Tag Archives: Mattel

#0516: Katma Tui

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

KATMA TUI

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

KatmaTuiDCUC1

Occasionally, the randomized list from which I pick the next review doesn’t seem quite as random as it should be. Right now, it seems like it’s in a DC Universe Classics sort of a mood. Which is alright, I guess. This does, however, mean that my typical re-hash of my issues with Mattel seems more than a little redundant. So, yay for the readers! No “Ethan hates Mattel” rant.  One of the things that the line definitely had a focus on (outside of re-creating Super Powers) was the Green Lantern side of the DC Universe. Since I’m a pretty big GL fan, I really didn’t have a problem with that. So, what do you get when you combine DCUC’s penchant for making somewhat obscure characters with a focus on Green Lantern stuff? You get Katma Tui, (gesundheit!) one of the earliest non-earth Green Lanterns. Katma was somewhat prominent in the GL books into the mid-80s, where she was paired up quite nicely with Earth GL John Stewart. Then she was killed off rather stupidly, and, in a rarity for comics characters, she actually stayed dead. Hence the obscurity. But, here she is, so let’s review the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

KatmaTuiDCUC2Katma was released in the 11th Series of DC Universe Classics. The series marked the first real entrance of GL stuff; John Stewart was the anchor figure, Kilowog was the Collect-n-Connect, and there were also two GL villains (Shark and Cyborg Superman) featured. Katma mostly squeaked in by association. The figure is about 6 inches tall, with 25 points of articulation. Katma is based on her late 70s look, from when she was one of the main characters in Green Lantern Corps. It’s the way the character looked when she was at her best, and it’s more distinctive than the generic GL uniform she had before, so it’s a good choice of design. Sculpturally, Katma’s rather straight-forward, especially for a DCUC figure. She was built on the first female buck (the only one at the time) with a new head and right hand. The buck isn’t a bad body, though it isn’t without issues. The most glaring is how small the arms are in comparison with the rest of the figure. If they were just a little bulkier, they’d look a lot better. Other than that, the body’s pretty decently proportioned (an argument could be made that the legs are a touch too long. I’m a rather long-legged person, so I don’t notice that kind of thing very often). No insanely large breasts or impossibly small waist, which is always nice to see. The new pieces fair better than the re-use here. He hand is pretty standard, but still well sculpted. The head is easily the best piece of the figure. It’s a pretty much pitch-perfect recreation of how Katma’s been depicted in the comics. To a fan of the character, it’s pretty clear who it’s meant to be. The hair in particular is spot-on, both in shape and in the level of texture and detail present. The figure’s paintwork is decent, if maybe not outstanding. The work on the head is generally pretty clean, and they managed not to make her eyes look too wonky, so that’s good. The costume isn’t quite as good. The logo looks pretty sharp at least, but most of the transitions between the green and black areas of the figure are really soft, which doesn’t grant her the sharp look she should have. Also, this is probably more of a personal preference thing, but the green just feels too dark. Katma came armed with sword and shield constructs, as well as the torso of Kilowog.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Green Arrow from the other day, Katma was a DCUC figure I was actually able to find at retail. My dad and I ended up coming across a pair of Katmas at our local TRU, which was pretty cool. If I’m honest, Katma’s not one of the most thrilling DCUCs produced. That said, she’s still a pretty solid figure, and I’m happy that the character was given the chance to get an action figure. My GL collection wouldn’t have been the same without her!

