The Terrible Toyman : Ghostbusters Afterlife

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Plasma Series figures - Hasbro

The Covid-delayed apology for Ghostbusters 2016 is finally here! Just not fast enough to skirt some major spoilers in plastic form. I guess it should only be a surprise to casual GB fans…the most recent, “final” trailer really let the cat out of the bag: “The old Ghostbusters are in this?!” exclaimed many a Mom across the planet.

Yes, for better or worse, Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, and Dr. Zeddemore, are back in the flight suits. While a full, in-the-flesh view has yet to be seen, the figures look pretty good.

Bill Murray’s likeness here is way better than his younger, series one Plasma Series figure. Just look at that smirk!

Ernie Hudson is sporting some gray in the temples, but other than that, barely looks like he’s aged a day.

Dan Akroyd’s likeness is the weakest of the three. Certain angles and lighting capture him perfectly, but something is still a bit off. I think he looks a little too Jackie Gleason. Caddyshack II homage, anyone? *shudder*

The uniform color has been tweaked to a truer gray/khaki, less plastic look than wave one. Other than that, body sculpts are the same, as are the proton packs. As a bonus for having to rebuy 80% reused parts, we get a blast stream for each Buster and a signature accessory. Peter gets some Zener cards, Ray gets Tobin’s Spirit Guide, and Winston gets…a gag version of his newspaper want ads from 1984? Poor guy…could have at least thrown in a couple of smoking traps or a Twinkie.

The Junior Ghostbusters join the fray to round out a six-figure set: Trevor, Lucky, and Podcast. They all have unique, kid-body sculpts with notable aesthetic differences. Different shoes, cuffs, name tags…and their own accessories.

Trevor comes with a group of Mini-Pufts tethered together on a ribbon cable. This effect looks great, making them look as if they are scaling the proton pack. They are unpainted, which does detract from the fun just a bit. He also has an old, paper map that looks to be Shandorian in nature.

Lucky comes with the RC ghost trap. It’s lacking some paint detail, but it rolls real good. She is the only kid figure to have a blast stream…and a unique one at that. It’s purple, rather than blue. Will the movie explain this? Is this a new power-up/modification of sorts?

Podcast is probably the best of the lot, if only for the diminutive size of the figure. He does not have a proton pack, but has the RC trap remote, upgraded Ecto-goggles, single Mini-Puft, and two “marshmallow goo” attachments. He also has the Aztec Ghost/Death Whistle that fits onto his belt. Have you heard those things? Spooky!

True to the Marvel Legends standard for action figures, each figure in the wave comes with a larger build-a-figure part. The Sentinel Terror Dog has already appeared in some of the trailers, but in more of a ghostly mist form. Here he appears to be a biped terror dog with larger horns, standing 7-8 feet tall.

He looks neat, to be sure, but calling this an “action” figure is a stretch. His articulation set-up is extremely limiting/lacking. He’s like a reject from the late 90s trying to escape the standard five-point articulation scheme, but not really knowing how to do it or how far to go. No elbow or knee joints. Weird swivel cuts. Best thing about him is the ball-jointed head and hinged jaw. Other than that, he’s pretty statuesque. Making things worse is the partial translucent plastic showing off his inner workings. Sigh…It’s sad that this may be the only ghost we’re getting for this line and they skimped on the tooling.

Where’s Muncher? Slimer is surely in this somewhere…we don’t even have him in the 1984 wave! Most puzzling is the whereabouts of the Phoebe figure. The literal poster child for a movie about to be released and we have no word yet on how they intend to get her out there. I have a couple of hopes for this. One: (long shot) they are holding her back to be released with a 6-inch scale Ecto-1. Two: they are holding her back to be released in a two-pack with the (longer shot?) ghost of Egon Spengler. Of course, this could all be Hasblow oversight and it may 1) never be produced depending on the success of the movie or 2) be a dreaded San Diego Comic-Con exclusive a good nine months after the movie has cooled off. Haven’t we had enough uncertainties with this franchise already? Time will tell…but I really hope this isn’t the end of Ghostbusters.