The coolest thing about collecting Funko’s Pop! Vinyls is how diverse the line can be. Your favorite characters from television, movies, and comics are interchangeable with a beloved musician, wrestler, or athlete. I know everyone must have a wishlist of figures they’d love to see happen. With the exclusives and Specialty Series, I don’t think anything is too much to wish for now.
I love a great villain. Often times they make the movie. Since all my selections last week centered on the heroes, let us now turn our attentions towards some of the bad guys. For this list I tried to keep away from horror movies (which I promise I will visit in the future) and focus on more human scoundrels.
5. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
I know John McClane is on top of everyone’s Pops Most Wanted list (and maybe you’ll see him pop up in one of my future columns if Funko doesn’t beat me to it), but today I want to show some love to Die Hard’s other standout character, Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber. He is probably the best action movie villain ever. If that doesn’t make you deserving of your own Pop, I don’t know what does.
4. Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
I hate to admit that Blue Velvet sat on my “must watch” list for far too long, but I finally crossed it off during the New Year. I’m glad I did. Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth is a rollercoaster of gas-huffing, profanity-spewing crazy. Can you picture the Pop version, Frank sporting his usual black leather jacket, holding a gas mask to his face with one hand, a gun in the other? The David Lynch fans are already celebrating with their Twin Peaks release, so why not double down?
3. William Cutting (Gangs of New York)
Daniel Day-Lewis is always a force onscreen, and that is no more evident than his turn as the Butcher himself, William Cutting. With his handlebar mustache and eagle-branded eye, he makes a very intimidating figure that dominates every scene. I am clearing a spot in my collection just dreaming about the Pop, featuring his tall hat and namesake knife.
2. Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men)
What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss? Javier Bardem’s unstoppable hitman may sport one of the worst haircuts ever, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of the deadliest killers ever to grace the screen. With a silenced shotgun in one hand and his captive bolt pistol in the other, he would be one of the most danger Pops ever made
1. Jack Torrance (The Shining)
I know I said I’d stay away from horror movies, but The Shining is one of those films that genre truly cannot define. Jack Torrance has already made his Funko debut in the third series of the Horror Mystery Minis, and they proved they could capture his wide-eyed craze perfectly. This axe-wielding maniac could easily make the transition to full Pop, looking ready to hack his way through the plastic case and sneer Here’s Johnny. For a chase, make a frozen version from the ending, sporting fake frost and an icy glare.
So are these some bad guys you could root for? Hit me down below with your thoughts.
Matt Norris