At this point, there is only one thing to say: Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to MUMM-RA, THE EVER LIVING!
If you listen across this planet, you are hearing the collective sigh of relief that will soon roll directly into a crescendo of joy: ThunderCats ULTIMATES! series two is upon us. It has been a long haul, and the trying and frustrating delays have been difficult on everyone involved, from fans to Super7. However, with the eminent arrival of series four, and now this wave coming in a couple of weeks, it sure is a good time to be a ThunderCats collector. If you have been onboard since the start, the collection is REALLY starting to take shape, and with series two, we have some critical additions that we have been needing for a Thunderian age.
None are as big (literally) as Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living. The main antagonist in his most antagonistic form is here, and he is the highlight of the wave. Now, if you look all the way back to the Mattel days, we have been going a terribly long time without the big bad for the ThunderCats to fight, but those days are over and we have been rewarded with our patience. When this early sample arrived, I almost couldn’t believe it, and my brain was all over the place anticipating seeing this guy in his final form as I lifted the oversized box out of the shipping package. Mumm-Ra. Mumm-Ra has arrived. Sure, we have had the wizened old dust mummy version for a minute, and that is cool and all, but nothing was ever gonna compare to this, and now that I think about it, this has been one of my most anticipated figures for well, when did the Mattel line start? Yeah, for a while now.
We have been told this figure is large. We have been shown this figure is large. However, it is difficult to get an actual feel for how much taller Mumm-Ra is compared the ThunderCats without having this figure in hand. Seriously, the Cats all ran for their litter boxes when he was freed from his cardboard prison, and rightfully so. I think the timeline of this series, which has been crushed by factory delays, COVID delays, and the general craziness of the current world, has been talked about enough at this point, but honestly, I think you are going to be a happy ThunderCats fan with this figure. This is the Mumm-Ra we have all been waiting for, and all of the pre-production issues like swapped forearms, etc., have been corrected in this final piece. There are some issues with series two, but Mumm-Ra has turned out great, with little to no nitpicks.
In terms of design and stature, I am counting on this figure speaking for itself. Or yelling angrily as he tends to do. I mean, I thought Snowman was chunk of a figure, but Mumm-Ra is taller than him, and can really dominate the x, y, and z axises in the display. This is an imposing piece, and most definitely the most impressive ThunderCats figure I have ever owned. He provides the most damning evidence that the bad guys are ALWAYS cooler, and on Third Earth, they are running away with it. If you have not been contemplating your collection space to accommodate the growing ThunderCats display, now is the time, because the guy is gonna need a nice piece of real estate.
Once again, the Four Horsemen have handled the sculpting work and paint design, and it does not disappoint. Like MOTU, the evil ThunderCats designs play right into their wheelhouse, so it is impossible to mask the care they put into a figure like this. If you are a child of the 80s, Mumm-Ra is iconic, and he is very well served by this figure. Spoiler alert: I think Tygra is a cool figure as well, but Mumm-Ra is going to be the runaway favorite from this series.
Now, I mentioned it above, but want to be clear: the incorrect parts and assembly issues present in the pre-production samples we saw back at Power-Con have all been corrected. The arms are assembled correctly, so we can move on from that concern now. I really like how Super7 keeps us posted with updates throughout the production process, but that comes with pitfalls like this, which are actually positive to me because drawing attention to an issue early on helps ensure it will be corrected. So – be glad! Mumm-Ra’s limb anatomy and assembly is as it should be.
Okay, getting past that we can now focus on all of the cool parts of this this figure. I think most have been fans of the look of this figure since the start, and it really captures the character well. You can see in the pictures how he scales against the other Cats characters (as well as figures from other lines), and even against guys like Snowman, Mumm-Ra is the tallest figure in the line so far. I like it that way, honestly. Mumm-Ra was always a scary villain to me, one who, despite is win-loss record against the Cats, was always a real and scary threat. His articulation scheme is typical to the ULTIMATES! line, and all of his joints are engineered well. There is no floppiness present in this particular sample, and even with his skirt, the range of hip movement isn’t terribly inhibited.
The soft goods cape also helps facilitate the range of movement and boy oh boy, it is nice. You know by now, I am not the biggest soft goods fan, but the wired cape included here is so nice that I do not even lament not getting a plastic version. It looks good, it moves and poses via the wire very nicely, and it attaches in a way (a peg on the back and one on each of the bracelets) that is easy to do, and stays put while being simple to remove if needed. I am very impressed by this and I think most people will love it.
Additionally, Mumm-Ra also gets some swappable hand sets (fists, grip, and open), two portraits (closed mouth and screaming), the Mighty Gyroscope Regulator, and the impressive Sword of Plun-Darr. Like Monkian, am much prefer the screaming Mumm-Ra head as it captures his personality pretty perfectly. With that head and the open hands, the look of the transformation scene from the show’s opening is recreated accurately. The Sword of Plun-Darr is massive and taller than the actual figure by far, so it works the best in poses held above his head.
I hesitate to call the last piece an accessory, because Ma-Mutt is included as well because even everliving-despots are not forced into their plastic selves without proper canine companionship. So, this is kind of like a two-pack, even though Mumm-Ra would probably scoff at that. Ma-Mutt is a very good boi, even though he is very bad, and he features five points of articulation – one at each of the legs, and the neck. I cackle that Ma-Mutt arrives in this line before Snarf, but this was a great spot to include him, and I am glad he was not left out.
Finally, if I had to nitpick anything with this figure, it would be the paint. There is nothing too terrible, but some of the applications just are not as clean as what we have been seeing in series three and four. I feel this is a factory issue (remember this is the LAST wave being produced at the old factory), so I am glad the new one is handling the figures going forward. Like I said, there aren’t any big splotches or anything, but some of the lines just are not quite as clean in some places. Obviously, it will vary from figure to figure.
That decayed form has finally been transformed to Mumm-Ra The Ever Living, and I sure am glad he is here. It has been a very long wait, but Super7 sent out an email saying that series two is in the warehouse and will be shipping soon. It is a relief to be sure, and I am positive Mumm-Ra is going to be the runaway favorite of this line.
If you missed any of these, you can still order them from BBTS:
*Thanks again to Super7 for sending long this figure for a First Look, we really appreciate it.
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Source: The Fwoosh
