Tag Archives: DC

#0038: The Penguin

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

PENGUIN

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

Today, we’re jumping back to the 90s for a bit!  This is a piece from Kenner’s tie-in line for the immensely popular Batman: The Animated Series.  If you’re not familiar with B:TAS, go find some clips online.  You’ll thank me.  Anyway, Kenner produced a line of action figures based on the title character and his many nemeses (Incidentally, Jonathan Coulton’s “Nemeses” is playing on my iPod right now, which is pretty sweet!).  I’ll be taking a look at one of those foes:  The Penguin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Penguin was released as part of the first series of B:TAS figures, though in all honestly, my version might be a rerelease from later on.  He is, of course, based on the Penguin’s appearance from B:TAS, though I feel I should specify that it’s based on his appearance from before the series was brought back and all the characters got redesigns.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall, which puts him in proper scale with the 5 inch scale of the line (Toy Biz should’ve taken note!).  He has 5 points of articulation, the Kenner standard at the time.  He was a totally new sculpt.  It’s well done, and captures the stylized look of the show’s animation fairly well.  He’s not spot on, but it’s not too bad.  Looking at some images, I feel his head in particular is a bit off.  Perhaps if it were just a touch larger.  For the most part, the figure is molded in the necessary colors, so there’s not a whole lot of paint, but what’s there is applied evenly and consistently.  There’s very little actual detail work to speak of, but it works for the style.  The images I’ve been able to find online of the figure show him including a coat and umbrella, but I honestly don’t remember mine having those, furthering my belief that he was a rerelease.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was a gift from my Nana, given to me one year for Christmas along with a few other Batman figures.  I recall kind of wanting it, though I don’t really know why, as I’m not a very big fan of the Penguin.  Regardless, he spent many hours fighting the caped crusader and associates.

# 0035: Catwoman

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

CATWOMAN

BATMAN ‘66 (MATTEL)

Today, I’ll be taking a look another new addition to my collection.  It’s Catwoman from Mattel’s Batman ’66 line, which I have yet to look at on this blog, so this’ll be a first.  Awesome.  I’m going to assume everybody knows Catwoman, but if you don’t know the 1960s Batman TV show this version is based on, you should definitely read up on it.  It’s a lot of fun.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This figure is obviously based on Catwoman from the 1960s show, but specifically, this one’s based on Julie Newmar’s portrayal of the character.  I’m more of a Lee Merriweather fan myself, but Newmar was the first, the longest running and is typically the best remembered Catwoman by fans of the show, so she was a good choice to do right off the bat.  Catwoman was released in (kind of) the second series of the Batman ’66 line, although she was released separately from the other two figures in the series.  She stands roughly 6 inches tall and has 22 points of articulation.  Unlike many of Mattel’s previous DC lines, which rely heavily on reuse, Catwoman is an all new sculpt.  Admittedly, it’s one of the better sculpts they’ve done, in that it does come fairly close to a real woman’s proportions, which is a nice change.  It’s not perfect, mind you, but not terrible.  The head sculpt is also well done, with more than a passing resemblance to Julie Newmar.  Unfortunately, the paint doesn’t quite live up to the sculpt.  It’s not terrible, but the face especially is really thickly painted, and the eye lashes and eyebrows are painfully obviously patterned designs.  None of this ruins the figure, but I can’t help but think that the likeness would increase ten-fold with a better paintjob.   Catwoman also includes a sound effect labeled stand and a character card featuring a screen cap from the show.  The stand is the same as every other stand in the line, but Catwoman’s reads “CRRAACK!” like the sound a whip would make, making it a good fit for Catwoman.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I acquired my Catwoman figure from Amazon, like the other Batman ’66 figures, when they all went up for preorder.  Amazon has quickly become my go to for ordering toys because it just makes life a whole lot easier!

#0032: Mr Mxyptlk

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

MR MXYPTLK

SUPERMAN/BATMAN (DC DIRECT)

Today’s figure is technically only half a figure.  Or rather, half a two pack that was sold as a single figure.  And this figure’s only half the figure he used to be…no, wait… Sorry, I’ll come in again!

Occasionally, there is a character that is of a much smaller stature than most other characters in the line.  Toy companies have gone back and forth on how to handle releasing such characters.  Selling the character by themselves means you either have to come up with a new price point (too difficult), or overcharge for them (which pissed off the fans).  The solution that a lot of companies tend to settle on is including smaller characters as an accessory with another character.

