Earthworm Jim gets an amazing toy from Mezco
Earthworm Jim got legs (heh) when Playmates Toys decided they wanted to roll out a successful toy line of their own. Well known for handling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toyline in the 80’s and 90’s, Playmates wanted a video game to launch a new character they could get behind. Earthworm Jim was designed by Doug TenNapel and Shiny Entertainment came on to develop the game.
While Playmates managed to release one wave of Earthworm Jim figures based off the cartoon, Earthworm Jim was too wacky and weird to achieve mainstream success.
Appearance – 4 out of 5
This is as good as Earthworm Jim can get. Sculpted to look exactly like the box-art from the first Earthworm Jim game. But that might also be the greatest limitation with this action figure. His poses are severely limited.
The lines in the paintwork are really sharp. The colours are bright and punchy and the sculpt has some incredible detail. The paint and plastic Mezco used give the figure a more matte sheen that helps create highlights and shadows using the sculpt instead of needing to paint them on. Earthworm Jim does have a slight blue wash across his stark white suit to help accentuate some of the muscle details.
Secondly, the really small details. Like the brass fans in his gun, molded ridges in his worm flesh and the hint of green paint application in his eyes really help make this feel like a premium ‘collectors’ action figure. We’ve got an authentic Earthworm look.
Articulation – 2 out of 5
Earthworm Jim has a swivel waist and forearms. With ball and socket head, ball and hinge shoulders and hinged elbows. Plenty of points of articulation but this is a hard category to score due to Earthworm Jim’s pose.
This figure has more points of articulation than the Playmates figure. But because he’s sculpted to look exactly like the box art from the first game, he can only hold the gun with one hand. His stance also doesn’t allow for a variety of poses.
Below the hip swivel, Earthworm Jim is totally static. This balances the thin, spindly legs below Earthworm Jim’s top-heavy barrel sized chest. But they do look amazing. For a collector figure like this, the stiff legs really add to the overall look of the figure.
Jim’s exposed Earthworm Body is totally flexible with wire in the middle to allow it to hold any pose you put it into.
Accessories – 4 out of 5
For accessories, Earthworm Jim comes packaged with his gun and a flexible Earthworm Jim worm. The gun is an incredibly accurate representation from the original Earthworm Jim game. Compared to the Playmates original, the differences in the figures target audience is evident.
The exposed Earthworm Jim figure is a great accompanying figure and really completes this package.
One thing missing is the option for a swappable head and a few extra accessories. It’s the best Earthworm Jim out there but as a collector toy, I was hoping for more.
Value – 3 out of 5
This Mezco Earthworm Jim feels more like a collectors posable statue than a true action figure. It looks great and only cost AUS$25 (along with my Aliens 3-Pack from NECA).
Coolness – 4 out of 5
I was considering just leaving a picture of Earthworm Jim here as a response. But I wanted to congratulate Mezco, again, for matching the look of the original Earthworm Jim game. He’s got an awesome, sleek design that really complements the character. Even when compared to the cartoon-inspired Playmates line, I really like the overall look from Mezco better.
Overall – 4 out of 5
I love this figure. But I’m also a true fan of toys with some playability. Considering this action figure is a once off, there’s no enemies to fight. The sculpt is designed to mimic the video games box art and isn’t very posable. This is the kind of figure that sits on your office desk guarding your paperclips instead of racing through space battling intergalactic bounty hunters and gun-totting rats. I believe Mezco achieved everything they set out to do. I may take issue with limited playability (and whine about Jim being a one-off) I can see their approach and frankly, they nailed Earthworm Jim’s personality in the sculpt.
It’s a great representation of Earthworm Jim and I love the look. But the fact that Playmates were in a position to spin a whole action figure line off the Earthworm Jim characters just makes it a more exciting figure overall. For the collector, Mezco have done an amazing job but for a fan of the 90’s, I can see myself enjoying the original Playmates toy line more.
