Thursday, October 10, 2024

31 Days of Toy Terror Takes the Universe: Creature from the Black Lagoon from Universal Monsters ReAction by Funko

 


   While Super7 solely owns and handles the ReAction brand now, originally they partnered with Funko in distributing the brand back in 2014 after the success of Super7's recreated Alien figures. Some of the early figures were kind of rough but others were highly impressive. I still love the ReAction figures of the Universal Monsters and the modern horror icons and have them displayed proudly in my ReAction/ vintage Kenner styled collection. Today I'm looking at the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the titular creature (or Gill-man) from the 1954 Universal horror film. The first figure I reviewed from this series was the Mummy back in 2014 and now, a little over 10 years later, I'm finishing up my reviews of all nine basic figure in the series with the Gill-man. Funko also released a glow-in-the-dark Gill-man as an exclusive, but I don't have that one. Let's delve into the deep and check out the Creature from the Black Lagoon after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 3 15/16ths inches

Articulation: Swivel hips, swivel shoulders, and a swivel neck.

Accessories: None

Original Retail Price: $10 dollars

Year of Release: 2014









The Positives:

* Super7 has gone on to release multiple different Creatures in their ReAction line but this release from Funko was the first. Inspired by the vintage Remco Mini-Monsters, these guy are all around 3 3/4ths to 4 inches (the Gill-man is just a hair shy of 4 inches). While many of the ReAction releases as a collaboration between Funko and Super7 were a bit lackluster, the Universal Monsters were excellent. The Gill-Man has an impressive level of detail and two different shades of green and yet he still manages to feel like an early 1980s 1/18th scaled figure.











* The portrait is quite good and is instantly recognizable. There's a bit of painted detail for the eyes and mouth, but most of the detail is sculpted. 








* Flip the Gill-man around and you can see the fins running down his back all the way to his legs. He's quite a fun figure and clearly a lot of attention and love was put into the sculpt. 












* Check out his webbed claws! 




* And his webbed feet. He's definitely ready for some swimming!




* Like a vintage Kenner figure or the vintage Remco Mini-Monsters, the Creature features swivel hips, swivel shoulders, and a swivel head. He feels like he's made of a much higher quality plastic than many of the other ReAction figures from the Funko era. His arms do have a little bit of a bend at the elbow, giving him a better look when he's "swimming."




   The Gill-Man/ Creature from the Black Lagoon is an Epic ReAtion figure. The design was right (detailed, but not too modern nor intentionally amateur looking), the colors are solid, he feels pretty sturdy, and he was originally available at a pretty decent price of $10 bucks. I am glad that Super7 has continued the Universal Monsters line (though it's been almost a year since any new figures have been released) and you'll be glad to know this guy fits right in with those newer figures. Display him in the lagoon of your choice this Halloween season!




   Looking for more of the Creature from the Black Lagoon/ Gillman or other Sea Creature inspired by him? I've reviewed plenty of other Gill-Man-like creatures including the Wavecrawler from Hasbro's Kre-O line, the Imaginext Gillman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon from Monster Force, the Gill-Man from the Big Bucket of Monsters, Leonardo as the Creature from the Black Lagoon from NECA, the Sea Creature from Mezco's Tower of Fear, and the Swamp Creature from Lego Monster Fighters.


For more ReAction Universal Monsters from Funko, check out the following:

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I'm making my way to the Gill-Man's movies soon. Still in the mid 1940s on my watchthrough of every Universal Horror film from 1931 through 1960!

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