Tuesday, October 8, 2024

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: The Phantom from Monster in My Pocket by Matchbox

 
   
   I always like to have at least one Monster in My Pocket minifigure as part of 31 Days of Toy Terror and this year The Phantom gets the first honors! No, he's not specifically base on the 1925 Universal Studios silent film The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney, but that's where most people remember him from. Or the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel. Or one of the musicals. Or the 1943 Universal Studios remake The Phantom of the Opera with Claude "The Invisible Man" Rains as the Phantom. Erik, the titular Phantom who helped build the foundation of the Palais Garnier Opera House and thus was able to craft secret layers and passages for himself, is quite a recognizable character in pop culture and literature, so his inclusion in the first series of Monster in My Pocket was well deserved. Universal's The Phantom of the Opera is actually a public domain film at this point (Universal didn't renew the copyright registration for the film back in the early 1950s) so you don't always see the Phantom with the regular crew, but I always like to see him in there. Let's take a look at this mini monster after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 1 7/8ths inches

Monster #: 38

Year of Release: 1990












The Positives:

* Sometimes the Phantom is portrayed as being hideously scarred with the visage of a living skeleton. You know, a guy whose own mother never even would kiss him and who made him wear a bag over his head. Other times, especially in musicals, he's handsome and just wears a little mask. That's weak. This Phantom definitely looks pretty frightening and is holding his mask in his hand. He's pretty nicely dressed, otherwise. 






* The pose is cool and quite theatrical as he has one hand holding his mask outstretched towards the audience. MIMPs are molded in a plastic that's kind of rubbery, much more so than M.U.S.C.L.E.s, and the series one figures come in red, green, yellow, and purple. 









* Here's a shot of Erik the Phantom from the back. He's using that right hand to give his cape a dramatic wave, isn't he? He's really quite a ham. You can also see his monster point value here, a 10. 







   It's kind of tough to not love a vintage Monster in My Pocket minifigure, especially one that's based on a classic Universal monster and literary figure. I love the pose on the Phantom. He's not the most detailed or craziest of the MIMP crew but he's a solid mid-tier figure for sure. Does it not drive anyone else nuts that no one is making monster minifigures like this at mass market retail anymore? Thank of all the classic monsters, cryptids, and internet era creatures that could be made! The Phantom is a Great minifigure and way better than actually going to the opera. 



   If you're looking for more of the Phantom of the Opera then check out my review of Funko's ReAction The Phantom of the Opera and Super7's ReAction of The Phantom of the Opera as the Masque of the Red Death

For more Monster in My Pocket check out the following:


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