Saturday, October 19, 2024

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

 
   
   The Invisible Man is back! This time we're checking out Griffin, the Invisible Man himself, from Matchbox's 1990 Monster in My Pocket minifigure line. I love these rubbery little guys! I had a few as a kid but over the years I've amassed more of them. They're always fun to look back at, especially as part of 31 Days of Toy Terror. I'm a huge fan of the Invisible Man, both the original H.G. Wells novel and the Universal Studios films. If you've never seen any of the sequels, they're worth checking out. Vincent Price is the invisible star of The Invisible Man Returns and plays Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, a friend of Dr. Frank Griffin, the brother of the original Invisible Man. Radcliffe is convicted of a crime he didn't commit and Griffin secretly gives him the serum to turn invisible until his innocence can be proved. It's quite good! The Invisible Woman is also legitimately funny, though a straight up comedy that's not really related to the others. The lovable Virginia Bruce plays Kitty Carroll, a struggling model who volunteers for an experiment but uses her invisibility to get back at her boss, improve working conditions for her coworkers, romance a rich guy, and stop some gangsters (one of whom is played by Shemp Howard). Anyways, we're looking at the original Griffin today, so let's check out this minifigure after the break...



The Facts:

Height: 1 1/2 inches

Monster #: 46

Year of Release: 1990













The Positives:

* My Invisible Man is yellow, but these guys came in multiple different colors over multiple releases, though the main colorways available are yellow, red, purple, and green. Griffin wears a lot of clothing and dresses like a turn of the century gentleman, so he's wearing a large overcoat and carrying a cane (that appears to be floating). Yes, his hands and the top of his head are not visible, which is a cool effect. 


* The portrait, small though it might be, is pretty cool, too. You can see that Griffin is in the process of wrapping or unwrapping his head with bandages. He's also sporting large glasses and a fake rubber nose. There's a strip of cloth flipping about. 
The Negatives:

* Yes, I'm being critical of a 34 year old rubber minifigure, so you'll just have to deal with it. Why's the cloth strip so high in the air? How long exactly are Griffin's hands and fingers supposed to be? Actually, that could be fixed with the rubbery cloth pulled down a bit. Maybe mine is warped from being in a storage container? Still what's holding the cane? It looks a bit far from his hands, too. 
   I still do like this guy despite some little oversights (heh heh) on his design. He's quite neat and I love his outfit. Monster in My Pocket desperately needs to return to store shelves. I don't own any of the 2006 Monster in My Pocket minis but they look incredible and I hate that I missed them, though since they were only sold in Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of South America, I wouldn't have had as much of a chance to nab them back then. The line needs to return with a mixture of classic literary monsters, cryptids, urban legends, movie monsters, and monsters of the world. The Invisible Man is a Good and a 1/2 mini and a neat tribute to a true classic.



Looking for more of the Invisible Man? I've also reviewed the Funko ReAction Invisible Man and the Jada Toys Invisible Man.

For more Monster in My Pocket reviews check out the following:

2 comments:

  1. Another cool version of the Invisible Man unwrapping his head.

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    Replies
    1. He would be the most anticlimactic male stripper to ever entertain at bachelorette parties!

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