That’s the case with today’s figure:  Mr. Mxyptlk* from DC Direct’s Superman/Batman line.   Mxy was originally packed with the Joker, but I have several Jokers and increasingly less and less space, so I just kept Mxy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mxy was released as part of the fourth series of DC Direct’s Superman/Batman line.  The series was based on the S/B comic’s “With a Vengeance” story line, which was drawn by artist Ed McGuinness.  As such, Mxy’s based on McGuinness’s rendition of the character.  This isn’t really an issue, as his design stayed pretty much in line with the classic depiction of the character.  Mxy stands about 4 inches tall, and has 5 points of articulation.  The biggest tweak that McGuinness made to Mxy for the story was giving the character a top hat in place of his trademark bowler.  DC Direct decided to please everybody, though, and included both hats with the figure.  The hats are held in place via magnets in the head and each hat.  They work like a charm, and allow you two cool looks for the character.  The paint and sculpt on the figure are both done very well, translating Mcguinness’s clean style to three dimensions expertly.  The paint highlights the sculpt nicely, especially on his face, where the paint makes Mxy’s crazed look even more pronounced.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, as I said above, this guy was only available as part of a two pack with the Joker, who I already have several figures of.  But this is the only Mr. Mxyptlk figure that’s ever been released, or is ever likely to be released, so no way was I passing him up!  So, I bought them both and sold off Joker.  I know, that doesn’t sound like me.  But I had to draw the line somewhere!

*Pronounced: Mix-Yes-Spit-Lick.  Thanks go to Paul Dini for explaining that for everybody!

#0029: Hawkman

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

HAWKMAN

DC REACTIVATED (DC DIRECT)

Okay, so today’s review marks a slight change in the format of the blog.  Up until now, I’ve been actually picking the figures I review, with a little bit of purpose, plus a slight bit of alphabetizing , with the occasional review of a figure I just got.  Well, here’s the thing:  That’s a lot of work.  And I’m lazy.  So, from here out, I’ve created a randomized list of all the stuff currently in my collection that I’ll be working from, with possibly a few deviations.  New stuff will still be filtered in when I get it, as that makes life easier.

On to today’s review!  We’re looking at Hawkman from DC Direct’s Reactivated! line.  This was a line where DC Direct would reuse older tooling with a few new pieces in order to create various classically styled versions of the characters.  The line was pretty well done, though it had the ability to be a bit hit and miss.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkman was part of the fourth series of the Reactivated! line.  He’s depicted here in the costume his Earth 2 version* wore during the many Justice League /Justice Society team-ups of the 60s and 70s.  It’s pretty much just his basic costume, but instead of a helmet that resembled a hawk, he had a generic yellow cowl.  At least it had a hawk symbol on the forehead, I guess.  It’s far from his most memorable look, but it was a look he had for a good chunk of time.  Anyway, that’s the look this figure’s based on.  He stands about 6 ½ inches tall, which puts him in scale with some of DC Direct’s other lines.  (They weren’t really good at picking a consistent scale and sticking to it).  He’s got 13 points of articulation, and a basic translucent blue stand with the Reactivated! logo on it.  His sculpting is solid, with good proportions all around, and the paint is nice and clean.  The wings are nicely textured, and have a nice wash over them to bring out the details in the sculpt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this figure because I wanted a Hawkman for my JSA, and I was always really liked the old team-ups that this look was featured in.  That’s pretty much it.

*In the sixties, DC comics decided to relaunch a number of their characters, such as Green Lantern, Flash, and Hawkman with new takes on the characters.  When they decided to bring back the original versions of those characters, as well as explain why characters like Batman and Superman could be in their 30s in both the 40s and the 60s, DC decided to come up with the concept of the multiverse. They dubbed the main earth “Earth 1” and the older earth “Earth 2.”  This concept allowed them to tell stories on both earths without having to infringe upon the validity of the other.

#0025: John Stewart

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

JOHN STEWART – GREEN LANTERN

DC MINIMATES

So today is yet another Minimate review.  I promise to take a bit of a break from the Minimates, but they do make up a fairly large chuck of the collection, so they’ll tend to pop up fairly often.

We’re looking at a Minimate from the DC line today.  This figure is Green Lantern John Stewart, the first Minimate produced in DC Direct’s attempted revival of the DC Minimates line after the initial Lego inspired C3 line failed.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

John was a San Diego Comic Con give away, meant to drum up interest in the full DC Minimates line.  Like many Minimate give aways, he features no additional parts, but that’s not an issue with this design.  John is built, unsurprisingly, on the basic Minimate body.  He stands about 2 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  John is based on his appearance from the Justice League cartoon, which is a good look.  The lines are all very clean and sharp looking.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Although he was released a while ago, John is a fairly recent addition to my collection.  I don’t know why, as I’m a huge Green Lantern fan and a pretty big fan of John himself, but I’d say it’s mostly to do with him only being available at SDCC.  Anyway, I’ve got one now, and he’s a great addition to my collection.

#0004: Night Flight Batman

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

NIGHT FLIGHT BATMAN

BATMAN FOREVER (1995)

0004a

Today’s review is the last of the Batman Forever reviews.  It’s a third variant of Batman.  This is another brief review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

0004bThis is another Batman from the Batman Forever line.  He’s yet another fairly-typical-but-not-THE-typical-version(let’s go with FTBNTTV for short).  Night Flight Batman probably has the most descriptive name of the many batmen in the line, as his big feature was a giant set of wings(Lost long ago by silly child-Ethan).  There was certainly a fanbase for the pre-face “Night” amongst the Kenner think tank.  I get that he’s Batman and all, but seriously, Night’s a bit unoriginal.  The actual figure is pretty basic.  Note that I didn’t lose the cape on this one,  he never had one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I do actually recall getting this one.  I liked the “basicness” of this one, so my grandmother bought it for me.   He actually didn’t get much playtime as Batman himself.  Instead, he had his face and torso covered in black tape so that I could use him as Black Panther with my Avengers.  Yeah, I was that kid…

Read the Flashback Friday Figure Addendum here!

