Tag Archives: DC

#3923: Deadman

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

DEADMAN

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

“Given an eerie afterlife as the spectral superhero called Deadman, he has the power to possess the living in order to fight for justice… and find his own killer.”

Today’s review poses a very important question: are there enough crazy high collars in the Super Powers line-up?  The answer is probably not, but have no fear, today’s entry helps to bolster those numbers, right under the wire.  There’s certainly an interesting juxtaposition of the final assortment of a line including amongst its members a guy with “dead” in his name.  Is it a bit on the nose?  Perhaps, but if it gets me another Deadman figure, I suppose I can’t complain too much, now can I?  So, without further ado here’s the aforementioned Deadman and his aforementioned collar.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Deadman is the second figure in Series 11 of McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation line, which serves as the wrap-up to this line before the rights transfer back to Mattel next year.  As with the rest of the assortment, he was a “Gold Label” figure, available only through McFarlane’s online store.  This is Boston Brand’s first time in this style, but it’s pretty fitting, given he was a well-established character at the time of the vintage line’s run.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Deadman has a fair number of parts in common with the Nightwing figure from this same assortment.  The sculpt was definitely designed for Nightwing first, though, because it’s still got his distinctive glove shape at the back.  He does get a new head, as well as a new collar piece, because you gotta really go all out on that collar.  Boston Brand simply will not be outdone on that collar, certainly not by some other acrobat crime fighter.  So, behold the unbridled glory that is his collar.  Hell yeah.  Honestly, it’s a pretty fun sculpt.  The Deadman specific parts work well, and the base body is pretty neat, apart from the ever so slightly too small feet.  It’s too bad it arrived too late for a little bit more usage.  His paint work is relatively clean, and to the paint.  The dual tone reds work well, and the white makes for a good clean contrast against the other parts.  Deadman has no accessories, but when you really get down to it, aren’t all of the other figures really just his accessories?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Deadman’s a bit of a left field choice.  I was definitely a bit surprised to see him turn up.  That said, I get why, since he’s a pretty easy way to parts share with the Nightwing.  I also won’t complain about getting a Deadman figure, because he’s just pretty cool.  He translates well to this style, and I really do like how he turned out.  He’s a decidedly apt figure for the line to go out on.

#3919: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE TOYS)

George Lucas once said of his telling of the Star Wars story that “it’s like poetry; it rhymes.”  I’m gonna be just as sanctimonious as he was for just a moment here and apply that to a set of my own reviews here at the site.  Back in 2023, I reviewed my first McFarlane Super Powers figure, which was the Series 3 Nightwing.  Last year, in the full swing of the line’s run, I reviewed the second Nightwing.  And now, in 2025, I’m kicking off my reviews of the final series of McFarlane’s Super Powers with a look at, you guessed it, Nightwing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is, as noted above, the first figure in the final series of Super Powers from McFarlane.  Interestingly, however, though they are the last set released, they are numerically Series 11, as billed by McFarlane themselves, putting them ahead of the Superman movie figures.  Whatever the case, they are indeed the last set, and they are all of them “Gold Label” figures, exclusive to McFarlane’s online shop.  This is Nightwing’s third go at a figure in this line, which is quite an accomplishment, especially given that Dick already had a figure in the vintage line, albeit as Robin.  We’ve been getting progressively further and further back on the costume designs, so this one finally puts him in his original Perez attire, which is the costume he actually had during the original line’s run.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  The last two Nightwings both used the same mold, but this one is all-new, and far more accurate to the aesthetic of the vintage line.  I do generally like it.  The head in particular feels pretty on the mark, in terms of looking like Dick as Nightwing, and also feeling at home with the original run.  The neck does end up with some odd flashing at the spot where it joints the toros, which I don’t love, and I also feel like the feel seem a little too small for the rest of the body.  That said, the stance is spot-on for Kenner styling, and I like the slightly sculpted elements of this costume.  His paint work is rather basic, but it works well enough for the most part.  The changeovers on the outfit in particular are pretty cleanly handled.  Nightwing is without accessories, but given the amount of new parts, and the lack of any real obvious extras to include, it’s not too big a deal.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I love Nigthwing.  I love Super Powers.  A Nightwing Super Powers figure is something that should bring me joy.  The last two weren’t *bad*, but the costume choices and general design aesthetic really bugged me, and made it difficult to really enjoy either of them.  I also felt like it was increasingly unlikely that we’d get a Nightwing that was actually supposed to go with the rest of the line.  Needless to say, I was very happy to be proven wrong when this figure popped up.  He’s not perfect, but he’s what I wanted from the start.  If the line’s going to end, I’m happy to have finally gotten this guy for the line-up.

