Tag Archives: DC

#4101: Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ROBIN

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

While I had a handful of reviews from Hasbro’s running on fumes continuation of the Batman Animated tie-in line in the last few months, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve actually reviewed any of the original Kenner run of Batman: The Animated Series figures.  For today’s review, I’m actually going way back to the very beginning of said tie-ins, for a look at the first animated variant of Batman’s trusty sidekick, Robin!  So, let’s take a look at this early release for the other half of the dynamic duo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robin was released in the first series of Kenner’s Batman: The Animated Series line in 1992.  He joined two Batman variants, Penguin, Riddler, and Two-Face for the line’s debut at retail.  At this point, the line was actually sticking to rather faithful costume designs, rather than the wacky variants that followed, so Robin’s wearing Dick’s standard attire from the show.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Robin was pretty notably predominantly parts re-use, which was rare for this line early on.  From the neck down, he was the Batman Returns Robin, topped off with a new head sculpt.  I’ve looked at the whole combo before through one of its re-releases during Hasbro’s run.  It’s sort of a mixed bag, since the original use wasn’t meant to be an animated style figure, so he’s very heavy on details that really shouldn’t be there.  The head’s perfectly serviceable, and a decent match for the show model, especially when filtered through the same lens as the other early run figures from the line.  Like the later release, he gets a cloth cape, similarly two-toned.  The cloth’s a bit thinner on this one, though, so it hangs quite a bit better, making for a much better overall look.  What’s also much better overall is the figure’s coloring; the re-paint from Hasbro was very cold and neon, and that was quite off model, but this one’s colors are much closer to his on-screen colors.  While the core figures of the early Kenner run were fairly standard depictions, there were definitely some wonky accessories going on, and in Robin’s case, that’s a whole hang glider set-up, which also has, like, guns, or something?  That doesn’t seem very Batman-y, now does it?  Honestly, it’s not a terrible piece, though, and it’s unobtrusive, so it really doesn’t bug me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said when I reviewed the Hasbro repaint, I kind of missed the main runs of these guys, so I didn’t have a chance to pick this guy up new.  What can I say, I was a newborn at the time, and my parents wouldn’t give me any spending money.  I got the Hasbro one, and I’ve honestly always kinda loved that one, so I didn’t *need* this one, but also I’m a sucker for a Dick Grayson figure I don’t own, so I did kind of want one for posterity’s sake.  He’s been on my list, but I wasn’t actively searching.  But, while I was on vacation with my family this summer, I swung by Yesterday’s Fun early in the trip and struck up a conversation with the woman who works the counter, and mentioned I’d probably be stopping in a few times while we were there.  On one of my return trips, she pulled a box of just priced Batman stuff that hadn’t gone out for me to look through, and this guy was there for a very reasonable price, so I really couldn’t refuse.  He’s neat.  I like the differences between the releases, and I won’t deny this one’s a bit better than the later one, even if I don’t have quite the same nostalgic tie to him.

#4097: Night Hunter Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

NIGHT HUNTER ROBIN

BATMAN & ROBIN (KENNER)

