POP! Television: Stranger Things – Max (Costume)

By now most of us have made our way through Stranger Things 2, and what a ride it was. It didn’t take me to quite the same heights as the original, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. As might be expected, quite a few new faces were introduced in season 2. Since Barb seems to be permanently dead, another redhead was required to round out the cast – and thus we have Max, played by Sadie Sink.

Max is much more pivotal to the overall plot than Barb was, but I’m not sure she’ll inspire the same level of obsessive fandom. I had mixed feelings about her as a character; she got on my nerves initially, and though she had an interesting arc she hadn’t quite won me over by the end of the season. Still, I think we can assume she’ll be back for Season 3, and the character definitely has potential. Here’s hoping for good things.  

But though I’m still kind of indifferent on the character, this POP was a definite buy as soon as I knew it was being released. While it’s not my favourite horror series, I do thoroughly enjoy the original Halloween film and it’s nice to see Michael Myers referenced in the show.

 

It’s one of the best scenes in episode two; Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas are out trick-or-treating as Ghostbusters, and Michael Myers suddenly appears on the street in front of them, wielding a knife. But it’s merely Max beneath the mask, who’d earlier been ambiguous about whether she’d come trick or treating with our intrepid heroes. It’s not a scare for the viewer, of course, but it’s a nice moment that shows us something about all of the characters involved.

Sadie Sink herself apparently didn’t really know who Michael Myers was before filming the scene, according to aftershow Beyond Stranger Things. But that’s no real surprise; she’s only 15, and there wasn’t been a new Halloween film in years. There’s a new one on the way for next year, and hopefully it’s a good one; it would be nice to see him regain some of his former pop culture status.  

This is a great figure, but it feels kind of bootlegged. Not in quality or anything; but she’s clearly wearing a Michael Myers costume, but it’s not identified anywhere as such on the box. Additionally, there’s no sign of Halloween in the trademark notices on the box. I get that the appearance on the show could probably be covered under some kind of fair use legislation, but going and making a toy out of it? Funko already have the Halloween license, so maybe they were able to shoehorn things together that way.

Max is a Hot Topic exclusive in the US, but over here she’s a regular release. It’s a good variant of the character for fans, and it’s a fun piece of memorabilia for a memorable scene in the series. 

POP! Television – Demogorgon (Stranger Things) Chase Version

Back in February, I had STRANGER WEEK on here to celebrate the release of the Stranger Things Funko POPs, including the Demogorgon. Well, I managed to get hold of the Chase version via a trade last week, so tonight we’re taking a closer look at it.

At the time, I mentioned that the creature design showed influence from a few different sources, including H.P. Lovecraft, Silent Hill and H.R. Giger. I specifically mentioned that it came sans the Freudian sexuality usually associated with any of these influences. Well, you can retract that this time, as this Demogorgon has its face clenched shut…so best to address the elephant in the room. It straight-up looks like a clenched anus.

It's an interesting choice, as you don’t actually see the Demogorgon looking like this too much in the show; it’s primarily depicted with his mouth wide open, with numerous characters falling prey to its fangs over the course of the show. I think that was a wise decision, as it’s much less menacing with the mouth closed, though still disconcerting. I suppose if I'd been in charge of designing the chase versions, maybe I would have suggested a bloody version or something? Or glow. Glow is always a winning choice. But kudos for trying something different.  

As with the original version, the scale is not quite right. Looking at screencaps, the Demogorgon is substantially larger than a human, but nowhere near big enough to warrant a 6” POP. They’ve gone bigger in the past with figures like Cthulhu, but on this occasion I think the reduced scale still works fine. It’s wildly different in style to the other figures in the series – which would ordinarily be a criticism, but makes sense in light of the way the character is depicted on the show.  

Overall, this figure is a good example of a chase. It adds something cool to the collection, but it’s not essential to own in order to consider the collection complete (Eleven’s chase is a bad one for this very reason). Importantly, the regular one is a better overall figure, so people who miss out on the chase aren’t really being deprived of anything. This chase is apparently packed at a 1/6 ratio, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find if you really have to have one, but make sure you don’t pay silly money.