#3915: Guy Gardner

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

GUY GARDNER

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

“Hot-headed, unruly, and prone to breaking the rules, Guy Gardner isn’t always the most likable hero but he’s proven time and again to be a worthy Green Lantern.”

I can’t believe I’m going to have reviewed three whole Guy Gardner figures this year on the site.  I…like, how does that happen.  I mean, sure, one of them was a movie tie-in from my favorite movie of the year, so that’s a lock, but the other two?  Guy?  Really?  Yeah, I guess it’s just a thing that’s happening.  Well, I looked at one of Guy’s two Super Powers figures from the last 12 months, I suppose it’s only fair to look at the other one, especially with it being the actual comics one and all.  So, without further ado, another Guy Gardner.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guy Gardner was released in Series 8 of McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation line, alongside the previously reviewed Booster Gold, Black Manta, Metamorpho, and Fleischer Superman, as well as a Dark Knight Returns Batman I didn’t get…yet.  He was the fourth Green Lantern to join the line, after John, Hal, and Kilowog.  I guess fifth if you count Sinestro.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Guy’s sculpt appears to be totally unique.  In terms of build and posture, it’s definitely patterned on the vintage Hal (and his subsequent update in the McFarlane line), which is far from a bad thing, as that’s always been my favorite of the Kenner Super Powers sculpts.  His head sports his signature Moe Howard cut, and is notably not shared with the later movie style figure. He’s got a more prominent jaw on this one, and a slightly rowdier expression.  The body gets all of the appropriate costume elements that Guy’s supposed to have, all sculpted right on him.  It’s really a strong set-up, and everything is very sharp and feels really solid; not as tacked together as some of the earlier figures from the line.  His paint work is decent enough.  His green matches all the later GLs, leaving poor John out in the cold.  I do think it really works well, though, and his general set-up is very clean and hits all the appropriate notes for the character.  Guy is packed with nothing.  Not even his power battery.  I feel like they could have just re-used Hal’s here, but at the same time, I kind of respect the move to go for all the new sculpting, so it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been classically much of a Guy Gardner fan.  I’ve made that no secret around here.  I blame it on my first exposure to the character being the aborted live-action Justice League TV pilot, if I’m honest.  Whatever the case, he’s never quite struck a chord with me, so I tend to pass up figures of him if I can.  Which is exactly what I did when this guy rolled around back at the tail end of last year.  I focused on the other figures in the set, and just let him slip by.  Once the movie figures were out, and I got him that way, I figured that was good enough.  But, I was picking up my comics (from my go-to spot, Cosmic Comix) a couple of weeks ago, and this guy was one of the small handful of Super Powers they happened to have, and…I just felt compelled to own him.  He’s really good.  Like, I don’t like Guy, but this is just a good figure.  Top marks for McFarlane on this one.  It makes me even sadder we never got a John of the same quality as this figure and the Hal update.  But, at least this one’s pretty darn cool.