Okay, we’re gonna do this Batman & Robin thing.  One.  More.  Time.  For now, at least, because this effectively wraps up what remains of my childhood collection, such as it is in reviewing condition.  Might change later, I guess, because who knows?  So, let’s cap things off with a Robin figure, since that’s how I started these reviews in the first place, some six years and some change ago.  This time, he’s red, for…reasons.  Anyway, here’s Night Hunter Robin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Night Hunter Robin was released in 1997 as part of Kenner’s Batman & Robin tie-in line.  He was one-half of one of the two-packs they did early in the run (the other half being Poison Ivy), which largely seemed to exist to pump out some extra variants of the main cast relatively quickly.  In the case of this one, he’s at his core not super removed from the basic Robin design for the movie, albeit colored rather differently.  Exactly why that made him “Night Hunter” is sort of lost on me, but maybe they just though it sounded cool.  It does sound cool.  It sounds like perhaps the coolest descriptor a Batman-themed figure could get.  Sounds like the sort of descriptor that could, I don’t know, pull someone in to a whole lifetime of action figure collecting if they weren’t careful.  It also shows that the rather “grab some common descriptor words out of a hat” approach can lead to some doubling up, even when it’s seemingly unintended.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is…well it’s really, really similar to the Iceboard Robin sculpt, but it’s not the same.  It’s not different in any ways that actually really matter, mind you.  The posing on his right arm is *slightly* less bent, and his pelvis is *slightly* wider, and the placement of the peg holes for his cape are *slightly* different.  If you didn’t have the two figures right next to each other, you could be forgiven for not actually knowing the molds were different.  In that regard, it’s a good sculpt, just like Iceboard was, so that’s pretty nice.  The main change-up here is the coloring.  The two packs really liked having at least one of the included figures be chromed, and that was Robin.  He’s predominantly a chromed red, which, as you can see on my figure, it’s quite prone to flaking over time.  The sections that were red on his main costume are now a very shiny black, which is a good contrast.  The rest of his coloring, like the mold, is different from the standard in very slight, very easily missed ways, but they’re there.  Night Hunter Robin was packed with a sort of missile/batarang/crossbow looking thing, which went over his arm.  It’s missing from mine, but I can’t say I really feel like I *need* it, so that’s okay.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m writing this review on the eve of my 34th birthday, which I suppose is appropriate, because he’s one of the many Batman & Robin figures I got on my 5th birthday, back in ’97.  In contrast to the others, this one I very specifically asked for.  I don’t really know why, but I remember I *really* wanted the two-pack, pretty much exclusively for this Robin figure.  I recall losing all but his cape for a very long while, but if I recall correctly, he turned back up during “The Find,” my big excavation of missing figures and parts at my parents’ house from just before I moved out of state back in 2016.  He’s a bit worse for wear, but I do still quite like him, and I do get something of a giggle out of him sharing a descriptor with my original Batman, a fact that escaped me until I sat down to write this very review. 

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0084: Batgirl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

BATGIRL

BATMAN & ROBIN (KENNER)

Greetings and welcome to the end of the week. We’ve done it once more, and I continue to be proud of us for making it here.  We did it again, guys!  We’re back with following up on some Batman & Robin stuff, because why not, I guess? So, here’s a second look at Batgirl!

“Gotham City becomes a very cold place when Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane triple team to plot the icy demise of Batman and Robin. The crimefighters respond immediately by using the Batcomputer deep within the Batcave to develop an array of cutting-edge weapons that can be used in their battle against this multitude of fiendish foes. Discover the Secrets of the Batcave! – secret technology that gives Batman , Robin and Batgirl the ultimate ability to save Gotham City!”

Back in April, I jumped into the Batman & Robin line with a look at the “& Robin” portion of the film.  Today, I look at the central character who doesn’t get named at all.  I mean, seriously, isn’t it a little odd that the film where you explicitly call out Batman and Robin as your title characters is the one where you add in Batgirl as your third protagonist?  Isn’t that a little weird?  I think it’s a little weird.  Look at me, armchair quarterbacking a movie from 1997.  That’s a real good use of my time, right?  Yeah…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batgirl was released in the first wave of Batman & Robin product from Kenner, hitting shelves in 1997 to tie-in with the film.  Unlike the various Batmen and Robins, she didn’t get any sort of adjective in front of her name; she’s simply “Batgirl.”  Man, no goofy Kenner name is just a bummer.  Did they even try with Batgirl in this thing?  Oh, right, I’ve seen the movie: the answer is “no.”  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  So, right off the bat (heh), let’s address the inaccuracies of the figure.  As I brought up in my Robin review, the whole Batman & Robin process was quite expedited, so the figures were working from early costume designs.  In Robin’s case, that was all well and good, because he kept his design, but in Batgirl’s case, that means she’s a bit off from her film appearance.  The big change is the full cowl in place of the domino mask she was sporting in the final product.  It’s not a particularly attractive design, at least as implemented on the figure.  She’s also got the wrong version of the bat symbol, and is missing a lot of the ribbing and such that ran throughout the body suit, making for a much more basic looking design.  There is also a removable cape, which actually is a pretty decently designed piece. Her paintwork is fairly basic stuff.  She’s rather monochromatic, but that’s honestly a bit more faithful to the film than most of the color schemes to come out of this movie.  Batgirl was packed with a “Battle Blade Blaster” and “Strike Scythe,” which are the weird green and black things.  They don’t correlate to anything in the movie, but they certainly exist, now don’t they?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in my Robin review, Batman & Robin was the first Batman movie I saw in theaters, and despite its lackluster quality, five-year-old me really enjoyed it.  Being the big thing of the summer, a whole bunch of the tie-in figures wound up as birthday presents for me that year, including Batgirl here.  She’s not necessarily one of my favorites, and that was the case even as a kid.  She really only served as my Batgirl until the Animated figure found its way into my collection and replaced her.  She’s okay, I guess, and like the rest of the line, honestly better than the movie that spawned her.

