A few weeks ago, Super7 announced that they were doing a series of TRON figures for their 3 3/4-inch ReAction line, which was one of those good news and bad news scenarios. The good news was they were doing a wave of carded figures and some Lightcycle sets, and that we were going to get some figures that have never been done before, like Yori and Ram. The bad news was these were being listed as Disney Park Exclusives. In the end, two of the Lightcycle sets (Tron and Flynn) were sold on the ShopDisney website, but the quantities seemed to be limited. I was able to get a set, but it looked like they sold through in about an hour or less. Granted, Disney World is only about three hours from my home, but I didn’t want to have to drive up to Orlando to get the rest of the toys. Luckily a buddy of mine took his kids up there and was able to score me the Ram Lightcycle set, but they didn’t have any of the carded figures. Still, I’m happy I got what I did, so, let’s take a look at these beauties!

All three sets come in nearly the exact same package with the only difference being the name of the character on the front. You get a window box with an extended back flap and it shows off the toys beautifully. Each box has a grid pattern that’s very evocative of the movie with the TRON logo emblazoned on the backflap. The figures are placed beside their respective Lightcycle in a clear plastic tray with their Identity Disc beside them. These look absolutely fantastic in the packages and everything is collector friendly. The back of the box shows the four carded figures, including Yori, Sark, Grid Warrior, and a repaint of Flynn from when he absorbed an enemy’s energy and turned red. Let’s start with the figures!

When Tomy did the original TRON figures, they went with a pretty cool translucent plastic look. These made for some very distinctive looking toys, but they weren’t great likenesses for the characters on the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted those figures something fierce and they were extremely difficult to find. Eventually my Uncle got me a set and I had a ton of fun with them, but not so much fun working off the cost of the toys by mowing lawns that summer. With that having been said, it’s cool to get retro-style versions that actually look like the movie characters and I’m really happy with how these turned out. The figures are each cast in the same light blue plastic with their circuit patterns printed in darker blue. The printing is razor sharp and I think they look really nice. If I had one gripe it’s that Ram should be shorter, but they obviously wanted to reuse some parts and that’s fair enough.

Just like the Tomy figures, these guys have Discs that peg into their backs and can be held in their hands, by either gripping the peg or holding the Disc from its side. Tron and Flynn have identical Discs, while Ram’s has a different pattern printed on it. In following with ReAction’s retro theme, these figures have five points of articulation, with points found in their shoulders, hips, and head.

The Lightcycles all use an identical mold, with the only difference being the coloring in the shell and the wheels. Tron’s is orange, Flynn’s is yellow, and Ram’s is red. Tomy’s cycles only came in yellow and orange, and I think the idea was that Sark’s was supposed to be the red one, even though it should have been blue, but that color was never released in the Tomy line, and so far it isn’t in this one either. The fact that Sark was released on card makes me wonder if there will be a blue cycle released by Super7 at all. I’d definitely pick one up if they do make one and it’s offered on the Super7 website.

The cycles are cast in pretty light plastic, but they still feel durable. The Tomy versions had ripcords that would make them go and heavier rubber rear wheels to give them more heft, but I’m fine with deep sixing that gimmick. These do stand pretty well on their own and they can even be made to lean a bit to make it look like they’re leaning into a turn. The colors are done mostly within the plastic and the shells have a beautiful sheen to them that really makes them pop under bright lighting. Now, I will say that the sculpts look a bit crunched, almost super-deformed when compared to the Tomy cycles, which are proportioned a bit longer. It’d not a deal breaker for me, and I didn’t really notice it until making a direct comparison, but it’s definitely there.

The cycles open up in a similar fashion to the vintage toys with the shell lifting forward to give access to the interior and locking up tight again when lowered. Something I really love here is how you put the figures inside. The Tomy versions had them sit in the cycles, but these have the figures lean forward. Of course, in the film, the Lightcycles formed around the driver while they were leaning forward in this fashion as if they were holding the front wheel. This design mimics that idea a lot better. There’s also a peg inside if you want to stand the figure in the cycle, but I can’t really see the purpose of that.

I’m probably the easiest sell there is when it comes to TRON toys, as I’ll pretty much buy whatever I can get my hands on. With that being said, I absolutely love these! Everything from the packaging to the figures to the cycles themselves just have a wonderful charm to them. And again, while I loved the original Tomy toys, as a kid I think I would have liked the style of these figures even more. What I don’t love is Super7’s way of distributing these. I don’t pretend to know how licensing works, but my guess is that Disney would only allow the partnership if they were sold primarily as Park exclusives, and all that does is screw the collectors. It’s nice that Super7 was able to sell a couple of the sets online, but these kinds of arrangements really suck. What’s even worse is the HUGE disparity in price. The cycles that I bought from ShopDisney were $39.99 each, but at the Parks they are selling for $69.99 each. Seventy bucks for each of these is absolutely outrageous. I actually couldn’t believe it until my friend texted me from the park and asked if I still wanted it, and sure enough Ram’s set has the $69.99 price sticker on the bottom. I was willing to blow that amount on one just to complete the trio, but I doubt I would have spent it on all three. Will I be getting the carded figures? Probably. I’ll just have to find one of these weekends when I have nothing better to do, I’ll drive up to see if I can find them.