Back near the end of April or early May the two newest World Warriors from Jadas Toys' Ultra Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers arrived on my doorstep: Balrog and E. Honda. I'm going to kick things off with Balrog, the last of the four original "Bosses" from Street Fighter II. Balrog is probably my least favorite character to play as in the classic games since he only throws punches but he's a character whose design I really like. Modeled after Mike Tyson and called M. Bison in the original Japanese game), he ended up getting renamed to Balrog to prevent any lawsuits for the American release of the game. There actually was a character named Mike in the original Street Fighter who was also a boxer modeled after Tyson, but he and Balrog are apparently different guys. Balrog is packaged in a larger box like other deluxe figures such as
Blanka and
Sagat but he doesn't feel quite as large as those guys. Blanka is far wider and Sagat is much taller. He's still bigger than your average figure, such as Ryu, but but not by much. Ready to check out this boxer who is ready to go head to head against your other World Warriors and Gandalf the Grey? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 6 7/8ths inches
Articulation: Hinged toes, swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, balljointed butterfly joints, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and a barbell jointed head.
Accessories: 4 swappable hands, 2 swappable boxing glove wrist covers, 2 swappable portraits, and 2 punch effects.
Non-Scalper Price: $35 dollars
Comparison:
* Here's a shot comparing the new Jada Toys Balrog (left) with the vintage Hasbro Balrog from the G.I. Joe: Street Fighter 2 subset. Most of Hasbro's figures reused parts from other G.I. Joe releases (withy all new portraits) and Balrog was a reuse of Cobra's boxing trainer,
Big Boa, from the waist down.
The Positives:
* Balrog is certainly a muscular guy, sure, but he definitely has a much larger upper body compared to his lower body, and Jada captured this really well. His upper torso and shoulders are massive! I love how this line really captures the unqiue designs and builds of each character and Balrog might be one of the best. The sculpt is excellent and the detail on his outfit is far more impressive than you might think at first. There really are a lot of paint highlights on his outfit that add to the depth of the sculpt. The way his ripped sleeves cover his shoulder joints and how they're layered under the blue jersey-like shirt are also nicely done. He's incredibly solid all around.
* Two portraits are included and they're both really good. Balrog looks tough, angry, and he's sporting a haircut that's short but still rather flashy. There's a lot of expression in his face, especially in his eyes. You can see the emotion in them running up to his brow. It's fantastic.
* The second portrait is probably my favorite as it's either a victory pose or the look Balrog has on his face when he's absolutely thrilled to deliver an incredibly powerful punch to an opponent. I love the lopsided grin, the missing tooth, and the way that his left eye is open so much wider than his right.
* I know I mentioned above how impressive the subtle paintwork is on Bison's outfit, but here's a closer look. I even really appreciate how Jada Toys uses shading the enhance the sculpt of the muscles as well. Balrog's arms and legs are absolutely shredded and the highlights really just emphasize his toned muscles.
* You don't always see the laces on boots painted on with such detail but Balrog's are great. There's even a lace tied around the top of the boot. The paintwork is pretty neat and clean. Balrog even has a mid-toe hinge to aid him attaining better boxing stances which is a nice touch.
* Balrog wears boxing gloves when fighting which makes his likely massive fists seem even larger. The wrist covers for the gloves are separate pieces that fit over his wrists. You could remove them, sure, but why? They're just molded separately to enhance articulation and to make the colors more vibrant. If you look closely or run your hands over the gloves you'll even notice that they're textured appropriately.
* Balrog's articulation is excellent. He seriously might be the most impressively articulated action figure I've purchased this year! He's incredibly sturdy, a good number of the joints are "hidden," and the range of motion is impressive, especially on his arms, shoulders, and mid torso. The "butterfly" joints/ pectoral joints are blended in as his sleeves and they're actually full balljoints, not just lateral hinges. He's an incredible figure for attaining boxing poses and he's so much fun to play around with. Jada Toys did an amazing job here for sure.
* Interestingly, Balrog does get swappable boxing gloved hands. There is a pair where you can tell he's making fists and a pair of more relaxed hands. I'm not sure I would have even thought of a need for the relaxed gloves but it does add some more posing options, so that's a cool extra.
* Balrog doesn't have any wild special moves in the early games that are really out of the ordinary; just insanely powerful punches. To show off his punches Jada included two force effects that show the motion and power of his hits. There's a smaller one...
* And this larger one! Look at that; that'd be like getting slammed by a freight train.
Balrog is incredible. Honestly, he might be one of the best figures Jada Toys has put out in the line. I'm not quite sure he's large enough to be considered a deluxe figure compared to the other bigger characters, but he's still an impressive figure with some excellent sculpting and paintwork. And the articulation? Phenomenal. Balrog is an Epic figure and easily one of the highlights for me of the year so far. I have not been disappointed by this line yet and I'm excited that we're on track to complete the Street Fighter II roster in 2026. Just brilliant stuff all around here, really.
Looking for more of Balrog/ (Mike Bison)? Then check out the Street Fighter II M.U.S.C.L.E.
Pack B that includes Balrog.
For more of Jada Toys' Ultra Street Fighter II: The New Challengers reviews check out the following:
he looks very well done. if i was still collecting Jada SFII i would buy him (I had pre-ordered him but cancelled him, Honda and Akuma as things have to change for me this year). But yeah looks like Jada nailed him
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