This review is another pandemic shutdown review, written almost two months before it ultimately published.  I originally had it slotted with a different number and a publish date a month earlier, but it got bumped off the schedule to make way for the Siege Ultra Magnus Spoiler pack, which I was eager to get out quickly, I guess.  The mystery of it excited me.  The actual review here is pretty good, I think.  The shut down stuff definitely gave me some time to work on my craft, and I still think these are some of my best reviews.  I was missing her “Strike Scythe” at the time, but it turned up in the six years that have followed, so here’s an updated photo.

#4093: Ice Terror Mr. Freeze

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ICE TERROR MR. FREEZE

BATMAN & ROBIN (KENNER)

When the first Batman movie came out in 1989, they just had the one villain, but by Returns, they’d decided they needed to up the stakes with two, which was kept for Forever.  By the time of Batman & Robin, it was apparently just not frantic enough, so they upped it to three villains, all of them classically unrelated.  In a movie featuring Bane, a tall, imposing, muscular villain with a notable accent, Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast as Mr Freeze, which is the obvious, undisputed set-up, right?  Arnold as the cryogenics expert?  Well, at least he got to make lots of ice puns.  After “Heart of Ice” revamped the character and gave him a tremendous amount of depth, Batman & Robin definitely did some major back-pedaling.  That said, almost 30 years removed, it’s a pretty amusing Arnold performance.  And, as with everything else about the movie, there were certainly some cool toys.  Let’s look at one of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ice Terror Mr. Freeze was one of the two deluxe figures in the initial product drop for Kenner’s Batman & Robin tie-in line.  It’s one of the two Mr. Freezes at launch, neither of them really even approaching movie accurate, but we’ll get to that.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Ice Terror Mr. Freeze was a mostly unique sculpt.  The head’s the same as the Iceblast Mr. Freeze from the standard series, but from the neck down he’s unique.  The first batch of tie-in figures for the movie were especially affected by the rushed production schedule, and I’ve somewhat discussed that with the Batgirl figure, but the early Mr. Freezes were especially inaccurate.  I suppose you could argue that there’s a general silhouette here that’s sort of close to the film, and what’s visible of the face has more than a passing resemblance to Arnold, but beyond that?  It’s totally removed from what we see on the screen.  There’s…well, there’s certainly a lot going on.  He’s got lots of tubes and stuff, which, I guess isn’t a terrible concept for the guy.  He does seem a bit small for an Arnold Mr. Freeze, but that’s more of a line-wide issue, I feel.  The colors aren’t very accurate either, at least in their placement. The actual colors aren’t really too far, and he’s ultimately a bit closer in that regard than Iceblast was.  In general, it’s just a good Mr. Freeze color scheme, so I can’t really knock it.  In order to justify this as a deluxe release, Ice Terror Mr. Freeze gets a rather sizable accessory set-up.  Not in quantity, mind you, just in actual size, as he includes a “Street Chill Dragster” which is a three-wheeled vehicle thing that also transforms? It’s not a terribly involved thing, and the transformation is almost negligible, but I guess it’s not terrible.  Also included is the “Ice Crystal Rocket,” which is a big bazooka thing, which he can either mount on the dragster or hold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The summer of 1997 brought me a whole selection of figures from this line, and this guy was one of the batch I got as birthday presents.  Even before it had totally sunk in with me that maybe it wasn’t a very good movie, I was a bit more critical of Schwarzenegger as Freeze, because I was such a big fan of Michael Ansara’s animated performance.  So, in that regard, this guy wasn’t really ever my default Freeze the way the original Animated figure was.  He did, however, serve as a pretty fantastic basic sort of villain.  I lost his dragster over the years, but recently got a replacement.  He’s really far removed from the movie design, but it’s undeniably a fun figure.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0083: Iceboard Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

