Tag Archives: DC

#3526: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

DC MULTIVERSE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Fun FiQ Fact #0005:  This is my second Nightwing of the week and my 21st Nightwing review in the history of the site!  They can drink now!

In case you haven’t noticed, I do like me some Nightwing figures.  I’m generally not super picky about them, at least as far as quality is concerned, which is why I tend to wind up going back to certain wells for more and more punishment.  One such well is the McFarlane well.  McFarlane has made five Nightwings thus far.  I got the first one, and I was honestly rather letdown.  So letdown that I didn’t even keep him.  I got rid of a Nightwing.  That’s gotta say something, right?  I’ve looked at all of the others as they’ve shown up in front of me, and I’ve just known I’d be disappointed again.  And now I’ve actually gone and gotten one.  Am I gonna be disappointed?  Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the Titans series of DC Multiverse, which was a mass-release set of Build-A-Figure part-bearing figures, which hit mid-last year.  They’re kind of a mix of designs, mostly on the modern side.  For his part, Nightwing appears to based on his most current design from his solo book, which is actually a pretty solid look.  It’s very similar to his Hush look, but with a dash of animated thrown in.  The figure stands just over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  It’s the standard McFarlane set-up, which is to say it has its plusses and minuses.  It generally doesn’t break up the sculpt too awkwardly, which is a plus.  The sculpt is generally not a bad one, especially given the source.  The proportions aren’t too odd, and the detailing is mostly just what’s supposed to be there, without a ton of extra detailing that’s not needed.  I like a streamlined Nightwing, so I like this a lot more than the prior sculpts.  The head’s not bad, but it’s definitely a bit more on the cartoony side.  There’s a heck of a chin on this guy, and he’s got wonky different sized eyes.  Also, I’m not entirely sure what’s supposed to be going on with his hair.  It looks fine from certain angles but awkward from others.  Nightwing’s paint is pretty clean.  The blue is bold and eye-catching, which I like.  I don’t like that the shoulder assembly once again breaks up the blue line-work, but Todd’s not letting that particular gimmick go.  Nightwing is packed with a display stand and a card.  It’s kind of crazy that he gets no eskrima sticks, nor hands to hold them, especially with them being on the art for the included card, but that’s McFarlane.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I saw this guy’s initial photos and thought “he doesn’t look so bad.”  It wasn’t enough for me to track him down, mind you, but when one got traded in at All Time, it certainly made me contemplate buying him.  I was gonna wait it out and see where I fell, but my co-worker Mike decided to make it easier on me, and just bought it for me as a Christmas gift.  That certainly took a lot of the thought out of it.  It’s honestly not a bad figure.  I mean, not great, but I didn’t expect that.  But, within the confines of the set-up, he’s okay.

#3524: Shazam!

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

SHAZAM!

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0003:  The character that would eventually become Shazam was originally intended to be called “Captain Thunder” and “Captain Marvelous” before Fawcett Comics landed on “Captain Marvel.”

