Action Figure Review: Conan the Barbarian from Conan the Barbarian by Super7

   Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian has been crafted into action figure form by many companies over the years and now Super7 gets their turn with this new release based on the look of the character during the 1970s within the pages of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian series. Super7's Conan is an extremely interesting release not just because of the source material, however, but because he utilizes the "Classics" body that was designed for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Conan and He-Man have an interesting history together that is filled with lots of speculation and rumor, but now they have some level of official connection. Super7 is getting some great mileage out of the standard body designed for the Masters of the Universe Classics line by utilizing the scale and style for other lines like ThunderCats, The Toxic Crusaders, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Of course, being that he's a swords and sorcery barbarian, Conan is a perfect fit to exist alongside of the Masters of the Universe line; Conan inspired He-Man and now He-Man, in a sense, is lending something to Conan! This figure was listed as a preorder on Super7.com in early 2019 (alongside the movie-based final wave of MOTUC figures)and just shipped to fans within the last couple of weeks. Let's check out this incredible Conan the Barbarian figure after the break and see if he can stand toe-to-toe with the other brawny, beefy, and bulky barbarian bruisers on your action figure shelf!

The Facts:

Height: 7 inches tall

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, swivel waist, hinged mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel hinge/ wrists, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Sword, spear, dagger, 2 interchangeable portraits, and a bloody sword and spear included separately as a pre-order bonus.

Non-Scalper Price: $35 dollars

 Comparison:

* Just to give you an idea of how well these figures fit together here's a picture of Conan (left) alongside the Masters of the Universe Classics Oo-Lar/ Jungle He-Man (right). While Conan certainly has his fair share of new parts and the updated articulation Super7 used on their MOTU figures, he fits in wonderfully alongside the denizens of Eternia and Etheria!

 The Packaging:

* Super7 always does a superb job with their packaging and Conan is one of their best. Conan comes in a colorful window box displaying the figure in front of an appropriately awesome background. There sleeve that covers the window (but not the name at the bottom!) features the gorgeous cover art from Conan #1 by Barry Windsor-Smith, John Verpoorten, and Sam Rosen.

The small brown box is packaged separately and includes the bonus bloody weapon variants.

 The Positives:



* Conan looks incredible. The MOTUC styled body does an excellent job of capturing a version of Conan that feels like he stepped out of a comic book. While he's not wearing much clothing, the body looks fantastic and has fantastic coloring to it. The paint work is also very neat and clean on his trunks, bracers, and on his sandals.

 * The headsculpt is fantastic on this figure and really captures the look of Conan from the early 1970s Marvel series. I know some collectors weren't thrilled with this particular look (it's not the way I immediately picture Conan in my head, either)  but it's a great variant to what we usually see. The facesculpt looks chiseled out of stone and I especially love the blue highlights on the hair. That really captures the comic book roots of this particular version of Conan.

 * The second headsculpt features Conan yelling as if he is in the midst of battle. I love it! The teeth look awesome and the eyes certainly look like they're on fire! Seriously, he looks intent on cutting someone in half for sure!

* I really like this necklace that Conan is sporting. It is a removable piece (you just have to pop the head off) so you can display Conan with or without it, or you could give it to someone else, too. It has three medallions on it that have a very cool pattern.

 * Conan's articulation is exactly like one of Super7's Masters of the Universe figures as Conan has a MOTUC body with the updated swivel/hinge ankles and wrists. He's a really fun and durable figure who can take some great poses. The plastic quality is excellent, too. Conan is easily one of the best figures Super7 had made.

 * Conan comes a pretty cool sword that is a nice replica of what you see in the book. It's a fantastic accessory with a nice silver and gold color scheme. It's not overly massive or flashy or anything like that but I imagine it gets the job done when Conan needs to do some hacking and slashing.

* Conan's second weapon is a nasty looking spear. He's actually wielding this on the cover of Conan the Barbarian #1 and Super7 did an excellent job of capturing the details from the art. There are four small spikes at the bottom of the tip of the spear as well as a coiled grip running down the shaft.

 * Because the figure was delayed Super7 actually included two bonus weapons in a separate little box shipped along with the figure. A bloody version of the sword and the spear are included and they look incredible. Seriously, they're pretty impressive and way cooler than the standard weapons. The bloody paintwork is excellent and really makes Conan feel even more dynamic than he already does.

 * Conan also comes with a very cool dagger. It has an interesting pattern on the sheathe (the blade isn't removable) and it plugs into a slot on his loincloth so he can carry it with him. It's a bit tough for him to hold but it looks cool and, with some finagling, you'll make it work.

 The Negatives:



* The dagger has a tendency to fall off when you're posing Conan. If you move his right hip around at all, it's probably going to pop off. Be careful not to lose it!

   While Super7 has figures based on the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian coming out as well, this is the only figure at the moment based on the Conan comics. It's not everyone's favorite depiction of the character but it's a darn fine figure and a really cool Conan. There haven't been many Conan figures released that were poseable, playable toys but this one absolutely is that. Pose him alongside other Conan figures, mix him in with your Marvel Legends, or place him alongside of your Masters of the Universe Classics collection. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure with some excellent accessories, particularly if you get the bloody weapons. Remember they don't come in the package but were shipped along with the figure in their own package. If you're ordering this guy from someone make sure you're getting those! I really hope Super7 continues to release more Conan figures as they've done a darn fine job with this one and I'm excited to see what other designs they can do.



Oddly enough this is actually the first figure of Conan the Barbarian I've reviewed!