ICEBOARD ROBIN

BATMAN & ROBIN (KENNER)

G’day and welcome to Friday.  Here at the end of the week, it’s always important to note that the week is, in fact, ending, and we’ve all made it through another one.  Yay us!  Rather than just looking back on the week, of course, I like to be a bit more retrospective than that, and today, I’m returning to Robin!

“Gotham City becomes a very cold place when Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane triple team to plot the icy demise of Batman and Robin. The crimefighters respond immediately by using the Batcomputer deep within the Batcave to develop an array of cutting-edge weapons that can be used in their battle against this multitude of fiendish foes. Discover the Secrets of the Batcave! – secret technology that gives Batman , Robin and Batgirl the ultimate ability to save Gotham City!”

After the box office success of Batman Forever (I know, I’m surprised, too), Warner Brothers decided to fast track its follow-up, Batman & Robin, with its entire production process coming in at under two years, which, when you’re dealing with a block-buster of this caliber, isn’t a lot of time.  The end result was less than stellar.  Batman & Robin holds the lowest earnings of any Batman film to date, and is still regarded as one of the worst comic book films ever made.  With all that said, it did succeed on one front: it was a pretty excellent toy commercial.  The toyline that accompanied the film was easily the best part of the whole thing.  Amazingly, though I dove into the Batman Forever line, I have as of yet not looked at any Batman & Robin figures.  I’ll be changing that today, with Iceboard Robin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iceboard Robin was released in the first basic series of Kenner’s Batman & Robin line, which hit shelves in 1997, alongside the film.  The first series had two Robins included, with this one being the “standard” movie Robin.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Robin sported an all-new sculpt.  Robin is actually the most fortunate of the film’s main characters, as he was the only one whose design didn’t change during the production process, meaning his was the only standard figure that was actually film accurate.  Additionally, Robin’s design, which was a pretty nifty merging of more classic Robin characteristics with the then current Nightwing costume from the comics, is really one of the nicest of the film’s designs in general, if you can get past the general Chris O’Donnel-ness of the head.  The sculpt does a nice job of capturing the look from the movie, and is generally a lot sturdier and more sharply detailed than the Forever figures were.  Pre-posing on this figure is at a minimum, but he’s a little better than the straight standing poses of prior figures.  There’s a more natural stance here, and it’s actually pretty darn nice.  The cape is a plastic piece, as were most of the capes on this round of figures, and it plugs into his back fairly securely.  Robin’s paintwork is pretty basic, which the majority of stuff being molded plastic.  However, the red detailing of the uniform is pretty cool, and has a slick metallic finish to it.  Iceboard Robin was, stay with me on this, packed with an iceboard, which is really just a big, goofy stand.  He also included a missile launcher, but mine is missing that piece.  Oh no, whatever will I do?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was too young to see Batman Forever in theaters (though I sure got in on those toys), but Batman & Robin hit at the perfect time for me to be all about it.  I was very excited prior to the film’s release (and even after, if I’m honest, because I loved it.  In my defense, I was 5), and this guy was part of the hype.  At the time, Toys R Us was running a promotion where you got reprints of Robin, Batgirl, and Mr. Freeze’s first appearances if you bought one of the toys from the tie-in line, and my mom was awesome enough to take me over one day after work.  Unsurprisingly, given my more recent collecting habits, I opted for Robin to be my qualifying figure purchase.  Quality of the film and of the actor playing Robin aside, this figure holds up well, and is just a genuinely fun offering.