Kenner’s Super Powers has a very hard link to Christmas for me.  As a kid, for a good stretch of time, I got one every Christmas, and, in recent years, it’s a trend that’s returned.  I’m actually very close to the end of the line, which also means that I’ve gotten to the point where all of the ones I need are nearer the more expensive side of things, and also all hail from the line’s last year.  That includes today’s focus, a Captain Marvel named Shazam!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shazam was released in 1986, as part of the third and final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  While the character wouldn’t actually take on the name “Shazam” in-universe until 2011, since by 1986, the Captain Marvel trademark was firmly in Marvel Comics’ possession, so whether he used the name in the books or not, no toys could use it.  Rather amusingly, Marvel themselves didn’t really do much with it either, with their first figure based on any of *their* Captain Marvels not seeing a release until the late ’90s.  But, I’m getting side-tracked.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has the line’s standard 7 points of articulation.  Shazam sported a unique sculpt, based specifically on his later DC design, which moved him more into the traditional spandex set-up.  His sculpt is a little stiffer than the others, which is especially notable in the straightness on the arms.  His head seems a bit soft compared to others in the line.  They’re clearly trying to capture the character’s more unique facial features, while keeping him in-line with the house style of the rest of the figures.  The end result is sort of middling.  Definitely not the strongest the line had to offer.  His cape was cloth.  On my figure, it’s a repro; the original had a unique plastic clasp piece, as well as some rather nice printed details.  Shazam’s paint work is minimal, but it’s decent enough.  There’s a little wear on mine, but nothing crazy.  Shazam gets no accessories, but he gets the usual action feature.  In his case it’s a “Power Action Thunder Punch;”  squeezing the legs makes the arms swing in opposite directions.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As has been the trend on the last few of these, Shazam was my main Christmas gift from my parents this year.  While Mister Miracle was one of the line’s finest, and a great send-off from the final year, Shazam is definitely more middle of the road.  He’s okay, and I’m sure glad to finally have him, but he himself isn’t much to write home about.  And now I’ve got four left.  This is getting very exciting!

#3522: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

Welcome back guys!  I’m…well, refreshed isn’t the right word to use for my post-Christmas break state, since I pretty much just spent the week dealing with the flu, but…it’s a week later?  Yep, that’s it.  First things first: I’ve got a bit of updating to be done.  I’ll be honest with you all, after ten years of doing the site, it’s become routine, and out of routine can come monotony.  And monotony doesn’t make for exciting writing or exciting reading.  And, if I’m not having fun here, then I ask you, what’s the damn point?  I might as well pack the whole thing up.  But I don’t wanna do that, so I’m going to tweak my formula a bit.  Namely, since I know from at least some portion of my readership, that the “Me Half of the Equation” is the bit they read first before going back to the rest if they think it’s worth it, and it’s also my favorite part to write, I’m moving it to the top.  Well, some of it, at least.  Overall assessment of the figure and post-review wrap-up will still be at the end, but the more interesting interludes are now starting things off.  Additionally, I’m going to try to give my reviews a little bit of a peppy-fun-type fact of the day, be it tied to the item’s history, or to my own, because I think that sounds fun.  And, because this is my site, I totally reserve the right to reverse the whole thing and go back to the old style.  We’ll see.  Awaaaaaaay we gooooo!

Fun FiQ Fact #0001:  Dick Grayson is not DC’s first character to use the name Nightwing; in the Silver Age, Superman used the identity while fighting crime in the Bottle City of Kandor, and eventually passed it on to his cousin Van-Zee.

A good portion of my modern DC collecting is owed to early ’00s DC Direct, and one of the most formative lines for me was Batman: Hush, based on Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s run on Batman.  In particular, it was the line’s second series, which featured Nightwing, which got me downright addicted.  I had the release date memorized, and I’d check DCD’s shipping schedules every week for it.  I’d ask about it at Cosmic Comix.  I had pictures saved on my desktop.  The figures haunted my dreams.  And Nightwing stood above them all.  So, when they finally *did* show up, and he was the one that was already gone when I got there, it only made the obsession worse.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a long wait for a restock, and I did get one, which I loved to pieces.  No, seriously, to pieces, because it was a ’00s DCD figure and they had the durability of wet toilet paper.  I’ve still got him, but he’s more glue than plastic at this point, I think.  Still, I do love that Jim Lee Nightwing.  And then MAFEX comes along, with they’re updates to the Hush figures, and Nightwing’s there, and there’s *literally* no way I’m missing that one, right?  Not on your life.  It was another long wait, and one that made me very much remember the wait for the original, but that’s honestly pretty appropriate, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is figure 175 in Medicom’s MAFEX line-up, and is the most current of the line’s Hush tie-in figures, though Ivy is close behind. The figure stands right at about 6 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation. The movement here is very similar to that of Hush, albeit less restricted, since Dick doesn’t have the trench coat to worry about. It’s a very handy articulation set-up for a guy who’s a trained acrobat, so that’s a very definite plus. Nightwing sports a sculpt based on Jim Lee’s illustrations of the character from the book. Lee’s take on the design isn’t drastically different from the design that came before it, but he ditches the padding on the forearms and shins, resulting in a far more streamlined look, and one that’s, quite frankly, Nightwing’s best.  As with the other two MAFEXes I’ve looked at, the Jim Lee stylings are captured very nicely here, and in general, he makes for a very clean transition to toy form. Like the others, Nightwing gets two different heads, one calmer, and one gritting his teeth. They’re both very nice, very sharp sculpts, which really look the part. Nightwing’s color work is pretty much what it needs to be. It’s basic, but clean. The blue is appropriately bright and eye-catching, and they’ve even remembered to make the mask on both heads blue, fixing the error we saw on the Icons figure. Nightwing is packed with six pairs of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, relaxed, and stick twirling), two standard eskrima sticks, one pair of sticks with a posable wire running between them, an alternate back piece with stick storage, and a display stand. I love all the options for the sticks, though I did have some difficulty getting the spinning ones to stay on their matching hands.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

