NIGHTWING

DC LEGION OF COLLECTORS (FUNKO)

Remember when those weird subscription boxes were literally everywhere, shipping out, intermittently, a box of actual garbage or a thing that everyone wanted that shouldn’t be locked behind a random subscription box?  Pepperidge Farm remembers.  Yes, it was a simpler time, before people realized that, instead of paying up front for a box that might contain something they actually wanted or might contain actual garbage, they could just, you know, pay for the the things they wanted.  And also that the boxes were perhaps a wee bit scammy.  Whatever the case, everyone and their mother was getting in on the trend, and there’s no trend in the world that Funko isn’t gonna at least try to sink in their own special way, so you bet they were in on this one.  They had a bunch of them, in fact, based on just some of the cacophony of licenses they hold firmly within their grasp, which included DC, which got a service called “Legion of Collectors.”  It was largely a delivery service for more Pops, but they mixed in a few other things, including a totally exclusive line of actual 3 3/4 inch figures.  That’s crazy.  And now I’m gonna look at the Nightwing.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing was one of the four retro style figures available in the January 2018 box for the DC Legion of Collectors subscription.  The whole box was Teen Titans-themed, and there were four figures in total (Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg), as well as a Nightwing Pop!, a T-shirt, and a comic.  Wooo.  Apparently no one liked the figures, so they’re not, like, super expensive, but also Funko collectors have a stupid sense of value, so they’re, like, still reluctant to let them go for cheap, because there’s a sticker that says “exclusive.”  I like them, so, umm, here I am.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and has 11 points of articulation.  Nightwing makes use of the post-ReAction 3 3/4 inch articulation set-up, like we saw with the short-lived Batman ’66 and Game of Thrones lines.  It’s basic, but honestly works pretty nicely; it’s a shame Funko didn’t do more with the style.  The figure gets a unique sculpt, based on the late George Perez’s first Nightwing design.  Like the other figures in this style, it’s got a bit of a retro vibe to it, though not quite so much as the ReAction figures.  Given the use of his original costume, this Nightwing fits well with the established style.  The costume details all translate well, and the head has a respectable likeness of Perez’s look for Dick Grayson.  Nightwing’s paint work is, like the rest of the figure, basic; there’s a little bit of fuzz and slop on some of the edges, and the skin tone is a little pale, but it’s generally a decent set-up.  Nightwing is packed with no accessories, though I’m not entirely sure what you would give him anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t pay much attention to the Legion of Collectors stuff when it launched or while it was running, so I didn’t actually know of these figures’ existence until a good while after they were shipped out.  The figure that actually hinted to me that they existed was actually the First Appearance Superman from a different box.  I didn’t know of the Teen Titans figures until this one was traded into All Time, loose, about a year ago.  He’s kinda goofy, but I dig him.  I dig him a lot.  It’s a shame they didn’t do the whole team line-up in this style, but Nightwing’s cool.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.