Tag Archives: DC

#0908: Bruce Wayne & Pilot Batman

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

BRUCE WAYNE & PILOT BATMAN

DC C3 CONSTRUCTION

Bruce&PilotBat1

After the rousing success of the Marvel characters in the Minimates format, other comicbook companies wanted in on the action, including their main competition DC Comics. However, thanks to all sorts of licensing mumbo jumbo, Diamond Select and Art Asylum couldn’t directly produce DC products. Fortunately, Play Along, who also worked with Art Asylum on the Lord of the Rings Minimates line, had the rights to produce DC-based construction sets, which they were able to leverage into a way to produce Minimate versions of DC characters as part of the sets. The line was only moderately successful, but it did manage to produce a nice handful of prominent DC mainstays. Today, I’ll be looking at two of the figures the line offered, Bruce Wayne and Pilot Batman.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Bruce and Pilot Batman were included with the SDCC 2004 Stealth Batwing set. The set was a re-deco of the main line’s regular Batwing set. Batman was similarly a re-deco of that set’s Pilot Batman, but Bruce Wayne is wholly exclusive to this set.

BRUCE WAYNE

Bruce&PilotBat3This was one of the two Bruce Wayne Minimates offered by the C3 line. The figure is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. While the more widely released version (included with the Batcave set) opted for a more traditional Bruce, this figure is based on Bruce’s more modernized design from 2004’s The Batman. Bruce has add-on pieces for his hair and jacket, both re-used from prior ‘mates. The jacket is the same piece used on the Batcave Bruce and the hair comes from Marvel Minimates Series 1’s Hulk. The pieces are pretty close matches (if you want to get really picky, Bruce’s jacket was always buttoned on the show, but that’s pretty minor). They’re far less detailed than most modern pieces, and have a much more squared-off appearance, but that actually works well in the context of his cartoon-based design. Paint is used fairly sparsely on Bruce, but what’s there is both clean and sharp, and he makes for a good translation of the animated design. I like the decision to give him a grin, as it gives us a Bruce that truly sells the whole millionaire playboy charade. Bruce included a cowl, cape/torso cover, and gloves, which allow him to be quick-changed into a pretty decent Batman Minimate (though he’s smiling, which is slightly odd).

PILOT BATMAN

Bruce&PilotBat2The C3 line ended up doing what most Batman-based lines do, and included a bunch of non-canon Bat-variants. On the plus side, Pilot Batman is actually a pretty sensible idea, especially when the Batwing is in question. Pilot Batman has add-ons for his helmet (with hinged visor), torso, and gloves, and at one point there was also a cape attachment for the back of the torso, but mine’s gone missing. All of these pieces (aside from the cape) were shared with the normal release version of Pilot Batman, but aside from that they were all-new. They aren’t based on anything in particular, but they fit pretty well with the line, and they look pretty cool. They also feature a lot more sculpted detail than most Minimate pieces of the time, meaning that this figure doesn’t look too out of place, even with current ‘mates. The difference between this figure and the regular release version is the paintwork. Mostly it’s just swapping out yellow accents for the blue ones, but there are also some slightly different details on the legs. Under the helmet, there’s a pretty Bruce Wayne face, clearly meant to be comics based, and under the torso piece, there’s a bat symbol, which could have easily been left out. Pilot Batman included no accessories, though I suppose an argument could be made that the normal Batman parts are for him, since they were also included with the regular Batwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Well after the C3 line had ended, Cosmic Comix, who had not carried any of the sets up to that point, received a case of this set, and was selling them for well under their original price. I bought one, mostly for these two figures. Over the years, I lost most of the parts to the actual Batwing portion of the set, but I still have these guys. They’re both pretty solid ‘mates, though neither of them is exactly a necessity for anyone’s collection.