#0003: Sonar Sensor Batman

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

SONAR SENSOR BATMAN

BATMAN FOREVER (1995)

0003a

Continuing the trend of my last two posts, I’m looking at another figure from 1995’s Batman Forever Line.  This guy isn’t quite as significant as the last two, so he’ll be a bit more brief.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

0003bSo, like I said above, Sonar Sensor Batman is another Batman Variant from the Batman Forever line.  This one’s a slightly more conventional Batman, though, like Robin, not THE conventional Batman of the line.  This one’s still got the cape because it’s permanently affixed, which was a good move on Kenner’s part.  And he’s got what appears to be a….nipple gun?  I mean, that’s what it looks like(And this is Scumacher we’re talking about here).  It’s right on his right pectoral, and it’s even got those red dots on it.  When you push the yellow button on his belt, the gun flips down, only emphasizing the nipple gun-ness of it.  And I have no idea what any of this has to do with sonar, or sensing for that matter.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Not a whole lot on this one.  I remember having it.  I remember thinking he had a nipple gun as a child.  I actually don’t know where I got this one, so I’m going to assume it was a gift.  Regardless, it didn’t really get much play-time as my go to Batman.

Read the Flashback Friday Figure Addendum here!

#0002: Hydro Claw Robin

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

HYDRO CLAW ROBIN

BATMAN FOREVER (KENNER)

0002a

So, yesterday’s post was about my very first action figure, Batman.  And, because a hero’s no good without his sidekick, here’s my very first figure of his old chum: Robin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

0002bHydro Claw Robin is a Robin variant from the Batman Forever line.  He’s actually a fairly standard looking Robin, though he’s not THE standard looking Robin of the line.  His main feature, now lost to me, was a jetpack with wings, a rebreather, and the eponymous “Hydro Claw.”  It’s really unfortunate that I’ve lost this piece, as I recall that it was really quite cool, but alas, 4 year old me was not very good at keeping track of such things!  Even without the accessory, this is still a pretty stand up version of Robin, even if it is based on the utterly terrible Chris O’Donnell.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure is a good deal less of a mystery than the Night Hunter Batman.  This guy was a gift from my dear Aunt Susan for Christmas 1995.  I had asked for a Robin figure to prevent my caped crusader from being too lonely, and she was more than happy to oblige.  Christmas morning I opened this guy up and joyfully danced around the room for a good 5 minutes, humming the Batman theme song.  I know, that story is so sweet it almost hurts, doesn’t it?

Read the Flashback Friday Figure Addendum here!

#0001: Night Hunter Batman

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

NIGHT HUNTER BATMAN

BATMAN FOREVER (KENNER)

0001a

The first post in my humble little blog is a review of the very first (well, technically second, but I’ll get to that in a minute) action figure in my not-so-small collection.  Yep, this is the one that started it all, and 2400 figures later, he does seem to be a bit of an odd choice.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

0001bNight Hunter Batman is a Batman variant from the tie-in line to 1995’s Batman Forever.  He’s black with some bright yellow accents, the obvious choice for creatures of the night.  He once had a cape with a pretty nifty windswept look to it, but I’ve long since lost it.  He also used to have an actual bat symbol on his chest, but if I recall correctly, he lost that fairly shortly after I acquired him.  I feel the true highlight (aside from the actual yellow HIGHLIGHTS) of the figure is the pop-up goggle feature.  There’s a button on his back that, when pushed, extends and rotates the goggles in front of old Bruce’s eyes.  You know, for detective-stuff.  Or going by the name of the figure, hunting stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Why, of all the action figures out there, was this my very first action figure?  I honestly can’t say.  I know I liked Batman, though I watched the TV series and in fact didn’t see Batman Forever until I was almost 20.  Maybe I liked the colors.  Most likely, it was the goggles.  I like goggles, and the whole focus of this little guy was those really neat goggles he had.

Remember when I pointed out above that this was technically my second action figure?  Yeah, funny story:  this particular Night Hunter Batman is a replacement for the first Night Hunter Batman, that by all accounts I gave to a girl at a restaurant.  Yes, even at 3, I was quite the charmer.  So, my parents drove me over to Toys R Us (Side-Note: Remember when Toys R Us didn’t suck?  I miss those days…) and purchased me this lovely replacement (EDIT: I stand corrected.  It wasn’t Toys R Us, it was Service Merchandise.  Man, there’s a blast from the past!) .  While there, my dad happened to wander down the aisle and find the Iron Man animated series toys, leading him to a) start his own collection up again b)introduce me to the wonders of Marvel Comics and c) even more directly lead me to my current state of being.  And it’s all because I was trying to impress a girl!  Silly girls!

Read the Flashback Friday Figure Addendum here!