Clu

December 11, 2010 | By More


In the original TRON movie, programs in the inner computer world tended to look like the people who wrote them, so actor Jeff Bridges got to play two roles, that of Flynn, the digitized user trapped in the system and Clu, the program he wrote to hack into the ENCOM mainframe.

The original Clu didn’t fare too well in his mission and was caught by the Master Control Program and his cronies. After a brief exchange with the MCP, Clu was derezzed, a state that means he was either killed or absorbed by the MCP. I am sure some explanation will be provided in the new TRON Legacy movie, since Clu is back as the main antagonist.

Clu’s character design is similar to that of Rinzler and Sam Flynn. The costume is another iteration the neon-accented bodysuit, while the head resembles a modern biker helmet. The panels and lines etched on the costume have a unique pattern for Clu, and the colored accents are, surprisingly, yellow thus putting a crimp on my Color Scheme vs. Allegiance theory. Then again, orange is possibly reserved for minion type characters.

The sculpted details are sharp and clean, and Clu, like Sam and Rinzler, has a fairly slim build, which provides pretty good functionality to:

Ball jointed neck.

• Peg & hinge shoulders.

• Upper biceps swivel.

• Peg & hinge elbows.

• Swivel wrists.

• Peg & hinge hips.

Upper thigh swivels.

• Peg & hinge knees.

• Peg & hinge ankles.

Clu’s torso is molded from translucent yellow plastic, with the black costume areas covered by a fairly thick coat of matte paint. The unpainted areas serve as “windows” for the light from the built-in action feature to shine through.

Pressing the button at Clu’s back activates the action feature, turning on the LED inside the torso for about 5 seconds. Unfortunately, the yellow plastic used for Clu is a little more opaque than that of the other figures in the line, making the light to look dimmer.

The extra color accents on the suit are painted in bright yellow, although the color is considerably colder than the rich golden yellow we see on the package and promotional material.

This would not be an issue if Spin Master had been a little more consistent with the contents of the package and used the same shade of yellow for the figure and for the display base, which is painted in the right hue.

Other than the display base, Clu ships with an I.D. disc and a katana with it’s handle shaped like one of the black combat batons we seen before. The blade itself is painted in the same bright yellow hue used for the figure.

Overall, Clu is a pretty nifty action figure. I’ve always liked the black/yellow color combo, and the nits I picked about him are just that, insignificant little details that could have been corrected but in no way diminish the enjoyment I get from this toy.

Errex Score: 95/100

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Category: Featured, Toy Reviews, Tron

About the Author ()

I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.

Comments (2)

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  1. JD says:

    great movie, weak toys

    I love the gimmick of light up toys but the articulation is a half-hearted imitation of what MU is doing better.

  2. Jester says:

    Oddly, Clu seems to have been released in both a straight yellow and a slightly more orange tone.