MALCOLM REYNOLDS

FIREFLY REACTION

Back in the 80s, the toymakers at Kenner made a serious impact on the action figure market when they introduced their line of 3 ¾ inch figures based on Star Wars. The scale proved to be a huge hit, maintaining itself as one of the industry standards for over 30 years. Moreover, the style of the vintage Star Wars figures is quite popular with many collectors, those being the figures that brought many of them into the collecting world. Funko and Super 7 have recently joined forces to try and recapture that style and bring it to just about every property imaginable. One set of figures I was most excited for was the figures from Joss Whedon’s cult favorite Firefly. I recently reviewed plucky pilot Wash, and I liked him enough to pick up the rest of the first series. I’ll be kicking things off with Captain Tightpants himself, Malcom Reynolds.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like Wash, Mal was released as part of the first series of Firefly ReAction Figures. He is 3 ¾ inches tall and features the old-faithful 5 points of articulation. Mal had a fairly consistent look over the course of the series, though it should be noted that Funko have chosen to depict him without his signature Brown Coat. There is an exclusive version that features a cloth one, but the regular release is sans coat. Mal features a sculpt that is completely unique to this figure. It’s an alright sculpt. He bears a passing resemblance to Nathan Fillion, but it wouldn’t be very easy to place him if he weren’t in the typical Mal get-up. The weakest point of Mal’s sculpt is definitely his torso, which is too flat to properly capture the Kenner style. It really throws the rest of the figure off, which is a shame. It seems odd to say this, but the legs are actually the best work on the figure. I can’t help but look at those and see a set of vintage Kenner legs, so kudos to Funko for that. The paintwork on Mal is in keeping with the Kenner style that Funko’s going for, which is certainly good. It’s simplistic, but it’s nice and clean. All the paint apps seem to be right where they should be. Mal’s sole accessory is his signature revolver, molded in a brownish yellow.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After I picked up Wash, I pretty much immediately went ahead and ordered the rest of the first series from Amazon. Being totally honest, Mal isn’t quite up to the standards set by Wash. He lacks a lot of the character that was present in that figure, which makes this figure a little more bland overall. That being said, he isn’t a bad figure. If you’re into this style, you could do a lot worse than to pick up this figure.