POP! Television – Eleven Underwater (Stranger Things)

So about a month ago we had Stranger Week here at the LBC – so popular it even ran for eight days instead of the regular seven you’d expect to find in a week.

But there are still more Stranger Things POPs to be covered. Don’t expect to see me do all of them (I’m likely to pass on Dustin wearing a different t-shirt and the Con exclusives) but I do plan to get most of them. And so today we take a look at Eleven Underwater.

A Hot Topic exclusive in the US, in Australia Eleven Underwater is just a regular release. And at the moment she seems to be much more readily available than her regular counterpart, who along with the Demogorgon has been selling out left right and centre.

As the name suggests, this POP depicts Eleven in her diving gear. We see her donning this multiple times throughout the season, usually in flashback form. Initially she uses her psychic potential to act as some kind of (inadvertent) spy, relaying foreign messages to her mysterious masters via the power of remote viewing. But one of these remote reviewing trips seems to be the key that opens the gate to the physical realm of the Upside Down, as we discover in later episodes. 

Believe it or not, both the US and the Soviet governments did experiment heavily with the idea of psychic powers during the Cold War. This isn’t some Alex Jones-style nonsense, either; these days it’s a matter of public record. A more comical version is relayed in the George Clooney movie The Men Who Stare at Goats and the non-fiction book it’s based on, but it was a reality – presumably something the Duffer Brothers are well aware of. In real life things weren’t quite as successful as they were in Stranger Things, mind you.

It seems laughable in the face of today’s post-Berlin Wall world and the widespread scepticism about the supernatural, but it’s perhaps understandable given the times. Any prospective advantage over the enemy needed to seriously investigated, no matter how implausible. It’s easy to crack wise about the baby boomers and how “easy” they had it, but we forget too soon that many of our parents grew up in the very real shadow of nuclear annihilation. In the show’s universe, the kids would have been well aware of it too – everyone seems small in the shadow of a mushroom cloud. 

The POP itself is pretty much what you’d expect; there’s a new body for the “swimsuit” and what looks to be a retooled head from the original, incorporating all webbing and sensors that we see Eleven wear. Paint is fine; nothing to blow you away, but certainly not bad either. I just feel sorry for my American cousins who will likely have to bend over backwards to track this figure down, while we have relatively easy access, thanks to minimal exclusivity deals over here. 

While not as essential as the regular POP, Eleven Underwater is nonetheless a good addition to the Stranger Things shelf. The Upside Down remains a mysterious realm, and will likely have more of itself revealed in Season 2 – personally, I can’t wait.   

Stranger Week Bonus Day – POP! Television: Demogorgon (Stranger Things)

The most visible threat of Stranger Things was the Monster, better known as the Demogorgon. A number of Lovecraftian elements are present in the show, but the Demogorgon’s design is where we probably see the most influence shining through. H.R. Giger and Silent Hill's hands are also evident, though there’s far less bio-mechanoid/Freudian sexuality than either of those influences typically showcases. Stalking through both the real world and the Upside Down, numerous characters fell victim to its claws and teeth-lined face.  

At present, we don’t actually know a great deal about the creature; there’s been a wide array of fan theories, but for me the jury remains out until such time as future season/s of the show provide more information. The Duffer Brothers themselves have likened it to the shark from Jaws, rather than being a sentient being, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what…unfolds…

The POP depicts the Demogorgon with its “face” fully flared out, ready to attack. It somewhat resembles a carnivorous flower, and it’s also pentacle-shaped – this is likely a reference to the demonic origins of Demogorgon in Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn drew its name from a rather vague (and unrelated) figure in Christian demonology*. Modern research seems to suggest that the whole concept was likely based on a misinterpretation of the word “Demiurge”, a figure in Gnostic belief. But here we start to move into occult waters that are well out of my depth.

The scale is not quite right. Looking at screencaps, the Demogorgon is substantially larger than a human, but nowhere near big enough to warrant a 6” POP. They’ve gone bigger in the past with figures like Cthulhu, but on this occasion I think the reduced scale still works fine. He’s wildly different in style to the other figures in the series – which would ordinarily be a criticism but makes sense in light of the way the character is depicted on the show.   

