Review - Hellboy 3.75" ReAction Figures by Super7

In my opinion, the first Hellboy movie is the perfect comic to film translation. It’s not a straight up adaptation like Watchmen or Sin City, but makes fundamental changes that actually enhance the work. Building a relationship between Hellboy and Liz, strengthening the father son bond between Hellboy and Broom, and giving Abe mild psychic abilities so he’s more than just a fish-man. They used the comic as a base and only made it better. While it is disappointing that we’ll never see Hellboy 3, the recent news of a reboot is super exciting and I cannot wait to see what they do.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of Hellboy merchandise around since the second movie debuted way back in 2008, but Super7 recently released a wave of retro style Hellboy figures in a 3.75 inch scale. There are 4 figures total in the first wave: Hellboy, Abe, Liz, and Lobster Johnson. Keep in mind these are under Super7’s ReAction figure banner, so you should already know what you’re getting into.

Half of the fun of these figures is the PACKAGING.  All four figures look gorgeous packaged with bright colors and beautiful Mike Mignola artwork. It’s all repurposed cover art but looks great all the same. I ended up buying 2 sets of figures because I couldn’t bring myself to open the first set seeing them in all their glory. The card backs have a little blurb about the characters and show off the line in that retro Kenner style.

Love them or hate them, these figures are SCULPTED in a retro style reminiscent of Kenner’s Star Wars line from the late 70’s and early 80’s. This style of action figure has been pretty popular the last couple of years, although it does seem to be losing a little bit of steam (I am however super excited for the Planet of the Apes line coming later this year). Some licenses just seem more authentic than others, but I do think the ReAction style is a nice way to get toys out there that might not be possible otherwise.

Each of the figures are unique and instantly recognizable. Lobster Johnson and Liz are the most successful in my opinion, although Liz is missing a BPRD logo on her jacket. Hellboy is great from the neck down, but his head feel maybe a little bit too cartoony for me. Abe is one of my favorite characters in both the movies and the comics, but his figure is absolutely the runt of the litter. That head sculpt is just not good. The one thing I wish they tried to incorporate more into the sculpt was the dropped shoulder Mignola draws his characters with.

The PAINT work on these guys is great all around. Maybe some slightly blurry cut lines but no major slop. These figures are collector focused and not super mass produced so I would expect the paint to be on point. The fine paint work on Liz’s face and crucifix is fantastic, and Hellboy’s BPRD logo looks great. Now, I don’t know if this is a plastic thing, or a paint thing, but Lobster Johnsons body is glossy but his limbs are matte. It looks a little weird.

Retro styling means retro ARTICULATION, 5 points all around! All the joints work pretty well, and none of them are loose. Hellboy’s tail is sculpted as part of his right leg and may get in the way a little bit, and Liz’s hair restricts her neck so much there might as well not be a joint there. But you know what you’re getting when you buy the ReAction line.

The ACCESSORIES are all character specific and exactly what you would expect. The only character without one is Liz, a little fireball would have been nice. The most character specific accessory I can think of would be a cigarette, but I don’t think that’s feasible in this scale. Hellboy comes with his good ol’ Samaritan , and Lobster Johnson has his gun so he can inflict justice.  Abe comes with a spear just like his old Mezco Comic figure, which I think he used once in Seed of Destruction.

OVERALL, like I keep saying, when you buy ReAction you know what you’re getting. These are solid retro style figures, with minimal articulation, and beautiful packaging. As a huge Hellboy fan, I did not hesitate to pick them up and here’s hoping for a second series. Johann, Roger, Broom, and Rasputin perhaps?