Behold, a shutdown review!  Yep, this was from the middle of April in 2020, as I was starting to worry about how to keep the daily reviews going without a consistent source of new stuff.  Which is, honestly, kind of funny in my current spot, when I’m working from a lot more back catalog offerings than I really ever have been before.  If anything, it’s reviews like this one that got me more comfortable with going back to the stuff already in my collection more frequently.  While my figure had his iceboard at the time of his review, he was missing all his weaponry.  I actually found his missile launcher while going through boxes of parts, and got a second figure for the staff, so he’s all complete again.  I actually quite like the staff; it’s silly, but i like it.

#4089: First Mate Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

FIRST MATE ROBIN

LEGENDS OF BATMAN (KENNER)

“An orphaned street urchin rescued years before by Buccaneer Batman, First Mate Robin now stands shoulder to shoulder with his captain the put down the terrifying pirate threat.  Facing down entire pirate bands with his customized blasting cannon, swift cutlass sword and unbridled temper, First Mate Robin is relentless in his desire to wipe out the ruthless evildoers he holds responsible for sending his parents to their watery graves.”

While it’s only been since 2024 that I discussed Legends of Batman, Kenner’s Elseworlds-inspired Batman comics line from the ‘90s, I haven’t talked about my personal favorite subset of the line since way back in 2017.  Remember when the cast were all just sort of pirates?  Well, we’re back with the pirates, with the sidekick to….well, one of the Batmen.  Not Pirate Batman, but specifically Buccaneer Batman, who is specifically called out in the bio and was released in the same series.  Let’s take a look at First Mate Robin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

First Mate Robin was released in the third series of Legends of Batman, which also included the pirate versions of Batman and Joker, for a nice little subset.  This was the second of the two Robins in the line, neither of them standard.  Like Crusader Robin, he was later recolored for a WB Store exclusive, but the one seen here is the original release.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s got a bit of pre-posing going on, with sort of a mid-run kind of thing.  That said, he’s far more stable on his feet than most of the line, so I can’t really knock it.  His sculpt was totally unique, and like the other pirate figures, not based directly on any comics design that I know of.  Like Buccaneer Batman, he takes the broad-strokes of Robin’s classic design, and sort of rebuilds them as a Pirate design.  It’s got a lot of neat elements in place, and is a bit more “plain clothes” than the Batman design, which I think works a bit better for Robin.  Like Batman, he gets a belt running across his chest, bearing his logo.  In his case, it’s not as off-placed as Batman, so it feels less like it was afflicted by marketing.  His cape is a separate removable piece, with a rather notable split at the collar than has trouble staying in place.  Robin’s color work leaves some spots of his rather detailed sculpt notably unpainted, opting for more of the prominent details.  Things like buckles and bandanas get left unpainted.  Also, I’m pretty sure his torso is supposed to show part of his chest exposed (if the art on his card is anything to go by), but it’s painted white like his undershirt instead.  As with Crusader Robin, First Mate Robin’s hair is a lighter brown, rather than black, presumably a vestigial element of Chris O’Donnell’s casting in the role.  First Mate Robin is packed with the blasting cannon and cutlass mentioned in his bio, as well as a Skybox trading card.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While my memory of specific marketing for a lot of the figures I own is rather vague, the Pirate figures are not one of those cases, as I vividly remember the TV commercial for them, and the corresponding excitement I had for getting them.  Robin was a gift for my fourth birthday, alongside the corresponding Batman, and the two of them spent a lot of time sailing around in my Fisher Price pirate ship.  While both Batmen from this theme have action features to contend with, First Mate Robin is just a pretty solid basic figure, with a fun design and a rather impressive sculpt.  He could perhaps stand to have a slightly better paint job, but for the era, it’s not terrible.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0082: The Penguin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

PENGUIN

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

It’s another Friday, so let’s get ourselves back into that flashing back sort of mood, with another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!  Today, I find myself taking a return look at the Penguin.  Yay?

Alright, I’m going back to my list of figures I already own for reviews.  This time it presented me with a figure from my modestly-sized DC: Super Powers collection.  For those of you unfamiliar with Super Powers, it was the first really intensive DC Comics toyline, and still is considered to be the best by a fair number of people.  I missed it in its initial run, but got into it because it was the only source of a Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Barry Allen Flash, or even a Wonder Woman when I was growing up.  I’m not reviewing any of those today, though.  Nope, I’m reviewing the Penguin.

