The Glorious Purpose of Action Figures

Some of the author’s action figures. Photo by Russel

As should be relatively obvious by now, I love action figures. Other than being an avid collector, I have written about action figures multiple times here, as well as running an action figure photography Instagram. It’s fun. But what makes action figures so great?

Beyond being an opinion writer, I write creative fiction on and off in my spare time. Nothing published yet, but I am working on that along multiple fronts. Action figures stimulate my imagination like little else other than my massive shuffle playlist.

As a writer, the concept of the multiverse is one readily seen as being useful for allowing full freedom with one’s works without sacrificing the characters themselves. Oh no, protagonist #1 died, but wait! That was a splinter universe where he died because he didn’t make this specific decision the canon way. Let’s see what really happened! See? Very easy.

What does this have to do with action figures? Because a collector of them will realize he can mash whatever he wants together in whatever way he wants. And nobody can stop him! Except his own wallet… Buff Master Roshi can do battle with Loki from Loki while retro-style Billy the Blue Ranger looks on, that one skull dude from The Witcher and Lord Drakkon from Power Rangers can have a chat and then fight Tracer from Overwatch, Skelegod from that bad new He-Man show can be eviscerated by Zolo from One Piece, and Jinzo from Yu-Gi-Oh! can attack Freddy Frostbear. Do most of them involve combat? Of course. Why wouldn’t it? But battle is diverse and can mean many things! Pistols, swords, axes, energy blasts, pickaxes, shotguns, barrels, laser guns, tridents, fists, kicks, katanas, knives, keyblades, etc. While I don’t spend money on sets, my Instagram is littered with battles and humorous asides meant to push the overall plot of the whole thing along. Betrayals, brutal takedowns, and team-ups with unlikely allies. All there in glorious fashion.

Action figures are what you make of them. They can be displayed behind glass or hung mint in box on your wall. You can pose them on shelves galore! You can keep track of your entire collection in giant bins with a degree of record-keeping that would impress even the IRS. And you can pose them around your desk to such an absurd degree you have to move several figures around just to write an article during your lunch break. Totally random example…

The best part about action figures is the diversity of offerings. Everything from Marvel Legends to DC Multiverse to Fortnite to the DBZ Dragon Stars line to the Power Rangers Lightning Collection. And nostalgia for the ‘80s and early ‘90s chunky action figures has even ushered in “classic” designs with modern articulation. He-Man and Power Rangers being only the two most obvious examples. I have obscure figures ranging from The Flaming Carrot (signed by the creator as a Kickstarter reward) to Earthworm Jim to Popeye the Sailor Man to a candy cane-themed villain from a British cartoon show I never even watched. eBay is a wonderful thing.

Action figures are merchandise items, but one does not need to be a fan of the property an action figure is based on to love said action figure. I’ve never played Fortnite, but Todd McFarlane, the Shakespeare of action figures, makes incredible sculpts with amazing articulation and plentiful accessories. Same with most of the Marvel Legends and DC Multiverse figures. Todd McFarlane also currently designs the latter. I just like dope looking action figures. I have an especial weakness for translucent plastic. Beside me right now as I write this is the just released Marvel Legends twelve-inch Surtur (with sword) action figure from Thor: Ragnarok. It is glorious.

This is the golden age of adult collector figures. With a purchase point of around $20 for six-inch figures, it’s all good. I can amass a wonderful collection for not a lot of scratch. The glorious purpose of action figures is fun. If you’re having fun and not bankrupting yourself, there ain’t nothing wrong with that.