My very long wait for this guy was brought to an end courtesy of All Time Toys owner Jason, who gave me this one as a Christmas present (well, this was my more store related gift; I also got a spot cleaner for carpets, which excites me because I’m apparently an old person now). I very much enjoy him. I’ve got a lot of Nightwings, but this one is the best.

#3516: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

It’s not uncommon to rag on modern comics as being total crap and having no value, or quality.  Certainly, not every one is a winner, that’s true.  Of course, that’s also been true of comics the whole time there’s been comics, so it feels like a middling point at best.  I myself am still a regular reader of a good number of comics, and there’s a few I’ve been really enjoying.  Perhaps the one I’ve been enjoying the most consistently for the last few years has been Tom Taylor’s Nightwing.  I’ve always loved the character, and I love where his current book places him within the DCU as a whole.  With the state of DC and its tie-ins being where they are, the book hasn’t gotten any proper tie-in figures, but Nightwing’s initial look was just his main Rebirth design, which snuck its way into Mattel’s late-run figures.  So, let’s look at that one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing was released as part of the Ninja Batman Series of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse.  It was a largely Titans-themed set…you know, apart from the CnC.  Nightwing fit right in.  As noted in the intro, he’s based on his Rebirth redesign, which is a solid classic Nightwing look.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Nightwing was built on the line’s mid-sized male body, same as Kyle.  It’s not *as* updated as some of the other late run figures from Mattel, but it was certainly an upgrade over the DCUC bodies.  It’s got decent movement, decent proportions, and even has pinless joints.  He gets a unique head, forearms, and hands, which are pretty respectable offerings.  Definitely dialing into that in-line aesthetic, and also fitting the character pretty well.  The forearms in particular are impressive, since they definitely could have gotten away without doing the arm wraps, and yet they did anyway.  Nightwing’s paint work is decent enough.  It reflects the color scheme from the books pretty nicely.  The blue is especially striking, and the paint application is all nice and clean.  Nightwing was packed with two sets of hands, in gripping and fists, as well as his eskrima sticks.  Not a ton, but also hits all the basics, which is what you really need.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

By the end of Mattel’s run, this line got pretty hard to find at retail, and chances of finding individual figures were zero to none.  Since I didn’t want to order a whole set online just to get a Nightwing, I wound up passing on this guy at the time of his release.  I was, however, fortunate enough to come across a loose one, when it got traded into All Time.  He’s the best Nightwing that Mattel put out, to be sure, and he’s honestly just one of the best versions of the character in this scale.

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.

#3511: Blue Beetle

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

BLUE BEETLE

CLASSIC HEROES (DC DIRECT)

“Picking up the mantle of his predecessor, and lacking the mystical blue scarab that gave Garrett super-powers, Ted Kord turned his skills as an acrobat and Olympic-level athlete to fighting crime as the new BLUE BEETLE! With the technical knowhow to create the flying Bug, his mobile crime-fighting base, Blue Beetle is a potent force against the underworld!”

