- Manufacturer: Funko
- Released: 2017
I never really could get into the Funko POP! stuff. All those oversized heads. All those identical round button eyes. Over 1000 of them exist now, including variants, convention exclusives and all kinds of releases outside the standard mass market release items.
I know some people who really love ’em, but they have little to no appeal to me. Anyway, here in my possession is the 2nd POP! ALIEN Covenant item up for review and keeping an objective eye is going to be difficult so please bear with me on this item, OK?
This is the blood stained variant of the ALIEN Covenant Xenomorph. It’s 4.5 inches tall and like all POP! figures features an oversized head perched upon a diminutive body. Being an Alien, it doesn’t feature any of the stylised eyes these figures usually have, so it’s forced to make other connections to the greater range of POP! figures currently available and it does this through its disproportionate scaling. Yep. The head is enormous. As you probably figured out already.
One of the really cool things about this item is its balance. For a figure with a massive head and a very high center of gravity, it perches quite well on its pair of small legs. Surprisingly, the tail isn’t needed to support the figure. That’s impressive as the tail would be an ideal opportunity to use 3 points of contact on the ground to make it more stable but it’s simply not needed. I guess after designing hundreds of these POP! figures, Funko has gotten quite good at keeping megacephalic collectibles from plummeting forward onto their beady little eyes. Impressively, it stands easily without falling over despite being obviously top heavy.
There’s 2 versions of this figure and this is the ‘bloodied’ variant. It features bile coloured blood of the xeno-corrosive variety splashed across parts of its body. It does kind of look like it’s been in a pie fight with Larry, Moe and Curly but it does add an extra element of narrative to the figure; although none of these spray patterns match those on the creatures seen in the movie (One is crushed by the jaws of a crane and the other is impaled by a piece of overly large earth moving equipment.). Nonetheless, it’s a welcome dash of colour that’s frequently missing from ALIEN figures.
Of course, the other version is clean and lacks the bile green spatter marks. It’s also a good irregularly scaled presentation of the new Aliens but it does lack that additional bloodied colouration. It’s great that there are actually a pair of variants of this figure as there were 2 of these critters appearing in the movie. So, buy both for a full and authentic experience.
Speaking of colouration, the remaining paintwork on the black plastic figure is the usual silver highlighted teeth, finger and toe nails. Being an ALIEN Covenant Alien means it’s also boasting blue veins throughout its body – which I can’t recall actually having seen on screen. No matter. It’s nice to see an extra splash of colour on the normally black figure other than silver applied to the dentition and a good manicure finish.
There’s no articulation present on the figure and it is completely rigid, including the tail. No accessories ship with it, either. Even its companion piece, Funko’s POP! Neomorph figure, includes one of the best accessories you could hope for, a junior version of itself so the absence of extras here so it’s a little disappointing no additional items are to be found in this package. Mind you, the windowed box is not sealed with adhesives or tape so opening the package and removing the figure does not damage the box in any way. Returning the figure to the box is a painless exercise. Unlike other companies, accessing the figure doesn’t require fighting through a dozen twist ties, either. It’s just sitting inside an easy to open plastic clam shell insert within the box. Nice. I Would like to see more of this, please.
I found this sample to be kind of grubby. Like, it hasn’t been cleaned adequately during production and the head in particular still looks like it’s been stored in a bin full of other heads, each rubbing plastic dust off of each other during assembly of thousands of these things. Or maybe this one just came from the bottom of the barrel on the production line. Anyway, It just doesn’t look clean and lacks polish to tidy up its scuffed presentation. The quality in this area is missing a little.
As the likeness is concerned, it’s pretty good for its disproportionate presentation. Most Aliens look alike to most people and this figure does boast the hostile grimace of the creatures seen in ALIEN Covenant to a satisfactory degree. There’s no mistaking that tight, uncompromising and intention laden smirk. The hostility is well represented. No, the jaws do not open and no tongue is present.
It’s a long way down the list of being my favourite figure but I can understand the appeal these POP! things have with some people. Personally, of the 3 POP! figures that feature adult Aliens based on the recent movie, the Neomorph is easily the best. I think the much lighter base colour has a lot to do with it as well. The black figure does tend to conceal a lot of detail that simply shows off on the whiter, more pallid item.
SCORE 7/10.
It’s OK, I guess – but the POP! Neomorph figure which was released at the same time as this item is much, much better. Get that instead. Affordability is a bonus here. These things are at the lower end of the price range for ALIEN collectibles. That’s a big plus.
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