The Mouse King

Never let it be said the Four Horsemen like to be predictable. After releasing Jacob Marley in 2024 and the Ghost of Christmas Past in 2024, 2025's Giftsmastime Figura Obscura release seemed obvious - particularly when the email annoucing this upcoming sale said "it's time for a PRESENT from Figura Obscura"! But we were all of us deceived, for another choice was made. As the clock strikes midnight, Clara is surprised as the Christmas tree and the rest of the room begin to grow to dizzying heights. A flood of mice begins to pour into the room from under the floorboards, led by their sovereign - the Mouse King. A ferocious warrior with 7-heads, the Mouse King sees the Nutcracker and immediately challenges him to a duel. Realizing the threat before them, the toys in the room come to life to face the mice and protect Clara. The Nutcracker takes command, leading an army of gingerbread men and tin soldiers against the rodent army as he personally faces the Mouse King in battle... While Nutcracker (Russian doesn't have articles, so the accurate title wouldn't be "The" Nutcracker) may be the most well-known ballet in the world, I've still never seen it, which is why I was so shocked to learn that the famous Mouse King has seven heads in the original story - presumably because it's hard to put that feature into a costume that won't destroy a dancer's sense of balance. The Four Horsemen knew, though, and have given the feature to the toy by creating a gigantic new piece that combines a metallic golden frame, a bony spine up the back that ends in a hooked horn on top, a ruffled collar, and jewelry, and has seven necks to support seven heads. There's one "main" head, wearing a crown of thin bones sticking up into the air. flanking that are four plain heads, all with the same sculpt. Above those, the final two heads are unique: one has the mouth closed, but with large incisors visible sticking out the front, while the other has the mouth open wide, also showing off its long teeth. Despite the name, these look more like rats than mice: the size of the eyes and the shape of the ears give it away. Also, the fact the tail is bald rather than furry. The king-head's ears are larger than the others', but they're still pointy rather than round. The really cool thing is all those heads can be removed from the big neck piece (they're on barbell joints). That means you can trade their positions around, rearranging them as you like, or you can plug one onto the included alternate neck, this one designed to accommodate a single head. The entire multi-neck piece pops off as one, itself fitting onto the standard Mythic Legions-sized ball at the top of the torso, and the alternate neck trades in just as easily. The Mouse King's body is small - not as much as Thistlethorn, mind you, but definitely littler than even the elves. He's sculpted with a fur texture all over, and has digitgrade legs that require new style of armor on the knees. Befitting a rodent, his feet have long, thin toes that almost make them look like another pair of hands. You can't turn this into a plain rat, like NECA's Splinter, but you do have the option to make him less regal: without the fancy mega-neck-o, he's got a leather scalemail loincloth, thin bones hanging around his hips, and a belt piece sculpted to look like two belts, with their own buckles and pouches and textures and so forth. There are little scraps of cloth around his wrists, too. However, being a king is not limited to the multi-craniumed version. While you can make a rank-and-file warrior rat with the solo neck adapter, the set also includes an Elizabethan ruff that can fit onto that neck, adding a touch of class. And also several necklaces and even more fur. The set includes a tattered softgoods cape to up the royal looks, as well: it's dual layered, red on the outside and black within, and specifically created to look like it was stitched together roughly. There are holes and patches, and it even appears to have dirt smudged all over it. The lower edge is too uneven for posing wires, so we just get them around the top and down the front. For best results, put the cape on underneath whichever neck you want to give the figure. The Mouse King gets new articulation, because the Four Horsemen are pushing their work forward! We already mentioned the barbells for the heads, but the regular neck is a barbell as well. There are even slight notches at the front and back of the neck so a figure that doesn't have a massive neck add-on would be able to look up and down. There are pectoral hinges now, and while the shoulders remain swivel/hinges, the bicep swivels are new. Why those? Well, because he's got double-hinged elbows! That does reduce the modularity of the figure somewhat, but the tradeoff is a better range of bending there. The balljointed waist, swivel/hinge hips, and swivel thighs remain the same, though the the Mouse King's new legs mean he has one more swivel/hinge than most of the Legions do, where the leg comes out of the armor. The ankle joints are swivel/hinge/swivels, and unlike when McFarlane Toys uses those, these move smoothly and are actually good for posing. Finally, the tail plugs in with a balljoint, just like Sun Wu Kong's, and is similarly bendy, plus has a swivel where it meets the armor at the top. Because the weight of all those heads and the collar that connects them will unavoidably make the figure top-heavy (seriously, those alone weigh more than the rest of the body does), he includes a stand to keep him upright. It's dark teal, contrasting nicely with the warm, earthy colors on the figure, and the set includes two small screws so you can (more) permanently attach the vertical back piece to the base. For the king himself, you get your choice of gripping or relaxed hands (the extras are not in the tray, but in a bag between the two pieces of the base), and his accessories include a simple sword (a new mold, with a ridged hilt and a cross in a circle as the pommel, plus a new sceptre to display his royalty. And then, just like all the other December Figura Obscura releases, we get a secret bonus accessory. (See, because it's like a surprise gift? Because of the time of year?) Like last year, the extra is in a black plastic bag, and it is... drumroll... a head for the Nutcracker?!? That's the last thing I'd have expected. He's wearing his tall black military hat, has grey hair, a handlebar mustache, and a large, poofy goatee. The face has an angular sculpt, to make it clear he's been carved from wood, rather than being human, and his big flat teeth as separated. You could call this "defeated" Nutcracker, because there are dents and scratches sculpted into the hat, scars on his face, and he's missing one tooth and one eye. We don't have an appropriate body to put this on now (unless you want a Nutcracker wearing weird fantasy armor, of course), but if the Horsemen do a Figura Obscura Nutcracker some year in the future, this will be a nice alternate look for him... but what surprise head will he come with? We're just saying, this is a Mouse King, and Steamboat Willie Mickey is in the public domain, sooooo... Figura Obscura toys are sold in a tall window box with a thick cardboard "book cover" wraparound that's held in place by magnets. This year the art is not done by Nate Baersch, only art-directed by him; the actual piece was done by Tom Tolman. The exterior of the cover shows Mouse King lurking among the Giftsmas presents, while the interior is a lair that seems to be inside a clock. The box itself has images of the Nutcracker and a queen on the sides, and the insert inside is the face of a clock. Lovely seasonal fun. The choice to switch from A Christmas Carol to The Nutcracker for this year's Figura Obscura character was a bold one, and reminds us fans not to get complacement and assume we know what's next. From the beginning, the idea was to make something surprising, and the Mouse King unquestionably fits that bill. -- 12/07/25 What head should the Nutcracker come with? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.