Rocksteady (Robotic) (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7)) Review

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Rocksteady (Robotic) (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7)) Review

Rocksteady (Robotic)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Super7) (Super7)It's been a long while since any new TMNT Ultimates were released, not counting glow in the dark stuff, but now the seventh wave has arrived not too long ago. It's actually the eighth wave, but the true wave seven got pushed back by a lot, so that makes this the seventh wave in terms of release order.

Although a robot version of the bumbling rhino Rocksteady had already appeared on the concurrent Ninja Turtles cartoon a few years prior, the 1993 Playmates Robotic Rocksteady figure, and by extension, the Super7 Ultimate, had a completely different design. The toy design is blockier and more silver than anything else, and Super7 changed nothing about it. Well, they did give some more color to the shoulder guns instead of keeping them solid black, so that's an improvement. The original toy used vac-metal, but since the Ultimate version was revealed before Super7 decided to try vac-metal figures, Robo Rock gets a metallic paint job. It looks great, and all the other colors have clean work for the most part.

Unlike the toon design, Playmates/Super7's take on a cyber Rocksteady give him a blockier head design, with the eyes and scalp/brain casted in a translucent orange plastic. Pretty sure it's supposed to be red, but hey, whatever works. He also has a leaner build, with a wide chest, and the arms are both different designs from one another, being Playmates loved asymmetry back in the day. Again, Super7's sculptors, the guys at Four Horsemen Studios, did a great job bringing the character to a larger scale. Robotic Rocksteady is about 8" tall, making it similar in size to the regular Rocksteady, and feels almost as hefty.

We all know what the Ultimates articulation scheme is like, and Robotic Rocksteady is no different. He gets a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, and swivel biceps, waist, and thighs. The only thing that sets him beyond that are shoulder guns that swivel, in addition to being removable. While the sculpt places some limitation on the joints, namely the biceps and waist, RR poses surprisingly well given the chunky design, and most of the joints tolerances are good. Rocksteady has three pairs of hands - gripping, closed, and relaxed - and they swap easily, but there is a slight bit of looseness at the left wrist swivel.

Robo Rock gets a mix of accessories old and new, but mostly new. He doesn't have his weird "pry bar" weapon anymore, but he keeps his Laser Wrist Rifle, which plugs into the left forearm. It looks nice, but pops off too easily. He also keeps his chainsaw sword, but rather it being something for him to hold like the original toy, you can now swap out one of the hands for it. It's an interesting change from before, but I like the concept. His new weapons include a laser sword that can also replace one of the hands, and a cybernetic purple shield. Lastly, there's two blast effects for the shoulder turrets. They're great add-ons, and it makes me wish the wrist rifle had an effect piece as well.

Robotic Rocksteady is a great return to the TMNT Ultimates line, as everything about him is near perfect. The sculpt replicates the original toy flawlessly, the articulation goes with it surprisingly well, the accessories are neat, and it's just cool to get another deep-cut character, since guys like him, Scratch, and the BBTS-exclusive Undercover Raph are what I enjoy most from this line. He's a little pricier than the usual (already rather costly) Ultimate at $65, but you know what? He's totally worth it, even if I did manage to get him for less than that.

- 11/27/23