"They Live" John Nada

We have one here that can see. "Rowdy" Roddy piper screamed to the WWE Universe "just when they think they have all the answers, I change the questions," but the world found out what happens when he's all out of bubble gum, in the cult classic action movie They Live. As the first WWE superstar to star in a major motion picture that opened at #1 at the box office, Hot Rod paved the road to Hollywood for superstars we see on the big screen today. Yes, and thus paved the way for this new set of figures. Mattel has started the WWE Hollywood Elite line, featuring wrestlers in their movie roles. The pickings are slim, the first series having three figures: this one, obviously, but also John Cena from The Fast and Furious, and the Rock from also Fast and Furious. How vastly boring. I would 100% rather get John Cena from those ads where he's selling insurance (or cheese or whatever it is he's doing with that cow) than from the Fast and Furious franchise, and the Rock's red cowboy outfit from Be Cool. Other than our boy here, it's a very weak first lineup. which is probably why you're only likely to see Cena and the Rock sitting on the store shelves, leaving the impression that they're the only two shipping yet. Mattel has made quite a few Rowdy Roddy Piper figures before - in fact, a new Legends Elite Collecton version just came out at the same time as this figure - so they definitely know how to capture his likeness. This figure shows the character with a pensive look, which helps sell it as being a movie toy more than a smirk would have. John Carpenter's They Live is based on Ray Nelson's short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," from the November 1963 issue of The Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy. Nelson named his main character "George Nada" and left him bereft of any backstory or internal life specifically so readers could project themselves onto him; the movie never named him at all, though the credits did refer to him as "Nada," and Carpenter has revealed his first name was "John." Carpenter also had Piper come up with a full backstory for himself, then never tell the director what it was, just using it to fuel his own performance (and since he still hadn't revealed that story by the time he died in 2015, no one will ever know what it was). The movie's hero was just a nobody who drifted into town and managed to turn everything upside down. The figure is made from the usual assortment of shared parts. He's got a plaid softgoods shirt, which is new, but beneath that is just a sculpted white tank top (or repurposed wrestling singlet). He has light jeans and dark brown boots with sculpted laces, neither of which are outside the realm of what you'd see worn between the ropes. So basically, this is a wrestling figure with extra fees (because Mattel had to license the movie rights - you can't just slap a movie's logo on something for free). Since this is an Elite release, the articulation is plentiful; surprisingly, Mattel did not half-ass any of this! (Well, other than choosing "John Cena wears a T-shirt" as one of their big, "memorable" roles for the first dang series.) Nada moves at the ankles, knees, thighs, hips, waist, chest, wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, and head. Normally we'd judge a wrestling toy by what moves the articulation is enough to do, but it's not like They Live has any sort of world-famous fight scene that's held up as the best ever put on film or anything, right? One that every other good fight scene is measured against? Yeah, no, nothing like that. You do get your choice of fists or open hands, though. And of course, you get the most important accessory of all, the Hoffman lenses. The magic sunglasses that let you see monsters were one of the things John Carpenter invented for the movie - in the original story, George could see them because of a hypnotist. (Since the movie is an allegory of unrestrained capitalism and Republicans' willing complicity therein, the glasses are probably named after revolutionary activist Abbie "Steal This Book" Hoffman.) These are just translucent black plastic, and though the figure can't hold them very well, he can certainly wear them, tucked into notches hidden by his hair. Nobody has ever made good They Live action figures. Super7 has done some ReAction figures, and NECA did some of their Mego knockoffs, but Mattel is the first to do anything good. Unfortunately, since this WWE line is only about wrestlers in movie roles, we're never going to get a Frank Armitage or any Ghouls to go with Rowdy Roddy. Still, this does prove that the license is available, and given the way he's rapidly out-selling Cena and the Rock, fans are showing there's demand there. Maybe that means someday we'll get a real line! Wonder if Mattel would be interested in finishing what they started? -- 11/10/21

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