it was a movie accurate weapon or one completely made up by the toy company, each figure typically came with something. Kane could have come with any accessory that the first series figures came with or a plate of spaghetti.

*Maybe it's fitting the vintage style that Kane's emotionless but I really would have liked to have seen this figure with a screaming face.



     Whether you're a die hard Aliens collector, a fan of the ReAction stuff, or just someone who loves chest bursting aliens, you'll find a lot to love about Kane. This is a great sci-fi/ horror figure that really captures your attention due to the juxtaposition of the kid friendly retro style with completely inappropriate source material. Like the upcoming Gimp figure from Funko's ReActon line, this is a toy I just have to own on principle. I'm not sure what kind of principle that is but, since Kane is a Great figure, I'll leave that question to be answered another day. By the way, you can also pretend that this is a Spaceballs action figure, if you want.

I've also looked at some other Aliens based figures, so check them out:


Alien ReAction by Funko
Alien (with Metallic Flesh)

Aliens by NECA
Corporal Dwayne Hicks
Private William Hudson
Sergeant Craig Windrix
Xenomorph Warrior

Aliens/ Predator by Kenner
Alien versus Predator 2 pack
Series 1 Space Marines and the Power Loader
Series 1 Xenomorphs



3 comments:

  1. The look on his face Is rather peaceful considering he has an alien popping out of his chest.The concept for the figure really Is original.The only Reaction figs I want to pick up are the Goonies and I've been procrastinating with that.

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  2. I agree with Tony his face is rather peaceful considering what's happening to him.

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  3. Yeah, I would have liked a bit of a scream or at least an open mouthed expression. Then again, the passive, mild mannered face might be part of the retro charm of these guys.

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