#0892: Superman

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

SUPERMAN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

DKRSuperman1

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was released last week to reviews that were…well, I’ll be generous and say “middling.” Though they tend to be presented as a more friendly pair, Superman vs Batman is not a new idea for the film. They’ve done battle a few times over the years. One of the better handled face-offs is in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. In the story, Batman’s gotten pretty far removed from his usual self, and becomes rather unhinged, prompting the US government to send Superman in to take him down if need be. Though Batman is technically the story’s hero, Superman isn’t portrayed as being in the wrong, just a guy looking for a glimpse of hope in the bleak, nihilistic future of DKR. Anyway, the story is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, and Mattel has done a small sub-set of figures based on it, including Superman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DKRSuperman2Superman is one of the three figures that make up the Walmart-exclusive Batman: The Dark Knight Returns series of the main DC Comics Multiverse line. The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation. Structurally, he has a very similar build to the figures in Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics line. He re-uses a lot of pieces from the prior DKR Batman released in the Batman Unlimited line. Mattel insists that the only pieces these two share with the MotUC figures are the shoulders. I can’t say that they have much incentive to lie about something like this, so I guess I’ll believe them, even if the parts do look really similar. Anyway, Superman uses the majority of the aforementioned Batman figure, with a unique head, forearms, shins, pelvis cover, and cape. The piece make him sufficiently different, while also keeping the similar build of the two characters, which makes sense, since Batman and Superman were portrayed as about the same size in the story. While he’s definitely put on some muscle mass in the story, Superman has aged far more gracefully than Batman. The figure does a pretty good job of replicating that in the head sculpt; he’s obviously a little older when you look at him closely, but he can pretty easily pass for a normal Superman, should you want him to. The rest of the new pieces are all pretty basic, but they capture the look of the character nicely, and they’re all pretty sharp sculpts. The paintwork on Superman is kind of a mix of good and bad. The overall look is definitely very good. The colors are nice and bold, and I absolutely love the larger “S” logo on his chest. He’s noticeably missing the symbol on the back of his cape, though, which is a bit of a shame. Also, the actual application of the paint is quite sloppy. In the store, I had to choose between sloppy belt and decent neckline or decent belt and atrocious neckline. That’s not a fun choice (I went with the former). Superman includes one of Green Arrow’s…uh, arrows, which has a kryptonite tip. It’s a nice piece, even if he does have a little trouble holding it. It sure would be nice if we got an Ollie to go with that arrow, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m at best a moderate fan of The Dark Knight Returns. I own exactly one issue of the series. Care to guess which one? Yeah, it’s the one where he fights Superman. I picked up the first DKR Batman when Mattel released him a few years back in hopes that it would eventually lead to this particular figure, and in a roundabout way, it did. Of course, actually finding him was no easy feat. I stopped at several Walmarts and was never able to find anything more than the Batman re-paint that accompanies this guy. However, at the last Walmart, after I admitted defeat, my good friend Jill noted a few items had been placed on the top shelf at the far end of the aisle. Sure enough, I spotted two Multiverse packages, and when I pulled them down, they were both Superman. Someone was hiding figures! I’m really happy to have this guy, and I think he turned out incredibly well. Were it not for the NECA Christopher Reeve Superman, this one would probably be my favorite Superman in my collection.

Well, here was the real review, but this was my April Fools day post for 2016.  Read the altered version here.

