The Alien franchise has always been a lot more violent and disturbing than anything you’ve ever seen from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That being said, some of the creators behind various TMNT projects have been quite vocal about their appreciation for Ridley Scott’s incredible sci-fi/horror saga. As a matter of fact, we’ve even seen this gratitude seep through into the Ninja Turtles universe a few times. Perhaps most notably, our heroes in a half shell faced a very familiar enemy in a classic episode of the original series entitled “The Case of the Killer Pizzas.”
In this episode, Krang and his minions plant alien eggs on some pizza, resulting in mutant baddies that were designed to look like a xenomorph. These foes have been a fan favorite for quite some time, and we’ve even seen a similar enemy pop up in Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (The Squirrelanoid). Unfortunately, although we’ve seen the newer monster in action figure form, we still have yet to see a Pizza Monster figure hit store shelves. Thanks to NECA, it looks like that’s all about to change at SDCC 2017.
If you've ever wanted a Pizza Monster figure, NECA has got some very good news! Image Source: Fred Wolf Films.
Last week, NECA made the announcement that they would be creating a 3,000 print run Pizza Monster figure. This Aliens/TMNT crossover product may be a few decades late, but something tells me that hardcore fans won’t mind too much. Rather than attempting to recreate the Pizza Monster as it appeared in the original animated series, the toy company has elected to base their design more on the xenomorph from Aliens. Anyone familiar with their earlier work in the franchise will notice that the model itself isn’t necessarily new, but the paint job is definitely different.
Sharp-eyed viewers will also note that the name of this action figure is actually “Sewer Mutation Warrior Alien.” This decision was probably made in an attempt to avoid conflicts with copyright, but their intent with this collectible is pretty clear. Unfortunately, the low print run indicates that this is going to be an SDCC 2017 exclusive, so it probably won’t be easy to find unless you plan on going to Comic-con this year. Considering that they are also putting out an 8 figure collection based on TMNT’s original animated series, fans should expect their wallets to be stretched thin if they intend to come home with both of these exclusives.
I’m sure I speak for everyone when saying that I wish we could get a wider release for awesome items like this. Sadly, in the world of collectible action figures, it can be difficult to sell such specialized concepts to a larger audience. Whether you love them or hate them, SDCC exclusives are a fact of life. At the very least, I think we can all agree that this is a beautiful product that would be perfect for fans of either Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the Alien franchise.