Re-Halloween 2025: The Invisible Man from Toony Terrors by NECA

 

   It's time for me to complete the most recent series of Universal Monsters inspired Toony Terrors from NECA and today we're looking at the Invisible Man, the star of my second favorite Universal classic horror film (all the films released from 1931-1960), The Invisible Man. While Jack Griffins' face is only seen at the end of the film, he certainly gets a nice variety of outfits in the film and this trench coat and fedora combo are what he wears at the very beginning of the movie when Griffin shows shows up on a snowy night at The Lion's Head Inn. Interestingly, NECA hasn't released this version of Griffin in their Universal Monsters 'Ultimates' line. Could they have a third version of the Invisible Man in store for us down the road? It's a cool design for Toony Terrors and while I expected them to go with the more iconic smoking jacket look, this one is very cartoonish, making Griffin look like a classic spy or detective which would track well for a Saturday Morning cartoon. Let's see what can be seen here after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 5 1/4ths 

Articulation: Balljointed ankles, swivel shoulders, swivel wrists, and a barbell jointed head.

Accessories: 2 swappable portraits, potion, and bag.

Non-Scalper Price: $15 to $19 dollars 

The Positives:



* I really like this look for the Invisible Man! It's not as iconic as the smoking jacket / robe look but it's the first thing we see Griffin wearing in the film and it's just a cool outfit. The trench coat looks excellent with plenty of buttons and a belt and a nice, light grey color. I'm really curious about his yellow gloves. They do add a nice pop of color that he is definitely missing, but I'm wondering where NECA got the idea to give him yellow gloves. In the other outfits the gloves are brownish, so maybe this was done as a way to cartoonify him. 

* Two portraits are included with the first being his bandaged head with some of the fake hair exposed beneath the bandages. No face is visible here at all; he's covered by a scarf around his lower face, a fake nose, and his goggles with green lenses. It's all nicely sculpted and painted with some very subtle detail on the bandages covering his head.

* The second portrait is largely the same beneath Griffin's brow but above it he's wearing a really nice hat. It looks like Indy's fedora! It definitely makes him look very mysterious and I'm all for that.

* How's the articulation? Well, if you've read any of my Toony Terrors reviews before (or if you own any of them) then you'll know that these figures are really not meant to be incredibly poseable. They're very much made to stand around as a group and look cool. They're very reminiscent of collector focused figures from the very late 1990s to the mid 2000s with just minimal joints to allow a little variation. The head is on a barbell joint and the arms and wrists swivel, so you can get a little variation in your poses while the ankles are balljointed to help keep the figure standing upright.

* Two accessories are included with Griffin, the first being a potion for him to hold in his right hand. It might be intended to be in a beaker and it's bubbling over a bit. It's blue, so it's probably delicious. 

* He's also carrying a vintage doctor's bag which presumably has some useful items in it. He can hold this in the left hand. It's a nice piece and while it doesn't open it does get a paint app for the handle and the edges of the bag. 

The Negatives:


* The heads are fairly difficult to swap. In fact, while swapping one I pulled the hat off. It will easily go back on (and just needs a dollop of super glue/ Loctite to stay put again), but do be careful all the same. 

* The Invisible Man is a pretty nice addition to the set, though I'm surprised we didn't get a figure that showed off his invisibility in some way (a half unwrapped head, perhaps). Still, it's a different take on the character from the other versions NECA has offered and including the option for two different portraits and some accessories makes him a bit more impressive. He gets a Good and a 1/2 from me! These figures really are fun and they do look better once you amass a small group of them. Now that I've got eight of the Universal Monsters on the shelf they're really a fun collection. Hopefully we see another set in the near future. I think there's still life in the Universal Monsters subset of this line.


Looking for more of the Invisible Man? I've also reviewed NECA's The Invisible Man (Glow in the Dark) and Dr. Jack Griffin (Kemp House), the Funko ReAction Invisible Man, the Monster in My Pocket Invisible Man, and the Jada Toys Invisible Man.