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#0891: Elasti-Girl

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

ELASTI-GIRL

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Elastigirl1

I’ve had over a week of Marvel reviews; maybe I should give their distinguished competition a bit of focus. Of course, being me, I’m not gonna go with a heavy hitter or anything like that. No, no, I’m pulling out the stops, and looking at a member of one of my favorite DC teams, the Doom Patrol. The Doom Patrol were essentially DC’s equivalent of the X-Men (they actually premiered three months prior), but they’ve never been quite as successful. And I’m pretty sure that most of them don’t actually exist anymore. I’ve actually already looked at one of the three founding members, Negative Man, and today I’ll be looking at another: Elasti-Girl*. Despite what the name might imply, she didn’t have stretching powers, but instead could grow or shrink in size, similarly to Marvel’s Giant-Man. She’s also only ever had one action figure, which is the one I’ll be reviewing today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elastigirl2Elasti-Girl was released in the first year of the Club Infinite Earths subscription, which continued the DC Universe Classics line. In the first year, they offered twelve main figures, plus four “oversized” figures. Elasti-Girl was the third oversized figure, and was released in October of 2012, alongside Poison Ivy. The figure stands roughly 10 inches tall (about 4 inches taller than her main line counterparts) and has 22 points of articulation. Elasti-Girl is built on a lot of the same pieces as Series 8’s Giganta Collect-N-Connect (rumor had it that Elasti-Girl would have been a CNC herself, had the DCUC line not failed at retail). She uses the arms, upper torso, and upper legs from that figure, along with a new head, hands, lower torso, and lower legs. The end result is really quite nice. The proportions are decently balanced, if a tiny bit stylized, and the detail work on the hands and boots is very strong. In addition, the head is one of the best sculpts to come out of DCUC; it’s not too big or too flat like so many of the others, and her expression avoids being dead or vapid. The only part I can really find any fault with is the torso section, which falls a bit more into comic book proportions than the rest of the sculpt. It’s not terrible, though, especially in light of the rest of the line. Elasti-Girl’s paintwork is pretty straight forward; the colors are nice and bright, and there’s some nice, subtle accent work, which gives her a more life-like appearance.  No DCUC figure was ever particularly plentiful in terms of accessories, so it’s not a huge surprise that Elasti-Girl only gets one. It’s a little, 1 inch version of her, to showcase her shrinking powers. It’s not anything amazing, but it’s nice that they gave her something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t actually back the subscription service during its first year, so I had to contend with Matty Collector’s horrid “day of” sale. On the plus side, it wasn’t as terrible as other times, and I was even able to get a second Elasti-Girl for my Dad. Honestly, it’s figures like this that remind me of exactly why I collected DCUC in the first place. She’s a good, solid representation of a lower tier character, who makes use of just the right balance of re-use and unique parts. If the later sub figures had been able to stick to this kind of quality, maybe the line might have survived a bit longer.

*Not to be confused with Elastigirl from Pixar’s The Incredibles, who actually used the name with DC’s blessing, but had to be called “Mrs. Incredible” on all official merchandise.

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#0873: Superboy “VTOL” Cycle

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

SUPERBOY “VTOL” CYCLE

SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL (KENNER)

SuperVTOL1

While they’ve all but disappeared from the market nowadays, there was a time when goofy made up vehicles were the norm for action figure lines. Kenner in particular was pretty big on them, especially ones that they made up. Yesterday, I looked at one of the figures from their Superman: Man of Steel line, and you might think that someone like Superman wouldn’t have any need for vehicles, but you’d be wrong. The Man of Steel line had three different vehicles, including today’s focus, the Superboy “VTOL” Cycle.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

SuperVTOL3The VTOL Cycle was released as the first (and smallest) vehicle in the Superman: Man of Steel line. The cycle is about 3 ½ inches in height and 9 inches in length. It’s not based on any design from the comics, since Superboy’s never been one to need flying transportation, so it’s a totally original creation from Kenner. Despite re-use of vehicle molds being somewhat common from Kenner in th 90s, the VTOL Cycle has its own mold. Generally speaking, it’s really just a fairly generic pseudo-Sci-fi motorcycle. There aren’t any super in depth details, and the sculpt is slightly on the soft side, but it certainly doesn’t look out of place with the rest of the line. The vehicle has been designed with the Superboy figure in mind, so it fits him pretty well (if not perfectly). There’s a seatbelt piece with a cool Superman logo at the front, which keeps him properly seated. The cycle boasts that it “converts to pursuit jump jet” on the SuperVTOL2front of the box; essentially, the back wheel splits in two and each half can be folded out to create a turbine on either side. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s vaguely cool. There’s also a “kickstand” piece, which is useful for keeping the vehicle standing. The Cycle is done up in colors that vaguely match up with Superboy, but are not so specific so as to prevent the cycle from being used with another figure. The paint has a few spots of bleed over here and there, but generally looks fairly decent. There was also an included Superman logo decal, meant to be placed on the front of the Cycle, but I actually forgot to put it in place.  The VTOL Cycle includes a “claw snare” launcher, which can be mounted on either side of the back wheel, as well as an oxygen mask piece, which is meant to be used with the Superboy figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in yesterday’s Superboy review, I got the VTOL Cycle in a lot with the Superboy figure from a vender at this past Farpoint. I never had this vehicle growing up, but I saw it on the back of various different packages over the years, so I was always curious. Truth be told, it’s not the most thrilling vehicle Kenner ever put out, but it’s nifty enough that the purchase feels warranted. Plus, it makes a pretty neat accent piece for the Superboy figure (of which I now have two)!