#3911: Hal Jordan – Armor Suit

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

HAL JORDAN — ARMOR SUIT

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

“After years of faithful service, Hal rebelled against the Guardians when they refused to let him change history and restore Coast City after Mongol destroyed it. Unbeknown to anyone, Jordan was infected by the fear parasite Parallax, which had been imprisoned for eons in the Central Power Battery on Oa. It drove Hal to attack hundreds of his comrades, stealing their power rings as he stormed across the universe to a titanic confrontation with the Guardians’ last hope—a freed and restored Sinestro.”

If nothing else, McFarlane’s run with the DC license has certainly gotten us a lot of looks that have never seen toys before.  After exhausting pretty much every Batman variant possible early in their run, they then started doing this with other DC characters.  We got a whole plethora of Green Lanterns, and Hal Jordan in particular got some decent coverage of a lot of his major looks.  And also some not so major ones, too.  How about that?  Well, let’s look at one of those not particularly major ones, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hal Jordan in Armor Suit is a 2025 release for DC Multiverse.  He shipped alongside Eradicator and Western Batman.  He and Eradicator are both from the “Return of Superman” story.  Crazy that we got a white-streaks in his hair Hal and you’ll never know it.  Hal’s seen here in his armored up look from his fight with Mongul after the destruction of Coast City.  It’s a rather minor look, but also kind of a cool one, since it serves as something of a precursor to his eventual Parallax costume upgrade.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  This figure’s entire existence more or less relies on one thing: parts re-use.  As such, he is almost entirely re-used from the Steel figure released last year.  He gets a new head and a modified torso to sell it all. As with other instances of McFarlane doing this sort of re-use, it relies on half-stepping between both looks, and as a result neither is truly accurate to the source material.  In Hal’s case, that’s ultimately kind of forgivable.  The armor was a construct of his ring, and that allows a little more room for interpretation and imagination, I feel.  The new parts are pretty decent.  I like that the head keeps the same general facial structure as the Silver Age Hal from last year.  I also appreciate the decision to keep the helmet consistent with the body armor, rather than making it specifically comic accurate and risking it not really matching.  Hal’s color work is a lot of molded greens, of differing shades.  For the most part, they’re supposed to be different, but the elbows and knees notably don’t match the rest of the arms/legs around them, which looks a bit off.  The symbol on his chest is painted with a textured paint that made me think it was supposed to glow, but it appears it doesn’t.  He’s also got a tiny bit of painted shading on his lower torso and upper legs, which seems a little out of place.  It’s not awful, just strange that there’s not more of it, honestly.  Hal is packed with Steel’s hammer, a display stand, and a collector’s card.  The hammer’s a pretty essential part of the scene, so it’s good it’s here, though it’s really kind of floppy and prone to bending under its own weight.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I’ve cooled somewhat in more recent years, there’s very definitely a part of my ape brain that if there’s a neat Green Lantern figure, especially Hal Jordan, then I need to own it.  This figure was definitely activating that part of my ape brain.  Thankfully, I ended up getting him as a birthday present from my parents this year, so, hey, ape brain needs fulfilled.  He’s not accurate, and the droopy hammer is silly, but I do think he’s quite fun.

#3907: Superboy

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

SUPERBOY

MAFEX (MEDICOM)