One of the best things about this year’s Blue Beetle movie (which is really, really good by the way, so please check it out) was how lovingly faithful it was to the legacy of the character.  While the story is very definitely Jaime’s, the scarab’s two previous owners are both addressed.  Ted Kord may not directly appear in the film, there’s no denying that he is a very much an integral player in the overall story, and a lot of his history with the role is explored, which was so very cool.  Of course, with no Ted on-screen, there’s no Ted for the minor amount of tie-in toys, so I’ll just have to rely on my backlog of them for a while, huh?  Let’s take a jump back to early in his figure run, then!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blue Beetle was released in DC Direct’s Classic Heroes line-up.  He was released in June of 2002, back when they were still just kind of one long-running line with each assortment fitting a different theme.  Classic Heroes was a set specifically based on the characters DC had acquired from other companies, with Beetle and The Question showcasing Charlton Comics, and wave-mates Phantom Lady and Uncle Sam showcasing Quality Comics.  This marked Ted’s second figure, following up on his JLA figure from 1999.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  Blue Beetle got a unique sculpt for this release.  He’s definitely patterned more on his earliest DC appearances, prior to his “Bwa-ha-ha” era, but not quite going full Charlton in design.  It’s a good sculpt, very clean and concise.  It’s not super posable, but it does the basics, much like the Legion figures from the same era.  Ted’s got a fairly realistic and balanced set of proportions, so he’s not superhuman, which feels right for the character.  His lower legs do seem maybe a touch too short, but it’s pretty minor.  The goggles are a separate piece on the head, allowing you to see his eyes beneath, which is definitely a cool touch.  Beetle’s paint work is very clean and very sharp, which I really dig.  The colors are quite bold, and feel proper for the character.  I love how the black line-work turned out, and his eyes look really good beneath the goggles.  Ted is packed with his BB Gun and grapple line.  The grapple has a suction cup on the end, so you can hang him from windows and such, which is really great fun.  The only downside is that he’s only got one gripping hand, so he hand hold onto the line and his BB gun at the same time.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I knew of Blue Beetle more as a concept than an actual character when this figure came out, but his release actually got me more interested.  Unfortunately, my local comic shop, Cosmic Comix, sold out of him before I could actually get one back in the day, and I’ve not seen one in person since.  Well, that is, until Cosmic Comix got one traded in over the summer.  Hey, it’s a fun little roundabout way of getting the figure, I suppose.  I’m glad I finally found this guy, because I do really love him.  I’ve gotten other versions of Ted since this one’s release, but something about this one just seems so…quaint?  I don’t know, but I love it.

#3506: Mon-El

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

MON-EL

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES (DC DIRECT)

In the early days of the Legion of Super Heroes, the team had a rule about no duplication of powers between members, which seemed largely to be in place to avoid issues of members whose powers were just native abilities of everyone on their planet being outclassed by people from the same planet.  There were, however, some seeming exceptions to those rules, since Mon-El, a guy whose powers were effectively the same as Superboy and Supergirl, has been a long-term member of the team.  Maybe they just all felt sorry for the guy?  I mean, he’s fatally allergic to lead, which feels like it would really suck.  Also, his super hero name is just because he didn’t know who he was when Superboy found him, and Superboy thought he was his older brother, so he gave him the El name, coupled with “Mon” because he landed on Earth on a Monday.  Guy’s named after a day of the week.  And he’s allergic to lead.  That’s all pretty rough.  He did at least get an action figure.  So, he’s got that going for him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mon-El was released in Series 2 of DC Direct’s Legion of Super Heroes line.  It was a small line-up, with just Mon-El and Brainiac 5, both pretty notable additions to the line-up.  The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  Mon-El largely shares his sculpt with Series-mate Brainiac 5.  It’s a decent sculpt, and the two of them had enough common elements to make it work well enough.  Typically, Mon-El’s a little larger than Brainy, but they were both clearly meant to be based on their early Silver Age appearances, when they were both closer in build.  Mon-El gets a unique head, a skirt/belt piece, and a cape.  They’re pretty basic pieces, but they definitely get the job done, and they fit the rest of the line’s styling very well.  Mon-El’s totally painted, like most DCD figures of the era.  It’s a pretty solid set-up.  The colors are very bright, and the application is cleanly handled.  He even gets a little bit of blue accenting on his hair, which adds a little extra to the sculpted elements.  Mon-El included no accessories, which was the norm for most of this line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When the Legion figures were originally coming out, my Dad and I kind of had a “shared” collection of DC Direct figures, with the Legion being officially his, but on the proviso that I could borrow them pretty much whenever.  However, Ferro Lad’s addition to the line meant that I *had* to start building my own collection.  Since then, I’ve been slowly building my own set.  Mon-El’s one that’s eluded me for a good long while, since he doesn’t show up nearly as often as some of the others.  I wound up getting this one this past summer, courtesy of Cosmic Comix, who got in a decent DC collection.  He’s basic, but I like him.