#0872: Superboy

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

SUPERBOY

SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL (KENNER)

SuperboyMOS1

In the 90s, Toy Biz had a ton of success with their litany of Marvel Comics-based action figures. Kenner, the then holders of the DC license wanted in on some of that success, and branched outside of their “safe zone” of movie and TV-based figures, to try something with a more direct comics tie. There was, of course, a rather extensive Batman line, but they also produced a short-lived line of Superman figures, under the title Superman: Man of Steel. The figures were mostly based on characters from the Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen storylines, including the uber 90s incarnation of Superboy, who I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SuperboyMOS2Superboy was released as part of the first series of the Superman: Man of Steel line, as one of the three non-Superman figures in the set. The figure stands about 4 ¾ inches tall and has the standard 5 points of articulation for a Kenner figure. Superboy is based on his 90s, leather jacket sporting look. As dated and silly looking as it is, it’s really his signature look, and the only one he had at the time. He got a totally unique sculpt, which is actually pretty cool looking. The proportions are mostly pretty sound (if a bit exaggerated; hey, it was the 90s), and the detail work, especially on the jacket is incredibly well handled. I also love the head sculpt, especially the attitude present in the facial expression. There are a few odd bits, though. For one, the hand poses are pretty stilted, and he’s also got a weird blockish thing sticking out of the back of his right forearm, which is sort of odd. Superboy’s paint is pretty straight forward, but it has some pretty cool things going on. The colors are all pretty vibrant (though the yellow on the chest could stand to be a bit brighter) and there’s some pretty neat details, like the cool stitched logo on the back of the jacket. Superboy was packed with a two spring-loaded Mammoth Capture Claw and Taser missiles. They slip over his hands, and are the reason for the block thing on his forearm. They’re definitely a weird thing to included, but hey, it was the 90s. Might as well include a projectile of some sort.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I actually own two of this particular figure. The first was bought for me by my grandmother, from a K-Mart I believe. I remember really wanting a Superboy figure (I was a huge fan of the Filmation Superboy show as a kid) and deliberately setting out to get him. I don’t think I had quite picked up on him being separate from the Clark Kent version of the character at the time. He remained one of my favorite figures growing up, and took quite a beating. At this past Farpoint, I found another Superboy, in a lot with the Superboy VTOL Cycle, at the table of the same vendor who sold me the Power Loader, and figured having a spare wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.  I’m actually really happy about how well the figure has aged.