I’ve touched on Medicom’s MAFEX line a few times here on the site.  While my most recent review kind of broke the mold a bit, my reviews have otherwise been DC-based, all of them hailing from the running sub-line of figures based on Batman: Hush.  Hush is a pretty solid way of doing a large swath of Batman-related characters in one cohesive style, but it does limit you mostly to just Batman.  For a focus on DC’s original super hero, Medicom also started up a based around the “Death” and “Return of Superman” storylines from the ‘90s.  Their primary focus has been the Superman replacements from “Reign of the Superman,” who each took over one of Supes’ four books running at the time. Taking over Adventures of Superman was “the Metropolis Kid,” Superboy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superboy is figure 232 in the MAFEX line-up.  He’s the fifth figure in the Return of Superman set-up, and the last of the four replacement Supermen to join the line.  The figure stands a hair over 6 inches tall and he has 42 points of articulation.  In terms of scaling, Superboy feels a touch too large for the other MAFEX figures I’ve picked up.  Not crazy levels of out of scale, but he definitely feels like he should maybe be a little shorter.  His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as the others I’ve looked at, which is to say it’s quite good, and allows for a lot of solid posing.  Nothing’s too overly loose or anything, and he can hold a pose quite well.  The figure’s sculpt is based on Tom Grummett’s initial design for the character, which is by far his best, and really his most enduring design.  It’s also the one that matches all the other figures, so it’s got that going for it too.  It translates quite nicely into figure form, and the little raised and recessed elements of the costume design all make it stand out quite well.  There are three included heads, all based on Grummett’s depictions of Kon-El.  There’s a neutral expression, an angry expression, and one with sunglasses affixed.  Of the three, I think I lean towards the sunglasses head the most, but I really like all three, and it’s great how consistent his look is between all of them.  Rather than being a sculpted element, like Hush’s trench coat was, Superboy’s distinctive leather jacket is a softgoods piece.  It’s good.  It’s well-tailored, not too limiting on the posability, and there’s a wire running through the belt for extra dynamic posing options.  I do worry about how well it will hold up in the long run, but I guess I’ll just enjoy it for what it is now.  The color work here is really bright and colorful, and feels very true to his early appearances.  The paint is all really clean, and there’s some especially strong work on the heads.  Superboy is packed with five different pairs of hands (fists, flat, thumbs up, open gesture, and relaxed), and a display stand.  It’s a little light, but he’s also got the three heads and the jacket, so it makes up for it, I feel.  The hands swap easily, but I’d be careful with them, because the glove cuffs have a real tendency to go flying during the swaps.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got in relatively close to the ground floor with this incarnation of Superboy, getting the Man of Steel figure when it was new, and following his comic from an early point until it was cancelled.  I’ve always liked the character, and I’ve never been much of a fan of the jeans and t-shirt direction they took him under the Johns era.  It feels like something of how he was supposed to work kind of got lost there.  Thus far, I’ve just stuck to the Hush figures, and I even missed the standard Superman from that line, so I avoided the Return figures.  Superboy made that a lot harder to stick to, especially in light of my seriously renewed investment in Superman as a whole, post movie release.  This guy wound up being a birthday gift from my parents this year, and he’s super, super cool, and a great reminder that, no matter how far I progress from the decade that birthed me, I’ll never really be able to kick the need to own characters wearing leather jackets over their spandex.

#3903: Superman

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

SUPERMAN — 2025 MOVIE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

“Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”

