This may not be news to some of you but Figma released a “For Sale in Japan Only” Michael Jackson Thriller action figure. He’s such a cute little replica of the King of Pop!
You Mint-On-Carders will be happy to see that he comes in a cool window box package. And there he will stay if you have your way. But for me, I have to see Michael in action. For it was over 30 years ago that I received a 12 inch LJN Michael Jackson doll as a requested gift. And when we all returned to school from our winter breaks and shared with the class what we received for Christmas…I lied. Yes, I lied by omission. (That’s what my ex-girlfriend calls it.) I didn’t want any of my classmates to know that I got a doll for Christmas. But I did. I got Michael Jackson in his Thriller outfit!
At 5.5 inches this little guy is not even half the size of my childhood version. But make no mistakes, this one is an action figure. The toy of my youth was patterned after a Ken doll in appearance, and he had no swappable head, as is the case with Figma’s. Here we see that he comes with an alternate head (actually a face, as opposed to a full head) and many sets of hands. He also comes with a clear display stand that operates more like a crane than a base stand. One end sticks into Michael’s back, the other end sticks into the base of the stand. Now Michael is ready to rock with you!
I’ll have you know I’m kind of-sort of-almost a few degrees of separation from Michael Jackson. Judge for yourself: in 2010 VH1 aired Famous Crime Scene: Michael Jackson. The show chronicled the last few hours of a celebrity’s death, including 911 calls and possible conspiracies. This particular episode had a scene in which emergency responders arrive at MJ’s house and attempt resuscitation and life support, rubbing elbows with Conrad Murray, Michael’s personal physician who has since been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. In the episode two paramedics work on a lifeless MJ. I was one of them. We filmed at a house in Encino, California, not far from Michael’s actual home. Sorry people, I couldn’t save Michael.
Okay, now that I’ve gone total buzzkill, and talked about Michael’s death, let’s get on with this awesome figure. (Look, it’s all we have now – his music, his videos, his interviews, his biographies and his action figures. So let’s celebrate the King of Pop!) Did I mention you can swap his happy face for a ghoulish zombie face?! It is so cool! I tried to replicate his signature moves from Thriller, and while not exact, they’re a fun homage. I don’t believe there to be a better version of Thriller MJ, especially in this price range. (I paid $52 for this figure from eBay and have no regrets whatsoever.)
I love The Walking Dead, but to me the ultimate zombies were featured in Thriller - good old fashioned climb out of their graves and lumber along – zombies. This figure is not only a great Michael Jackson toy, but also a great zombie. One thing though: in the original video, by the time Michael transforms into the dancing undead, his outfit is dirty and ripped, as though he himself has dug out of his own grave. So while this figure looks fantastic with his undead face, some dirtied and tattered clothes would have been nice. Perhaps a customizer could give it a shot. And I’m no customizer, so if you ever do that please let me know.
Unless I’m doing this wrong, Michael has 16 points of articulation: neck, both shoulders, both elbows, both wrists, waist, both hips, both knees, both ankles and both feet! And with the help of the display stand he is able to get into some great poses that a true ACBAer would really be able to exploit. But I’m no ACBAer, so we’ll take what we can get! I wish I had two figures: one to display as normal, happy Michael, the other to display as ghoulish Michael, taunting his lovely date with his freaky dance routine. If they had only thrown one additional face into this package…the first creature, when Michael becomes a werewolf. But I suppose that would have required a letterman’s jacket.
*One last thing: Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this article in no way endorses the occult. But you can still Like Us on Facebook!
Sal Rodriguez began collecting figures upon discovering UFC and WWE figures by Jakks Pacific. He lives with his two cats, Fluff Daddy and Little Mister, and over 2,000 action figures. Subscribe to his YouTube channel.