Mighty Muggs

Mighty Muggs?! So what are they? Basically, they're the mainstream, mass-produced equivalent of designer/urban vinyl toys. Designer/urban vinyl toys?! What are those? Basically, those are toys, sometimes made of vinyl, that are created by designers (graphic or otherwise), musicians, "hip hoppers" and other people of that "kind". They're usually cute original creations made into dolls or figures, but are sometimes also based on existing creations or "urban" personalities such as hip hop artists. What makes them so hot and collectible is the fact that they are specially designed by people who are not part of a large company and are produced in limited quantities. That brings me to the difference between those and the Mighty Muggs: Mighty Muggs are produced by Hasbro, toy maker of Star Wars, Marvel, Indiana Jones and other popular properties, and are mass produced. I was intruigued by the craze a little bit and picked up two of these figures; Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker.

Packaging:
All of the Mighty Muggs figures come in a pretty sturdy cardboard box. Each box spoa large image of the figure taking up half the box's front, with the other half showing the figure inside. There isn't actually a whole lot to these toys, but it's nice to be able to see pretty much the entire thing before picking it up. The figures are secured with a few rubber ties around the neck and arms, but nothing that can't be easily snipped with scissors. There's not much else to say here since I don't want to talk too much about a box, but with the large character design on the front it's easy to notice on the store shelves and looks nice displayed at home if you like to do that sort of thing. Being a box, they also stack very well for different display purposes.

Sculpt & Articulation:
Well, take a look at the pictures. They have a round tummy, a bulbous head, stumps for legs and stubby arms with a hand in a C-shape. There isn't a whole lot of sculpt going on, which is part of what gives them that cutesy look. I would liken their shape to the Super Deformed Gundam toys. Every single Mighty Muggs figure uses this basic shape, which is then painted on to create the different characters.

The articulation is also pretty minimalist on these toys. They only have three points of articulation; a swivel head and swivel shoulders. For what they are that's good enough, and it would definitely ruin the overall look if more articulation was added.

Paint:
Here is where the Mighty Muggs figures show their worth. As far as the Star Wars characters go, it's a little hit and miss. They are supposed to look a little cartoony, but on some of the figures, notably the unhelmeted/unmasked human figures, the likeness is...not great, but forgivable. Luke Skywalker over here is really only identifiable as Luke Skywalker because of his clothing and the lightsaber. However, "Lukeness" (likeness...Lukeness...hahahahaintentionaltypo) aside, the paint job is phenomenal. As I mentioned, nothing is sculpted on, so things like clothing wrinkles, his belt and boot things are all 2D. But they come out really nicely. You can tell what everything is supposed to be, and it's all very simply done. Not too much detail, flat colours, etc. Even the "shading" in the hair is just two flat colours next to each other. There is no paint spill at all and everything is very clean.

Spider-Man's paint job, like most of the Marvel Mighty Muggs, is a lot easier to do while keeping the likeness, seeing as how he's a 2D character on paper to begin with. In keeping with the cutesy deformed look, everything on him is enlarged. The eyes are bigger than anything Todd McFarlane would even attempt, as well as the spider on his chest. Even the web lines are a lot thicker and more spaced out. The only thing I feel was done wrong with this design was the webbing on his mask. The line under his eyes give him a strange mouth or mustache, and on the side it looks like they didn't really know where they were going with all the webbing. It's all very clean and clear, though. I did get a little bit of paint wash or smudge on mine underneath the chest spider, but it's nothing too noticeable or ugly. If this were a regular action figure I'd just consider that a paint wash and it would probably look cool. All in all, it's Spider-Man and you can't really go wrong with that classic red and blue.

Accessories:
Accessories for these toys are also kept to a minimum. Luke, and every other Jedi/Sith character, comes with a lightsaber. Like everything else on the toy, it's kind of bulbous as well and looks more like a rubber bat for little kids. Some of the other Star Wars characters come with blasters and things like that. Darth Vader is a little unique with a removable cape and helmet. Spider-Man comes with no accessories, and as far as I know the only other Marvel Mighty Mugg to have anything is Captain America with his shield.

Overall:
These things retail at $10 in the United States and $15 in Canada, and while I think that's a little too much for what they are, I do think picking up one or two of your favourite characters is worth it. Dozens of these have been released already, with a lot more on the way, so it won't be hard to find the character you like. They look great next to each other because of their identical body sculpts and clean, colourful paint jobs, but they are rather large so space can become an issue if you have none like I do. They're both cute and ugly at the same time, but even with their limited articulation they're kind of fun just to have around and look at.