Hey, everybody! Remember when Super7 revived MUSCLE for MOTUSCLE? And then Alien MUSCLE? Well okay, they're not done. I found Street Fighter the other day - they've started rolling out product at certain FYE locations, though it's not super widespread yet. Here's hoping it sells well! ANYWAY... Street Fighter MUSCLE is one of those things that I reamed about as a kid. In fact...
Okay, hahahaha, the MUSCLE joke has worked every time - and now you know the retail price, too. There are twelve figures out right now, which means that Cammy Dee Jay Fei Long, T. Hawk, and Akuma are outta luck until Series 2. Anyway, yeah. The material still isnt' quite right - it's an odd middle place between flexible and firm, and I'm not sure how durable it is. But we'll get to that. This is the third time through, after all. Buuuut... let's look at the classic WORLD WARRIORS!
Ryu is the hero, of course. He's standing in a MUSCLE pose, and importantly in MUSCLE proportions - MUSCLEs were a little bigheaded, but not full chibi or SD, and it looks like Super7 has managed to finally figure out the MUSCLE look, almost. The sculpts are more detailed than previously, but still miss some classic MUSCLE detail, like stippling to provide texture.
Ken is fashioned a little like his Alpha and later appearance, at least in the eyebrows. Other than that, he's pretty much at the same level as Ryu.
There were no female MUSCLEs, though there were female kinkeshi. Chun-Li does sorta match some of the Kinkeshi, though, and thus her proportions fit in. Something about her face seems oddly exaggerated, though it's hard to pin down.
Guile looks good, including his gigantic hair. And of course, his theme goes with everything.
I wish that Zangief's scars were more visible. They are there, but they're almost lost in the rest of his sculpted details - and he does look pretty good.
E. Honda looks great, but is way too svelte. There are fat sumo MUSCLE figures, and he's kind of mid-range for them in bulk. Great work on the face, though.
Dhalsim may not be super-skinny or posed in a stretchy stance, but he looks pretty good. Excellent detial work on those skulls.
Blanka does not have the right physique. Look, MUSCLEs came in different shapes and sizes, and Blanka needed his shoulder-heavy odd bulk. He is decent in every other way, though.
Balrog... looks exactly as he should be. And yes, I am aware of the name-change, but we're in AMERICA, so here he's Mike Balrog. AHAHAHAHAHAHA I WIN!
There are plenty of MUSCLEs skinny enough to be Vega, and yet he's too bulky. His claws feel... fragile. I can't tell if they are genuinely flexible, or about to break, making this figure slightly problematic.
But then on the other side, Sagat looks great. Again, not perfect - but Super7 is really getting better at the MUSCLE look.
Well, Bison is not in a combat pose - almost his head stomp - but he does look pretty good. In fact, having Bison is... a surprisingly cool thing, thanks to Gorelords and one of the original Kinkeshi...
Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Killer Instinct... kindasorta. But close enough! DREAM FULFILLED! Well, there you go. Not perfect by any means, and potentially fragile (Vega's claws), but still ton of fun. Street Fighter fits very well into MUSCLE, and these figures are finally getting that MUSCLE look, and though they still have a ways to go, it's not as far as it used to be!
