{"id":22991,"date":"2016-10-26T00:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T04:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=22991"},"modified":"2022-10-05T02:58:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T06:58:14","slug":"walking-dead-mystery-minis-morgan-jones-bob-stookey-sasha-williams-noah-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2016\/10\/walking-dead-mystery-minis-morgan-jones-bob-stookey-sasha-williams-noah-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking Dead Mystery Minis: Morgan Jones, Bob Stookey, Sasha Williams & Noah reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walking Dead Wednesday is all about adding diversity.<\/p>\n

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There is a (not unfounded) joke that AMC's The Walking Dead<\/i> has a \"one in, one out\" policy when it comes to black characters - the men, at least<\/a>. In order for a new one to be introduced, the existing one has to be written off in one way or another. It's improved (minorly) in recent seasons, but Series 4 of the Mystery Minis<\/i> seems to be doing its part to combat that imbalance: a third of the characters are black.<\/p>\n

We begin with Morgan, Walking Dead<\/i>'s original Only Black Man. He appeared in the first episode, introducing Rick<\/a> to the new world in which he'd awoken, then was left behind at the end of the pilot with a promise that they'd keep in touch. Spoiler alert: they didn't. And when he showed up again in Season 3, he actually called Rick on it<\/a>. Then he was gone from the show again until Season 5, when he seemed a bit more sane.<\/p>\n

This is Sane Morgan, after his training with the cheesemaker. He's got his walking stick\/​primary weapon, and is wearing a tan jacket and khakis. He has fingerless gloves, though two of the fingers on his right hand have missed their brown apps, making it look like he's only got one finger. He's wearing the remnants of the riot gear Rick gave him from the police arsenal - basically just the shin guards, but they're recognizable. His backpack is highly detailed, with a bedroll on top, a knife on one side, and an automatic rifle on the other. Plus, the helmet from the riot gear is slung against the back! Too cool!<\/p>\n

Morgan is one of the 1:12 figures, but he also has a 1:36 variant - that one has his hood up and a mask on, as he was first seen in Season 5. He's more often shown like this, though.<\/p>\n

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Our second character actually showed up at the same time as another black man! Good for him! Of course, he was a weak-willed drunkard, rather than a strong and capable man, so he didn't really duplicate the role that was being filled at the time by Tyreese. In the comics he was white and in his 50s, but both versions of him were former Army medics before the outbreak. According to TV Bob, he'd been in two different groups of survivors before being invited to the prison, and both of them had been overrun by Walkers, leaving him as the sole survivor both times. It kind of gave him a complex, which is why he turned to alcohol.<\/p>\n

Bob doesn't have the most interesting outfit - cargo pants and a salmon shirt, painted with mud and dirt - but he's got a fairly interesting pose. In his right hand, he's carrying a silver pistol, held out at his side rather than aimed at anyone. He's wearing a black backpack with a tan bedrool underneath, and his left hand is sculpted casually holding the strap, with his thumb behind and his fingers in front. His hair is short but neatly trimmed (a holdover from his military service?), and the look painted on his face is one of fright and confusion.<\/p>\n

By starting out from a place of weakness, Bob had room to grow into an interesting character. And just when he showed signs of doing that, it was time for him to leave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Two of the black characters in this series are exempt from the One Black Man rule, by virtue of being women - there's Michonne in her police uniform, and there's Sasha.<\/p>\n

Sasha is not a character from the comics. Actress Sonequa Martin-Green tried out for the role of Michonne<\/a>, but while she didn't get it, the producers liked her so much that they created a character specifically for her (meaning that this Mystery Mini<\/i> could have been made even under Series 1 rules<\/a>). Sasha does feel kind of like a replacement for the comics' Julie: Julie was Tyreese's teenage daughter, while Sasha is his younger sister.<\/p>\n

During Season 5, Sasha started wearing bigger, baggier clothes, because Martin-Green was pregnant. Part of that is Bob's army jacket, which has painted patches on the arms representing very simplified versions of the 82nd Airborne and 1st Armored Division insignia. Her pants are tucked into her boots, and the laces are sculpted on, both the crossed bits and the strings circling the ankles. She's armed with her AR-15 rifle, which is shaped specifically to fit into her fingers, and her hair is done up in a really complex braid. Impressive work!<\/p>\n

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Look, it's Noah, the emergency backup Bob.<\/p>\n

Noah was another character created for the show. He was introduced at the hospital where Beth<\/a> woke up, but eventually made his way into the main group (after robbing them and then needing to be saved by them). Still, he's more memorable for his death than anything he did while alive - if you don't remember Noah, he's the poor kid who got stuck in the revolving door when Glenn's arch-rival Nicholas<\/a> proved to be an idiot and a coward. It's hardly surprising there's no \"dead\" variant of Noah, considering just how gruesome his end was.<\/p>\n

Noah is younger than Bob, and has shaggier hair. The look on his face is one of surprise. He's got his brown backpack, and is carrying a dark grey rifle - it's a molded part of his right hand, and his left hand is open wide enough to cradle the front end. He's wearing a purple plaid shirt, which is easily identified by the sculpted lines that represent the pattern. His white shirt has a few thin lines painted on to serve as dirt\/​wrinkles, and his green pants have seams and stitches down the side.<\/p>\n

The Walking Dead<\/i> may not have much love for its black cast members, but Funko's Walking Dead Mystery Minis<\/i> sure do.<\/p>\n

<i>And now, some more OAFEry:<\/i><\/H5>