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#0867: Wonder Woman

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

WONDER WOMAN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

WWDoJ1

March 25th will see the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. March 25th will also see me avoiding movie theatres like the plague, because I have no desire to see the movie (my scathing hatred of Man of Steel is the main reason, but there are a few others). For the most part, I’m also steering clear of the associated toys that go with said movie due to them a) being based on designs I’m not super thrilled by, and b) made by Mattel, who happen to be one of my least favorite toy makers. However, I’m a firm believer that a cool toy is a cool toy regardless of its source material or manufacturer. And that, dear readers, is why I’m reviewing today’s figure, Wonder Woman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WWDoJ2Wonder Woman is part of the first assortment of the Dawn of Justice series of DC Comics Multiverse. Multiverse has previously been a 3 ¾ inch line, but starting in 2016, Mattel is bumping the line back up to the more familiar 6-inch scale. Also, it should be noted that there are currently two different case pack-outs for this line, and Wonder Woman is only in one of them. That said, she doesn’t look to be all that hard to find right now. The figure stands just shy of 6 ½ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. The articulation is overall fairly decent, but it seems a bit rudimentary when compared to, say, one of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends. The lack of any real movement on the head is a bit frustrating, but excusable. The height (well, the whole scale, really) of the figure is definitely a bit off; she’s the tallest of the four figures in the series, despite Gal Godot being the shortest of the three leads. She’s more scaled with something like a NECA figure than she is her fellow Multiverse figures. Her sculpt is all-new, and it’s generally pretty good. There’s definitely some oddities, such are the somewhat obvious joints in the arms and legs, or the strangely geometrical upper legs, but the overall proportions of the figure are surprisingly well done. She’s easily one of the most realistic female figures Mattel has ever produced. The details of the costume seem to pretty close to what we’ve seen of the movie’s design, and there’s some decent texture work. The head is pretty decent, if not amazing. I don’t immediately see Gadot’s likeness when looking at the figure, but it’s hard to say how much of that’s the sculpt and how much is paint. Speaking of paint, that’s where this figure takes a slight dive. On a whole, I actually like it, especially the choice to go a bit brighter with the colors than what we’ve seen from the film. However, the application is a bit spotty. The two biggest areas of issue WWDoJ3are the face and the boots. The face is at least fairly clean, if perhaps a bit thick and in need of some accent work. The boots seem like the painter just got confused by all those sculpted lines and gave their best approximation; they’re quite sloppy, and the flesh toned ankle joint breaks them up in kind of an odd way. Wonder Woman is packed with a sword and shield (which appears to be the Aegis, aka the shield given to Perseus by Athena). The shield is an amazingly sculpted piece, and by far my favorite part of this whole figure, though it can be a bit difficult for Diana to hold it. The sword is generally pretty nice, though the rather obvious “CHINA” stamp on one side makes it look like Wonder Woman has had to make due with a repro of her actual sword. Wonder Woman is also packed with what has to be the lamest build-a-thing piece I’ve ever gotten; it’s the supporting column to the display base for the Batman Grapnel replica. Seriously, it’s lame.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I saw the various Dawn of Justice merchandise in the store, I was prepared to totally overlook it. But, I saw Wonder Woman, and was genuinely surprised by how much I liked her. No, she’s not a perfect figure, but she’s really not bad, either. And, with the size that she is, she actually fits in pretty nicely with the recent Adam West Batman and Christopher Reeve Superman from NECA, making for a pretty cool trinity display (though I’d happily replace this figure with a Linda Carter Wonder Woman, should NECA ever get the rights…). I’ve certainly gotten worse figures from Mattel.

#0863: Batman & Phantasm

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

BATMAN & PHANTASM

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DCC)

Batman&Phantasm1

Batman definitely holds the record for number of theatrical films based on a single superhero. It’s not a huge surprise, given the character’s mass appeal. There have been a whole lot of tries at doing the character justice on the big screen, and exactly which one is the “best” is very much up for debate. I must admit, I cheat a bit when asked what my favorite theatrical Batman movie is, my answer is always Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. A lot of people forget about this one (due to lots of people writing it off based solely on its animated nature), but for me it’s the best Batman movie by far. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, you really should. Like right now. Go watch it. No seriously, Imma spoil stuff and I don’t wanna ruin it for you. I’ll wait. Anyway, as an extension of Batman: The Animated Series, the film’s been privy to a few figures here and there, including getting a two-pack courtesy of DC Collectibles’ current line.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman and the Phantasm were released as part of the Batman: Animated line in mid-December of last year. Both figures are exclusive to this particular set.

