Can it be that action figure nostalgia is finally bringing us back action features? Based on Mattel‘s 30th anniversary Street Sharks, the answer would seem to be a big yes. The norm for reviving the old ’80s and ’90s lines has generally been to either just add more articulation or more articulation and detail. Masters of the Universe Origins has dabbled in recreating some of the old action features, but on the whole, is more concerned with poseability. Nacelle’s Biker Mice From Mars re-makes brought back weapon-based action features for two of the three characters. And now wave 1 of the Street Sharks 30th anniversary figures offers modern detail, extra articulation, PLUS two action features apiece for two out of the three Sharks (and the third has the best feature of all, so that makes up for it).
Let’s talk about that third one first. The oddly named “Slash,” whose signature attack is anything but, has a drill for a nose. Push the lever on his back to spin it — there’s a “try me” access point on the box, though the full drillbit is hidden inside the box. It’s oddly satisfying, like a fidget spinner, to make him drill, baby, drill. And due to this feature, he’s the only one of the three made entirely of hard plastic.
Like the others, he has a cut joint at the waist, ball-jointed hips, and disc/pin ball joints at his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles (heavily obstructed). A shiny finish to the purple dorsal fins gives him an iridescent look, and his detailed scales and claws have a very Creature From the Black Lagoon vibe. He does have a different number of fingers (8 total) than toes (6 total), which is a biological unlikelihood. Then again, we are talking about fish with pants on. Or in this case, a torn wetsuit.
Bitey Shark, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo
The other two, Jab and Ripster, feature soft rubbery skin-over-frame torsos with hard plastic fins, and in Jab’s case, hammer head. Both open their mouths when you press down on the dorsal fin, but differently. Ripster lifts up his upper jaw, while Jab lowers his lower jaw. In both cases, it’s to facilitate the secondary action feature.
Again, the naming seems mismatched to the feature. Ripster, not Jab, is the one with a power punch, akin to the original eight Masters of the Universe figures. Twist his waist in either direction, and he springs back. Jab has an extending neck for a hammerhead butt — pull back his right arm to extend his head. Release his right arm, and it does spring back, so pose it just right, and you can make him uppercut as well. Like Slash, his waist is a simple cut joint with no power twisting.
Jaws Jacking
Jab and Ripster could easily have reused the same arms, and nobody would likely have cared, but no. The musculature is similar, and probably by the same sculptor, but not the same. Neither are the pants. Jab’s blue camo is oh-so-’90s and tucked into his boots military style. Ripster has ragged-at-the-bottom brown jeans over cowboy boots. According to the very small bios on the backs of the boxes, Ripster is the leader, Jab the muscle, and Slash the aristocrat, sort of a gentleman pirate type.
The boxes are cages, part plastic, and part cardboard. The plastic cages inside the cardboard part of the box are, in fact, full-on accessories/diorama bits, though if you were hoping the hooks allow you to hang them from the wall for display, think again. Freed from the box, the cages do not have any bottoms unless you keep the clear plastic trays that hold the Sharks’ feet in place. They’ll work to keep the characters standing since they are quite top-heavy, after all, and have no footpegs. But the cages also pull apart, ostensibly to build bigger modular cages, but, well…the pieces aren’t exactly all uniform length, so you can end up with some weird angles.
Heck in a Sec
Makeshift thunderdomes look makeshift. If you want to give them Hell in a Cell, one can only approximate.
The figures stand about 6 inches tall, but with their arms in a wide stance, are almost as wide again. They should play decently with most scales of Ninja Turtles or superheroes — who’s to say exactly how relatively tall shark-men need to be? At $24.99 each at retail, they might just be the best deal out there for their scale. Full articulation, at least one action feature, and a cage that fits a figure for the same price as a Marvel Legend or Star Wars Black Series basic figure? It’s time to up the game. These are incredibly fun toys, and they have the level of articulation and sculpt most collectors demand. Fans know it, too — as of this writing, they are pre-sold out at many retailers.
Quite frankly, that bodes well for more. And that’s great news for ’90s nostalgia heads and their kids who grew up on Baby Shark but want something a little tougher and wackier now.
Take a look in more detail through our photos below.
