The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a way of popping up every few years with fun new ideas while still maintaining their original charm of being four, fun loving teenagers who are quite proficient in the martial arts. I'm thrilled the TMNT are still around and in the middle of making another huge comeback. With IDW publishing an excellent monthly comic and reprinting nice collected versions of the original black and white comics, a new cartoon from Nickelodeon premiering soon, and a movie on the horizon, this seems like the perfect time for Playmates to jump in and play off of the nostalgia of adult fans who first encountered the turtles as children. I've looked at Leonardo's three brothers already, so here's my look at Leonardo for completion's sake! The Facts: Articulation- Hinged left and right toes, peg/hinge ankles, double hinge knees, thigh swivels, true ball hips, mid torso ball joint, peg/hinge ball jointed shoulders, bicep swivel, double hinged elbows, wrist swivels, hinged lower and middle fingers, peg/hinge ball jointed thumbs, true ball jointed head. Accessories- 2 Katanas, removable belt, katana sheathe, display stand. Positives: *I've said this in all of my reviews of these turtles, but I love everything about the sculpts in this series. They're big, bulky, and have such a pleasing aesthetic. They're a perfect blend of the original action figures and the cartoon look of each turtle. Like the original Leonardo action figure, the head sculpt features a very determined look with teeth showing on the left side of his face. Like the cartoon version, however, Leo has a brown belt and pupils on his eyes. He really looks fantastic when posed by himself, but pose him along with his brothers and you will be amazed! *Leonardo comes with two katanas. They're nice, look well proportioned, and fit nicely in his hands. The katanas are made of a really nice plastic: they're not gummy, rubbery, or bendy, but they're not so hard and brittle that they're going to break, either. They have a blue paint app on the handles. *The articulation is outstanding. I can't think of a single joint I would have added (well maybe a ball joint at the base of the neck) because everything is here. There are absolutely 34 points of articulation, including the fingers, thumbs, and toes. You wouldn't think toe joints would be that important, but they do add a lot of character when posing these guys. Thew head is a nice ball joint and the elbows and knees are all double jointed. The double jointed knees and elbows are well hidden by Leo's blue knee and elbow pads. *Anytime a figure comes with a stand, that's a plus in my book. Leonardo comes with a stand that is sculpted to look like a manhole cover. It features his name and the TMNT logo along with two foot pegs. Negatives: *The finger articulation adds a lot to the character, but those small thumb and finger joints do seem like they could be rather fragile. Be careful with posing them and you should be fine. * Because these turtles have eyes, there have been some issues with the eyes. Michelangelo's and Raphael's were fine while Donatello's were quite wonky. Leo's aren't bad, but there are a couple angles where they look funny. Overall: I love the TMNT and Playmates has really delivered stellar versions of these characters. Playmates has made a very successful entry into the market of action figures aimed at adult collectors and I hope to see them continue for quite some time with more characters. Shreddar, Krang, April, Splinter, and Casey Jones all seem like logical next steps in this line, so I hope we see them made. Oh, and Cowabunga!
