13 Tie-In Toys That Look Nothing Like They Were Supposed To

2. Tom Cruise - Mission: Impossible

Ethan Hunt In 1996, Tradewind Toys acquired the license for a series of Mission: Impossible action figures as a tie-in to the first movie, and released three figures as part of the first wave, which starred Ethan Hunt as a Spy Senator, a Pointman and, weirdly, a Fireman. The 6-inch figures were generic and bore little to no resemblance to the movie's star, Tom Cruise. The face looks nothing like Cruise, who unthinkably has been made to look more attractive, and you have to wonder what he has to be so happy about, considering the need for some many weapons. And then there's his WWE style muscle mass, which is frankly ridiculous next to the diminutive star of the movies.

1. Mexican Captain America Bootleg

Captain America Surely a bootleg's primary function should be to be so convincing that fans are tricked into buying it, thinking it authentic? If that is the case, this Mexican version of Captain America fails spectacularly. Standing at eight inches, the white-shield wielding, melty-headed hero looks very little like the real American hero, with only the very slight hint of what the brand is supposed to be. Quite whether anyone was actually tricked remains to be seen, but you have to suspect that this charlatan would be highly sought after by collectors for all of the wrong reasons. Did we miss any horrifically poor action figure tie ins that deserve to be featured in this list? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.
Contributor
Contributor

With a love for postmodern literature and black and white movies, Colette is a stickler for those artistic films with a weird and wonderful vibe. But she also loves her mainstream cinema and will devour any superhero movie like a comic-book nerd. She currently works as a news editor for a gaming website, specialising in all things Mario, and a film aficionado for What Culture.