A few weeks ago, Funko announced a new line of action figures featuring characters from Mortal Kombat X. These new Mortal Kombat X figures are designed to fit a vintage “Masters of the Universe” 5.5″ aesthetic. Our friends at Funko recently sent over the first wave and we’ve got an early look at them here.
The first wave features five essential Mortal Kobmat characters: Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Kitana, Raiden and Liu Kang. There are also three chase figures: Scorpion with a firey skull head, an “ice blue” Sub-Zero and an Electric Raiden. Accessories included with the figureas are a pair of clip-on lightning bolts (Raiden’s), an ice-hammer and ice-sword (Sub-Zero), a pair of swords (Scorpion) and a pair of razor fans (Kitana) – Liu Kang’s fists are the only weapons he needs. It’s also worth noting that the swords and other weapons are hard plastic – not gummy, so you’ll not be looking at a saggy sword out of the package. Good choice, Funko! Check out the carded figures below.
This first series all share the same card design with the Mortal Kombat logo featured prominantly in white, which provides great contrast to the card’s color scheme. Each character is called out seperately below a Mortal Kombat X logo and the three chase versions feature a silver ‘chase’ sticker. The cardbacks are the same across all figures and feature a cross sell of all the figures included in this series – variants aren’t pictured.
Once freed from their cards, these figures shine. Due to their ‘retro’ aesthetic, the figures do feel a little chunky in the hands (in this context that’s actually a positive) but that chunkiness adds a degree of sturdiness and stability that is missing in so many figures today. Certainly the format will not appeal to all fans, but those who give these figures a shot will not be disappointed. Once in hand the figures feature the same articlation scheme: neck, shoulders, waist and ball jointed hips.
Of course, there are some unique challenges associated with choosing a vintage aesthetic for a new release, most notably balancing the vintage design style against modern expectations. One extreme results in a overly simply design that misses the mark on character elements and the other extreme results in a figure that doesn’t honor it’s inspiration. In the case of the Mortal Kombat X figures, Funko did an excellent job balancing the two – the character designs are simplified to fit the figure format, but not to an extent where they are entirely lost. A great example is Sub-Zero’s costume, there’s a ton of sculpted details on the pants and vest – even little rockets on his guantlet wrist things. It would be a passable Sub-Zero without those details, but it would be far less visually interesting. All these scultped details are accentuated by an excellent paint job. In both design and execution, the colors on these figures really bring out the details.
When these figures were announced, I was skeptical of how well Mortal Kombat would fit into the 5.5″ style – having now spent some time with these figures, my concerns were unwarranted. The design team at Funko found the right balance of satisfying modern figure design expectations while still keeping a vintage feel to the figures. Look for these figures in stores next month and find them available at your favorite on-line retailers (AwesomeToyBlog sponsor Entertainment Earth has them here). Thanks to Funko for providing the figures for an early look!
