Universal Monsters Collection Supporting Characters

[Count_Popula]

I want a Kharis soooo bad, but my understanding is he's off limits. Universal insists the Mummy must always be Karloff.

Interesting. I wonder why that is? Kharis looks so cool, and Universal would have two Mummies to market to collectors. Oh well.

[ODBJBG]

They put Kharis on the back of the package though didn't they? Which is even more bizarre if he's off limits.

Universal allowed Imperial to make "Klaris" back in the 80s: https://www.infinitehollywood.com/sp...-mummy-figure/

Hasbro got to make Kharis in the 90s.

I'd love a Mego Kharis, since so many of the KOs tend to invoke more of a Kharis vibe.

[Earth 2 Chris]

The ban on Kharis merch probably has something to do with Universal essentially having a "peace treaty" with the Karloff estate. They worked out licensing for Boris' likeness, which to my understanding, is why you don't see a separate "Karloff" logo like you now do for Bela and the Chaneys when their likeness is used. It's baked in so since they paid up front for Boris...we get Boris.

Which is a shame, because Kharis is the action Mummy. He's the guy who actually...you know...KILLS PEOPLE as the Mummy. The classic Aurora kit is Kharis, the Marx figure, etc. 60s toymakers might have gotten confused that Larry Tablot didn't wear a pirate shirt and a sash (or alternately, went completely shirtless), but they knew ol' one-eyed, banged-up armed Kharis was WAY more interesting in toy form than "I look great but all I do is wake up and walk out" Imhotep.

Oddly enough, some of the current Universal merch (including the shirt I'm wearing now, from Universal Studios Florida) depicts a drawing of Glenn Strange as the Monster, lifted from House of Frankenstein's poster. Go figure.

Chris

[PNGwynne]

I'd welcome a Uni Kharis figure, too--though I'm not much a fan of the Chaney Mummy flicks.

[ODBJBG]

The ban on Kharis merch probably has something to do with Universal essentially having a "peace treaty" with the Karloff estate. It's baked in so since they paid up front for Boris...we get Boris.

You're probably right. And yeah Kharis is the action Mummy and he's the mummy most people think of, even if they think of Karloff's mummy, they do a Kharis impersonation.

[zeedox]

At this point Mego can even do an "Aurora" based line of Monsters that would be cool too, I mean imagine Godzilla!

[MysteryWho]

Lots of good ideas here. I am probably repeating myself from another thread but Lugosi as Ygor and Carradine as Dracula are my two biggest wishes. Then Mad Doctors always come to mind. Clive, of course. Then Dr. Pretorius! Basil Rathbone as Wolf! And Karloff himself as Dr. Niemann! Speaking of Karloff, Ardeth Bey is a big want also.

[imlaughing2death]

I've shared previously the handful of figures I'm still begging for to complete my collection, a March Mr Hyde, Countess Zaleska, Carradine Dracula and Rondo Hatton. I'm not sure if Mego would find supporting characters like '31 Van Helsing to be worth the effort of making, as they would be pretty niche, but I have mentioned other characters that could be made and still be profitable. Ardeth Bey, Werewolf of London, Lugosi's Ygor to got with their Franky, Chaney Sr's London after Midnight character, and I'm sure Vincent Price HAS to be a shoe-in because he's so well known in pop culture. Also, the cherry on top my collection would be Svengoolie, but MY GOD are they expensive, so if Mego could somehow get his rights and make a cheap version of him for their TV line, I'd be eternally grateful.

[zeedox]

A 2 figure set like we got when Mego first reappeared with Fritz and Dr. Frankenstein would sell as well as the monster.
I can see it now says "IT"S ALIVE" on the back of the package...

[Count_Popula]

And just fyi, Super 7's 3.75" Universal Monsters upcoming wave 3 has Quasimodo, Ardeth Bey, Ygor, and the Werewolf of London! So, if they can do it...

[imlaughing2death]

Yeah you can usually tell what Mego might be able to come out with by looking at what's been okayed in past deals, like how Sideshow and Diamond Select did a Mole Person and now we're getting one in Mego form. WoL and Ygor seem like high possibilities in the future.

[palitoy]

I doubt we'll see anything with the Lugosi likeness but I could be wrong.

[scott metzger]

Everything comes down to likeness rights. If it isn't included in the Universal agreement, Mego would have to go get the rights for each unincluded person. I'd love a Bela Igor, but it's obvious Mego no longer has the Lugosi liicense, and given the version of the Wolfman we got, I'm not sure there's still a deal with the Chaney estate, either (I heard some rumblings about Universal having problems there). Now, they got the licenses once, and that could happen again. Right now they can do Karloff, but I'm not sure if that extends to anything but the monster and mummy (and, yes, I'd buy a plain old Karloff figure in a minute). Licensing is a crazy morass these days.

[Falstaff13]

Not Universal, but I'd love to see a Karloff as he appears in Frankenstein 1970

[zeedox]

The Mini Mates seem like the only one that went around the block with these characters a bit. I even recall the villager with a torch. Hard to believe we never got a decent complete set. I do have a Dwight Frye Sideshow Renfield but I don't even think they made Fritz even tho would be the same sculpt more or less even and so many Frankensteins also...