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1/29/13

Pizzaface Pizzaface

I'm a little confused by this guy Pizzaface. Yeah, he's an ugly pizza chef and the Teenage Ninja Turtles love pizza; ok I can sort of see the connection there.

But what's really going on here? There's got to be something more. Is he supposed to be a mutated pizza, or a pizza/chef mutant crossover? Or just some homicidal maniac cleverly disguised as a children's plaything, laying in wait in order to murder your entire family?

According to Pizzaface's filecard he "...zapped himself in his retromutagen oven, hoping the energy would bake him with badness." (Because, hey, that sounds like it would work like a charm!)

The filecard goes on to tell us the turtles busted in and pulled him out "half-baked." Yet he's now "Possessing the power of the pizza pie." So is he supposed to be pizza dough-man? Is he like Clayface, only with pizza dough and toppings instead of mud?

Seeing as how so many TMNT action figures were inspired by existing superheroes and supervillains (Slash as Bizarro, Wingnut as Batman, Groundchuck as Dethlok and the list goes on...) it would make sense that Pizzaface would share attributes with Clayface. Hell, they even have the same last name!

And looking at this prototype image of Pizzaface and seeing what was intended to be hidden under his hat makes me believe it even more. He doesn't just have a strange madball type growth on his head, he's forming another Pizzaface head entirely, just like Clayface would do! One could even imagine that he is not merely using a pizza cutter as a leg and a pizza box as a foot, but that he is forming them from the mass of his own doughy body!

The fact that Pizzaface also holds pizzas (which I do not have) in his hand and looks ready to fling them - I posit that an early iteration had this 'fling-arm' as an action feature - would also lead me to believe Pizzaface could create pizzas from his person and throw them ala Clayface flinging mudballs.

This may all be old news to you die-hard TMNT fans, but it's a new revelation to me. I have seen Pizzaface online plenty of times but only just found him at the flea market and decided that he was just too gruesome to pass up.

So upon further reflection Pizzaface has gone from some oddball weirdo psychopath to something a little more fun. I can imagine this guy blobbing his way through New York and forcing the turtles to fight against the one thing they love the most - pizza itself!

10 comments:

  1. Was he ever on the original cartoon?

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    1. I don't think so jboy, but I'm no expert on the original toon!

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  2. Oh my goodness, I love the gross out grodiness of the TMNT villains. I never really collected a lot of them back then, I was mostly obsessed with all the April variants, but I do love the oddball charm from badguys like Pizzaface.

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    1. He's an oddball alright!

      April is one figure I need to get in the classic line. I only have her newest iteration from the Nick toon!

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  3. Always loved that one but can't find it anywhere...

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    1. I was glad to find him with his 'leg' intact, I imagine that part gets lost easily.

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  4. I really wish I had not sold all of my TMNT figures for $0.25 each in a garage sell when I decided I was "too old" for toys. Using eBay to get some of my lost Ninja Turtles back was an early phase that helped morph me into a collector. The villains are especially great, and I loved Pizza Face as a kid. He was one of my favorites figures after Dirtbag, Slash and Panda Khan.

    However, although the ninja turtles have always been a constant in my collecting life, I have never seen that Pizzaface prototype. That is just awesome, and I have never made the connection between him and clayface before.

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    1. I have plenty of regrets from my 'too old for toys' phase as well. Thank goodness for eBay, flea markets, garage sales, etc!

      I've posted my Slash and Panda Khan - both favorites of mine too. I need to post Dirtbag soon as well! He's awesome!

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  5. Another of the awesome villains I have yet to find(or troll for on Ebay). For some reason, I always thought that his hat was removable, and that little head was under it. He's another one of those figures that has a lot of cool sculpted on details. He's also one of those TMNT figures you(well not you personally, but, you know what I mean!) never see in the wild.

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    1. I was lucky to find him with is leg intact too!

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