James Mitchell

Sometimes you buy a toy because you like the character, or the figure itself is really impressive, or even just because you haven't bought anything in a while and you've got the shakes. Other times you buy things just because. The most cunning and deceptive mind in the business today, James Mitchel takes great pride in pain and destruction his monster Abyss gives out. The guiding force behind Abyss and his rise to the top of TNA Wrestling, Mitchel excels at controlling the monster to do his bidding. James Mitchel remains fearless as he knows no matter who may cross him, he always has Abyss by his side. And for Mitchel, his best defense in any adverse situation is as simple as two words,"CLICK.....DOOMSDAY!" Okay, so apparently this guy is James Mitchell, and he's a wrestling manager. You know, like Jimmy Hart - somebody to speak for inarticulate wrestlers, and to distract the referees when it was time for their proteges to cheat. But I certainly didn't know that when I picked him up. A crazy-looking dude in a red suit? This is an action figure of the Devil! The world "devil" ultimately comes from the Greek "diabalos" - a compound word made of "dia-" (across) and "ballein" (throw) - the term for slander or a personal attack. It originally applied to any liar, but eventually came to mean one of paranormal origins. Similarly, "satan" comes from Hebrew, and means "obstruction" - a.k.a. anyone who blocks your path. So both terms are merely job descriptions, not proper names, and actually apply quite well to a wrestling manager when you stop to think about it. The Sinister Minister James Mitchell is certainly dressed like a dapper, dapper man. He's wearing a bright red suit with a pitch black shirt beneath. It's a tailored suit, too, not an off-the-rack number - he's not a slob, people! You can tell from the way it fits him. The sculpt is simple, which makes the clothes look realistic; he just has a few wrinkles around the elbows and the ankles. The coat is a soft PVC shell over the ABS torso, and there's a pentagram pin on the lapel. The likeness on this figure is excellent. This was a ToyBiz release in 2007, so it was probably done by hand, not a RealScan product. His mouth is open in an evil laugh, and his crazy pointed eyebrows creep up his face just the way they should. His black hair spills down over his shoulders, and his pointy goatee reaches almost as low as the pendant sculpted around his neck. The articulation is minimal - just swivels at the neck, shoulders and hips, hinged elbows, and swivel/hinge wrists. It's really all he needs, though. He has a single accessory: a 3¼" black cane with a curved silver handle in the shape of an animal head. His right hand is curled to hold the cane, while the left is open. Research shows that the figure originally came with a temporary tattoo of Mitchell's face, but heck if I know where that thing is today. The figure stands just over 6" tall, because that was the scale ToyBiz made their figures in - shame that Jakks and Mattel never took the hint. It's not a great wrestling figure, but it does make a pretty cool Satan stand-in. It must have been pretty hard to find, though, because it seems to go for quite a bit of money on the secondary market. We'll leave you, now, with a quote from James Mitchell himself: If you want an action figure that is battier than Batman, superior to Superman and has more mojo than GI Joe, you need to get down to your local purveyor of fine toys and action figures and buy the very first James Mitchell action figure. We were speaking about milestones and things that were important in my career, that is just about the crowning moment, right there. If you want the coolest-looking doll of the bunch, buy the James Mitchell action figure! There you go. He could be wrong... but we doubt it. -- 10/17/12

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