Art Design: This is one weird box. The Mad Bomber set may become the rarest 12" action figure ever produced. The Mad Bomber is not only in bad taste, but the supporting art is downright creepy. The art on the inner flap and the front of the box is a combination of the style of the Charley Varrick movie and Speed. In Charlie Varrick the bank robbers wore clown masks and jumpsuits; in Speed, Dennis Hopper's character liked to wear the dynamite belt. There are probably many other movies that could have inspired the "Mad Bomber" character. The box art and the copy are a bit disturbing. However, as a historical, anthropological, or sociological figure, the Mad Bomber is a sad reflection of the cold-blooded & dangerous times that we live in.
The Headsculpt & Figure: The body is an ultra articulated style. The headsculpt looks a bit like 1970s Walter Matthau with a deranged psycho sneer on his face.
The Outfit: is an orange jumpsuit with "George W." printed in black over the right hand pocket, and very realistic work boots.
The Masks: An Organ Grinder's Monkey mask, a Clown mask (similar face to the Spawn's Violator Clown); and a transparent distortion mask. All three masks are very well done, and extremely creepy. They also make it possible to create a three-man Villain Squad. As any fan of GI Joe remembers, the Air Force jumpsuit is orange just like the Mad Bomber's! So with a couple of extra orange jumpsuits, you can create your own team of psychopathic action figures to terrorize a G.I. Joe Headquarters, Forward Command Post, or Barbie's Dreamhouse!
The Tool Box: As good as any thing I have seen before. 21st has wisely re-issued this toolbox in some of its new sets. A pistol with a silencer is also included.
The Dynamite: You get a belt full of sticks of TNT, and a removeable wire that goes to the hand-held detonator! You also get six packs of TNT which have each been wrapped tight with electrical tape and wired to battery operated timing mechanisms. Great attention to detail, the TNT looks real.
The Newspaper: Just in case the box art did not make you a bit uneasy; a 1:6 scale miniature newspaper is included which dedicates the front page (of Blackwater Times) to the Mad Bomber!
The C-4 Briefcase: Lots of movies have had briefcases full of C-4 and a timer; but no one ever built one like this. The Mad Bomber's exploding briefcase has a digital timer encased in the middle, and three buttons which cause the working timer to count down from 120, 60, or 30 seconds. At the end of the countdown, a large explosion sound emanates from the briefcase. WOW? Is this taking it to the next level?
The Price: Originally $49.99 from 21st Century Toys and/or Small Blue Planet and other select online outlets. However, it may be less or it may have already been discontinued. This set has so much detail and effort (and not even one useless resin pouch) that one can only wonder why 21st Century does not put some of great gear into some of its other sets. This set is odd, but it really seems like 21st pulled out all the stops here.
Grade: A+
