NECA Makes the Impossible Happen, Plans to Finally Release TMNT Villains Set at NYCC

Finally. That' really all there is to say about NECA's long "lost" Foot Clan and Shredder figures from its planned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage line. After being shown off at trade shows in 2009, the figures for the Turtles' biggest foes never saw the light of day at retail for reasons many of us will likely never know. For years, the prototypes sat at NECA's New Jersey studio, offering but a glimmer of what could have been but never was.

Then at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, NECA finally found a way to get Shredder and some Foot Clan soldiers out to the masses in the TMNT Arcade Set. A companion to the newly minted Turtles, the set was a hit with fans who'd been waiting for ages for these forgotten figures to arrive. Now, NECA has made another miracle happen, and will finally release Shredder and the Foot as originally intended at this year's New York Comic Con.

Based on the original concept created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the TMNT Eastman and Laird Villains Set brings Shredder and a few Foot Clan members to figure form they way they appeared back in the Mirage Comics days. The Turtles NECA released in the same form were legendary among the collector crowd, and inspired numerous other companies to follow suit with their own TMNT collectibles, including the longtime host to TMNT, Playmates.

The set will offer four figures and a range of weapon accessories to accompany Shredder, a basic Foot soldier, a Foot soldier with a bandana, and a Foot soldier in a straw hat. There's also an Utrom included, just to make sure you're hitting all the crucial TMNT enemies on your checklist. With such a major reveal, NECA teamed with The Fwoosh to do a full photo spread (some of which will be used in the packaging). If these pictures don't make you immediately start salivating over how amazing these figures are, you may not have a soul.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Eastman and Laird Villains Set will be available for $100 exclusively at New York Comic Con, with a limited number available to US residents via NECA's website as well.

Pre-orders for those of you not attending NYCC this year will open on Thursday, Sept. 8. Unlike the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives, no pre-orders will be offered for pick-up at NYCC.