#3498: Huntress

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

HUNTRESS

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

A year and a half ago, I took a look at my first MAFEX figure, Hush.  I ended that review noting that I was really pulled in by the announcement of Nightwing, and that he was the figure I was really after.  So, for my *second* MAFEX review, I’m looking at….still not Nightwing.  Look, I gotta be patient.  In the mean time, I do have another one, and this one’s another Hush based one.  Let’s take a look at Huntress, why don’t we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Huntress is figure No. 170 in the MAFEX line-up, the eighth Batman: Hush figure to join the line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 38 points of articulation. Hush marked my first experience with the MAFEX set-up as a whole, and he was an interesting experience. Huntress has some similarities, but also some deviations, to work a little better with her particular design. The movement still has more of a smooth flow than a Figuarts figure, but she winds up a little bit restricted in a few spots, most notably at the neck and shoulders. The neck is pretty much unavoidable, due to the hair, but the shoulders are a bit of a bummer. Huntress has a unique sculpt which is, as expected, based on her Jim Lee-illustrated appearance from Hush…more or less.  There are some slight changes to the design to make it work a bit better in figure form, with the most evident being the change to longer shorts, so as to offset the placement of the thigh swivels.  Honestly, it’s a design change that I really don’t mind, so I can’t knock it.  As with Hush, it does a respectable job of translating Lee’s art into three dimensions.  It’s a very clean, very balanced translation.  There are two different heads, one calm and basic, the other a little angrier, with a more dynamic flow to the hair.  She gets a bit of mixed media, with a cloth cape; it’s a well tailored, and it’s even got a wire running along the bottom, so you can get some rather impressive poses out of it.  Huntress’s paint work is very sharp and very clean, with no notable slop or anything like that.  It definitely matches well with the printed colors from the book, and they even got the cape and the painted purples to match up okay.  Huntress doesn’t quite get the array of accessories that Hush did, but she still gets a fair bit.  There’s the extra head mentioned above, plus five pairs of hands (in fists, two styles of gripping, relaxed, and open gesture), her staff and a display stand.  The hands are notably a bit inconsistent on how well they stay on the wrist pegs on my copy, with some of they just falling right off.  It’s more than a little bit annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m still very patiently waiting on my MAFEX Nightwing, but given how much I enjoyed Hush, I decided to explore the line just a little bit further.  While I’m a little bit hit or miss on the Helena Bertineli version of Huntress in the comics, her appearances in Justice League Unlimited really solidified my love of the character.  Back in the DCUC days, I really wanted a good 6-inch version of her in this design, and…well, the DCUC one was a 6-inch version, but I struggle to call it a “good” one.  MAFEX gave me a better option, so this was the one I jumped in on.  She’s not perfect, but she’s close.  I really like her, and I’m happy to be able to replace the DCUC one with a far superior model.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’d like to see a video of her in action, I helped out on one for their YouTube channel here.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3481: Supergirl

