At the Hasbro press breakfast every Comic-Con, we typically get a gift bag of figures from across all Hasbro’s brands, and they are most often pretty commonly available characters. This year was different — among the haul in every bag was a new Street Fighter movie action figure, which won’t hit retail for about another month. I got Ken, and now I can give you the detailed breakdown of just how this figure is.
Hasbro has had some practice with video game characters who hurl energy objects, with the Marvel Gamerverse figures and the Street Fighter/Power Rangers mashups. The new Street Fighter movie, unlike the 1994 edition, looks like it will embrace the anime craziness of fireballs, sonic booms, and lighting powers. So each Street Fighter movie figure comes in the now-standard Hasbro box, with alternate hands and a power/projectile effect, on a stand if necessary. And while I usually think alternate hands are a waste, in the case of someone like Ken who needs both fists and open palms to do his two primary signature moves, I think it works. I would have added his victory peace sign hand, though.
Ken also includes a switch-out hairdo with attached sunglasses. I believe the movie is a ‘90s period piece, and the shades certainly fit that aesthetic.
Wave 1 of the figures is Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Akuma; wave 2 appears to be Bison, Guile, Blanka, and Dark Ryu, whom I assume is a repaint. All actor likenesses appear to be cleared; Noah Centineo never got an unmasked Atom Smasher figure from Black Adam, so I believe this is his first. He was once in contention for the role of He-Man, but got another iconic blonde muscleman cartoon instead. Per the trailers, both of them enjoy some Four Non-Blondes.
The gi is very soft plastic, and removable; just unhook the belt completely and it opens up and comes off, with no limb removal required. However, you may not even need to take it off, as it’s extremely flexible. Ken’s ab crunch is a ratcheting joint and it can hold poses even under the gi.
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Articulation-wise, Ken has all the joints of a modern Marvel Legends figure with the chest butterflies and pinless arms and legs. Find his center of gravity, and he will balance.
Most will probably prefer the more classic head, though both feature a topknot ponytail, unlike Ken’s original game appearance. The shades look isn’t a bad alternate, but without having seen the movie, I’d say they feel more Johnny Cage than Ken Masters.
One thing we can say is that bald is not the way to go, at least on this figure.
Ken has basic colors in the game, so I like that this figure has some sweat darkening around the torn arms of his gi, and hair that reflects his dark roots showing. Nice touches to add some reality to it.
Now, when it comes to the fireball effect, I’m not sure why the stand was designed to hold it at crotch level.
Basically, if you want to do the right pose with it, he has to be down on one knee.
The fireball also splits in two parts, so it can have the full tail or just the impact version.
There are contours on the side that make it look like it can be held, but I haven’t managed to fit his hands into them. Obviously you can balance it in his hands if you try.
Or you can make it look like he got the Taco Bell lettuce parasite…
Scale-wise, Ken is a standard 6-inch/1:12, comparable to Hasbro’s other main lines.
Noah Centineo is not scaled to He-Man, though. Not this time. Though if you wanted to make a custom Marvel Legends He-Man, maybe. Since MOTU Chronicles are WWE-scaled, I assume this means WWE Street Fighter figures will be out of scale. Though for a giant like Sagat, that might work okay.
The very first American Street Fighter II action figures were modified G.I. Joes, so if you want to do a throwback, these do scale to Classified, though their hands aren’t shaped to hold weapons. At least they can smack Cobra around a little.
The actor likeness to Centineo seems good to me, though I’m not overly familiar with him. There’s no logo on the back of the gi or anything like that, and his bare back is just ripped.
One nifty detail about the package insert is that it has this little tab at the bottom…
If you fold the tab back and under, it helps the insert to self stand as a backdrop, if you like.
I’ve hung on to the TMNT vs. Street Fighter displays from Playmates, which are better.
I’m assuming these are going to run around $28 like all the main lines right now — maybe a buck or two more because of the fireballs. I believe Akuma comes with two blast effects and will be an overpriced deluxe. Typical pampered Roman Reigns.
What I wouldn’t give for the 1994 movie characters in this style. All we got at the time was more G.I. Joes, some of which managed a Jean-Claude Van Damme headsculpt, but no other actor likenesses. Raul Julia Bison needs a figure, and every gay man would buy Kylie Minogue in blue fatigues.
I can’t see any major complaints about these, though. They’re pretty much exactly what you would want, save maybe the stand for the fireball being too short.
Here are some more images — click to enlarge.
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