In writing about NECA’s first Pennywise the Clown action figure, I said that “they may have given too much away! …by giving us all the variant heads upfront, NECA has limited the amount of further Pennywises they can make.” They didn’t take very long to prove me wrong, and did so in a way that feels like an affectionate throwback to the toys that came before.
Modern horror movie action figures are everywhere today, but they mostly date back to 1998, when McFarlane Toys shattered previous taboos against R-rated movie action figures by releasing Movie Maniacs, a line featuring Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface (and, uh, Species II, which was a thing at the time). In a concession to mass-retailers wary of such things, the main line figures had a “muddy” deco, while specialty and mall stores got “bloody” variants. You’d have to pay a little more to get movie-accurate blood splatters, but your figure was a little more special.
So the new Pennywise? Bloody version! It’s a Gamestop exclusive, and costs $34.99 rather than $27.99 at most online stores for the previous “Ultimate” edition. That’s an extra $7 for fewer accessories, but you do get a red-splashed clown in premium packaging: the box features a lenticular cover with a balloon that disappears when tilted to reveal the clown’s face.
This Pennywise is primarily a scene-specific one, with a new head sculpt (resembling a hungry baby) from the brief moment in the movie where he peeks out of the bushes waving Georgie’s arm. He also includes a variant balloon from the mid-movie sewer scene, and a bonus head that’s a repaint of the fangs-out portrait from the first figure with added blood. Other changes include a new hand that can grip Georgie’s arm, and red fingertips that may be blood but also look like they could be Lee Press-On Nails.
Is it worth the extra scratch? If you don’t have Pennywise already, and have a taste for the gory, he’s the one to get, but if you already have him, this may be more for completists. NECA has hinted that there will be more, so perhaps there’s one with spider-forearms on the way–or at least more individual scene variation.
