Flash Gordon Celebration Week continues with arguably the coolest character in the 1980's Flash Gordon motion picture. Klytus is infamous for not only his death, but his cool look. Klytus looks a bit like Doctor Doom and as Ming the Merciless' right hand man he gives Flash Gordon plenty of hell throughout. If one character could be the Boba Fett of Flash Gordon, it's probably Klytus.


BifBangPow was smart to make sure we got a Klytus as he's definitely one of the coolest characters in the film and since his design is actually relatively simple, he makes a good choice for an action figure. So far we're about 50/50 though on playability versus sculpt, with Flash Gordon having some play factor and Ming the Merciless being a statue. So where does Klytus rank? Surprisingly in the middle.

Packaging:
We're officially reviewing Wave Two figures now and with that comes a somewhat significant package change. No longer are these figures in clamshells, but on a standard bubble card now. I'm not sure if I love one more than the other, but for ease of opening I think I prefer cards like this. Some collectors may have differing opinions but at least we don't get any of that Mongo Freshness.


The front of the package remains largely the same with the new yellow Wave Two deco. It has a picture of Klytus on the front from the movie and he looks pretty cool. I like the retro lightning bolts around his name. That just seems so "Flash Gordon" to me.


I'm a bit conflicted on the back of the package though. On one hand I think it definitely looks more professional since it shows off every figure in the series, as well as the awesome Flash Gordon movie poster art, however I do miss the movie stills, especially on Klytus who had several good scenes.

Articulation:
Articulation has sort of been all over the place on this line and Klytus is the epitome of that. There's nothing really in Klytus design that stops him from being just as articulated as Flash Gordon. Yet here we have Klytus with three points of articulation.


Why is only one of Klytus' arms hinged? It just doesn't make any sense to me. I understand that putting a hinge there would "break up the sculpt" a bit and it blends in better on the other arm since that's his "robotic" arm, but it still seems a bit silly. A hinge wouldn't have ruined the sculpt that much.


I also find it a little strange that Klytus has articulated legs, but no knees. Flash Gordon had knees, why can't Klytus? Ultimately Klytus works well enough with his limited articulation but I do question a few of the choices. It's like BifBangPow can't decide if they want to articulate these guys or not. I've never understood why Cult Classics or other figure lines even bother to give guys articulation if they aren't going to give you enough to do anything with it.

His head might be jointed as maybe his waist, but neither turn on mine and I think they may have had cuts that were then molded over, but that's just a guess. Even with his limited articulation he can do a bit and that's certainly better than Ming who has one pose.

Sculpt:
I could rant and rave about articulation all day but one this is for certain, BifBangPow have really managed to capture the likeness of so many of these characters. Every figure so far has really looked the part and Klytus doesn't buck that trend. In a lot of ways Klytus looks even better than his on screen counterpart.


Much like Ming, Klytus has those sprinkles to replicate the jewels in his robe and that's why you get those red and blue shiny spots in the pictures. It works with the human eye too and it makes this sculpt pop a bit. It's used in much less quantity on Klytus, which makes sense and helps to make him look good. BifBangPow could have easily went crazy with it, but they didn't.


Klytus admittedly isn't the most exciting looking character in terms of design, but it's his simple look that makes him seem so cool. He has a Doctor Doom/Druid/Sorcerer look to him and that's a classic motif. BifBangPow have done a great job here.


He's basic but well done. That's really perhaps the mantra for this line entirely.

Accessories:
I'm pretty sure original proto pictures for this figure showed him with some sort of spikey Mongo tool thing, but the end figure comes with nothing. I assume that was a cost cutting measure? As always, at the price point something else would be nice but it's understandable given BBP's small company status.



Additional Notes:
Klytus is quite cool to me though. Not just as a character, but as a figure too. He looks great in your Flash Gordon display, but I've found an even better use for him. He fits in great with my Doctor Who figures as the dreaded evil Time Lord, OMEGA! Now to be fair, he looks completely different than Omega did in his couple of appearances, but he has the "spirit" of the Omega design.


Plus he towers over the Doctor Who figure range, which makes him seem even more like the tyrannical Omega. You might think I'm crazy, but I think this is a perfect Omega figure. Omega's design changed a few times during the Who show anyway. So even if you don't end up with this guy in your collection for Gordon, he could work as a Who!

Value:
Value is always subjective but I think this figure has the most versatility of anyone in the line thus far. Klytus is a cool looking figure and he doesn't necessarily have to be "Klytus from Flash Gordon". In addition, most people who are minor Gordon fans will at least want Gordon, Ming and Klytus. This guy is a perfect addition to your collection.


Score Recap:
Packaging - 7
Sculpting - 8
Articulation - 6
Accessories - Nothing
Value - 8
Overall - 7.5 out of 10


Klytus is probably the coolest of all the Flash Gordon figures. He's a cool character, he has a well executed look and he has marginal articulation. Ming looks better and Flash is better articulated, but this guy literally splits the difference and meets them in the middle.

You can purchase this figure now from Entertainment Earth just click here: