You never know when something will strike your fancy and that’s why I love the TMNT x Godzilla figures.
When I was a teenager in the mid 90s, Blockbuster Video had a sale on VHS tapes, and I picked up a copy of the American version of the 1964 Godzilla for a low price. Until that moment, the only Godzilla movies I had seen were on a small CRT TV during rainy days at summer camp, which might be the worst possible way to experience a Godzilla film. I sat under an awning on concrete, watching a VHS tape of Godzilla vs the Smog Monster on a tiny CRT screen while rain poured all around me. Finding that VHS tape at Blockbuster changed my fandom of Godzilla forever.
When Mattel announced the TMNT x MOTU crossover, the only Masters of the Universe figure I owned was a Sy-Clone that had survived multiple toy purges since my childhood. Initially, I was focused on collecting the Metal-Boto build-a-figure and planned to exit the line afterward. However, I ended up collecting far more from the Turtles of Grayskull series, which eventually led me to expand my collection to include both modern and vintage Masters of the Universe figures.
Playmates’ TMNT x Godzilla figures are available on shelves Target for an affordable $15. And they look especially affordable when compared to any of the MOTU crossovers from Mattel. On the same end cap as the $15 TMNT x Godzilla figures was a $32 MOTU x Transformers Megatron Armor Skeletor. As a MOTU collector but not a Transformers fan, I definitely won’t take a chance on a $32 figure. Thanks to the TMNT x Godzilla figures’ reasonable pricing, I expect they’ll serve as a gateway for many people, kids included, into either the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Godzilla universes.
Playmates’ TMNT and Godzilla crossover action figures were announced at San Diego Comic Con 2025 and released in early October 2025 exclusively at Target stores. The first wave includes three figures: Leo as Godzilla, Raph as Rodan, and Mikey as King Ghidorah. Donnie as Jet Jaguar is expected in wave two, expected as a result of the Jacob Chabot box illustration. As of early November 2025, Playmates has not yet announced wave two.
In terms of accessories, these figures are fun as heck. There’s a translucent weapon with each figure. Leo x Godzilla comes with “energy-infused katana swords.” Raph x Rodan has “translucent fire blasts and Rodan-inspired dual sais.” Mikey x King Ghidorah comes with “energy-powered nunchucks.” I’ll admit that the descriptions are a bit odd, but they’re still spot on in terms of the spirit of the source material.
The Jacob Chabot illustration of the four turtles in their kaiju forms is fantastic and wonderfully styled. I feel like it’s rare that we track down the artist responsible for box art from Playmates packaging. For instance, I’d love to know who illustrated the box art for the 1988 Remastered figures box set, but as far as I can tell, the names of the artist isn’t public. I would want to get that box signed by the artist if I could. For NECA figures, I’ve had Ben Bishop sign The Last Ronin figures, Ken Mitchroney sign TMNT Adventures figures, Aaron Hazouri sign cartoon figures and at New York Comic Con this year, I got figure painter Mike Puzzo to sign a Mirage Claw Shredder. Jacob posted it to his Instagram account and if I have the opportunity, I’ll be getting him to sign the Leo as Godzilla I still have in box. The packaging and direction is by Anthony Petrie Print and Product Design, Inc., who did a great job of making the packaging stand out.
IDW also announced a TMNT x Godzilla comic at San Diego Comic Con 2025, but aside from the subject material and alternate covers, there’s not much else connecting the toys to the comic. Playmates, as far as I’m aware, doesn’t make IDW turtle toys anyway, that license was with The Loyal Subjects for their BST AXN line and moved over to McFarlane Toys, who are producing them as their larger Page Puncher figures. When it comes to the comics, I can’t recall seeing Playmates make anything past the early Mirage turtles in toy form.
Leo as Godzilla feels like it’s from another era with touches of modern articulation. Modern Playmates turtle sculpts, the Mutant Mayhem toys specifically, have felt a little precious in the hand when compared with the vintage toy line, 2003, or the re-mastered turtles. This doesn’t follow that lead, and instead, the sculpt is solid, a little chunky in a good way, and playful.
There are some obvious sacrifices in articulation that were made for the sake of price across the entire line. The elbows and knees are single jointed. The pegs in the shoulders and hips are visible. The neck joint is deep in the head and limits where each figure can look. Leo as Godzilla’s legs are so thick that he can’t fully stand up and is upright with a hunch. The only wrist joints are pivots. Do these complaints take away from the joy I get from the figures? Not at all. They’re imminently posable and look great. As an adult, am I collecting them? Heck yes I am, but these are definitely toys and not adult collectibles and it’s best to approach them through that perspective.
Raph as Rodan is so weird and that’s not a complaint. The head sculpt is a truly bizarre mashup of the pteranodon facial features of Rodan jammed into a Ninja Turtle head. He’s definitely more Rodan than Raph, but so are all of the figures in the line. Raph as Rodan’s wings aren’t removable as a single piece and are tethered to the wristbands. It can somewhat limit you when posing the figure, but the translucent wings work well with the sculpt.
Mikey as King Ghidorah stands out as the most impressive figure in the wave, and I mean that literally. The figure features a split tail, which comes as two pieces in the box, a massive wingspan, and King Ghidorah shoulder pauldrons. That giant wingspan? Each of the wings are as wide as the figure is tall. The head pauldrons cleverly conceal the exposed pegs in the shoulder joints, enhancing the overall look. While Mikey as King Ghidorah comes equipped with “energy-powered nunchucks,” you can remove the pauldrons and put them on his hands instead of the nunchucks to showcase a classic three-headed King Ghidorah appearance.
I appreciate that the first wave was limited to just three figures. Hopefully, Playmates has learned from Mattel’s rapid-fire release of the Turtles of Grayskull figures, which overwhelmed collectors and caused interest to wane. To my knowledge, 34 Turtles of Grayskull figures with one build-a-figure released over two years, culminating with Skele-Shredder at San Diego Comic-Con 2025. The TMNT x Godzilla series doesn’t seem to be following that exhausting pace, and I like that approach.
Wave two should include Donatello as Jet Jaguar but after that, that’s where the questions start. Will we get any of the following?
- Krang’s Android Body as Mechagodzilla
- Shredder as Space Godzilla or Gigan
- Splinter as King Caesar
- April O’Neil as Mothra
- Rocksteady as Anguirus
- Bebop as Gabara or Megalon
- Muckman as Hedora
Dear Playmates: Please give me a Glow in the Dark Leo as Godzilla as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive
I’d love to see new colorways of these figures in the future. We know that toy companies love to re-use a sculpt whenever possible to lower the overall costs of the figures. Like we saw with the NECA Universal Monsters crossover figures, black and white versions would look amazing, but most of all, I want glow in the dark editions. Godzilla figures practically demand to glow in the dark. Playmates, please give us glow in the dark versions of these figures. GITD variants would make the perfect con exclusive. Hear me, Playmates? Glow in the dark TMNT x Godzilla figures at San Diego Comic-Con!
It’s going to be a tough year to choose a best figure of 2025, but at least one of the TMNT x Godzilla figures will be in my top five. I absolutely adore these figures.