The second series of Power Rangers ULTIMATES! is shipping, and Super7 surprised us on Monday with an in-stock release of the new Vile Violet version of fan-favorite Rita Repulsa. I love surprises like this, and there is certainly significance with this as this series looks to be on a serious uptick.
Power Rangers have had a bit of a roller coaster of a year in terms of product and overall outlook in plastic. The Hasbro line seems to be in a state of flux and possible limbo at this point, and the ULTIMATES! line is just starting to pick up in terms of shipping after an initial delay. This is the first series two-adjacent figure I have gotten and I have to say, it is a marked improvement over series one. I did not think the first series wasn’t good, but Rita has instantly become the best of the line for me thus far.
I think this purple color deco fits Rita really well, and the patterning on the soft goods is very clean and looks great. I like the bright and almost neon red used for the lining, and it looks equally good on the purple dress, and black collar. She comes with the important accessories (though, not as many as the standard release), including her staff, love potion bottle, and candelabra; there are also several swappable hands, and the ring details on each are very nice and clean.
For me, the biggest standout with this figure is the photo printed faces, and it instantly puts Rita as my favorite MMPR ULTIMATES! figure to date. I am a serious advocate for this technology/process for action figure production, particularly for figures based on real people. Frankly, if a company has the ability to utilize this, they absolutely should because you just cannot compare the details and accuracy of tradition mass-market production painting to this.
Rita looks outstanding, and the likeness is dead-on for both expressions. MMPR U! series one did not feature the face printing, and frankly, Rita is instantly so much better than the unmasked series 1 Ranger portraits. I really hope this is the wave of the future for this line, and ALL Super7 ULTIMATES! figures. It really puts them apart. This was also shown with SilverHawks series two, so hopefully it will be the standard going forward.
This new Rita is available now, and makes for a very nice addition to your MMPR collection. Get her now directly from Super7, and be ready – it looks like series three isn’t too far off either!
*Thanks to Super7 for sending this sample for an early look
Source: The Fwoosh
