Super7 have just started shipping their new Kenner inspired 1986 ALIENS Warrior figure. It’s fitting then that this Spotlight should be cast upon its odd predecessor which was released last year. 

This item is a genuine curiosity.  It goes beyond representing any speculation on Super7’s part of what Kenner may have produced had they possessed the licence to make toys based on the 1986 movie, ALIENS.  This limited edition figure is intended to represent what a prototype of such speculations would have looked like during their early stage of development.  It is cast in light blue plastic, emulating a ‘test shot’ production sample from 1986.  Such things are rarely seen in the public eye and are often extremely limited to inhouse development only to aid in further development of the final product.

…but wait. What? This ‘prototype’ item was made in 2016, right?  Not 1986..?

Correct.  Which is the reason this item is so curious.  It’s a 21st Century limited edition of an 18 inch figure based on characters appearing in a 30 year old R-rated movie. It’s effectively masquerading as a fake prototype for a toy that never existed. And what’s more astonishing is it’s derived from a substantially older toy that was so unpopular in its day and exerted such a negative influence that no action figures based on ALIENS were actually released in 1986.

Well, not until now, anyway.  Such ‘1986’ toys are actually being distributed today.  YES.  TODAY.  Right now, actually, according to the shipping notice I received about an hour ago.  That is, a simulated product of what should have been a 1986 ALIENS movie based toy is currently being distributed by a different toy company altogether, 30 years too late.

Brilliant!

Confused?  Sure, you should be.

Releasing this pale blue 30th Anniversary Xenomorph as a limited edition in 2016 adds to the ‘WTF?’, ‘LOL’ and ‘Teh Awesome!’ factors in equal measure.*  Well done, Super7.  Love your work.  You’ve added admirably to the unconventional milieu this odd figure appropriately belongs to.  If there ever was an ALIEN action figure to embody the spirit of April Fool’s Day, then this is it.