Mattel’s Street Sharks Action Figures Bite Off a Piece of Nostalgia

While properties like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Thundercats tend to get the bulk of the attention, Street Sharks is an IP from that anthropomorphic crime fighter sub-genre with a solid fan base. For me, Street Sharks is one of a dozen IP from the mid-90s that would be great to see revived in some fashion, perhaps in an X-Men ’97 fashion, and clearly Mattel agrees.

For the show’s 30th Anniversary, Mattel is releasing three Street Sharks figures based on two of the series’ heroes and one villain character. Ripster, Jab, and Slash have been brought to the 21st century as new Mattel action figures. While pre-orders are available now for the Street Sharks action figures and they don’t ship until September, I was able to get my hands on all three early.

Mattel Brings the Street Sharks Back for 30th Anniversary

Right off the bat, the Street Sharks packaging is eye-catching and makes these Mattel figures perfect for a collector’s shelf. Each Street Sharks action figure is nestled within a shark cage-style packaging, with a slight bend between the front two bars to highlight their designs. These shark cages are also a decorative element that collectors can use to either display their figures or for some imaginative play. Mattel then wraps the shark cages in themed and colored cardboard that puts the focus on the figure and features branding reminiscent of the 90s iterations of the figures.

Each Street Sharks action figure would look perfect on a display shelf, but those who want to take them out of the packaging won’t be disappointed either. Ripster and feature a soft textured skin on parts of the figure that Mattel calls “real feel.” It’s not as rigid as the plastic body parts on the rest of the figure (and all of Slash), and it gives it a unique, skin-like look and also allows the sharks to open their mouths via a dual action lever on the back of the figures.

The figures include up to 9 points of articulation (ankles, knees, hips, wrists, shoulders, elbows, etc.) for all kinds of fun poses and each figure has that dual action lever on its back that brings some of the character’s personality out. Essentially, Mattel is preserving the spirit of the 90s toys that I played with as a kid, but giving them some modern considerations and detail.

Street Sharks Ripster Mattel Figure

For Ripster, the dual action lever will open and close the Street Shark’s mouth like a Great White shark. Pushing down on his fist also twists his torso for a punching motion, but I found it hard to make that happen consistently.

Street Sharks Jab Mattel Figure

Jab’s dual action level triggers a biting action and pressing down on his fist makes the figure do a headbutting motion. This was the hardest of the figures to pose since it’s pretty top heavy and the Hammerhead eyes want to force it forward.

Street Sharks Slash Mattel Figure

Slash’s dual action lever spins his drill noise, kind of like a Swordfish (but not really). Unlike the two sharks, Slash is all hard plastic but there is a nice texture to the design and that green coloring really pops.

There is a heaping dose of nostalgia packed into each of these Street Sharks action figures that makes them hard to resist. Whether you want to introduce them to a new generation and showcase the dual action levers and points of articulation, or just leave them pristine in their packaging as if its still the 90s, you can’t go wrong here.

Mattel has put a lot of love and care into the design of these three characters in a 30th-anniversary offering that feels perfect. Street Sharks fans know that these characters are only the tip of the iceberg, with Streex, Big Slammu, and Dr. Paradigm teased as future launches. Whether or not the series might return, we’ll have to see how this first batch does, but purely based on their design, I think they are well worth picking up.

Mattel’s Street Sharks figures are available for pre-order on the official Mattel Site for $25 each. Game Rant was provided one of each figure for this coverage.