There’s also a chase version of the Demogorgon, and it’s a good example of an ideal chase figure i.e. it adds something cool to the collection, but it’s not essential to own in order to consider the collection complete (Eleven’s chase POP is a bad one for this very reason). The chase version depicts the Demogorgon with a closed face, somewhat resembling a clenched fist, a nurse from Silent Hill or a butt. It’s okay…but the regular version is definitely the cooler one.   

If you enjoyed Stranger Things but don’t want to go all-in on the line, Demogorgon and Eleven are the obvious figures to pick up. The sculpt is good, the paint is fine (the teeth on the "petals" is a bit sloppy) – and while I wouldn’t go so far to say the Demogorgon has quite reached iconic status yet, it’s a very cool creature design and will look great on the shelf alongside other movie monsters. I can't wait to see what Season 2 throws at the protagonists!  

*Though they got it a little off if they wanted to convey this; the upright pentacle that we see on the Demogorgon's head has typically been seen as a symbol of good. It's the inverted one that's meant to convey darkness or evil. Hence why neo-pagans tend to wear upright ones and metal bands tend to use inverted ones. The upright one has even been used as a Christian symbol at various times, though your local church is unlikely to have one on prominent display.  

Stranger Week Day 7 -- POP! Television: Eleven (Stranger Things)

Weird girl with magical powers who can’t communicate properly with those around her. This is a well-worn trope across all genres of weird fiction, and it’s one that tends to drive me up the wall. I’ve never been totally clear on why it bugs me so much, either; perhaps because it tends to be played for crappy comic relief and/or heavy-handed social commentary on how sometimes what we see as cultural norms are actually a bit strange AND HAD YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT??!?!?*

But I didn’t dislike Eleven at all. Millie Bobby Brown had quite a central role as part of Stranger Things, and she pulled it off admirably. Eleven was rather different from some of her cinematic forbears in that the producers opted to play her in a relatively understated fashion – and for the most part, convincing – as opposed to exaggerating everything into an opportunity for “hilarity”. There are some funny moments, but they’re never break the wider tone of the show.

As might be expected, Eleven is depicted with a shaved head, dirty face, bloody nose and a pack of Eggo Waffles. She’s also wearing the clothes that she gets from Mike’s house (was it meant to be Nancy’s old clothes, or just from a dress-up box? I don’t remember), even down to the calculator watch. So this POP isn’t based on any specific scene; it’s more of an aggregation of several elements of the character, though you could argue that it’s from right near the end when she fights the Demogorgon.

Eleven was actually the first Stranger Things POP teased, back before they even had the license. What we got here is much the same as that initial prototype, which is impressive – it’s one of Funko’s more detailed POPs, both in terms of sculpt and paintwork. Obviously Netflix and the various other licensors were quite happy…but the cynic who used to work in advertising makes me think that Funko had the license for a lot longer than they let on, and the whole “these are prototypes” thing was just to build hype. Never mind either way; the final product is a good one.   

There is also a Chase version of Eleven, packed at a 1/6 ratio. It uses the same body sculpt, but has a different head sculpt – it’s Eleven after she gets her blonde wig and has her face cleaned up. And this brings me to a complaint. I don’t mind that Funko does Chases; but in four years of collecting, I have only ever encountered four or five in the wild. Traditionally, they’ve also tended to be paint variants – metallic, glow-in-the-dark, that kind of thing.

But in 2017, Funko is now bringing in sculpt-based chases, and that irritates me no end. Once upon a time, Funko would have simply released these two versions of the character separately, and people could simply pick and choose which one they wanted (probably both, in most cases) – now we don’t have that option. Though they’re ostensibly being packed at higher ratios than before, I can virtually guarantee that they are still going to be a huge pain in the ass to find. Given that I’m expecting (as I have noted numerous times on here) Season 2 versions of the characters to eventually be released, I’m probably not going to make much more of an effort to search out the Chase version. But Funko’s doing similar things across a number of their lines, and I don’t think it sets a very good precedent. Their Twin Peaks range has done something similar, in even more disappointing fashion -- an entire major character has been relegated to a Chase figure.       