#0512: Green Arrow

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

GREEN ARROW

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

GreenArrowDCUC1

In a lot of ways, Mattel’s DC Universe Classics was really the true successor to ToyBiz’s run on Marvel Legends. Now, before you grab the pitchforks and the torches, hear me out. Both lines were the hottest action figure line around at the time of release, both offered a surprisingly expansive look at their respective universes, and both were renowned for their representations of obscure characters. They’ve also both begun to show their age, and they were both a pain in the butt to collect. And of course, they both have their fanbases, who don’t tend to like being compared to each other. If I go missing, you know where to look. In the moment, I think I enjoyed collecting DCUC a bit more, just because I gained more of a mastery of tracking stuff down online, which made getting the figures I wanted a whole lot easier. So, why not have a look at one of my favorite figures from that line, Green Arrow.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GreenArrowDCUC2Green Arrow saw release in the 9th Series of DC Universe Classics. He served as the “anchor figure” of the series. With shows such as Arrow on the air, Green Arrow being an anchor figure nowadays wouldn’t be a huge shock, but at the time, it was actually a pretty bold move. However, given the presence of another 11 series of the line after this one, it’s safe to say it paid off okay. The figure is about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation. He gets an extra two points of articulation compared to others in the line thanks to some hinge joints at the wrist, in addition to the usual swivel joints. It’s a nice addition, although it would have been nice if they’d made it standard to the line. Green Arrow is based on Oliver Queen’s Bronze Age (read: 70s-80s) appearance. It’s easily the character’s most distinctive look, and it’s one he’s returned to many times over the years. Also of note, it’s the look he had in the DC Super Powers line in the 80s, which was what Mattel was working to recreate.  DCUC generally operated on the buck system, but characters such as Green Arrow tend to need more unique pieces than others, resulting in him being more new than re-use. The waist, upper legs, and shoulders are re-used from the medium sized buck, but I believe everything else on the figure is new. Ollie ended up with one of the best sculpts DCUC had to offer in that regard. All of the little details of the costume are sculpted, and they are done with the necessary precision. They are also spot on to design from the comics, right down to those weird draw string things on the front of his costume. The pointed shoulders of his costume also help to mask the slightly large shoulders that were an issue with the line, and the rest of the pieces being new meant that Ollie ended up with a build that was appropriate to him. The figure’s hands are both sculpted to work well with the accessories, and they really turned out great. The head sculpt really makes this figure, perfectly capturing the Neal Adams Green Arrow of the 70s. He’s got just the right “charming rogue” look, which sells the character really well. In addition, they’ve managed to render his hat in three dimensions without it looking the slightest bit silly, which is really great. Where the figure ends up falling down just a bit is the paintwork. The paint certainly isn’t bad. In fact, the colors are well chosen, and it’s overall pretty clean. However, there’s a little bit of slop and bleed over. The worst thing on my figure is the airbrushing, particularly on the face. What was clearly meant to be a little bit of color on his cheeks ended up looking rather ridiculous, almost to a clownish level. The figure included his signature bow, a few different arrows, and a clear blue display stand. The bow ends up being another point of contention. There’s an arrow molded to it, meaning not only can the other arrows included not be used at all, but he also can’t draw the bow back any further, and he looks silly when just holding the bow one handed. Why Mattel decided to handle it this way (and to continue to handle it so on all the archers that followed) is baffling.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Amazingly enough, Green Arrow is one of the DCUC figures I ended up finding at retail with no real issues. I stumbled across him (as well as Black Canary) at my local Target and happily purchased him. Issues with the bow aside, this was one of the best figures that DCUC had to offer, and he still holds up, even while the rest of the line begins to look dated. It’s a shame that Mattel couldn’t keep up the effort they put into this figure.

#0423: Vigilante

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

VIGILANTE

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

DC Universe Classics may have ended up supplanting Kenner’s Super Powers as the “greatest DC toyline,” but the line owes a lot of its life to its predecessor. It’s been viewed by many as an update on the earlier line, and it’s worth noting that DCUC ended up releasing an update of every figure in Super Powers. But it seems that wasn’t enough. They decided to go further and release several of the characters who would have been featured in the proposed 4th Wave of the line. While some characters, such as Man-Bat and John Stewart Green Lantern, aren’t too surprising in a DC line in this day and age, one character in particular, Vigilante, seems rather out of place in a current line. The character was essentially DC’s answer to the Punisher, and he was fairly popular in the mid-80s, explaining why he was set to turn up in Super Powers. However, the character died in the final issue of his series, leading to him becoming largely forgotten. Still, he turned up in DCUC, joining the likes of Jemm, Kamandi, and Tyr.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vigilante was released in Series 8 of DC Universe Classics. Vigilante was the most obscure character in the series by far, which is really saying something in a series that contained Gentleman Ghost, Sergeant Steel, Mr. Terrific, and Dr. Fate. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and features 25 points of articulation (yay ankle rockers!). He’s based on the character’s look from the 80s, which as far as I know, was his only look. The figure uses the mid-sized buck as a starting point, with a unique head, forearms, and left hand, as well as shins from Series 7’s Flash, and an add-on piece for his belt and holster. The medium buck is as good as ever, and it works very well for the character. The new pieces are all very well sculpted, though it’s odd that they only gave the figure one hand with a trigger finger when he’s meant to hold a gun in each hand. The head features a fully sculpted set of eyes under the visor, which is a cool touch, especially since it’s almost impossible to actually see them. Vigilante’s paint is very nicely handled. Everything is nice and clean. The colors are mostly vibrant and bold, though this figure shows the start of Mattel’s tendency to muddle the whites a little bit. Vigilante was well armed, with a mac-10 submachine gun, an m-16 assault rifle, and a revolver (special thanks to Tim for the help on those). In addition, the figure also included the left leg of Giganta, but my figure was bought loose and did not include this piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Series 8 was first announced and I heard Vigilante was in it, I assumed it would be the Greg Saunders version (who had appeared on Justice League Unlimited). When I found out this was the version of the character being released, I must admit I was a little let down. Still, it’s not a bad design, so I definitely wanted the figure. Sadly, the distribution issues hit their hardest with Series 8, and I never saw a single one of the figures on shelves.

