Cowabunga! We have been anxiously waiting TMNT ULTIMATES! series three, but they are finally starting to arrive. This latest series brings us a diverse offering, including the party dude, and the final half of Shredder’s terrible twosome. Let’s take a look at Michelangelo and Rocksteady!
All four Turtles are almost finally here, and since Donatello is the best, Michelangelo takes center stage as second or third best Turtles (depending on who you ask), and is the anchor of this wave. Despite Donnie being my favorite, Mikey was the first TMNT figure I ever owned, so there is a lot of sentimentality in getting this new version for me. On the other hand, Rocksteady joins Bebop as my favorite figures from the TMNT U! line thus far, and my anticipation has been well met – this figure is so impressive. Mike and Rocksteady are joined by April O’Neil and Metalhead, but we will be getting to them later this week.
MICHELANGELO
As I said, the wait for this series was a little longer than originally anticipated, but having three out of the four Turtles on the shelf really drives home the fact that we are about to have the full core group completed. That means a lot within a larger collection, and for those who are just in it for the Turtles (heretics, all of you!), Michelangelo represents the three-quarters mark, and he does a great job of doing so. I think he is the most eye-catching of the Turtles so far, and his bold green skin and bright orange mask/pads go a long way to get there.
Now, Robo and I got to talk in-depth about this series with Super7 designer Kyle Wlodyga this past Sunday. During that two-hour session we broke down most of the finer points of each of these figures, so be sure to check that out below. I do, however, want to touch on some of the highlights of Mikey (and Rocksteady), and of course, share lots of pictures.
If you have the previously-released Leonardo or Raphael, you know most of what you are getting with Mikey, as he shares the same base body. That said, and this is relevant for the entire wave, while some previous waves had figures with very tight joints, all of the joints in this series are very smooth and not stuck. there are not loose, mind you, but much easier to work with right from the start. Mike’s hips could stand to be a bit tighter, but other than that, all of the joint work is nicely done here.
Mike comes with a barrage of accessories, as you can see pictured, and certainly has the most of all of the figures in this wave. The auxiliary weapons are carried over, but Mike’s cache is highlighted by a brand new pizza box, and an assortment of nunchucks. The pizza box is appropriate for Mike to be sure, and I love the touch of the cheese stuck to the top of the box. The nunchucks are the real stars though (as they should be), and you get plastic “chains” to match the vintage figure, but we have also been given real chain ‘chucks, and I have a feeling these will be the preferred pair for most collectors. They are very nice, but I want to say I am grateful for the plastic versions as well because it helps me match up with the vintage tribute, so it is nice to have options. Mikey also gets the manriki gusari grappling hook, and that is notable due to him using it in the cartoon, as well as in many promotional images.
Aside from a lot of weapons and accessories, Michelangelo also has several pairs of interchangeable hands, and and alternate head. So far, the Four Horsemen designed portraits have been very impressive, but I have to admit, I was skeptical of Mike’s when I first saw it in the solicitation. I am glad to say that the “happy” expression is much more successful in-hand, and it really does look great. I am VERY much a pro-toy head collector for my Turtles, but having all of these alternates makes me glad I have another set of each coming so I can display both versions.
As a vintage update, I love this figure. The colors, the classic head, and the weaponry options put him over the top. If Mikey is your favorite Turtle, you are going to be very pleased and I feel he, even more than the Raph and Leo figures, hit those vintage notes the best. He is a really fun even if he does stand in the literal shadow of…
ROCKSTEADY
Rocksteady. Man. I kind of expected him to be my favorite of this assortment, but he has actually surpassed my expectations. I am a Bebop guy historically as his design and colors just appeal to me more, but this new version of Rocksteady puts him close to Bebop for me than he has ever been. Additionally, this pairing is BY FAR the most impressive corner of the TMNT U! collection thus far, and they set a very high bar to beat going forward.
Characters like Rocksteady just fit right into the Four Horsemen’s wheelhouse. The figure overall is impressive, but the head sculpt with all of the gnarly details is really something else. I love all of the lines and wrinkles and they bring a lot of personality to the figure, even though it retains the rather placid classic expression. The helmet looks cool too, and it has a subtle metallic brushing that helps make it stand out.
His rhino skin and build are continued in the same fashion as head, and the bumps and lines give this rhino man a nice bent of realism. Heck, even his rather plain tank top has a nice material detail to help elevate it, and the camouflage design on his pants is rendered nicely, too. Of course, he also features his turtle shell belt, complete with similar shell details as the Turtle’s shells.
Rocksteady is the lightest on accessories of this group, but since he is also the biggest figure, it is easy to forgive. You get the weapons sprue, but also his retro-mutagen gun, knife, manhole cover shield, and GRENADES. Yep, Rocksteady gets some true weapons of destruction with those, and I love that they scale appropriately with the line, which means they are tiny in his giant mitts. The knife is very nice, as is the gun, though I wish there were a few more paint applications on the latter. The plus of the shield this go around is that, unlike Bebop, Rocksteady is able to easily hold his, so I appreciate the improvement there.
The final thing with Rocksteady that I want to mention is that I am so in love with the overall stature of him and Bebop. I mean, this is the TMNT line without the shackles on, and the fact that these two are giants just makes them all the cooler. I have actually seen some people complain about this, but I cannot for the life of me understand why. Sure, the vintage bio cards might list them as under six-feet tall, but I chalk that up to Playmates needing to restrict the sizes back in the day. I LOVE the forms Rock and Bop cut, and I cannot wait to see where some of the other characters land. We have already been teased that Muckman will be an impressive specimen, so I cannot wait to see that.
Rocksteady is my runaway favorite of this assortment, but Mikey are pretty rad, too. It is very nice to be getting ULTIMATES! figures delivered again, so I am hoping things will be more steady going forward. Series four should be close behind this one, so I am betting we will see the solicitations for series six very soon. Remember, check out the replay of the live stream below for more details on these two figures, and stay tuned later this week – we will have Metalhead and April up next!
*Thanks to the team at Super7 for sending these two along for an early preview – we really appreciate it!
Source: Fwoosh
