Crippler (Mutant Earth)

Mutant Earth is all about “big”: big packaging, big figures, big detail and big accessories. Crippler hits all those points head-on.

Big honkin’ war hammers are “in” right now. In the last month or so (July – August 2002) I’ve reviewed something like a half-dozen figures that have hammers for weapons. Crippler features one of the biggest ones – sculpted to emulate a section

of iron pipe topped with a tree stump. It looks good in his left hand, which can’t be said for the rest of him. In short, Crippler’s grotesque. Little kids (6 and under) will probably run away screaming, but the older kids (7 and above) will probably like his grossness.

He features a lot of exposed muscle and/or burned tissue – a nuclear blast will usually do that – and is

accented by a couple of sections of armor and green pants. The level of detail is quite good and the overall sculpt is well done. (I really like the seatbelt buckle across his chest and the spiked shoulder pad.) For display purposes, he’s not too visually appealing due to his ugliness but he does stand very sturdily on his base. (Without the base he just tips forward and face-plants – must be why he has no nose.) This sturdiness is apparent when you try out some of the articulation. No matter where you position his arms he always stays standing. His poseability would have been enhanced had he been given ball-jointed shoulders, instead of sticking exclusively with seam joints.

Despite his ugliness, I actually like Crippler’s color scheme. It’s an appealing mix of pink, green, gold, and steel. His base is a sandy color. It’s without oversplash and he manages to look gritty.

Playability is mixed, depending on your point of view, but since I’m writing the review, my point of view is the only one that counts. I take off points for all the sharp protuberances – especially the very subtle ones that you don’t notice until, “Ouch!” On his left forearm he has a row of spikes that aren’t noticeable for the most part especially if you run you finger from his wrist to elbow. There is the obvious set of spikes on his shoulder pad that can really pack a wallop if you step on him – I know this first hand – or play with him too roughly. However, some of this danger factor is offset by his great accessories. Besides the aforementioned hammer, which fits perfectly and snuggly in his left hand, he has one of the best guns out there. It’s imaginatively designed and is big and bulky – looking almost like something out of the Men in Black arsenal. The gun fits well in his right hand but not snuggly so it can easily fall out. And the gold hood on the front of the gun can be pulled off. Other than that it’s solid. Crippler is also quite compatible with the other Mutant Earth figures, fitting right in with the rest of the mutants, and is durable owed to the basic articulation.

At the end of everything, Crippler’s a decent figure worth attention. He has good detail, a good paint job and two really good accessories. While his playability is somewhat limited, for display purposes he has potential if you can put up with his butt-ugliness.

- Omni
(August 10, 2002)