Vigilante was the fourth and final DCUC figure I picked up at The House of Fun, which is an awesome store. Vigilante was one of the many, many loose DCUC figures the store had. I was really happy to find him. Odd choice of the character aside, this is a very well done figure. It’s a shame that Mattel couldn’t maintain the quality on this line.

#0422: Tomar Re

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

TOMAR RE

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Although my interest in the character has waned a bit in the last few years, I’m still quite a bit of a Green Lantern fan. So, that means I find myself drawn to just about everything Green Lantern-related when it comes to toys. Some of it’s good and some of it’s bad. Today, I’ll be looking at the DC Universe Classics interpretation of Tomar Re, one of the many non-earth GLs. What’s interesting is that the last GL figure I looked at was ALSO a Tomar Re figure, from the movie line. I promise that this one’s better.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tomar Re was released in the DC Universe Classics line as part of a Green Lantern themed 5-pack. He was one of two characters released exclusively in the set. Something that’s important to note about this figure is that while he’s called Tomar Re on the box, the figure actually seems to be a bit more in line with the look of Tomar’s son Tomar Tu. The differences are minor: Re was generally depicted with larger eyes with pupils and a less present mask. Ultimately, the two essentially look the same, and Tomar Re is the one more people know, so it’s a forgivable change. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation. Tomar is built on the medium sized male buck, which is a good fit for the character. His right hand has a Green Lantern ring, and it’s been used on numerous GL figures. He has a new head, though it appears it uses the previously released Romat Ru’s head as a starting point. Romat’s scars have been filled in and a mask has been added, which is enough to sufficiently differentiate the two. The head is a truly beautiful sculpt, and it does a fantastic job of translating Tomar’s look into three dimensions. The paint work on Tomar is nicely done. Everything is very clean, and all of the details are sharp. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but the green used here is slightly iridescent, which looks really cool and gives the costume the appropriate other-worldly vibe. Tomar includes his lantern-shaped power battery, which is a re-use of the one included with the Series 3 Hal Jordan figure. It’s been done in a darker green, which really makes it work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the last two figures I reviewed, Tomar was acquired from The House of Fun. The store is a really cool place, and I definitely need to go back soon. Unlike the last two, Tomar isn’t a figure I missed in stores, and he doesn’t command a huge aftermarket price. I just was iffy about buying the whole 5-pack when I really only wanted 2-3 of the figures included. So, when I found Tomar on his own I was very happy. Tomar has long been one of my favorite Lanterns. I’ve always thought he has one of the coolest looks. The figure showcases the character spectacularly. I can’t believe I passed him up for so long.

#0421: Gold

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

GOLD

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

DC Universe Classics, through all of its victories, was not without its flaws. When the line ended, more than one team of heroes was left incomplete. That being said, the line did manage to finish up a couple of teams. One of those teams, the Metal Men, hadn’t seen toy form ever before. That’s not a particularly shocking thing, truth be told. The Metal Men are far from one of DC’s more well-known properties. Still, they managed to all show up in this line, and they serve as an example of the line’s strength in rendering oft-forgotten characters in action figure form.