Not counting the Chase, there are two other versions of Eleven at this stage and I suspect we’ll see more not too far down the track. There’s an Underwater version, with her “swimsuit” and helmet. Next month there’s an Emerald City Comicon exclusive – Upside Down Eleven, who’s in a two-pack with Upside Down Barb. It looks to be the Underwater sculpt without the helmet, so I’m sure customisers won’t have any issues creating their own.

Eleven is must-buy for fans of the series, and she seems to be the best-selling so far. Funko have done a bang-up job with this one, and here’s hoping we see this level of care and attention applied to some of their other ranges in future.

*One of my other pet peeve is when characters are described as “quirky” by their actors, screenwriters or directors. In our day-to-day lives, we do meet quirky people, and they’re often highly engaging and entertaining. But on film, “quirky” tends to be code for “the character has one or two oddball interests but is mostly just extremely irritating and will make you resent the time they spend onscreen”. 

Stranger Week Day 6 – POP! Television: Mike (Stranger Things)

Like many of its inspirations, Stranger Things is ostensibly for adults but is also eminently watchable by a younger audience. Sure, at a few points it’s violent or scary, but it’s hardly The Evil Dead.

While Mike’s not exactly the main character, he’s probably the closest thing the show has to an audience surrogate for its younger viewers. Fortunately, he’s got substantially more depth than most audience surrogates. The Duffer Brothers have obviously heeded their own childhood viewing as a warning about how terrible audience surrogates can be, as the ratio tends to skew about 10,000 Orkos to 1 Mike.

Mike’s POP shares quite  a good likeness to Finn Wolfhard, though Will’s is probably still the best overall. He’s equipped with his walkie-talkie (which would have made a good accessory for Lucas, too), which seems omnipresent throughout the series, and as with all of the Stranger Things POPs so far, the sculpting is well-executed and painted well. The only (possible) detail missing is a cut on the chin, though you could always add this yourself if you wanted.   

I’m in the middle of watching the series through again, partially in preparation for series 2, but also just to refresh my memory as I write these reviews. And on second viewing, I strongly suspect that Mike is at least partially based on Sam, John Francis Daley’s character from Freaks and Geeks. Though not identical, they look somewhat alike, dress similarly and are definitely on the same wavelength of interests, though Mike is considerably less dorky*. In an interesting example of things coming full circle, Finn Wolfhard has since been cast in the new version of Stephen King’s IT – which has also had its setting updated to the 1980s. I'm hoping he doesn't get too typecast in the long run!

As with Joyce, Mike is not the most fascinating design that we’ve ever seen Funko come up with, but he’s an essential part of the show; one of my favourite characters from it too. Eleven and the Demogorgon are the obvious pickups from the range for more casual fans, but Mike is a very close third.

*If you’ve never watched Freaks and Geeks you should definitely check it out – it was one of my favourite shows as a teen, and pushes a lot of those 80s nostalgia buttons in the same way that Stranger Things does.   

Stranger Week Day 5 – POP! Television: Dustin (Stranger Things)

So today we’re looking at Dustin. Best friend to Lucas – featured in yesterday’s review – he initially comes off as the token dopey kid in the group, but it becomes apparent over the course of the series that he’s actually quite bright. Stranger Things is a very trope-heavy show that isn’t afraid to wear its influences on its sleeve, but it was entertaining to see the way it would subvert the viewer’s expectations in ways like that.    

Of all the Stranger Things POPs, Dustin’s likeness is probably the poorest; actor Gaten Matarzzo was born with a condition known as cleidocranial dysplasia, which affects the development of bones and teeth, and in turn gives him quite a distinctive look which doesn’t necessarily translate as some of the others into POP format.

But another part of it is that the POP just looks a little too neat and clean. Dustin gives off the vibe of being something of a sloppy kid; one who’s still dressing in clothes that most others his age would dismiss as being “kid’s stuff”, and that isn’t quite conveyed here. While I understand that more paint apps = higher production costs, the decision to go neat has left him looking like a 1980s take on Ash from Pokemon. I’m sure we’ll see this head turn up in a custom or two in the future.  

