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Write a Review link for that item. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca)Having run for nearly 10 years, the first volume of the original TMNT comic book has had plenty of stories, and I've read all 62 issues (plus Tales of the TMNT's first incarnation), and I read the ones collected in IDW's "Ultimate" collections before checking out the rest, and I can tell why a good chunk was absent from those collections. Much of those stories were very outlandish, dark, or just plain nuts (I loved the "Spaced Out" three-parter). The "Masks" story, which came shortly before the City at War arc, not only brought back Renet and Savanti Romero, but also introduced Chote, the dinosaur samurai. It's two cool things in one, how is he not figure-worthy? Playmates did a figure of him back in the 90s as "Shoate" as part of their "Shogun" sub-line, and now NECA is bringing him back. Chote was sculpted by Dan Katcher, and I don't think he's worked with NECA before, but he's known for his work on the dragons in Game of Thrones, and he teamed up with Josh Sutton and Jay Kushwara to bring this dino to life. The sculpt replicates Michael Dooney's art style well, and the likeness is great. The expression seems neutral, but the exposed teeth give a hint of aggression. It's another figure with a hinged jaw, and it blends in with the sculpt very well. The skin has a scaly texture, not to mention various ridges on the head, and the wash really brings out the paint on it. The work on the teeth is clean, and the tongue has a very bold color to it. Standing 7 1/4" tall, Chote's build reminds me a bit of the Triceraton Infantryman, being big, muscular, and scaly. Given the higher-than-average price, I was expecting him to be bigger, but the scale looks good enough to fit with the other figures. He's dressed appropriately for a samurai in feudal Japan, with a sleeveless robe, some armor-like pieces over the waist, and sandals. The robe and accessories are soft plastic over the bare body underneath, and it looks great. The paint helps the look well, as in addition to the bold colors, there's plenty of wash, and the blue edges of the robe have a metallic finish, which I said in my previous NECA TMNT review always makes stuff look cooler. The paint on the outfit isn't the best, as there are various small areas of slop, bleed, and inconsistent edges, so you'll want to pay good attention to what you see on the shelf to find the best one. The skin is better, and the work on the wristbands and sandals is very clean. Chote is plenty articulated in addition to the hinged jaw, with a barbell head and chest, swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, double-hinged elbows and knees, and swivels at the biceps, waist, thighs, and above the knee caps. The elbows are pinless so they blend in better with the skin texture, but the lower knees still have pins. I get NECA likes to use swivel and dual-hinge knees from time to time, but if they're trying to make the joints more aesthetically pleasing, then these need to be pinless as well. The joints all move with no issues, and the ankles are on the tighter side hinge-wise, but it helps them hold up his frame better. Since he only appeared in two issues of the original comic and nowhere else, Chote isn't going to have too many accessories, but what he has fits him. He has three pairs of hands - closed, gripping, and wide open - and they swap with little issue, but I wish the gripping hands were vertically hinged. It bothers me that NECA keeps missing opportunities to do those with comic figures. He has a pair of swords, both different sizes, and the longer one has a dragon etched onto both sides of the blade, because that's cool, right? There are scabbards to go with them, and to hold them onto the waist, an elastic fabric belt is included. Said belt uses Velcro to hold itself together, and it's better than trying to tie a knot or anything like that. He also has a sun hat that fits over his head, and a cape that's also fabric. It clips together easily, and the upper part can be flipped over his head like a hood. Lastly, he comes with a torch, which has a removable flame effect, and the paint on the stick makes it look as if the flame is illuminating it. Given how the Playmates Chote/Shoate was around $4-5 when he first came out, it's quite surprising that one new on-card goes for hundreds of dollars nowadays, making $50 for the NECA figure a more reasonable value. He's $10 more than I think he should be, but he's nevertheless very well-made and plenty of fun. I'm hoping NECA dives as deep as possible with Mirage, as the inclusion of Image-era figures in the line has me hoping they do some Volume 2 characters as well. - 9/29/25   by Toasted Brains |
| Karai as the Shredder (City at War) |  | Submission Order |  | Ernie |
| Karai as the Shredder (City at War) | | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics Series | | April O'Neil (Version 2) |
| Karai as the Shredder (City at War) | | Written by Toasted Brains | | Ernie |
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