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

SUPERGIRL

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

One of the goals of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths was to streamline not just the DC universe as a whole, but also the background of its most popular characters. For Superman, this meant cutting out much of his “Super-family.” His cousin Supergirl died during the events of the crossover, and wasn’t granted an immediate replacement, so as to keep Clark as the “Last Son of Krypton.” In the comics, there were a few other workarounds to keep the Supergirl name going, largely overhauling the whole concept of the character, but for Superman: The Animated Series, they tried to keep her as close to the original, while still playing by DC’s rules.  So, she was no longer Kal-El’s biological cousin from Argo City, a remnant of Krypton which survived.  Instead, she was the last survivor of Argo, Krypton’s sister planet, thrown into chaos by Krypton’s destruction.  Not the worst change-up in the world, right?  And she got an action figure out of the whole thing too!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Supergirl was released in Series 4 of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series line-up.  After Series 3 got only an international release, Series 4 was set to follow suit, but Kenner was able to make a deal with Diamond Distributors to at least get the series to comic stores on the domestic side, saving this set from the same weird delay that hit Series 3.  She would also eventually see a larger domestic release under Hasbro’s tenure, when she was re-released with some minor tweaks, alongside her series-mates Bizarro and Metello, in the “Super Heroes vs Super Villains” boxed set.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 4 points of articulation.  None of her articulation is great, honestly.  The neck is restricted by her hair, her right arm is restricted by the action feature, and she’s got no movement at all below the waist.  Pretty much, she’s just good for standing…although, with no movement on the legs at all, she’s not always so great at that either.  Her sculpt was a totally unique one, and it only got re-used for the one boxed set release later.  None of the STAS sculpts were strictly show accurate, and Kara definitely falls in line with that.  Honestly, it’s not bad.  She generally looks the part from the show, with the only major inaccuracy being the shaping of the skirt; it’s one of those odd things that was common for this line, where they added extra details that they didn’t actually need, with all the folds and flow.  The paint work on the standard release of this figure was pretty straight forward and on point for her design from the show.  For the boxed set version, however, they cut the black piping for the edges of the shirt, which makes her look sort of half finished.  Supergirl was packed with “Aerial Assault Armor,” which is essentially just a snap-on version of Superman’s space suit from the show.  She never wore any such thing, but it’s actually a pretty fun concept, and nicely executed too.  She even gets funky missile launchers!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed out on most of Series 4 as a kid.  I remember seeing them, but they were always back behind the counter at various comic book stores, and always over priced for what they were.  I recall picking up a loose copy of the boxed set release some time after its release, shortly after discovering All Time Toys in 2007.  That one held me over until I was able to get a proper Series 4 version, also from All Time, this past summer.  She’s not a very mobile figure, but she’s a pretty solid recreation of the show design, and at least she wasn’t just another Superman variant.

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.