That said, the sculpting is well-executed. And he does come equipped with a compass, which is a nice touch given the key role that it plays in the story.  

Assuming that these figures sell well (by all indications they are) I strongly suspect that we’ll see a Season 2 take on Dustin somewhere down the line. While this isn’t a terrible POP by any means, I don’t think it quite captures the character. Hopefully the next version will rectify that. 

Stranger Week Day 4 – POP! Television: Lucas (Stranger Things)

It’s become something of a trope for every show with supernatural elements to have a sceptical character, providing a counterbalance to the weird happenings around them. Sometimes they’re a genuine voice of reason; other times they’re excruciating to watch, as their scepticism in the setting of the series flies in the face of anything resembling commonsense. To provide an example (though Gillian Anderson was great in the role), Agent Scully’s scepticism in the face of all evidence to the contrary wore increasingly thin for the audience over the course of 9 seasons, two movies and a miniseries of The X-Files.

Fortunately, Lucas leans towards the former type of TV sceptic, rather than the latter. He’s the most overtly suspicious of Eleven, initially believing her to be a questionable influence (and asking all sorts of not entirely unreasonable questions about where she might have come from), and once outright accusing her of being a “monster”. But once convinced of her goodness and power, his resistance decreases – this is a much more plausible arc than Scully went through.

Like the Dustin and Mike POPs (reviews to come), Lucas is dressed in his pseudo-commando gear, from towards the end of Season 1. This is a good choice; while it was fair enough for Will to be decked out in his regular clothes, it would have been a little bit on the dull side to essentially have plainclothes versions of all of the main kids. Lucas is equipped with his binoculars (which would be virtually useless on the huge head size of a POP, a backpack and a Batman-style utility belt. Everything is nicely sculpted, and the paint is surprisingly well executed. 

Assuming that these figures sell well (by all indications they are) I strongly suspect that we’ll see Season 2 figures of the main guys somewhere down the line. Though Lucas and Dustin are unlikely to ever receive the same level of merchandising as Eleven, they’re still core characters and good additions to the collection.

Stranger Week Day 3 – POP! Television: Barb (Stranger Things)

Series 1 of Stranger Things was a show with many breakout elements, but Barb was arguably one of the biggest. Though she only appeared in a handful of episodes, she quickly became the Boba Fett of the series, inspiring a wide variety of tributes, including social media hashtags, fan art, cosplay, and even tattoos. 

Barb’s outfit was the most overtly 1980s-looking outfit of any of the main cast – big glasses, ruffled blouse, high waisted jeans and boots, accompanied by short but bouffant red hair. Not as gaudy as we tend to picture the 1980s, but definitely evoking an archetypal image of the terrible yearbook photo. The POP replicates it perfectly; whoever designed this put a lot of care into the look and feel of the figure.

Perhaps best of all, she’s decked out with a Trapper Keeper; though the reference is obscure to modern teens, Trapper Keepers were a somewhat higher-end take on the traditional book binder, and extremely popular in the 1980s, particularly in the USA. Produced in all manner of designs to appeal to guys and girls alike, the Trapper Keeper can be seen as a symbol of Barb’s relatively child-like nature – a stark contrast to friends like Nancy who are “maturing” at a rate that apparently leaves her intimidated and sometimes appalled.

At present, there's just one version of Barb available; the only other obvious version would feature exactly the same outfit but with a blue jacket over the top. But there's one on the way for Emerald City Comicon out next month -- an "Upside Down" two-pack which also features a different version of Eleven. The mold is the same, but the paintjob has the eerie green-grey look of the world of the Upside Down. My suggestion would be to get this one, and only get the exclusive if you're not paying aftermarket prices. I suspect it will be in very heavy demand. 

Barb is the first secondary character to be produced; though she has a fraction of the screen time, it’s fair to say that she’s far more popular than some of the more heavily-featured characters like Nancy or Jonathan. Some of these characters are likely to show up as POPs in future, but Barb’s inclusion really is indicative of how fandom can drive a franchise for good ends.  

