Well, TMNT Week is finally over, and even though I have a few more things left to review, today is it for the Turtles’ new action figures. Next week I’ll post some reviews of Splinter, the bad guys, and the Shellraiser, but for now it’s time to give Raphael some attention.
Raphael is a lot of people’s favorite Turtle, and I’ve always liked him a lot. He’s not my number one, but he’s close. Raph is being voiced by Sean Astin of Goonies, Rudy, and Lord of the Rings fame in the new cartoon. That’s an interesting choice, but from what I’ve seen he sounds good.
Donatello is my favorite action figure from this new line, but Raph is a close second. I love his dark shade of green, and if he had a little bit more subdued expression on his face, he might be my favorite.
Luckily with my Classic Collection Raphael, there’s no sign of lazy eye. He looks awesome, and his weapons look great. I love how they tuck in the front of his belt. With his articulated fingers, you can get some pretty cool poses, holding his sai like he does in the comics.
Raphael shows the most teeth of all the Classic Collection Turtles, and that’s probably appropriate. You know, he’s cool, but rude.
Overall, it’s amazing how much better both of these new Raphaels are when compared to the 2003 version. It’s not really fair to compare anything to the original 80s toys because they’re so iconic, but I think both the Nickelodeon and Classic Collection action figures are going to hold up to the test of time and be (almost) as popular as the originals. A company as big as Nickelodeon (well, Viacom) has never been in charge of promoting the Turtles before, and it will be interesting to see the results.
As always, you can find the Nickelodeon Raphael and the Classic Collection Raphael on Amazon.
That wraps up the reviews and photo galleries for all eight new versions of the Turtles. Now I want to hear your opinions and see your photos. Make sure to let me know what you think about both of these lines in the comments.