#3476: Anti-Kryptonite Suit Superman

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

ANTI-KRYPTONITE SUIT SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

Though he may be nigh-invulnerable, Superman is not without his weaknesses. Of particular note is Kryptonite, the irradiated remains of his home planet Krypton, first introduced in the Superman radio show so that Clark’s actor could be absent for a few episodes. It’s become its own thing, with all sorts of different types that do all sorts of different things. But basic green Kryptonite just makes the guy real weak. Not so great when you’ve got people to save, so, with a little bit of outside help, Clark devised a way to protect himself: the Anti-Kryptonite Suit!  The suit’s been around in some form for quite some time in the comics, but also got some pretty notable usage in Superman: The Animated Series, which also netted the concept its first proper action figure, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Anti-Kryptonite Superman follows in the footsteps of Fortress of Solitude Superman, being part of the intended third series of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series, which, despite being shown off in 1997, was not released in the United States until 2001, and as effectively as a KB Toys exclusive at that.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  This line had an interesting relationship with its source material, in that they didn’t pay *that* much attention to it.  A lot of the Superman variants were just made up entirely, so they sort of just did their best to stay on brand, while doing a new design.  In the case of this guy, he *isn’t* made up, but they kind of approached him as if he was.  Some of the more basic design elements of the animated Anti-Kryptonite suit are still present, albeit dressed up a little bit to fit the style of the toys, but it’s all filtered through a desire to tie him back into the classic Superman color scheme, as well as a general move more to the toyetic side of things.  It occupies a weird space because it’s honestly not a bad look on its own…but it’s not the source material.  The sculpt is pretty decent; he got the second best of the Superman heads for the line, and there’s some pretty nifty smaller detailing going into the suit design.  The paint work marks a notable departure for the figure; rather than using the show colors, he’s instead using the standard Superman scheme.  Admittedly, this is an area where you can really see Kenner’s reasoning, since it’s harder to sell kids on the largely grey coloring of the cartoon design.  At least the color work isn’t anything stupidly garrish or anything like that.  Anti-Kryptonite got his removable helmet, as well as a whole big articulated crane thing that goes over his shoulders, and could “capture” the piece of Kryptonite he also included.  Again, it’s a departure from the show design, but it’s also a rather fun gimmick for a toy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was really fixated on the Anti-Kryptonite for a good chunk of my childhood.  I think I had gotten Metallo from this same line not too long before this set finally started to hit, and I had this whole internal team-up arc for him, and you can’t very well have Superman team up with Metallo if he’s not properly protected from Metallo’s Kryptonite heart, right?  Right.  I recall I got this one during one of my family’s fall weekend trips to the beach, back when there was still a KB at the outlets nearby, and I was pretty excited about it.  And then I also got a duplicate one in slightly better condition from All Time back in the spring, so now I’ve got two of them, I guess.

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.

#3467: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II

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

BATMAN, THE FLASH, GREEN ARROW, HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN, & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

Hey, remember that JLA set I looked at yesterday, where I referenced that there was a second, complimentary set a few times?  Well, absolute shock and awe, if you can believe it, I’m gonna look at that second set today.  Whaaaaaaaaaaat?  This set also gets the extra significance of being the review that marks ten years here on the site, and it’s a more significant one, to boot.  So, let’s check this thing out.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Hologram Superman, and Hologram Green Lantern were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II” boxed set, the other half of the kick-off for Kenner’s JLA line.  As noted yesterday, both sets were Previews-exclusives, with the three standard JLA members per set also being available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

BATMAN

“With a brilliantly deductive mind, expert scientific knowledge, and a master of martial arts, Batman watches over Gotham City from its gargoyles and parapets. He’s the city’s last hope against evil.”

With Superman headlining the first set, you gotta have Batman for the second, I guess.  I mean, his name wasn’t above the title of the whole line this time, so I guess he at least needed to have this concession.  He wasn’t going through the weird changes like Big Blue, so he’s just, you know, Batman.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation, plus those wonky sliding wings.  He’s using the Total Justice mold again, and it’s definitely its own thing.  There are a lot of oddities to this one, with the strangest thing definitely being those wings.  Like, why the wings?  It was weird with TJ, but at least there was the armor up gimmick, but with this release, it’s just random wings.  Just one of those weird quirks.  For his Total Justice release, Batman was blue and grey, with yellow accents.  For JLA, it switched two black and grey, with gold accents.  Through all three uses of the mold, the sculpted line for his trunks gets ignored, since DC was still in a “no trunks” mode in the mid-’90s.  Batman was packed with a display stand in black, as well as a backer with JLA #9 on it.  He’s on the cover, so that works alright.

THE FLASH

“A public super hero for almost his entire life. He can reach speeds approaching that of light itself and explode solid objects by vibrating through them.”

