2012 Nickelodeon TMNT Metalhead Review

Metalhead. He was one of my favorite TMNT toys when I was a kid, I don’t even remember him from the cartoon, and I was insanely pumped when I heard they were using him in the new Nickelodeon cartoon. Unlike Nick’s rebooted versions of Rat King and Leatherhead, Metalhead looked to be a more direct homage to the 80s toys. After a couple weeks of searching the toy aisles looking for him I finally found him, along with Dogpound and Fishface.

I love this guy.

The 2012 version of Metalhead is divisive among TMNT fans. Some, like me, love it, and others seem to think he’s too simple and boxy. I think he fits in great with the style of the new show and is a damn cool action figure.

What I love about this Metalhead is that it looks like Donatello could have really made him. His card says he was made using discarded Kraang technology, and in between the fancy parts you can see wires, rubber tubing, and a lot of rough edges. The old Metalhead just looked like a shiny Turtle compared to this one.

I love his Iron Giant-ish grin, his stocky nature, color scheme, and everything. I kind of wish they would have included a throwback to Metalhead’s green backpack thing with this new version, but I still don’t know what that was supposed to be so I guess it wouldn’t have made sense.

Instead he gets a missile that doesn’t even shoot, but whatever, it’ll get lost anyway. Just grab any old gun from the TMNT toys and he’ll be ready for action. It will be interesting to see how kids like Metalhead, since they won’t have any built-in nostalgia for the character. I think they’ll like him just fine. He makes a great compliment to the four Turtles, and is one of the more interesting figures in the line now, in my opinion.

I love that his shell is a NYC manhole cover. It makes so much sense and looks awesome. I would be happy if Playmates just rehashed all my favorite retro TMNT action figures but upgraded them to fit with the 2012 Nickelodeon style. I would love to see Bebop and Rocksteady, Slash, Fugitoid, and even some of the crazier characters like Monty Moose, Sergeant Bananas, and Ace Duck.

Metalhead looks great with the new Turtles. The only downside I can really think of is his lack of weapons. I guess in the show his arm will just be a laser blaster of some sort, and so they didn’t want to give him a gun or anything, but I would have guessed they would include something other than a missile.

The Old and the New

The first thing I did when I opened Metalhead was to grab my old-school version and compare. I love both versions for different reasons, and I’m glad Playmates didn’t try to recreate the original figure too much. Shiny chrome wouldn’t fit with this line as much as it did in the 80s toys. I like the matte finish of 2012 Metalhead.

No fake biceps or calf muscles on the new version either, and I think that makes more sense. Still, I love the 80s Metalhead and I think the new version is a great compliment.

The Verdict

Next to the four Turtles, Metalhead is definitely my favorite figure of this line so far. Dogpound and Fishface are pretty cool (reviews coming soon), but I’ll take Metalhead over them any day. I can’t wait to see the character make his first appearance in the new show, and I hope he’s in more than a few episodes.

I love being this excited about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles again.