Morphed Ken

Here's to second place! When Ken gets a Power Coin, his awesome fighting style gets a boost from the grid. If you think that sounds exactly like the bio for Cammy, you're right: in fact, Hasbro just used the same generic text for all four of their Power Rangers x Street Fighter figures; it's just that since Ryu and Chun-Li actually appeared in the games, we had alternate sources of info we could turn to. Here? Not so much. So we're left to make up whatever story you want. Ken got his Power Coin because he was the only one who could pick it up off the floor with his butt-cheeks. Ken heard the phrase "Power Coin" and thought it was a new kind of crypto he could waste his money on. Ken doesn't actually have a Power Coin, he's just envious of everything Ryu has and so bought himself a new shirt and a roleplay helmet. Pick your favorite! If Ryu is the ur-example of a fighting game protagonist, then Ken is the platonic ideal of Player 2: the same moves, the palette-swap sprites, popular enough to appear in every game but never popular enough to overshadow the Player 1 guy... he's living the "character every younger sibling is forced to play as because the one they wanted was already taken" dream! Fittingly, the majority of this figure's molds are the same as Ryu's (because why wouldn't they be?), just in red rather than white. Breaking new ground! His Dragon Shield (or "Falcon Shield," I suppose) is a new mold, but it's not as interesting a design as the others we've seen. It's hard to be more boring than Ryu, but Ken manages! At least with Cammy, she's appeared in the Legacy Wars videogame, even if she never got a Morphed form there; Ken can't even claim that! Not only is the Soaring Falcon Ranger not in the game, Ken isn't in it at all. It's just Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy, and Guile, which means this design is 100% a Hasbro creation - which may explain why it's not very creative? Maybe Capcom wouldn't let them do anything too crazy, which is why we get a Ken who basically just looks like a weird Red Ranger cosplay? The helmet is honestly just the T-rex helmet with a few more accoutrements (including one little bit that's probably supposed to be the lower part of a beak, but instead makes it look like he has a tiny goatee), and we already mentioned how his armor looks strongly like the Green Ranger's armor at first glance. Adding to the notion that this is just something Ken put together himself, the suit is sleeveless, something that isn't supposed to be able to happen. He's got the same style of little gold lines Ryu had on his suit (different pattern though), and a pair of black and white gloves. Why black and white instead of brown? I was joking before when I said he just put this suit together himself, but now I'm starting to think that's the case. At least we know the articulation is going to be good; The Lightning Collection rarely disappoints. The mold delivers a balljointed head, hinged neck, pec hinges, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a balljointed chest, hinged abs, hinged/balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel shins, and swivel/hinge ankles. Ken is the first figure not to have some kind of movable element on his helmet - no ties or hair hanging down - but none of his joints are loose or stuck, with everything moving fine right out of the box. Like all the other figures in the line, Ken has an extra pair of hands, three energy effects, and a clear stand to hold the blasts up. So what's he got? A big flaming punch we take to be the Shoryuken, a foot-mounted Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, and a Hadoken in the shape of a falcon. Not bad! His pieces are bright red, which doesn't contrast against his suit very well, but they're still nice pieces that really spice up the playtime. Gotta say though, even more than the other figures in the line, we wish Ken came with an alternate head. They all should have, really, but you need it here to tell who he is, that he's anything other than a strange Red Ranger you don't recognize. We now have four Street Fighter Rangers, which is just one less than the number needed to form a standard Ranger team. Plus, they all have bird themes going on. So come on, Hasbro, make a Sonic Eagle Guile and some kind of monster M. Bison for everyone to fight! But make sure you get Capcom's input on the designs this time; you've clearly proved that you're not quite ready to go it alone. -- 06/29/23

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