But that popularity came at a price; in a (likely intentional) inversion of traditional horror film values, Barb gets killed off in spite of not participating in drinking, drugs or sex. But I suspect we’ll probably see her in Season 2 in form or another – maybe a flashback, or maybe as a resurrected Demogorgon-esque creature? The character’s popularity is probably too strong for her to be entirely gone.   

Stranger Week Day 2 – POP! Television: Joyce (Stranger Things)

Here we are with Day 2 of Stranger Week, taking a look at Will’s mum – Joyce Byers.

Joyce is one of the series’ most depressing characters. She’s a single mother in precarious financial circumstances, and seemingly devoid of friends. Though the viewer is aware pretty early on that there are supernatural goings-on in the world of Stranger Things, the scenes with Joyce are still often ambiguous as to whether Will’s actually communicating with her or she’s just crazy. We believe Eleven can reach him, but it’s quite late in the piece that we get confirmation that Joyce could too.  

 

As with her son Will, Joyce’s design is a bit neither here nor there; this will be a recurring theme for most of the human characters, as they’re mostly meant to be ordinary people. However, when the figures are viewed as a whole, they work quite well together, creating a consistent world for the characters to inhabit.  

Joyce comes with the Christmas lights that she used to communicate with Will while he was trapped in the Upside Down – the only other accessory that would make much sense would be the burnt-out phone. The lights are all tangled up here though, and give no indication of which colours they’ll actually shine once they’re hung up on the wall. However, this is consistent with the scene Will makes them glow bright white – and if it bothers you, it’s an easy fix to customise.  

Winona Ryder has had her ups and downs over the years, which unfortunately has probably had a negative impact on her career trajectory. She was a huge star in the late 80s right up until around 2001 – and it’s only really been in the last few years that she’s started to re-emerge significantly into the public eye. But in some ways we should be grateful for this; were her profile a little higher, the producers behind Stranger Things might not have been able to get her for the role.

Stranger Week Day 1 – POP! Television: Will (Stranger Things)

Stranger Things was pretty much my favourite TV show last year. It was a great mix of 80s nostalgia, Stephen King and Steven Spielberg-esque influences and kid’s adventure stories, and for me it definitely rose above its influences to be its own thing.    

Despite being the kid that pretty much kicks off the events of Stranger Things, Will is actually more of a MacGuffin than a full-fledged character for most of Season One. Being trapped in the Upside Down for most of the series meant that he didn’t get a great deal of screentime, and there’s an awful lot we don’t know about him yet. Why was he able to survive in the Upside Down when everyone else seemed to get killed off? And what was with the things he was coughing up?    

Presumably these questions will be answered this October when Series 2 is released. But in the meantime, some of the first merchandise for the series has hit Australian stores, in the form of Funko POPs.  And given that Will’s disappearance kicks things off, I thought he’d be the best figure to look at first.

One of the things that Stranger Things did quite well was that it didn’t really parody the decade it was set in. Typically any show or movie set in the 80s is full of more neon and big hair than you can poke a Sony Walkman at. But Stranger Things painted a picture that’s probably more reflective of the truth of the era – the characters wear clothes that look dated to modern viewers, but not the garish outfits that have captivated popular imagination. This figure captures that vibe effectively, and special mention must go to its accurate rendition of the bowlcut – a haircut which has afflicted so many unfortunate kids over the decades, and continues to even to this day.

I can’t pretend that Will is the most visually interesting POP in my collection, but he works in the wider context of the series. There’s another version of available too – Upside Down Will, which is the same mold but painted in the gloomy, muted blue-grey shades of the mysterious dimension. It doesn’t seem to be out in Australia yet, but it’s been showing up in the US. I’ll probably pass on it myself, but it’s a good alternate version for diehards.  

I assume that there will be plenty more Stranger Things POPs in the works – with all the hype around the first series, and the second due on Halloween, Netflix is unlikely to let any potential merchandise sales slide. Will’s a solid figure, if not the most interesting design; it’ll be interesting to see what he looks like in Season 2.