Robot Reaper (Worst) Review

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Robot Reaper (Worst) Review

Robot Reaper
Worst (Super7)It's been about two years since Super7's own creation, The Worst, got its first Ultimate figures. While the concepts and designs were great, they were hampered by poorly-done articulation, with joints being either too loose or having barely any range, and they ended up being the "worst" for a different reason. We've gotten a few more waves since then, and although I haven't been too interested with them given my wave one experience, I couldn't pass up on the chance to get Robot Reaper for cheap once the opportunity came.

Making the jump from retro-styled 3 3/4" figures to the larger Ultimates line allowed for Robot Reaper to get an updated, more detailed head sculpt. As the Grim Reaper is usually depicted as a skeleton, RR's head resembles the underlying materials of a humanoid robot. The details on it are great, with both a metallic finish and wash for a somewhat weathered look, and the paint is clean, even on the smallest details. The colors are slightly different, as the ReAction RR had some blue-green accents that are changed to solid black here. The Reaper has three different looks, the default being the "Past" CPU. His "Present" head is more skull-like, with some exposed circuitry on the back, and sunken eyes making for a creepier look than the Past head. The "Future" head resembles a helmet, having no visible face, and there's less wash on it, making for a sleeker, less worn-out look. These heads add a bit of lore for the Worst universe, and you can create a ton of stories with these different looks.

Standing 6 3/4" tall, the Reaper is dressed in a tattered robe, with a small hole in the chest and torn edges, and is constrained by a rope belt. The hood has a wiring in it so you can adjust it to fit the head better, and the back of the robe is velcro, so you can take it off him, but retying the belt afterwards isn't easy. Continuing the reaper theme, the body is pretty skeleton-like, with the chest resembling a ribcage, and some of his "spine" being visible in the back, not to mention his bony fingers. As with the heads, the use of metallic finishing and wash gives the robot an aged look, suggesting he's been around since the day computers were invented, and the abdomen shows red and blue wires going from the chest to the waist. The right shin and ankles have a bronze look rather than silver, and it raises a few questions, like, was he a computer that assembled itself into a robot from whatever material it could find, or did someone invent him and he went rogue? All sorts of ways to interpret these characters.

The articulation is about the same as wave one, as the Robot Reaper has a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, swivel biceps, waist, and thighs, and a ball-jointed chest. As I mentioned at the start, the first wave had head and chests with no tilt, and loose joints in the limbs. There's no such issues here, as the Reaper has tight, solid joints that move just fine (though the right hip is a little loose), and the chest has great range. The head needed some working free to really get moving, and while its range isn't great, it still at least can actually tilt on the ball. The legs are a little restrained by the robe, and even with it off, they can't kick forward all the way due to the pelvis design. It's not perfect, but the change in factories is good, and I assume Super7 listened to feedback for the first wave, and wanted to make sure these posed better.

The accessories are also a big plus here, with a good selection of items that fit the character and theme. Four sets of hands are included - grasping, gripping, closed, and pointing - and they swap fine, with no fears of breakage even with the small pegs. The large scythe is a carryover from the ReAction, and it's one of those two-handled ones as well, but for something a bit more close-ranged, there's a forearm scythe that can plug in place of either hand, and features a hinge as well. One of the most thought-out extras is the "People to Delete" floppy disk (remember those?), which fits into a slot in the back of the default head, but make sure the tab on it is facing up, otherwise it'll be hard to take out. Other small extras include a handheld game console resembling a Game Boy, and a pixelated hourglass that looks just like the Windows 95 wait cursor. I would've preferred a solid white look to it, but it's still a great, nostalgic piece.

After how much of a letdown wave one was for The Worst, wave two seems like a big improvement, with cooler character designs and better quality. Robot Reaper is a great concept, and I love the retro accessories included. He's not perfect, but still a big step up from what came before. The "Frozen Death" variant looks pretty cool too (pun not intended), but it seems the price is already dropping on it, so I'll hold out a bit more to see if I can get it cheap like I did the basic version.

- 10/8/24