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Introduction
We are currently part way through the newest season of Rick and Morty, an adult animated show that has set the tone for the current plethora of other shows trying to match its success. But for all its accolades and viewers, the show has garnered very little in the world of collectibles. Funko sucked up the license, and along with those damn Pop! figures, they did produce a few 5" action figures and quite a few more smaller PVC figures. But considering the breadth and depth of characters on the show, it's been surprisingly light.
Funko isn't the only company with the action figure license however. Mondo is producing the very best collectibles for the show, albeit very slowly, with large gaps in between. In fact, with their first release of the two title characters over two years ago, I was outright shocked when they announced a second set of characters in the series this last year.
From announcement this summer to shipment in the last couple weeks, the turn around was actually pretty quick this time. This second set includes another Morty, now with his 'muscle arm' from the episode Rickmancing the Stone, an arm that Morty called 'Armothy'. In the episode, Rick injects Morty with DNA from a severed arm to allow him to fight in their version of the Thunder Dome. It's a great episode - if you haven't seen it, do it...now.
As with most Mondo releases, there was an exclusive to the Mondo store, which is the set reviewed here. There was also a regular release. This regular release paired a Mr. Meeseeks with the Armothy Morty, and included a couple more accessories. The exclusive release was a huge upgrade, including a second full size Meeseeks and a Mr. Poopybutthole! Considering that the regular was $140 and the exclusive just ten bucks more, it was definitely the way to go. The exclusive was also limited to just 1500 pieces.
Packaging - ***
The boxes ar fairly basic, but have some really nice graphics from
the show. The flat, rectangular box has a fifth panel you can open
to see the figures, but it's also all collector friendly as well.
You can pop everything out without any damage to the package, and
always put it back later for storage or sale.
Sculpting - ****
These are vinyl/hard plastic figures with limited articulation, and
they are technically sixth scale. The Meeseeks come in just shy of
12", and Morty is about 8 1/2" tall. They'll fit in perfectly with
the earlier Rick and Morty, and in fact, any of the heads or hands
that came with the earlier Morty will work with this figure as well.
The regular and exclusive both include Morty with Armothy. There is also a second head for Morty - mine came with the smiling, sort of cringing expression, while the angry, gritted teeth head was the extra. Either way, they look terrific, and while you'll probably need a hair dryer to swap them the first time, they go on pretty easily and remain so when posing. Personally, I like the angry head better for this look, but your mileage will vary. Also, you an swap in any of the many heads they released with the first release, or pop these on the first Morty body.
Morty's biggest problem is that he doesn't stand particularly well on his own, but we'll discuss that in more depth in the Articulation section. Both of the Meeseeks do stand great, and they are designed to show the character when he's first called, and after he's been unsuccessful for awhile, desperate to complete the task. The regular release only includes the 'normal' look, with the slightly worried expression, while the exclusive adds the distressed, harried expression complete with sculpted spittle.
The exclusive also includes Mr. Poopybutthole. He's in a walking pose, and like Morty, has serious issues standing on his own. The expression is a happy one, clearly before his medical and emotional problems.
Paint - ***
These are large - very large - action figures. On top of that, they
are based on animated characters, where there's not a ton of paint
detail. That means consistency, coverage, and clean edges are
critical.
The work on the Meeseeks is the best. The blue is quite consistent, and while the edges around the teeth and eyes are a little fuzzy, they are decent. The colors are nice and bright too, and the white areas are quite clean. The white spittle on the distressed Meeseeks is my favorite bit of paint, highlighting his extreme duress.
Morty is solid, with bright colors and an interesting wash on the muscle arm to add some definition to the sculpt. Both heads are clean, and the hair line is appropriately sharp, matching the cartoon.
Poopybutthole has some of that wash/paint variation on his face too, and I'm not sure it works here as well as it does on Morty's muscle arm. He's fairly clean though, and overall the four figures are sold B work.
Articulation - **
This is the one area where they suffer, because Morty and
Poopybutthole can't really stand on their own. Because no stands
were included - unlike the series 1 - it's a bigger problem as well.
Let's leave Poopybutthole out for a minute and talk about the other three. The have mostly ball joints. There's a ball neck that works good on Morty, not so good on the Meeseeks. The shoulders on the Meeseeks don't do too much either, and since the rest of the arm is sculpted in a pretty specific pose, moving them doesn't do you a ton of good anyway. You can manage a couple arm poses that don't look silly, but that's about it.
The hips on the Meeseeks work well enough to allow them to stand easily without any sort of additional support. Sadly, this is not true for Morty. I had to use Quake Putty to keep him upright for the photos, because the ankle articulation doesn't do enough for the legs to create a steady center of gravity. He has a ball jointed left shoulder for the big arm, and it can look a little weird in certain poses, but it allows the muscle arm to move pretty well. The other arm has a simple cut joint at the sleeve. He also has a ball joint at the wrist of the Armothy, but the sculpt makes it more like a simple cut joint.
Mr. Poopybutthole just has a cut joint on each arm at the sleeve, and each leg at the shorts. As with Morty, there's no way to get him to stand on his own.
Accessories - ***
There's some good accessories here, but I'm going to start by
complaining about the missing stands. The first series included
black stands for both characters, and they are important. This time,
while neither Morty or Poopybutthole can stand on their own, there's
nothing included to rectify the situation. There are holes in the
feet though, so you'll be able to use a third party stand.
What is included is another head for Morty, as mentioned earlier. You can swap them with a little heat from the blow dryer, and both look good. The heads are also interchangeable with those from the first release.
There's also a second hand for Armothy. He comes wearing the bloody thumbs up hand, and you can swap in the 'talking' hand. Morty has a left arm with a wide grip, and there's a second arm you can swap (at the shirt sleeve) with a tighter grip.
Two more of the accessories are directly related to this version of Morty. There's the syringe which was used for the injection, as well as the big hunk of isotope 322, the reason Rick was on the planet at all.
They didn't leave Meeseeks out though, giving you a Meeseeks box in scale. A golf club would have been nice for the distressed version, but sadly we didn't get one.
Finally, they provided a cane for Poopybutthole, for after his 'accident'. He can't really hold it though with the provided hand sculpts.
Fun Factor - ***
Two things make these fun - the accessories and the inclusion of the
other characters. Each one on their own is pretty limited, thanks to
the articulation and character design. But put them together and you
can start creating different looks in the display, and add in the
various heads for Morty, and it expands the potential even more.
Value - **1/2
I'm looking at the exclusive version when considering this score. If
I were talking about the regular release, it wouldn't score as high.
The regular is $140 for two figures - Morty and Meeseeks - with a few accessories (and the extra head). That's up about $20 from the first series. While they aren't making a ton of these, it's still a bit too high.
But what's amazing is that for just ten bucks more you get TWO more figures! The exclusive was definitely the way to go with this release, and it sold out quite quickly.
If they do a series three, I wouldn't sleep on any exclusive.
Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful with the joints. These are made from a very hard plastic,
which can break when put under too much stress.
Overall - ***
These remain the very best of the Rick and Morty figures available,
no doubt about it. They make an impression on the shelf, and getting
a few different characters helps.
But we really need to see a third series with another Rick, and my vote would go with Summer. She's become a personal favorite for me, and filling out the family would make for a better display.
And you could always do an exclusive with Snowball!
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***
Articulation - **
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***
Where to Buy
Mondo is sold out on the exclusive, but they still have the regular set for $140. Online options
include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth has the regular for $140 with free shipping.
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
I covered the first
set of figures when they were released a couple years ago.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and
text by Michael Crawford.