Comic-Con: Mondo Toys’ Superhero Mechs, He-Man and More

Mondo Toys continues to operate in unique niche space somewhere between the areas ruled by DC Collectibles and Sideshow. They take versions of the toys many of us remember from childhood, upsizing them and making them more elaborate, but not so fancy that they require an entire rent payment to afford. And while they are decidedly aiming at the wallets of adults, there’s a childlike logic to notions like, “What if superheroes were also Gundam robots?” Batman and Captain America, pictured above, look as detailed as any Japanese toy robot, loaded with articulation (all six parts of that Bat-cape move). They’ll probably run in the $250 range, but for limited 12-inch figures this sophisticated, that’s cheap.

For fans more purist about robots, Mondo also has Transformers coming out in this scale. They’re yet to be revealed, but we’re told Soundwave will be one of the first. While Mondo will have their own spin on the design, he will have the ejecting chest with (non-transforming) cassettes. And that’s not the only Hasbro license: G.I. Joe 12-inch figures are in the future!

To get a sense of just how they handle updating ’80s toy licenses, Mondo put more Masters of the Universe figures on display. The finished Man-at-Arms prototype and work-in-progress Hordak (he’ll have a cape in the end) look spectacular. As Mattel go back to simpler sculpts, Mondo has made He-Man and foes far more threatening. Hot Topic’s online store will be getting an exclusive Skeletor later this year, with black armor and glow-in-the-dark skull.

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The Batman: the Animated Series 12-inch line continues with Catwoman and a black-cowl repaint of Batman, following a well-received Mr. Freeze. And in other cartoon love, Rick and Morty get vinyl figures with limited articulation but lots of interchangeable parts. Including an in-scale Pickle Rick.

Mondo’s basic 12-inch figures run around $170, but they get fancier and higher end for a mixed-media Kratos figure from God of War.  He comes loaded with accessories and running closer in price to the mechas. An upcoming Creature From the Black Lagoon may be more affordable. However, if you were hoping for a Universal monsters line, look elsewhere: this is a one-and-done.

In the $25 range, Mondo’s Madballs-ish line of Mondoids crosses multiple licenses to create highly detailed, gross-out versions of pop-culture monsters and icons, from Jurassic Park to Doom. To kick things off at Comic-Con, they did a limited 500-piece run of a blue-tinted Venom, above.

Check out more of Mondo’s offerings in the gallery below. We’re looking forward to seeing what else they can mine from our childhood subconscious.