In the entirety of my 2500 piece action figure collection, I own THREE Penguin figures, on yet somehow I’ve looked at two of the three before looking at a single version of characters of which I own dozens of figures.  I don’t even like the Penguin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Penguin was released in the first wave of Super Powers figures.  He’s based on the classic Penguin look, before he was tweaked to more resemble the Danny Devito version of the character.  The figure stands a bit over 4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  The sculpt is pretty good, with all of Penguin’s features carefully laid out.  He’s a simplistic figure, but the figure still has some decent folds and such, just everything is very smooth in texture.  The paint on the figure isn’t anything astounding, but it looks pretty good for the time, and everything is clean and within the lines. There’s pretty much no bleed-over or anything.  Each figure in the Super Powers line features some sort of action feature, usually activated by squeezing the arms or legs.  In Penguin’s case, when the legs are squeezed, his right arm lunges upward, which is dubbed his “Power Action Umbrella Arm.”  Penguin included a two piece umbrella, of which I only own the top piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a pretty cool figure, I guess, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the character.  He’s certainly not the greatest that the line had to offer, and I doubt any one would bring him up as one of the reasons the line is well remembered, but it’s a decent entry in the line.  Not the best, not the worst.

I actually ended up with two of this figure, believe it or not.  I swear I don’t like the Penguin!  Anyway, I got the first one for like $3 at my local Comicon, I think, but he was missing the coat tails and umbrella, and just had an “okay” paint job.  A few years later, I found a pretty decent Super Powers Batmobile for $40 and it included Batman, Robin, Joker, and Penguin.  I bought the lot solely for the Batmobile, but the Penguin included part of the umbrella and had the coat tails piece, plus he had a better paint job to boot.  Unfortunately, the figures stank to high heavens of cigarette smoke, so Penguin had to be quarantined in a bag of cat litter for 24 hours.  In case you were wondering, cat litter absorbs the smell of smoke, I don’t just willy-nilly place action figures into bags of it!

This was from very early in my run on the site, just four months in.  I was *not* thrilled to be reviewing a second Penguin figure that quickly.  So not thrilled that I’ve only reviewed one Penguin figure since, and that was 11 years ago.  Like I said, he’s not one of my favorite characters.  This was my first Super Powers figure review, which feels odd, but I guess it’s good I got him out of the way?  I think my actual review’s okay, if perhaps a touch on the brief side.  My figure’s umbrella was missing its arm, which I’ve since replaced with a repro part, seen here in the photos.  Yay, he can hold it!

#4085: Huntress, Galatea, & Superman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

HUNTRESS, GALATEA, & SUPERMAN

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

Today, I’m jumping back to Justice League Unlimited, a line I haven’t talked about in quite some time.  Okay, it was just back in 2024, which isn’t crazy long ago, but there was a stretch in 2023, where it made up a good bulk of my prep reviews for my daughter’s impending arrival.  I did, like, 13 reviews in that stretch, which is a lot.  And then only three since.  Admittedly, I blew through a lot of my backlog.  Anyway, today I’m looking at a whole three of them at once, with Huntress, Galatea, and Superman!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Huntress, Galatea, and Superman were released as a three-pack in the second wave of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line post-move to the larger DC Universe branding in 2008.  The set is based on the Cadmus arc that wrapped up the show’s second season, most specifically “Panic in the Sky” which is the episode that actually features all three, though their interaction was minimal.

HUNTRESS

Huntress goes from bit player to major focus in the show’s second season.  This was actually the fourth release of this figure, following two prior three-pack offerings and a single.  She was still kind of rare at this point, so it was certainly appropriate.  Huntress actually has two looks in the show; this figure goes for the second, which is the one that she got once she was actually in focus, so it makes sense.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  The articulation’s really more an experiment in theory than anything proper, since the neck is limited by the hair, the hips are v-cuts, and the arms can’t quite swing past the legs.  She’s using the generic female body, which was never one of the line’s strongest.  She does at least get a new head and cape, and they’re both rather nice.  The head in particular is quite sharply detailed and does a good job of capturing the animation model for the character.  The paint work is actually pretty clean and crisp on this one, which is not always the norm for this line, so it’s a pleasant change-up.  While the three-packs tended not to do accessories, Huntress does at least get a stand, which is good, because the base body has a rough time with standing.

