Mumm-Ra The Ever-Living ULTIMATES! First Look with Toy Bro
It’s super exciting to finally start our Super7 Wave 2 discussions with the ever-happy-to-talk-to-us Jared Elswick, aka ToyBro. We all know the history leading up to Wave 2’s (imminent) arrival, and while other reviewers have already shared first looks at this wave, we get to have an in-depth chat with ToyBro about this long overdue wave. Buckle up, we’re asking the tough questions to a fellow collector whose opinions matter. And of course we get to geek out with him about our shared favorite property, ThunderCats!
TC.org: Can we properly celebrate today, Jared? The loooong awaited Wave 2 is finally here, and of course we’re going to kick it off with our favorite big bad, who’s about take over our displays and tower over the invaders of Third Earth. What was your first thought when you opened the box?
TB: I think we can. First thought is of course…”he’s big.” I knew he was big going into this—I got to hold a sample at PowerCon last year—but seeing him again, getting to open the box, take him out, whole different feeling.
TC.org: Which head is your favorite to display him with and why?
TB: Both are great, it really just comes down to the situation you want to pose him in. I do like the screaming head a bit more, though, just as far as preference. He was constantly screaming in the show. Might as well do it on your shelf!
TC.org: His head does seem to be a bit too low on his neck. Is that the case or is it because of everything around his neck that it appears that way?
TB: I don’t think it’s that his head is too low. I think his neck is a little stubby on its own.
TC.org: He comes with his loyal pooch, Ma-Mutt. What do you think of him? Any room for improvement? Anything that stands out to impress?
TB: I think he’s fine the way he is. I don’t need a super articulated Ma-Mutt, really. He moves in a pretty basic manner, but that works for a little dog. He looks great, though.
TC.org: We have another soft-goods cape that with other figures so far has really impressed collectors. This one is huge! Do you think this was the right move? Would a plastic option have been a good alternative?
TB: I think for this large of a figure soft goods was the only way to go. A fully rubbery plastic cape would have made him into little more than a statue, which is why I’m also not upset that he doesn’t also come with a plastic version like we’ve seen with other figures.
TC.org: The Sword of Plun-Darr is included too. Was it a good call to not have it “metallic” in appearance and just be plain? Is it a move that’s cartoon-orientated, perhaps?
TB: I think it looks fine the way it is. Granted, I’d probably have been happy had it been metallic too. This does seem to give it more of a cartoon-y look, though.
TC.org: There’s another Season 2 accessory that some people may not recognize. You know that purple one? Let’s see if you can recall the episode it featured in and what its use was. No Googling!
TB: The Gyroscope Regulator, which seems like a weird one to me. It’s yet another deep cut kind of thing, but I’d have rather them included the LJN sword with him instead of this. Especially since the box art has him holding it.
TC.org: Is this the Mumm-Ra we’ve all been waiting for?
TB: I’m pretty sure it is. For the longest time I’ve been using the old Icon Heroes “staction” the Four Horsemen did years back, and this is basically an articulated version of that, so it’s met my expectations pretty well.
TC.org: Would you like to see the even stronger all-powerful Mumm-Ra from the episode “The Last Day”? He would be even bigger!
TB: I’m down for just about any and all Mumm-Ra versions, but that can wait until we get some other stuff in the line. Long way to go before he’s “needed” for me.
TC.org: If this Mumm-Ra is so huge, can you imagine how a toy Tomb in Ultimates scale would be? We already have Mon-Starr’s throne, so why can’t we get one for Mumm-Ra? Would you like one?
TB: I think it would be prohibitively large, honestly. Cool, for sure, but just way too large. One of those things I’d have to rethink how my display will work… whenever I finally finish the room.
TC.org: What are your thoughts on build-a-diorama in this case, specifically for Mumm-Ra’s Tomb? Playsets are very expensive, but this can be put together by releasing separate pieces per wave. Would this work?
TB: It certainly could, similar to what Diamond did with the Ghostbusters diorama they did. I see this running into the problem of pieces like this either increasing the price or detracting from the figures. I need a successful figure line before I worry about a dio like that.
TC.org: Are you happy with the color of his skin? This has been a sticky point for many people in the past.
TB: It does seem to skew a little too blue. I’m sure that’s going to be a problem for some folks. Personally, I think it looks alright, but I wouldn’t have been upset if he had skewed a little more toward green either. Color wasn’t always 100% consistent.
TC.org: Choose: Mumm-Ra, Shredder, Skeletor or Hordak? Which is the best character and which one has the coolest toy from Super7?
TB: That’s a tough one because honestly all four have gotten pretty definitive figures from Super7. Hordak got the almost perfect Filmation figure, Skeletor got the amazing God figure, Shredder’s Playmates figure was recreated incredibly well, down to that goofy extra head. It’s the new “thing” though, so right now I’m going with Mumm-Ra. He’s huge, incredibly well sculpted, has a killer cape and, let’s face it, I’ll tend to pick ThunderCats anyway, but this guy is pretty wild even compared to the rest.
Jared “Toy Bro” Elswick is a longtime toy collector and hobbyist. In 2017 he turned his passion for action figures into a YouTube channel in order to have an outlet for expressing his views on the properties he collects. It has since become a huge part of his daily routine to review, discuss and promote action figures on YouTube and across social media.
