Kenner ALIENS Scorpion Alien Action Figure Kenner, ca. 1992
Day #234: September 6, 2011
Scorpion Alien A bug, crossbred with a bug, and it explodes
ALIENS Action Figures
Item No.: unavailable at this time Manufacturer:Kenner Includes:Face Hugger, mini comic book Action Feature:Explodes Retail:$5.99 Availability: ca. 1992 Other: Similar to the ALIENS version of the creature
People often forget how wildly experimental the big figure companies used to be-- in 1992, Kenner kicked off the wildly popular ALIENS line-- the entire line wasn't a huge hit but the creatures flew off the shelves. The first year of availability, you could probably find the Space Marines and maybe Bishop, but the Scorpion Alien? Good freaking luck. Just like Star Trek: The Next Generation which relaunched around the same time, these toys were still aimed at kids but it was clear that at least a few adults were more than a little interested in this line.
The first three creatures in this line were this figure, a blue Gorilla Alien, and a red Bull Alien. Each figure had an action feature, and the 5 1/2-inch Scorpion could explode-- a button on his back caused his torso to split into three pieces. A front half, a back half, and the head was connected to a red pile of guts. The mechanism really worked nicely, and would be reused on other toy lines in the future. Hasbro reused the same design for a General Grievous figure in its 2005 Revenge of the Sith line, but the soft plastic and spotty mechanism rendered it pretty worthless. This figure, on the other hand, turned out pretty much perfectly.
While not the black version of the original film, this black plastic figure is coated with a bronze paint which brings the highlights out nicely. After recently watching an ALIENS documentary, the creatures in that film seem to have been painted somewhat similarly, but the head design was a little different and they didn't have quite the same articulated scorpion tail. In addition to the tail, the figure has standard 1990s Kenner articulation-- neck, shoulders, and legs. It's a solid, thick figure and you really don't need to worry about it being misshapen with poor storage, although it's possible you may need to straighten out the spines popping out from his back over time.
As an added bonus accessory, he came with a similarly colored Facehugger to face-rape your Space Marines or other toys. Early on Kenner was quite invested on the "let's attack the humans!" dynamic, but the mini Facehuggers would be phased out rather quickly, not surviving past the first full year of the toy line. It was a great addition, because if you bought one of those debut aliens you would probably want to buy Drake or some other character for it to attack. The Facehugger fits most 4-6-inch action figures, so if you want it to attack Batman or Captain Rex, it'll still work just fine.
The biomechanical figure was the go-to for fans wanting a "movie accurate" alien in 1992's retail landscape, as the Aliens vs. Predator 2-pack was still a ways off and Kay-Bee's exclusive black repaint of the mold wouldn't come until much later. You should be able to get the original Scorpion Alien for under ten bucks, give or take, although sticklers for accuracy may prefer the McFarlane and NECA releases. If you love the strangely subversive notion of ALIENS as a line sold to kids, though, there's no beating this release. The packaging even has painted character artwork, which is something Kenner more or less phased out shortly after this line finally ended. If you like toys-- not action figures as collectibles, but toys-- this figure belongs on your desk. I find the line exciting because they're real toys that are wildly inappropriate for kids-- so what's not to love?
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