GALATEA

Galatea is this set’s one unique figure, which makes sense, her being pretty specifically tied to the Cadmus thing.  She’s based on her one look, with its Power Girl inspiration.  Like Huntress, she’s using the standard female base body, for better or for worse.  The left leg is extra warped on my copy, which is a bit annoying.  She has a unique head and it’s…well, it’s unique.  And that’s good.  It’s very good that they never used it again, because boy does it not look great.  Admittedly, that might also be somewhat paint.  The eyes are just totally off, which makes her look more than a little bit dopey.  Otherwise, the paint is kind of sparse, leaving out a lot of details from her costume.  She gets the display stand, like Huntress, which is great, because she really can’t stand without it.

SUPERMAN

Superman was another re-pack, and one that had been repacked, like, a lot.  They had moved away from the extra posable variants of the main team by this point, which was actually for the better, because the original sculpts were a bit better.  I reviewed the original figure way back in 2014, and he’s really just the same here.  Yay for consistency?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As noted in her particular spot of the review, Huntress was rather rare during the line’s run, even with her multiple releases.  I think I saw her once, and foolishly passed on her.  I’ve been keeping an eye out since.  When I was visiting Power Comics while down in South Carolina last month, they happened to have this set, so I mixed it in with the stack of Toy Biz Marvel I bought.  Huntress is a really nice figure, and I’m glad I finally have one.  Galatea is, conversely, really bad.  But, I guess she was along for the ride.  Could be worse, I suppose.  And hey, I have another Superman.  Cool.

#4081: Razor Skate Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

RAZOR SKATE ROBIN

BATMAN & ROBIN (KENNER)

Okay, I took a couple of weeks off from the retro DC reviews so that I could look at new stuff, but lets go back to the retro stuff for a moment.  I started the month off with a civilian/quick change version of Bruce Wayne from Batman & Robin, so why not cap off this month’s DC reviews with the equivalent version of Robin, who in contrast to the Batman, is called “Robin” not “Dick Grayson.”  So, you know, I guess that’s just how it is.  Anyway, here’s Razor Skate Robin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Razor Skate Robin was released in the initial assortment for Kenner’s Batman & Robin tie-in line.  There were two Robins in the standard assortment; this one and the Iceboard Robin that served as the line’s standard Robin.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The core figure is Chris O’Donell in an outfit kind of similar to what the Bruce Wayne was wearing.  Like, it’s maybe a sweater and some sweat pants?  Honestly, the oddest part’s definitely the full-on gloves, but they aren’t terrible.  His head not only looks like Chris O’Donell, but also looks like him *in* the movie, which is a step up from the Clooney offering.  A good chunk of this mold would later be re-used for the JLA Atom figure.  The head sculpt was consistent with the Iceboard figure, but without the sculpted mask.  In general, the sculpt’s decent quality, with pretty sharp detailing and a not crazy pose or proportions.  The color work is fine; it’s not anything crazy, which is interesting for a figure from this era.  He’s mostly white and blue, and the application’s not too bad.  His transformation is facilitated with a bunch of add-on armor pieces, which includes a headset, cape/chest armor, and a pair of clip-on boots.  While still not a standard Robin, it generally feels a bit more organically connected to his movie design than the matching Batman look.  The most out there part of the whole thing is the goggles/headset in place of the usual mask.  Not a bad solution, ultimately though, and less problematic than the color changing mask from the transforming Robin from Forever.  As with the Batman, the boots include skates on the bottom (as called out by the name), which is a fun bit.  He’s also packed with like a pincer sort of thing?  It’s weird, but about what you’d expect from this line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As noted in my Bruce review, this figure was part of the pair, which I got on my birthday the year the movie came out.  While the Bruce was whatever, this figure was one that definitely stuck with me for a while.  He got a lot of use, both as Robin and as a number of other generic civilians (he was almost certainly a Rick Jones for my Avengers at some point).  I actually held onto almost all of him over the years, which is quite an accomplishment, but did lose the headgear, so I had to replace that one piece (which is why this review is running today, rather than three weeks ago when I actually wanted to run it).  He’s a clear variant and all, but I think he works a lot better than the typical quick-change figure.