While I’ve briefly touched on my feelings regarding the new Superman movie here on the site, I don’t feel I’ve truly articulated exactly how I feel about it.  The original 1978 film is a truly defining film for really the whole genre of super hero films, and a really tough act to follow, to the point that really not even any of the other Reeve films could do it, much less the two reboots after them.  I was hopeful for Gunn’s new take on Superman, but I simply didn’t anticipate just how well the film would do at capturing the spirit of the character.  I haven’t been as excited about a super hero movie since Captain America: Winter Soldier, which I assure you is exceptionally high praise.  David Corenswet’s turn as Clark Kent is on par with Reeve in terms of definitive, and I’m officially in my “want a bunch of figures from the movie” phase.  So, here’s one of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman is part of McFarlane’s DC Multiverse tie-ins for the movie, specifically from one of the two standard price-point figures (the other being Metamorpho).  This one is just meant to be the standard, barebones version of the character, in his standard attire from the movie.  The figure stands just over 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  The articulation is the standard set-up for the McFarlane stuff, so he’s pretty decently posable.  The sculpt on the figure is all-new.  It’s certainly a stronger offering, with the articulation being worked in rather organically, and the proportions not being super out of whack like earlier releases.  His head sculpt has a really strong likeness of Corenswet.  It’s probably the best of the multitude of sculpts offered up alongside the movie.  The hair’s maybe a little tighter to the head than in the final film, but it’s not far off.  The body sculpt does a lot with the piping and texturing of the design, which translates well to the figure form.  While most of the more recent Supermen have used cloth capes, this one goes back to sculpted, I would presume due to budgetary constraints for this release.  It’s honestly not a bad set-up.  Sure, it’s a bit restricting in posing, but the sculpting of it’s pretty solid.  I like the texturing, and it’s got a pretty natural hang.  The color work on this figure is decent enough, if a bit darker than the colors in the final film.  The suit’s using mostly molded colors, apart from the yellow, which is pretty cleanly painted.  The skin tone is totally painted, which is a little thick and slightly less lifelike, but not terribly so.  The application is again quite clean, and the likeness shows through really well.  Superman is packed with two pairs of hands (a pair of flat, and a fist/open gesture combo), a display stand, and a card.  I do wish he had a pair of fists, rather than just the one, but it’s still workable.  Also, I’d have loved to get a flight stand instead of the standard, but that’s been true of the last several Superman releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s been no secret to my friends and family just how much I enjoyed Superman, so the fact that I didn’t really have any of the figures made them a prime target for gift options for my birthday this year.  This figure in particular was given to me for my birthday by my son Matthew, who was very excited to get him for me.  I had initially thought I’d just be content with the Super Powers figure, but I do really, really love how this guy turned out.  Once more, McFarlane turns in a really great Superman figure right before they hand over the license.

#3899: The Fortress of Solitude with Superman Robot

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

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE with SUPERMAN ROBOT

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

Economies of scale and drifting interests in the world of action figures have almost entirely robbed us of playsets in this day and age.  They just can’t justify themselves most of the time.  Sure, we still get the odd TMNT lair, and there’s a bat cave every so often, but that’s really about it.  McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation has aimed to recapture a lot of the vibes of the vintage line, which has included a decent helping of vehicles to go with the figures.  The only thing they *hadn’t* gotten to was playsets, but they’re swinging for the fences on their last run before handing the license over at the end of the year.  Taking advantage of the hype from the new Superman movie, we’ve gotten a new Fortress of Solitude playset, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

The Fortress of Solitude Playset is part of the Superman movie tie-in portion of McFarlane’s Super Powers line.  There are two different versions of the set available: a standard release and a McFarlane-exclusive Gold Label release that includes an exclusive Superman Robot figure.  The one seen here is the Gold Label version.

The Fortress is a rather large thing, both in the movie and the comics, so there’s obviously a scaled down approach taken here.  We get sort of a slice of the Fortress’s main area, as seen in a number of the movie’s key sequences, mostly focusing on the computer area.  There’s a mixed media approach, with some sculpted elements and some cardboard pieces mixed in.  While the bulk of the crystalline structure is just cardboard, a surprising amount of the rest of it’s sculpted.  The whole central console, the base it plugs into, the chair, the two free-standing columns, and the two end crystals are all plastic.  The central console is certainly the coolest part of the whole thing, with is various buttons and screens all detailed.  The chair just sort of sits there, not actually attached, but I suppose that gives you a little more variety in how exactly you set it all up?  There’s nothing gimmicky or particularly play-related about the set, though.  It’s really just a large display for your figures, but it does that well enough.

