Raphael Becomes Shredder: NECA TMNT Action Figure Review

The Urban Legends of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continue from NECA Toys. This time, Raphael gets a chance to be the biggest threat to the TMNT, even bigger than his own personality. In a chaotic future, Raphael becomes the Shredder, and now he has a cool action figure, complete with pointy armor and weapons.

Action figure of Raphael as Shredder from TMNT, packaged in a clear box with a colorful background.

Back of an action figure packaging featuring a purple character with green accents, wearing armor and holding weapons. The design includes comic-style panels with text that says 'Meanwhile...' and 'To be continued!' with a bright yellow background.

I took a look at Cyborg Donatello a couple of days ago, and when you pair these two figures, you have a serious chunk of plastic to add to your Ninja Turtle shelves. Frankly, with his build and chaotic traits, Raph makes for a pretty terrifying version of Shredder, and the injuries to his face certainly help to sell the look, even under that classic mask. Living in a normal world of the TMNT is crazy enough, so I cannot imagine the future of Turtles as cyborgs and supervillains.

A colorful action figure of a character with a purple torso, green arms, and a silver helmet, wearing a red cape. The figure is surrounded by accessories including a glass jar, a glass, and alternate heads and hands, set against an orange background.

As you would expect from NECA, the paint and sculpting work here are both top-drawer. Again, they have the ability like no one else to replicate those comic lines and shading in three dimensions, and those add a ton to this figure, especially in the armor. Like Cyborg Don, this figure is bulky, but the joints are strong and move well, especially after a warm bath, which I recommend. The soft goods cape has a sheen to it that sets it apart from the matte finish of the figure, but it does not have a wire frame for posing.

Close-up of a colorful action figure with a blue helmet and shoulder armor, wearing a purple shirt, against an orange background.

Close-up of a colorful green character with a purple shirt and blue shoulder pads, featuring a facial scar and an intense expression against an orange background.

The helmet is removable so I suppose that counts as an accessory, you are also get a pair of sais, a glass, pitcher, two portraits, and bevy of hands. I like that you essentially get three display options when it comes to the likeness here, and while there is an iconic feel to helmet, it is hard to not want to display with one of the (admittedly gross) heads showing. I am partial to the head with the eye patch, so I will likely swap the helmet out every once in a while so it gets some time to shine, too.

A colorful action figure of a muscular character with green skin, wearing purple armor and a silver helmet, holding a pair of tridents, with a red cape against an orange background.

A colorful action figure with green skin, wearing a blue helmet and a purple outfit, holding weapons and posing against an orange background.

NECA continues to take us places we never expected, just like the old TMNT comics did, and it is certainly a fun ride. I don’t think we know where we are headed next in the old Mirage Comics line (after the Tricerton Trooper), but there are a lot of places to go, so I am ready for anything at this point.