#4077: Superman – Returns

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SUPERMAN — RETURNS

DC MULTIVERSE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

“Both a son of the otherworldly Krypton and Planet Earth’s smalltown Smallville, the metahuman Super Hero Superman, aka Metropolis’s Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent, must now juggle both jobs and personas while under the most severe attack he’s ever faced. If Lex Luthor has his way, Superman will soon see the last of Earth…and earthlings will rejoice.”

1978’s Superman: The Movie revolutionized comic book movie adaptations, bringing the hero into a real world setting, and also granting us a defining portrayal of Superman courtesy of Christopher Reeve.  It’s really good.  It’s sequels?  Well, a lot of people like II.  I don’t know that it’s the classic that the first one is, but people like it, so that’s…good?  There’s another two, but people don’t generally like those.  They so didn’t like Quest For Peace that there were no Superman movies for almost 20 years afterwords.  The next film was sort of a sequel to the first two movies, ignoring the latter two, but, obviously with an all-new cast.  Superman Returns saw Superman returning after 5 years away from Earth (and presumably about 5 years after Superman II, though with an updated timeline), and…it’s…fine?  It isn’t great, and it’s certainly not up to the original.  There’s a lot of questionable choices.  That said, the film’s choice of Superman, Brandon Routh, was not a questionable choice, and was in fact a pretty solid follow-up to Reeve.  While Returns didn’t give him the greatest material to work with, he did eventually get to return to the role for CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earth’s” crossover, which definitely better served him.  The movie hasn’t gotten really any merchandise at all since the tie-in stuff from 2006, but Routh’s turn as the Man of Steel has made its way into McFarlane’s run before they wrap up, and I’m taking a look at him today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman — Returns is a standard release from McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line, as part of a “Theatrical” assortment that also includes Henry Cavill’s Superman from Dawn of Justice.  Only the best Superman movies are represented here.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 39 points of articulation.  His sculpt shares a good number of parts with the Reeve Superman, which isn’t the craziest idea.  *Technically* the suit should have a texture to it, but it was only sort of visible.  He gets a brand new head, pelvis, and boots, as well as a modified torso with the raised logo.  The head’s a pretty respectable likeness of Routh; a little more cartoony and stylized, much like the Reeve sculpt, but that’s not bad, and it makes them consistent with each other.  As with the Reeve Superman, Routh gets a cloth cape, but this one doesn’t get any sort of wire running through it.  Thankfully, it’s at least a fabric that has a nice natural hang to it, so it’s not as awkward as the Zero Hour cape ended up being.  In terms of color work, he’s a lot of molded colors, which works generally well.  They’ve captured the overall shades of his costume from the movie pretty closely, and the paint work on the face is very sharply defined.  In terms of accessories, he’s *very* stripped down, with only a stand and a card.  It’s not even a flight stand; just the basic black disc.  He doesn’t even get extra hands, which have up to now been pretty standard for Superman.  Instead, he’s just got fists, which do line up with the image on the card, but also feel a bit limiting; he can’t even do the poster shot pose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though I’ll admit its flaws, I do have a soft spot for Returns and for Routh in the role.  I still have my original figure from the movie line, but of course it’s not in scale with much of anything else, certainly not any of my other Supermen.  I was looking forward to this one, but he sold out pretty quickly online, and I wasn’t sure how much hunting I’d be doing.  On our way back from South Carolina, we had to stop for some baby wipes, and the only practical place to stop was a Walmart, and the layout was such that it walked me right past the freshly stocked McFarlane display, which had this guy front and center, so I decided it was a sign and bought him.  He’s lacking on the parts front for sure, but the core figure really is quite nice.  McFarlane really did get making a good Superman figure down to a science during their run, I’ll give them that.