Action Figure Review: Sla'ker from Turtles of Grayskull by Mattel

 

   

   I'm actually following up the recent review of the Turtles of Grayskull Krang with another Turtles of Grayskull review: Sla'ker! Sla'ker is an experiment of Krang, combining the evil mutant turtle, Slash, with the He-Man replica robot, Faker. So, my question is how would you pronounce this guy's name? Slay-ker, using the long "A" in Faker, or Slack-er, using the pronunciation you'd get from saying Slash? I've been saying Slay-ker for a bit, but the more I think about it, the more I think Slack-er might be right. It's also kind of funny. Who would have ever thought we'd need a cross between Faker and Slash? I had both of those figures as a kid and I'm probably more thrilled now with them as a comb than I would have been back then. Let's check out Sla'ker after the break...

The Facts: Sla'ker

Height: 7 inches 

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees, balljointed hips, waist swivel, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a barbell jointed head, and a swivel bandanna.

Accessories: Belt, chest armor, 2 bracers, 2 shoulder pads, shell, 2 knives, art card, and legs and head for Metal-Boto build-a-figure. 

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars

The Positives:

* I love how Slash and Faker have been jammed together here. A larger, bulkier build than your average figure? That's a Slash trait. Blue skin? That's a Faker trait. A purple belt with a backwards S? Slash again. Black furry trunks? Faker's look! He's also sporting plastron inspired armor covered with slashes, but it's bright orange like Faker's vintage armor. And you can see the robotic chest panel through the top slash! This guy really is the perfect blend of two great characters and I love his larger, caricatured style. 

* The headsculpt is awesome. The black bandanna is great and giving Sla'ker a robotic eye is very, very cool. Check out those funky teeth! Yikes!

* From the back you can see that he has a bandanna that can rotate, allowing you to pose it in a way that makes sense for your current pose. I like it!

* Here's a look at Sla'ker's control panel when his chest armor is off. Check out how it blends the vintage Faker design with some pizza inspired reels. That's pretty funny! This definitely put a smile on my face.

* I love how so much of Sla'ker's gear is removable pieces. His bracers and Beast Man styled shoulder pads are removable along with his armor and belt. 

* Check out that spiky shell on Sla'ker! I love the design and how matches the boots and bracers. 

* Like the other shells in the line Sla'ker's is removable too, allowing him to use it as a spiky battle shield. How nifty is that? I love this feature. I know there are so many of these action figure crossover lines these days but I'm not sure any of them feel like they've had more thought put into them than Turtles of Grayskull. It feels like both properties get a lot of attention and there are some really clever design and play features.

* While these are surely aimed at collectors (though there's no doubt that the TMNT are always a hot commodity with kids), these are definitely toys. Still, they're quite fun to mess around with. These figures are reminiscent of the vintage toys but with more modern articulation. While their bulky frames make the articulation a bit clumsy, they do feel like an evolution of the vintage line. They're quite fun to play with and they feel very sturdy. Of course, they're also modular and can be easily separated to make your own lazy boy customs!

* Slash's weapons are pretty cool, too. He comes with a pair of massive knives with huge spikes on the gauntlets. It's similar to the pinkish spike knuckled knife the vintage figure came with but it's molded in orange like Faker's sword. He comes with two of them which adds substantially to the number of sharp points on this guy.

* There's no minicomic included with the deluxe figures but you do get a thick, sturdy art card with a bio on the back. That's a pretty awesome picture of Sla'ker. 

* There are four figures in this deluxe boxed series exclusive to Target which come with parts for the build-a-figure of Metal-Boto, a hybrid of Metal Head and Roboto. Sla'ker comes with Metal-Boto's head and waist with thighs. Mouse-Jaw came with the right arm and weapons while the upcoming Splinter-Skull and 2Bopsteady will complete the figure.

* Sla'ker's shell has a belt with an attached loop to hold one of his knives. You can fit two in there, but it's a bit messy.

The Negatives:

* I really would have liked for him to have been able to hold both knives. Maybe two separate loops angled a bit?

   Sla'ker is definitely a figure who isn't slacking at all in the awesomeness department. Cool weapons, cool armor, an incredible headsculpt, and just a darn fine design overall. I'm loving this guy! He really is such a fun amalgamation of both Slash and Faker. Is he more Slash than Faker? Well, yes, to the untrained eye, but there really are so many neat Faker elements here that's it's truly a pretty even mixture. Plus, with the Metal-Boto parts you're making your way towards another figure or you can use the waist and thighs to combine with a figure you already have. That's pretty spiffy. This guy is Epic and might be my favorite figure in this line to date.

I've reviewed many toys of Faker and you can find them all in the Royal Junkyard.

For more of Slash check out my review of the 2012 TMNT Slash.

For more Turtles of Grayskull reviews check out the following:

Beast Man

Krang

Mouse-Jaw

Ram Man
Raphael
Shredder