Available only with the Gold Label release is the Superman Robot figure.  Specifically, it’s “4”, the Alan Tudyk-voiced robot that serves at the lead robot in the movie.  He’s certainly a noteworthy character, and is present in all of the film’s Fortress scenes, so his inclusion makes a lot of sense.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  His sculpt is all-new, and it’s a decent recreation of the general vibe of the design from the movie.  He’s definitely a little bit clunkier than the in-film design, but it works with the overall style of the line.  The design lends itself to toy form quite nicely, and I love how sharp the detailing is.  His paint work leans heavily into the metallic side of things, which is perhaps not truly “vintage,” since he would have almost certainly been vac metalized blue like the original Brainiac, but it does look pretty nice.  I dig that there’s a variety of different shades of blue, and I quite like how the robotic eye has been rendered.  His only extra is his little blue half-cape, which fits the vibe of the line well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t do much with playsets these days, because space is a premium and all, but I’ll admit the standard Fortress *almost* got me when they showed it off.  I came very close to pulling the trigger, but held off.  I was pretty glad about that when the Gold Label version got leaked, because I absolutely needed a 4 figure, and this let me get him in my preferred style.  The Fortress set-up is neat.  Perhaps a bit pricey for what it is, which is just a large accessory, but that’s kind of where we are.  4 is super cool, though, and I’m glad to have him.  Perhaps the only thing that could have made this set better is if they’d also included a Krypto.

#3895: Ultraman

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

ULTRAMAN

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

While a lot of Superman’s plot and character choices were pretty straightforward and without any crazy surprises, early set photos showed a figure clad entirely in black, with a full-face mask, whose identity was unknown.  It was eventually revealed that the character’s name was “Ultraman,” a name associated with Superman’s evil Earth-3 counterpart from the Crime Syndicate in the comics.  Rumors about the identity of the person under the mask flew about, with lots of ideas, some straightforward, and some far-reaching.  At the end, his identity is pretty straight-forward and probably the most obvious choice.  Anyway, he did get some toy coverage, so let’s look at a bit of that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman is the final single-release figure in Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, which is an entire movie-based assortment.  Ultraman is slightly quirky in his release, as he wasn’t actually shown off or put up for order at the same time as the other four figures, but he did end up shipping in the same case as the rest of them.  Perhaps it was a secrecy thing.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He’s built on the first Superman base body, which I usually have issues with the sizing on, but Ultraman had some definite bulk going on, so it doesn’t seem to out of place here.  Still not crazy about how it makes him pigeon-toed, but I’ve made my peace with that.  He gets a new head and belt.  They’re both on the simpler side, as is the style of the line, and it helps keep them batter matched up with the base body they’re placed on.  It means he’s definitely a lot more streamlined from the movie’s design for the character, which had a lot more padding, pouches, and stitching.  It makes him a little less visual interesting, and a bit more plain-Jane, but it also ends up a bit more in-style with the rest of the line.  His paint work is rather on the simple side.  In terms of coloring, they play up the slightly purple hue of his costume in the movie, which does read a bit better for vintage design than going more for black.  There’s a some minor paint detailing for the broad stroke elements of his costume design.  He gets no accessories.  An alternate head would have been cool, but also feels like it would have been impossible for a pre-film release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I ordered the other four when they first dropped, but Ultraman didn’t go up with them, so I didn’t get him immediately.  I actually forgot about him until the other four arrived, at which point I double checked and saw he was in stock and jumped on him then.  He’s…fine.  He feels more like a space filler than anything.  The character in the movie is more a plot element than anything, and I would have liked to see just about any other major character take his place here.  But, I can hardly say I dislike the figure, and I’m at the point of being happy to get any additional Super Powers, especially from a movie that has become one of my favorites in the genre.

