REACTION
ReAction Figures (short for Retro Action) is a flagship 3.75-inch action figure line created by Super7, designed in the nostalgic aesthetic style of vintage 1970s and 1980s toys. Featuring classic 5 points of articulation and retro blister-card packaging, the line encompasses iconic feature films, TV classics, music legends, video games, and original characters.
Cronologia
Overview
ReAction Figures—short for "Retro Action"—is a popular 3.75-inch action figure line produced by Super7, a pop-culture brand founded in San Francisco in 2001 by Brian Flynn.
Designed specifically to evoke the nostalgic look and feel of vintage 1970s and 1980s action figures (such as Kenner’s original Star Wars and Alien lines), ReAction figures purposefully embrace retro aesthetic choices.
Rather than featuring modern high-end articulation or hyper-realistic sculpting, these figures utilize simplified sculpts and traditional 5 points of articulation (5-POA). Each figure is displayed on classic blister-card packaging complete with nostalgic, custom backboard card art, making the unpunched packaging a primary display feature for collectors. The ReAction line occupies a unique niche in the action figure marketplace: it acts as a broad pop-culture museum in 3.75-inch scale, celebrating cult cinema, classic television series, heavy metal and hip-hop icons, classic video games, comic books, and original Super7 creations.
History
The origin of ReAction Figures dates back to 1979, when toy manufacturer Kenner prototyped a 3.75-inch figure line for Ridley Scott’s film Alien. Kenner canceled the line before mass production out of concern that the film was too frightening for children.
Decades later in 2013, Super7 acquired the original artwork and prototype designs, officially launching the Alien ReAction Figures at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). To rapidly scale manufacturing and distribution globally, Super7 partnered with Funko in late 2013 under a joint venture titled "Funko x Super7 ReAction".
This partnership produced hundreds of figures across major Hollywood licenses including Back to the Future, Pulp Fiction, The Terminator, and Star Trek. In late 2016, Super7 parted ways with Funko, reclaiming 100% independent ownership of the ReAction brand. Under sole Super7 management, the line expanded into punk/heavy metal bands, hip-hop artists, retro video games, obscure horror, and original IP like The Worst. In 2023, Super7 introduced "ReAction+", upgrading select lines to classic 1980s-style O-ring articulation featuring internal rubber rings, swivel waists, and articulated elbows.
Collecting
Super7's ReAction line occupies a distinct niche in modern toy collecting, successfully bridging nostalgic 1980s aesthetic design with expansive modern licenses. For collectors, the primary appeal lies in uniform display: ReAction allows fans to place characters from widely different universes—such as Nosferatu, Street Fighter II fighters, and hip-hop icons like MF DOOM—side by side in identical 3.75-inch retro scale.
Card art is a massive factor in collecting ReAction figures; many fans collect them strictly "Mint on Card" (MOC) to preserve the custom backboard artwork and unpunched blister cards. On the secondary market, value trends are driven by limited availability and licensing shifts. Early SDCC convention exclusives, early music releases (such as limited Ghost or Misfits variants), and discontinued figures from the 2013–2016 Funko partnership era frequently command higher resale prices. The introduction of the ReAction+ O-ring line has also sparked fresh demand among loose collectors who value authentic 1980s playability and poseability.
Trivia
1. Super7 originally began in 2001 as a magazine dedicated to Japanese vinyl toys before transitioning into toy manufacturing. 2. The entire ReAction line was launched by resurrecting 1979 Kenner Alien prototypes that were originally canceled for being too scary for kids. 3.
Super7's ReAction+ sub-line features internal rubber O-rings designed to replicate the construction of vintage 1980s G.I. Joe figures. 4. Beastie Boys ReAction figures specifically recreate the fake police identities assumed by the band members in their 1994 "Sabotage" music video.
