S-Mart Ash
Army of Darkness is one of those movies classified as a cult classic, in addition to being the final chapter of a trilogy. The series started with The Evil Dead and predictably followed with Evil Dead 2. The first two had remarkably similar plots revolving around the hero Ash being trapped in a seemingly infinite cabin in the woods battling weird supernatural forces and unusual camera movements. The second movie ended with Ash being sent into the past to battle the same evil forces, and it might have ended there save the popularity of the movies (and their relatively cheap production costs).
The conclusion to the series was originally the Medieval Dead but the name was changed to Army of Darkness (or 'Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness'). The result was a mix of horror and comedy (with a bit of fantasy thrown in) that cemented the series as a bona fide cult classic and made the star, Bruce Campbell, bona fide B-movie gold. Bruce Campbell has taken the wise-cracking adventure hero with him for stints on 'Hercules' and 'Xena' as Autolycus and in the titular role for 'Jack of All Trades'. He even made a cameo in Spider-Man as the ring announcer, and that probably explains the big box office for that film.
This isn't the first figure from Army of Darkness, Sideshow or otherwise. McFarlane Toys made an Ash and Evil Ash figure in the Movie Maniacs line and Sideshow followed suit with 12" versions of Ash and Evil Ash. To complement those two figures Sideshow has created another version of Ash, one in his retail persona shown in the framing sequences for Army Of Darkness.
To fight an army of evil zombies you need someone bitter and potentially evil himself, so where better to look than the retail trenches. Ash works in housewares at the fictious S-Mart (a name that seems obvious for a chain store), probably for low wages and long, tedious hours. The fact that the chain owners are probably billionaires and making more off his labor is enough to give him that warm fuzzy just right for killing the dead, especially the evil ones.
The first Sideshow figure of Ash in the past has been improved here, most notably in the face. Ash has had a chance to heal since his battle, and that has resulted in a higher fidelity on the likeness. Mat Falls sculpted both figures, so you can send him good or bad mail, depending on your feelings. Good. Bad. He's the one with the sculpt.
Where would any time-traveling savior be without a smiting instrument, and Ash carries his *boom stick*! This is a 12-gauge double-barreled Remington, S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department straight from Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, working lever action and a hair trigger and fits in the standard side holster, thoughtfully included and with an S-Mart price tag still attached. Ash includes a pocket protector (aka nerd pack) and if you were one of the first few to order this from Sideshow you would have gotten a pricing gun to go with the figure. We were not among the first.
S-Mart Ash is an exclusive to the fictional S-Mart (perhaps short for Sideshow Mart) and limited to 3000 pieces. The same level of quality that you've come to expect from S-Mart, err, Sideshow, is present with high quality clothing and articulation. The figure has pants, socks, shoes, a light blue smock (complete with a detailed name tag), tie and the same double-breasted shirt as he wore back in time. Underneath is the standard Sideshow 12" body, loaded with articulation: neck, shoulders (ball jointed), bicep twists, elbows (double-jointed), forearm twists, wrists (move in two planes), chest, waist, hips (ball jointed), thigh twists, knees (double-jointed), lower-leg twists, and ankles (move in two planes).
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