BATMAN

Batman&Phantasm2Faithful readers will no doubt find this figure somewhat familiar. Yep, I’ve taken a look at most of this figure before, back when I looked at the single-packed Batman from Series 4 of the main line. Since Batman’s design from the movie is identical to that of the show, it’s a sensible re-use, though it’s a bit frustrating to people who picked up the earlier figure and still want the Phantasm (like me). From the neck down, this figure is 100% the same as that figure. The proportions are still more or less spot-on, but he’s greatly hindered by the lack of swivel joints at the tops of his boots. The main difference between the two figures is the head. This version is a bit more expressive, with gritted teeth and eyes opened wider. It’s also a much better attempt at the design. The head’s a little wider, the eyes are bigger, and the jaw’s squarer, which all results in a generally better looking end-product. The paint is more or less the same. I did find the general application to be a bit cleaner this time around, but your mileage may vary. Another change between the two figures is the accessory complement. This figure only gets the batarang, a pair of hands for holding the batarang, a pair of fists, and a display stand. The stand is mostly the same as the prior one, but trades the B:TAS logo for a Mask of the Phantasm one.

PHANTASM

Batman&Phantasm3Now we get to the real draw of the set. The Phantasm was actually not a wholly original creation of the film, but was instead a retooled version of the villain Reaper from the “Batman: Year Two” storyline from the comics. The less said about the original story the better. The figure stands just over 6 ½ inches tall and has 23 points of articulation. This marks only the second time the Phantasm has appeared in plastic form. The first time, the figure was given a removable hood and scythe, allowing for (20 YEAR OLD SPOILER!!!!!!) her to double as an Andrea Beaumont figure. Since the two designs in the film are purposefully dissimilar, this meant compromising the appearance of the Phantasm in order to have a decent Andrea. This figure foregoes any sort of Andrea connection, and instead opts to present the Phantasm in as screen accurate a manner as possible. Well, in theory, anyway. The end result is pretty good but a bit shy of perfect. Let’s talk about what works first. The underlying head is great, are both hands/gloves. The body is generally decent. It’s not a perfect match, but Phantasm’s proportions changed a bit in the movie, so it’s forgivable. Even the base of the cape isn’t too bad. What hold’s this figure back is the hood. In the film, it has a very distinct, very sharp look about it. Here, it’s a soft rubber piece, attached to the rest of the cape. It ends up being kind of shapeless and too soft. I think it would have looked much better had it been separate from the cape and attached to the head, ala the smaller scale Kylo Rens that Hasbro’s released. As it stands, this doesn’t look atrocious (especially if viewed from a slight angle) but it could have been a lot better. Also, the quality of the rubber used for the cape/hood is a bit questionable, and it feels like it’s already starting to deteriorate, which isn’t super comforting. The paint on the Phantasm is pretty simple, but not bad. The various details are all pretty clean, and she’s appropriately mono-chromatic, so that’s good. The figure includes two hands, one in a fist and one in an open gesture, as well as a display stand. That seems a little light, and I certainly wouldn’t have minded some sort of piece to show off her ghostly gas cloud thingy.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up from my local comic book store, Cosmic Comix, in early January. I had actually seen it at another store in December, but passed on it for a number of reasons. While I don’t feel the set is as strong as it could have been, I’m glad I have it. Batman’s a definite improvement over the single-release, and the Phantasm is a sound addition to the line. Now, how about a follow up set with an unmasked Phantasm and a battle-damaged Joker?

#0858: Green Lantern

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

GREEN LANTERN

DC ICONS (DCC)

