Serial Killer Action Figure at Toys R Us Stirs Debate

(Sept. 6) -- A collectible action figure based on the main character in Showtime's critically acclaimed drama series "Dexter" has some people upset with one of the nation's largest toy retailers.

"I have been monitoring items glamorizing serial killers for over a decade and this is, with the exception of Charles Manson's music CDs, the only time I have actually seen an actual serial killer being marketed in major retail establishments," said Texas-based crime victim advocate Andy Kahan.

The controversy surrounding the action figure began to surface last week, when an Ohio native spotted one in his local Toys R Us store.

"I thought, 'Oh my god! You've got this in Toys R Us? Are you kiddin' me?' " Jim Shultz, a toy collector in Columbus, Ohio, told WVEC Television.

The Dexter action figure comes packaged in a box with "America's Favorite Serial Killer," plastered across the top. The figure itself comes complete with bloody gloves, a handsaw and a welder's mask.

"When you think of Toys R Us, you think of it as a happy place where children go to be entertained and to have toys that not would be classified with violence and promoting violence," Kahan told AOL News. "The reality, like it or not, [is that] the main character of 'Dexter' is a serial killer, plain and simple."

"Dexter" debuted on Showtime on Oct. 1, 2006. The fictional show is based on Dexter Morgan, portrayed by actor Michael C. Hall. Dexter is a forensics expert during the day who turns into a vicious vigilante serial killer at night. He cold-bloodedly murders anyone whom he perceives to "deserve it."

The show quickly became one of the network's most-watched original series and, in 2010, Hall won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series.

Bob Friedland, a public relations official at Toys R Us, told AOL News that a "small number" of the action figures were ordered to "accommodate ... avid action figure collector customers."

"The action figures are clearly labeled 'Ages 18+. Not intended for children,' " Friedland said. "It is expected to be out of our store inventory very soon."

The toy store giant released a similar statement to KIAH-TV in Houston. "The figures are merchandised on a high shelf in the collector aisle,'" the statement read.

Neither explanation sits well with Kahan.

"Certainly, to glamorize serial killers in a major retail establishment whose target market is primarily children, and then have the audacity to claim that it is out of reach of children and not to be sold to those under the age of 18, is the ultimate hypocrisy," Kahan said.

Earlier today, AOL News paid a visit to a Toys R Us outlet in northwestern Pennsylvania. Questions about the action figure were directed to the corporate office, but an employee told AOL News the outlet had sold "a ton" of the action figures in the past week and that they were "completely sold out."

Kahan and Shultz are not the only ones upset about the sale of the product, as was evidenced by some of the shoppers AOL News spoke with.

"It is absolutely inappropriate for the Dexter dolls to be sold at Toys R Us," Tammy Beers, a mother and shopper from Erie, Pa., told AOL News. "Did they even do any research to see what it was they were selling? It should not be sold in a store that caters to small children."

Jason Labowitz, one of the co-founders of Bif Bang Pow, the company that produces the Dexter action figure, released a statement about the item late last week.

"To clarify, Dexter is not a serial killer," Labowitz said in a statement obtained by the Lansing State Journal. "He is a fictional character that happens to be a serial killer. In his fiction, he is portrayed as a vigilante who kills bad people."

Labowitz added: "We don't recall any uproar over millions of Joker figures being sold from 'The Dark Knight,' where the body count was quite high."

Regardless of how the item is characterized, Kahan says it has no business sitting on the shelf in a children's retail store.

"It sends the wrong message to children who begin to think that serial killers should be idolized and emulated," Kahan said. "I would certainly hope that Toys R Us would come to realize that promoting serial killer action figures is definitely sending the wrong message out to young people."

While Kahan and others are obviously upset by the sale of the Dexter action figure, fans of the show have a different take.

"I don't see a difference in the Dexter toy and G.I. Joe figures of old that I loved as a child," said Eric Gein, owner of Serial Killers Ink, one of the top-selling murderabilia outlets on the Internet.

"I used those G.I. Joe figures to massacre many imaginary enemies," Gein told AOL News. "I didn't grow up and join the military [then] invade and destroy helpless Third World countries for oil. I seriously doubt a Dexter figure will cause anyone to go out and become a serial killer. People need to lighten up."