When you start getting down on Mattel, Never Forget...

Paul Bearer must be at least 8 feet tall... either that or that's mini-Taker and mini-Kane in the package with him.

It's not really as black and white as that.  Mattel does way better work than Jakks, but that doesn't make them flawless.  Yet, for all the criticisms we might have for Mattel, we can still appreciate that they do a much better job than Jakks.  Most of the time when people criticize Mattel, it's because we know they are capable of doing so much better.  When we criticize Jakks, it's more like we're saying "Thank Jeebus we can sit back and laugh about this crap now." 

Personally, I'll always have a soft spot for Jakks BCA's.  They were just fun toys.  I think one of the problems with Jakks post-BCA is they bridged an awkward span of time between when wrestling figures were just plastic men we slammed together until their arms fell off and a time when wrestling figures started becoming revered statues for our geeky shrines.  They are kind of like the homo erectus in the evolution of wrestling action figures.  

Oh don't get me wrong dude. Mattel has had more than their share of inexcusable ups.

Brown-haired, ponytailed RSC Nash. Constant issues of hair color and correct boots. Sting still having a goddamn wooden bat. And of course the paint mishaps and loose parts that have emerged over the years.

But in spite of all that, it's still miles better than Jakks. And I don't excuse Jakks to the degree you do. But I do get it somewhat. I think low standards were to blame more than anything. They basically stayed in the lowest common denominator in terms of effort as long as it sold. And they completely phoned it in their last couple years. I feel like Mattel challenges themselves more to keep the line fresh. That isn't experience as much as it is just giving a shyt, something that Jakks seemed to stop doing after a while.

I would say I excuse Jakks as much as I judge them against themselves. As I mentioned, we were getting RA style figures after they'd been around for what, 10 years? Mattel got the license after being around almost 70 years. For me, it's hard to compare the two realistically once I think about that fact.

And as for this crap about the 7 foot Paul Bearer, since so many seem to complain about it and leave out the whole story, allow me to show the rest of it. Yes, the first Paul we got used the existing suit mold which was much too tall. Wrong call by Jakks. We complained. They listened, and they designed a new torso and leg mold that they only got 2 uses out of.



Not perfect, but let's at least remember that the figure as tall as Kane and the Undertaker wasn't the only version of Paul we ever got.

Hall looks like Steven Ogg.