GLIcon1

After the success of Barry Allen as the second iteration of the Flash, DC got to work on re-imagining as many of their old superheroes as they could. In the years since super hero comics had faded away, the magic and mysticism had fallen out of favor. When the heroes returned, science fiction was all the rage, so, when the new Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, debuted in 1959, his origin was tailored to fit that new sci-fi mold. It was a pretty successful idea, so successful, in fact, that years later, the original Green Lantern’s powers were re-tooled to be more in line with his successor’s. Anyway, I’m a pretty big fan of the second incarnation of GL, and I was happy to see him added to DC Collectibles’ new DC Icons line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GLIcon2Green Lantern is a deluxe figure in the DC Icons line, released to coincide with the release of Series 2. He’s #09 in the line, placing him just after Series 2 chronologically. He was designed by Ivan Reis and sculpted by Sam Greenwell and Erick Sosa. GL’s based on his appearance during the “Dark Days” storyline, which is a fancy way of saying he’s a New 52 figure. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation. Like Barry, he’s a bit taller than Mr. Miracle, but I find he doesn’t scale as well with other lines (such as ML) due to his head being slightly smaller than Barry’s. Also like Barry, he has lateral movement on his shins, which is much appreciated. He’s also got cut joints at the tops of his gloves, which are a bit redundant, but serve a purpose I’ll get to in a sec. Structurally, Hal is fairly similar to Barry (and by extension, the rest of the line). Despite being a New 52 design, this sculpt doesn’t feel over burdened with unnecessary details. The extra lines that are there feel well placed, and make the figure as a whole very appealing to look at. The head is a pretty sharp piece of work too, though perhaps not as sharp as the rest of the sculpt. Like the Flash, I feel the face is lacking a bit in expression, but it’s not quite as bad here. Hal’s paint is very nicely done; the greens are all a nice metallic shade, and the whites of the gloves have a nice white finish. The application is a little thick on the face, but not terribly so, and there’s a bit of chipping at the wrist joints. Aside from those issues, it’s pretty solid, though. Now, so far I haven’t outlined anything that’s all that different from a normal release. Why’s this guy a deluxe figure? Accessories, that’s why. He comes with hands in fists and gripping positions, a power batter, a giant green construct fist, and a full set of construct armor, made up of a helmet/wingpack, shoulder pads, two big gun hands, thigh armor, and big stompy boots. This is how you adequately showcase Green Lantern’s powers! The extra joints on the figure’s forearms are there to allow for them to be swapped for the construct gun-hands, which is a pretty good way of handling things. However, the giant fist is still a slip over piece, which is a bit of an issue, since Hal’s right forearm has some trouble staying in place. Had the fist been handled the same way as the gun-hands this wouldn’t have been a problem.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I’ve gotten away from it in recent years (in no small part due to DC doing a whole lot of sucking), at my core, I’m a huge Green Lantern geek. So, I was pretty thrilled to hear he’d be in this line. I was a little less thrilled when I found out he was a New 52 figure, but, I gotta be honest, in hand, I don’t care all that much. This is a really awesome Green Lantern, regardless of which incarnation he is. Undoubtedly the coolest figure I’ve picked up from this line. I am content to have this as my default GL. Of course, if they wanted to do a Neal Adams version of Hal later on, I certainly wouldn’t say no…

GLIcon3

#0857: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

DC ICONS (DCC)

