Swamp Thing Snare Arm

Awesome toy. Swamp Thing is awesome. They don't make toys with detail like this anymore. Each swamp thing figure was unique and had special abilities. The art is top notch.

After reviewing the fantastic DC Universe Classics SDCC Exclusive Swamp Thing figure in all its awesomeness, I felt I had to review the first Swamp Thing figure. I still own this figure after all these years(as you can tell from my earlier review, I'm a die-hard Swampy fan), and I still have the attachment towards it. This figure was made around the time that the Swamp Thing live-action tv series, and the short-lived Swamp Thing animated series, was made, and just looking at this figure takes me back to those days of watching both of those shows, as well as the simple joys of how I perceived the character in those days. I owned this one, along with the glow-in-the-dark Bio-Glow Swampy and the color-changing Camo Swampy, as well as Arcane and all his evil Un-Men from the cartoon with their slip-on rubbery mutant masks, and the simple but cool Transducer playset(put a figure in and pull the switch, and watch them 'transform' into a mutant insectoid!! hehe)and I still have fond memories of picking these up at my local Target. Oh man, those were the days! Of course, this figure and the others are simple and not very detailed by today's standards, obviously, but for the time, they were great little figures, and we were very lucky to have them. I still find it amazing that a horror-oriented character like Swampy had his own action figure line, and had almost as many media representations as DC's big three(Supes, Bats & WW), and regardless of their faithfulness to the comics, fans like myself should still consider themselves lucky to have this much merchandise made about their favorite muck-encrusted man-monster, and it started with this little figure. Even for the time, it's pretty well detailed, the sculpt is very close to how Swampy's face looked, especially in the animated show, as well as the art of the late, great Alfredo Alcala, whose illustrations grace the box art for all the carded figures. Its paint job has a mix of lighter, lusher green on his top half, and a darker green on the bottom, with lighter green shading in places. The sculpt is surprisingly well done for the early 90s, with details like leaves and roots visible on his body- it's not the Four Horsemen by any means, but you still have to appreciate it, it's very well done for the time and still looks pretty darn good for today. The figure has an action feature, a "Snare Arm", that is of course located in his left arm, a "vine" winch that you can stretch out so far to grasp things like Arcane and his evil Un-Men, or things like that, and can be pulled back by squeezing his legs. I really didn't use this feature too much as a kid, I mean I can see why it's there, but it doesn't detract from being a pretty good representation of Swampy. The other accesory, the "monster trap", I never really understood, I have it displayed with him, but never really used it as a kid. Still, these features would probably be pretty enjoyable for kids today. Speaking of which, if you have kids that are getting interested in Swamp Thing, this simple figure would be perfect to purchase for them. It's not very complicated, it's not scary-looking, and it's pretty durable. I have this classic figure, and my other classic Swampy figures, displayed alongside my prized SDCC Swampy figure and other Swampy and Vertigo related collectibles, and I'm glad I still have them, and have repurchased the others from this series that were lost or broken during my childhood. I consider this figure, and the others from the line not only great pieces of nostalgia, but also collectors' items, for Swampy or just plain-out DC fans, and consider the entire series of figures it comes from a very underrated and underappreciated toyline.