Universal Monsters Funko POP! Metaluna Mutant

This Island Earth is a classic piece of 1950s sci-fi. While perhaps not as weighty in tone as other films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, it’s got impressive special effects (for the time) and the fact that it was in colour distinguishes it from many of its competitors.

One of the creatures that has emerged as particularly iconic is the Metaluna Mutant. Seemingly some kind of servitor race for the human-like Metalunans, they don’t actually play a very big role in the film – but have become to be far more associated with the film than any of the much more prominent human characters. And now Funko have released him in their distinctive POP! form.

   

The design translates across quite well; though the original has some of little intricate details, it tends to be the broader strokes that people remember – the oddly long arms, the claw hands, the oversized brain (which does look an awful lot like a scrotum). Funko has translated it across particularly well here, cutesifying it just enough without compromising the design. 

In his original design, the Mutant was very obviously a man in a suit, and his character design doesn’t hold up so well in a post-Alien world – but to be honest, that’s kind of the thing that makes him so charming today. Things don’t always have to be dark and edgy to capture your attention; just plain weird is fine too. The Metaluna Mutant is another great success from the Universal Monsters line from Funko – essential purchasing for any old-school sci-fi fans.