FlashIcon1

In 1956, Barry Allen became the second version of the Flash, and officially brought about the Silver Age of comics, for DC anyway (though, if you want to get technical, the first real Silver Age character was Martian Manhunter, who appeared one year prior. And if you want to get REALLY technical, the first Silver Age character was Superboy, who appeared a decade before that. I feel I may have lost some people on that one…). Barry was a brand-new take on an already established hero, and in one fell-swoop showcased DC’s penchant for both reboots and legacies. Barry is a pretty important character for DC, so it’s not a huge shock to see him show up as one of the figures in DC Collectibles’ DC Icons line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FlashIcon2The Flash is part of the second series of the DC Icons line. He’s figure #05 in the line, placing him right after Mr. Miracle in the numbering, and making him the “first” figure in Series 2. Flash’s figure was designed by Ivan Reis (one of DC’s top artists) and sculpted Amos Hemsley. He’s officially based on Barry’s appearance in “Chain Lightning,” which was a five-issue arc during Mark Waid’s tenure on the book, which brought back a pre-Crisis Barry through time travel. Of course, all that’s just a very specific way of saying he’s a classic, pre-Crisis Barry Allen Flash. The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. He’s just a bit taller than the Mr. Miracle figure; he still totally out of scale with other DCC lines, but you can sort of fudge it a bit if you want to put him with, say, some Marvel Legends. Also, he’s got lateral movement on his legs! Yay! I was afraid DCC had totally abandoned such joints. Barry gets an all-new sculpt, but it’s worth noting that he, like many others in the line, is built on a base prototype body, which gives everyone a unified look. Overall, I really love this sculpt. It’s nice and clean, and full of classic comics goodness. The details of his costume are all sculpted elements, which is certainly a nice change of pace. The detailing on his boots is definitely a stand-out. The arms do seem just a touch small, and I really wish his facial expression was a little less bland, but aside from that, the sculpt is very nice. Barry’s paint is generally pretty nice. The colors are bright and vibrant, and there’s a nice glossy finish on the boots and his logo. His eyes are a tad wonky, but not terrible for the scale. The Flash is packed with two pairs of hands: one set of fist/gripping combo, and one set of flat palms, perfect for running. However, the coolest accessory by far is the Cosmic Treadmill. It’s a slightly more modernized design than I’m used to, but it’s exquisitely sculpted, and a fantastic companion piece to the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is actually the figure that sold me on the whole DC Icons concept. It’s funny, because it isn’t like I don’t have classically-inspired Barry figures, but I just really liked the look of this one, and was happy to see more pre-New 52 stuff. I ended up using a giftcard I got for Christmas to order him from Amazon. While he isn’t perfect (the expression still kinda bugs me), I do like him a lot, and he’s one of my favorite Flash figures I own. He’s definitely a good indicator of how cool this line can be!

#0855: Capture Net Superman

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

CAPTURE NET SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

SupermanCN1

In the 1990s, the vast majority of Kenner’s DC Comics output was TV and movie based. They struck veritable gold with the Batman franchise, which included the incredibly popular Batman: The Animated Series. When Superman got his own cartoon, Kenner tried to recapture the success of Batman’s toyline, but never quite hit that same spot, for a number of reasons. There were plenty of wacky Super-variants to be had. Today, we’ll be looking at Capture Net Superman, who, like Combat Belt Batman before him, was a standard version of the main character masquerading as a wacky variant.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SupermanCN2Capture Net Superman was part of the first series of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series line. Of the seven Superman variants released in the first series, he was one of two that could be classified as a “normal” Superman, and since the other one was saddled with a quick-change feature, this was the one most people considered the “default.” The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. The S:TAS figures were all about that waist movement! Of all the figures offered in this line, this Superman has the virtue of being the most on-model. Of course, that only makes him the closest of the off-model figures, which isn’t saying a whole lot. The figure’s upper half isn’t too far off. The head is a little more elongated than it should be, and is certainly not as nice as a few of the later offerings, but it’s not terrible. The torso and arms are a bit more muscular than the show design, but once again, not terrible. The cape is a fairly decent match for the show, so that’s good. The design kind of goes off the rails on the legs; one of the staples of the Bruce Timm aesthetic is the streamlined nature of the legs. That’s definitely not shown here. They’re a perfectly fine sculpt, but they’re just not accurate. As a whole, the sculpt is nice and clean, and is certainly pleasing to look at, but it falls short of the show design. Superman’s paint work is generally pretty good, apart from one small issue. See, my figure is one of the initial wave of figures, which were rushed into production to be in stores by the time of the cartoon’s premier. Instead of proper eye detailing, corners were cut, and he instead has a solid black blob in place of his eye. Later waves would correct this issue, but no such luck on my figure. It’s a little odd, but honestly not that bad once you move past it. The rest of the paint is nice and bright, and makes him stand out quite nicely. The blue’s probably a little too bright to be show accurate, but why start being accurate now? The figure’s name comes from his one accessory, which is a big missile launcher thing, which fires two missiles with a net attached. As goofy as it is, it’s actually kinda cool, especially since the net is shaped and painted like his logo.

 THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite being a fan of the cartoon and having several of the figures growing up, I only got this figure last summer (Quick Change was always my default Superman). I found him in the dealer’s room at Shore Leave and kind of impulse bought him. He doesn’t exactly offer anything new or groundbreaking, but he’s a fun figure.