Like Kyle as Green Lantern, Wally West as the Flash had gotten his first action figure treatment during Total Justice, and then he got a quick follow-up to that here.  Again, not one that’s incredibly different, but it was at least some coverage.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He re-uses the Total Justice mold, of course, which I looked at when it was Reverse Flash.  As far as the TJ molds go, it’s not too crazy.  The pre-posing is more of a running pose, which works pretty well.  He gets a few additional details that aren’t usually on his comics costume; the flared gloves and all the straps on the boots being the main ones.  It all works pretty well, though.  His paint work is a noted change-up from the TJ figure’s classic red and yellow coloring; instead, he’s a deeper red with gold accenting.  It’s not quite as striking, but at the same time, it really sells him as being Wally’s ’90s incarnation, in contrast to Barry’s usual coloring.  Flash is packed with a red display stand and a backer with JLA #8 on it.  He’s not really the main focus of the cover, but at least he’s on it.

GREEN ARROW

“As the only son of the original Green Lantern, Connor Hawke is a martial arts expert who fires his arrows with almost superhuman accuracy.”

Like Huntress, Connor Hawke’s Green Arrow was a later addition to the JLA line-up.  He was likewise one of the figures in the final assortment of Total Justice, and works as Huntress’s counterpart in this set, since he doesn’t get a Hologram equivalent.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  I looked at this guy’s sculpt before when I reviewed his Total Justice release.  It’s preposed to the point of essentially being a statue, but it also remains perhaps the best sculpt that either of these lines produced.  For JLA, he got a much improved color scheme for the most part, as well as getting a bunch of details that had been left out of the first release’s paint work.  The only downside is that, matching the shift in the comics, his skin tone is very light, not really matching Connor’s proper ethnicity.  Of course, it’s not really Kenner’s fault; they were just following the unfortunate shift in depiction in the source material.  Green Arrow was packed with his bow and arrow (in brown, in contrast to the original green), a green display stand, and a backer card of JLA #10….which is the issue of “Rock of Ages” that features the Hologram JLA….and not Connor.  He *is* prominently featured on the cover of #8, so, maybe that would have made more sense?

HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

As noted yesterday, these sets each got two unique Hologram JLA members (and they even did two more in the Collection IV boxed set), mirroring the standard versions in the corresponding set.  This time around, we got Superman and Green Lantern.  Both figures stand just shy of 5 inches tall and they have 5 points of articulation.  I looked at both of the molds for these figures in yesterday’s set, and they kind of are what the are.  The Superman set-up is still a real mix and match and Green Lantern is very, very intense.  Of course, it wouldn’t really make much sense for them to be different, since the match-up is kind of the whole gimmick and all.  They both get funky change-up color schemes, and I honestly think I prefer the looks on these two to the other ones.  In particular, the changed up logo on Superman is a lot of fun, and I just dig the indigo set-up on GL so much.  The figures both come with dark purple display stands and backer cards, with JLA #11 going to Superman and JLA #12 for Green Lantern.  Neither of them actually features in either issue, of course, but both issues *are* at least from the “Rock of Ages” storyline, and their corresponding counterpart is prominently featured on them, so they’re far from the worst choices.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve discussed this set a little bit before on the site, back when I looked at the TJ version of Green Arrow, but I’ll go a bit further into detail now, I suppose.  In 1998, when this set came out, I was five years old.  At the time, I would spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house.  In particular, it was a frequent tradition that my Grandmother would come and pick me up from school on Friday afternoons, and we would go get lunch at the local mall, followed by a little bit of shopping.  My main interest was usually the KB Toys, but right across from it was the comic chain Another Universe, which was usually a good secondary.  Another Universe had both of these sets, and I really, really wanted Green Arrow, whose single carded release was still very hard to find at the time.  My Grandmother could have just asked me to be patient and wait for the single, but instead, she bought me the whole set.  They got a lot of play time when I was a kid, especially that Green Arrow.  I lost a lot of the parts, as well as the two Hologram Leaguers over the years, but I still have very pleasant memories of the whole set and the story behind them.  My Grandmother died at the end of August this year, and now all I have left are those, and other, memories of our time together.  So, when I had the chance to get a replacement of the set, and carry those memories forward, I kind of couldn’t pass it up.