#3891: Metamorpho – Movie

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

METAMORPHO — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

Have I mentioned how much I liked the new Superman movie?  Well, I’m gonna mention it again, because it bears repeating.  It was really, really good.  Just start to finish.  Few films have understood the DC characters the way this one did.  That extends to the quirky odd-ball characters, which includes Metamorpho, who makes his live action debut in the film, portrayed by Anthony Carrigan in his third live action DC role.  He gets to be sufficiently cool and likable, to the point that he was a favorite of both my wife and son, neither of whom knew the character prior to the movie.  I guess maybe the guy that made Rocket Raccoon a household name might have a way with quirky odd-ball characters.  Metamorpho’s been getting a definite marketing push from the movie tie-ins, which includes getting a Super Powers figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Metamorpho (Movie) was released in Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line.  He’s the fourth of the five single-carded movie tie-in figures.  Like Guy, this is Metamorpho’s second Super Powers figure, following up on a comics release from last year.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He uses a lot of parts from the comic Metamorpho, specifically the torso, arms, and lower right leg.  He gets a new head, upper legs, and lower left leg, as well as a new belt piece.  The movie’s design is ultimately pretty faithful to the classic comics look, so the re-use is pretty sensible, and the new parts help to bring him more in line with the movie’s adjustments.  I actually find myself preferring the head sculpt on this one to the comics version; it’s just got a little bit more character.  As with all of the head sculpts from these figures, the likeness isn’t really a match for Carrigan, but it’s close enough to sort of suggest him.  Perhaps the oddest part of the mix of old and new parts is that the texturing on his face disappears when you get to his neck, but other than that, things work pretty nicely.  The color work on this Metamorpho is notably a bit more desaturated than his comics counterpart.  It still very much reads as Metamorpho, though, and I’m glad that this time they did a better job of consistent paint versus no paint on similarly colored sections.  There’s a little bit of slop on the change-over from his right leg to his shorts, but otherwise the application is pretty clean.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was ultimately a little bit let down by the comics Metamorpho.  Like, he wasn’t bad, but he felt a bit more middle of the road than I’d expected.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to go for this one, since he’s a bit similar, but I opted to get the whole set, and he was along for the ride.  I’m glad I did, because not only did I thoroughly enjoy the movie’s take on Rex, but I also think this figure turned out a little bit better than the prior one.  And here I live, in this world where I have two different Super Powers Metamorphos in my collection.  Who’d’ve thunk?

#3887: Guy Gardner

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

GUY GARDNER — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

I’m writing this review from the…well, okay, it’s not the distant past, but it’s a few days removed, at the very least.  What it mostly means is that I’m writing this review just a few hours after having seen Superman at the theatre.  It’s good, guys.  It’s really, really good.  The film boasts a truly impressive supporting cast, and the most colorful of that cast is the Justice Gang, which includes James Gunn regular Nathan Fillion finally in the role of Green Lantern in live action.  Of course, it’s not Hal Jordan like we’d all campaigned for, but rather Guy Gardner, making his live action debut.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guy Gardner (Movie) is part of Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, the third of the five movie-based figures in the assortment.  This is Guy’s second time in the line, following up on his comics version from last year.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s very similar to last week’s Mr. Terrific figure, using the same smaller base body and jacket piece.  The two definitely have rather different builds in the movie, and Guy should ideally be on a larger body.  But, of course, then he wouldn’t be able to share the jacket with Terrific, and that would be extra difficult, I suppose.  He gets a new head and belt as well.  They’re not bad.  The head is like the others in this set, where it doesn’t have a direct likeness, but it also doesn’t look *unlike* Fillion, so it works well within the established style and also looks unique from the non-movie Guy.  The new belt gives him his Lantern insignia belt buckle, which is a fun little touch.  Guy’s paint work is actually pretty decently handled, capturing all the main elements of the costume design, while also giving him a pretty sharp application on all the painted elements.  Guy is without any sort of accessories; the traditional extra for this line is a power battery, but he doesn’t have one in the movie, so the omission’s understandable.  That said, he does still feel rather light, especially given how heavy he is on the parts re-use.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As much of a GL fan as I am, I’ve never been much for Guy Gardner, who I am on record as stating is my least favorite Earth Lantern.  So, I didn’t get around to snagging his standard comic figure from this line.  But, I do like Nathan Fillion, and I do think Guy works in the appropriate setting.  The movie certainly put him in the appropriate setting.  The figure’s not anything tremendously ground breaking, but he’s still pretty fun, and I really have no major complaints.