2000s | Vintage Action Figures

Captain Jack Harkness…And who are you?

When John Barrowman first appeared in the BBC’s relaunched Doctor Who sci-fi television show in 2005 in the role of Captain Jack Harkness he was disguised as a Royal Air Force pilot and this is just how he is presented in this wonderful 5 inch action figure by Character Options. Teaming up with the Ninth Doctor and assistant Rose in a two-part wartime story The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances set in London during the Blitz, the swaggering, sexy and brazenly bisexual Captain Jack acquired overnight cult status in Britain, and as Doctor Who fans will know, later went on to star in the hit spin-off show Torchwood.

You better watch out…Darth Vader is coming to town!

‘Tis the season to be jolly, so here’s a look back at Hasbro’s Holiday Edition Darth Vader action figure that was a StarWarsShop.com exclusive back in 2005. Essentially the same figure with eight points of articulation which had been issued as part of the Original Trilogy Collection in 2004 and earlier still as part of the Toys ‘R’ Us Star Wars Saga multipacks in 2003, this Darth Vader had one major difference which you may just have spotted – a head-to-toe Santa-style coat of red paint!

Super Saiyan 4 Goku by Giochi Preziosi

Italian toy manufacturers Giochi Preziosi may not be the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of Dragon Ball merchandising, but Japanese animation TV series are hugely popular in Italy so it isn’t actually that surprising to discover Anime action figures appearing here. And what a great job they’ve done by the looks of this fabulous Goku I found on a market stall the other day, outdoing even Irwin and Jakks in turns of sculpt and articulation.

This is Goku in his Super Saiyan 4 transformation, as he appears in the anime-only sequel to Dragon Ball Z – Dragon Ball GT – you won’t see this Goku in any of the original Dragon Ball manga comics.

Hugh Jackman IS Van Helsing!

I actually found today’s action figure buried at the bottom of a toy box on a market stall some months ago, but have been waiting for the countdown to Halloween before posting him here. I was pretty pleased to find the companion figure to the Richard Roxburgh as Count Dracula we looked at last Halloween – the vampire’s arch-nemesis himself Gabriel Van Helsing, as played by Hugh Jackman in Stephen Sommers’ steampunk homage to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 40s, Van Helsing.

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix Reloaded by McFarlane

Nobody could argue that Sideshow Collectibles haven’t raised the bar in recent years as far as action figures created exclusively for the adult collectors’ market goes, with their staggeringly good movie likenesses and attention to detail.

In today’s economic climate, however, there’s still plenty of room for companies such as McFarlane, who also manage to render celebrity sports stars’ or actors’ likenesses brilliantly, but at a more affordable price for the average collector. In creating action figures that often have limited articulation, their “action” figures sometimes border on the edge of being considered display figurines, but there’s no arguing with the beauty of a figure such as this version of Laurence Fishburne as he appeared as Morpheus in the The Wachowski Brothers’ 2003 sequel to the hugely influential The Matrix – The Matrix Reloaded.

Delete! Delete! Delete! Armed Cyberman from Doctor Who

After a couple of weeks in the UK visiting friends and family and I have just returned to Rome with a fresh hoard of flea market and thrift store vintage action figure finds! By pure chance, on this trip to Blighty I also happened upon some quintessentially British action figures too, which I’ll share over the next few blog posts.

When the BBC revamped their cult sci-fi classic Doctor Who show in 2005 with producer and writer Russell T Davies at the helm, the series – along with spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures – was filmed on location in and around Cardiff. I was staying with my sister just outside the Welsh capital city for much of my visit, so was extra delighted to score this fabulous 12-inch Cyberman action figure in the spiritual home of Doctor Who!

Web Climbing Spider-Man from Spider-Man 2 movie

Web Climbing Spidey from Spider-Man 2

One of the action figure previews to generate a major buzz and lengthy blog posts all over the Internet during the recent San Diego Comic-Con was the all new Hasbro Spider-Man with sparkly metallic finishes. It will be released to coincide with the 2012 reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise – The Amazing Spider-Man – which sees the very talented Andrew Garfield with the unenviable task of taking over a role that Tobey Maguire played so nerdily well in the Sam Raimi trilogy. In my book, however, there’s simply no such thing as too many Spider-Man movies, or action figures for that matter, so until the Garfield figure hits store shelves, here’s a look at some official movie merchandise by Toy Biz from the 2004 Spider-Man 2 movie – the Web Climbing Spider-Man.

Farewell to Harry Potter…! Expecto Patronum Deluxe Action Figure

Whilst fans have been gathering for days in London’s Trafalgar Square to see the stars of the final Harry Potter movie Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows:Part 2 walk up the red carpet for the film’s premiere, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at a Mattel action figure release from 2004 – the Expecto Patronum Harry Potter issued as part of the Deluxe Wizard Collection.

8 inches tall and solidly built, this figure was part of the final action figure set to be released by Mattel before NECA took over the franchise. It was also one of the first Harry figures to depict an older Daniel Radcliffe and Mattel did an excellent job of creating a movie-likeness of the actor as he appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, with enormous attention to every last detail – even the soles of his shoes have carefully detailed tread.