Monday, May 9, 2016

Action Figure Review: Chris Jericho from WWE: Then, Now, Forever by Mattel

  Early last week I had to go to the dentist, which really sucked, but I did end up having some time early in the morning to run around and hit up some stores in a nearby town and boy did I have one heck of a toy run. The first thing I picked up while out and about is a figure from a recent Wal-Mart exclusive series from Mattel's WWE line called "Then, Now, Forever" (I actually picked up the DC Multiverse Aquaman that same day, but it was after I snagged Jericho). These are essentially "basic" WWE figures but they've turned out pretty nice. Plus, it's been a few years since there was a modern, Elite Chris Jericho and since he's been a pretty big presence over the last few months I decided to grab him. Plus, I'm totally digging the Highlight Reel accessory as it's been a major plot point again over the past few weeks during his feud with Dean Ambrose. Maybe we'll get a jacketed Dean Ambrose next year with an "Ambrose Asylum" sign and a Mitch accessory! How cool would that be? Anyways, let's take a look at this new figure of Chris Jericho shall we? Join me after the break ("the walls down")!



 The Facts:

Height: 6 7/8ths inches

Articulation: Hinged ankles, boot swivels, hinged knees, swivel hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: Jeritron screen and base.

Non-Scalper Price: $10 dollars
 The Positives:

* This is a "Basic" figure, which means it features neither a mid-torso hinge nor ball jointed hips. Still, for a figure that I purchased for right around $10, there's a lot of quality articulation here. I really love the quality, the feel of the plastic, the sturdiness of the joints, and just the overall production of Mattel's WWE figures. I really wish they'd build their DC figures in the style of their WWE figures.


 * This is an incredible headsculpt. I'm not sure if Mattel has used it before but it looks just like Y2J. The Bon Jovi styled hair, the arrogant smile; Mattel really nailed it. I imagine any wrestling fan could pick this figure up and know exactly who this is. It's the Man of 1,004 Holds!

 * I don't know if these trunks are specific to a certain event or period (a quick bit of Google-fu shows Jericho wearing this at Night of Champions 2014) but they look good. The black and silver look great and the print on the front and back is neat and clean. I wonder if some of the kids watching wrestling today even know what Y2K even was?


 * Christ Jericho's boots also look pretty sweet. They're black and silver and say "Y2J2014" on them. That's pretty cool, right? If you found one of these boots, you would be able to easily track down the owner.


 * The Jeritron accessory is a really cool, fun accessory. It's nothing too fancy, just a plastic TV on a stand, but it's nicely done. The screen is a sticker and the pole that holds the Jeritron rotates at the base. It comes in two pieces in the package and connects together pretty easily. It definitely seems like one of those "one time assembly" pieces, though, so don't try to take it apart unless you want to damage the integrity of the plastic.








The Negatives:

* Chris does have the "F" tattoo which represents his band, Fozzy, but that's it: He's actually missing a number of tattoos on his left arm (and his wife's name at the bottom of his left ring finger). Usually Mattel does an awesome job ensuring that even the basic figures have accurate tattoos but here they seem to have dropped the ball a bit. 
 While I mainly collect Elite figures, I'm always willing to pick up a solid Basic figure to add to the collection and Chris Jericho is indeed a solid Basic to add to the roster. While his missing tattoos seem like a pretty big oversight on Mattel's part, the excellent sculpt and the fun Highlight Reel screen accessory really make this guy standout. Heck, I think this screen is a better accessory than some Elite figures have received recently. He's a Great and a 1/2 Basic figure and if you find yourself in a Wal-Mart, you should hunt this guy down.


I haven't reviewed any other Chris Jericho figures on here yet but I have reviewed plenty of other WWE figures from Mattel:

WWE by Mattel
AJ Lee (Series 53)
Alicia Fox (Series 47)
Bray Wyatt (Series 55)
Charlotte
Lana
Paige (Series 57)
Renee Young 
Sasha Banks
Stephanie McMahon (Series 40)
Tyler Breeze

WWE Battle Packs by Mattel
Big E & Kofi Kingston
Konnor & Viktor 
Nikki Bella & Brie Bella (Series 38)

WWE Elite Collection by Mattel
Bad News Barrett (Series 34)
Bo Dallas 
Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt (Series 36)
Brock Lesnar (Series 37)
Cesaro (Series 33)
Damien Mizdow
Daniel Bryan (Series 38)
Dean Ambrose (Series 36) 
Dean Ambrose (Series 41)
Dolph Ziggler (Series 39)
Erick Rowan
Finn Balor
Goldust (Series 36)
Hulk Hogan (Series 34)
John Cena (Series 40)
Kane (Series 31)
Luke Harper (Series 35)
Mark Henry (Series 32)
The Miz (Series 37)
Paige
Randy Orton (Series 35)
Roman Reigns (Series 38)
Rusev 
Ryback (Series 41)
Seth Rollins (Series 37) 
Stardust (Series 36)
Stephanie McMahon (Series 37)
Triple H (Series 35) 

WWE Elite Collection: Hall of Fame by Mattel
Sargent Slaughter
Stone Cold Steve Austin

WWE Elite Collection: Wrestlemania by Mattel (2016)
Undertaker

WWE Elite Collection: Wrestlemania XXX by Mattel
Bray Wyatt

WWE Elite Collection: Wrestlemania 31 by Mattel (2015)
Seth Rollins (Seth Cashes In!)

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