The Chronicles of Riddick SOTA Toys action figure line

SOTA (State of the Art) Toys made some pretty wonderful action figures back in their day. They created one of the greatest lines ever with their Street Fighter figures, and their Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life figures are still my favorite Lara Crofts in my collection. SOTA released a series of action figures based on the Vin Diesel movie The Chronicles of Riddick around 2004, and even a decade later these are the only licensed toys that have ever been released based on the Riddick universe.

I'm a huge fan of the Riddick series of films. I like all of them, and LOVE The Chronicles of Riddick. The character of Richard B. Riddick is a personal favorite of mine, right up there alongside two other deep-voiced tough guys of few words: Batman and Judge Dredd. But while I've got plenty of Batman action figures and a growing shelf of Dredd characters in 1:12 scale, Riddick eludes me. Now, I know that both of those other characters have years of storylines to fall back on, and a huge following of fans who have grown up with them over decades, while the character of Richard B. Riddick is fairly new, and much more modest in popularity by comparison.

So far as I know, only two 6" action figures have ever been made of Riddick, both by SOTA Toys, based on The Chronicles of Riddick. I have both (still in package) and they look good (quite exceptional for the time in which they were produced, actually).

The basic Riddick figure comes outfitted in his black tank, long pants, forearm bracers and harness/backpack combo. He's got 2 Ulak knives and his goggles are removable. He's got joints at the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. The likeness is pretty good, and the paint is well-done. There are a couple of different paint possibilities I've seen for the head. One is completely bald, and the other (the one I've got) has a much more noticeable hair line.

The other Riddick came in a boxed set with a Crematoria Hellhound. He's outfitted in the Necro armor he wore as a disguise at the end of the film. There are a couple of big sword-like weapons that appeared in the film included, as well.

Other figures in the line included Vaako, as played by Karl Urban. He comes with the gun he used to shoot Riddick on Crematoria as well as the ax he tried to kill the Lord Marshal with (I think). The likeness is ok, but not quite as sharp as Riddick's

Lord Marshal comes with a removable helmet and a couple of the giant weapons he used . The armor on both of these figures is very detailed and shows a great deal of care went into their design.

I think the Vaako sculpt (or maybe it's a combination of parts, because the torso looks like the boxed Riddick's) was released with an added helmet as a SDCC Exclusive, and labeled as a Necromonger.

The Lensing Necromonger is an interesting figure, in that it is really well-done (you can even see a tiny face peering out from behind the purple lens of the faceplate), and has plenty of icky detailing in the crags and folds of the skin around the neck. However, it's not a figure that really needed to get made. I'm not sure why SOTA decided to make this odd and fairly minor character into a toy (really, how and why would anyone use this thing in their Riddick adventures?). If they really needed another figure, they could have gone with Dame Vaako, Aereon the Elemental or even Toombs the Merc. In any event, the figure looks pretty faithful to the film.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the final figure in the line. Kyra (aka, Jack) really doesn't look anything at all like the incredible Alexa Davalos. I really love Kyra's character in the film - there's a cat-like grace and fluidity to her movements, and she does a great job of keeping up with Riddick (no easy feat!). I was upset at her demise, but that seems to be the fate of EVERYONE who befriends Riddick (even jackals!). The figure sports a poor likeness, and the articulation doesn't look like it does much to capture the acrobatic abilities of the character. She comes with 2 blasters that she used in the final battle on Crematoria.

I don't know if it's true, but I've heard rumors that a fourth film, Furia, is in the works (announced this past November/December?), along with an upcoming television series called Merc City. If those rumors are true, the Riddick Universe is alive and well! And in that case, it's a perfect time for NECA or Mezco Toyz to pick up the license and get us a proper Riddick line of figures. Can you imagine how amazing a One:12 Collective Riddick would be? Heck, I think Mezco would do an amazing job with a line akin to their recent Mortal Kombat offerings! Or what threeA could do with the Riddick universe? How about a Figma or Figuarts Riddick?

Art Figures' release of Boy Black illustrates what can be done with the character, if done properly. The toy companies just need to know that there's enough of an interest. The films have garnered a small, but dedicated following, and I know that I, for one, would be gloriously thrilled to get behind a proper line of figures based on the Riddick universe!