As a bit of backstory, the Metal Men are a team of robots, constructed by Dr. Will Magnus, who were each made out of a particular metal, animated by a “responsometer” which gave each of them a distinct personality. Today, I’ll be looking at the team’s field leader, Gold, who was the member of the team who best fit the traditional hero archetype.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gold was a figure in Series 14 of DC Universe Classics. Series 14 was the third Walmart exclusive series in the line, and it fell somewhere in between the impossible to find Series 5 and the rather plentiful Series 10 in terms of availability. Gold is a little over 6 inches in height and he features 23 points of articulation (he was released after Mattel removed the ankle rocker joints). He was the second Metal Man released in the line, following Series 12’s Iron. The figure makes use of the mid-size male buck as a starting point, with a new head, forearms, and calves, as well as a set of die-cast hands (first used on Iron), and an add-on for the front of his torso. The mid-size body is a good fit for Gold, so it was well chosen. The new pieces match up pretty well with the body, while giving him some individual flair. The head is the only piece to sport any flaws. It’s not a bad sculpt, but it doesn’t seem quite right for Gold; he should look more confident and self-assured. The hands being actual metal is cool, though the fact that they were originally sculpted for Iron means that they have some dings and things that aren’t quite right for Gold. Gold’s paint is rather straight-forward. He’s painted from head to toe with gold paint. The decision to use paint rather than gold plastic was a wise choice, as the end result is much cleaner. In addition, he also features a few details for his symbol on his head and torso, as well as his eyes. The eyes are rather clean, but the symbols are a slight bit off center. Gold included two hand attachments: a buzz saw and a pick axe. Both are well done, but the buzz saw really stands out, just for the sheer amount of imagination that went into it. If you look closely, you can see that it actually looks like a stretched out version of his hand is holding the blade. It’s a great touch. Gold also included the left leg of the series Collect-N-Connect, Ultra Humanite, who you can read about here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After finding Iron at a reduced price, I was all on board for getting Gold when he was released. My dad is a pretty big fan of the Metal Men, so this was one of those instances of both of us wanting a certain figure. So, when we finally came across a set of Series 14, the single Gold figure went to him. I didn’t mind, seeing as I got all the other figures I wanted, but I still hoped to find another. The figure’s price jumped and I figured I’d missed my shot. Fortunately, while checking out The House of Fun, I found a loose Gold amongst their large selection of DCUC figures. I’m happy to have the figure. He’s not perfect, but he’s pretty close, and he’s a key piece of one of DCUC’s greatest legacies.

#0420: Guardian

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

GUARDIAN

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Ah, yes, DC Universe Classics. One of the most confusing lines I’ve ever collected. Purely viewing the figures offered, it’s easily the greatest DC toyline ever released (beating out Kenner’s Super Powers). The sheer breadth of the line is truly astounding. But, it was a Mattel toyline, which means the line was met with mismanagement, strange choices, and some of the worst distribution I’ve ever seen on a major toyline. An entire series of figures would be completely absent from store shelves in most areas of the country, leading to insane aftermarket prices. Because of this, I’m still filling holes in my collection two years after the line ended. One of my recent acquisitions is Guardian, DC’s resident shield wielding hero who is totally not Captain America. Let’s see how the figure turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guardian was released in Series 9 of DC Universe Classics. He’s one of the line’s more odd-ball choices, but that’s never a bad thing. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and he features 25 points of articulation. He’s based on the original Jack Kirby-version of the character. Early prototypes for the figure showed the 90s incarnation of the character, and comments from Mattel indicated that that version might surface as a variant, but such a figure never surfaced. Sorry Guardian fans. DCUC was primarily a “buck-system” line, and Guardian is no exception. He’s built on the mid-sized buck, with a belt add-on and a new head. The mid-size buck seems like it might be a bit too small for Guardian, but it doesn’t look terrible. One thing I’ve noticed is that since getting back into Marvel Legends, the shoulders on the DCUC bucks look larger than they should, but overall, the bucks were well done, so this is a good starting point. Guardian’s head is really nice. The helmet is a separate piece, so the face is actually below it, which gives the figure the appropriate amount of depth. Guardian’s paint is rather simple, but what’s there is cleanly applied for the most part. There is a tiny bit of slop on the neck line, but that’s about it. The work on the face is the highlight of the figure, mostly due to just how clean everything is. The colors on the costume are really bright, which is befitting of a character like Guardian. They really make him pop. Guardian included his trusty shield, which is sort of silly looking, especially given the size, but it’s actually quite well sculpted. He also included the right leg of Chemo, but my figure was purchased loose and therefore did not have that piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wanted a Guardian when he was released. In fact, I wanted pretty much all of Series 9. However, the series never really showed up in my neck of the woods. I was able to track down a few of the other figures from the series, but not Guardian.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I accompanied my dad to Philcon. We decided to explore the surrounding area on Saturday and came across a very nice toy store, called The House of Fun. The store’s selection was actually a bit overwhelming, if I’m honest. Anyway, my dad and I decided to focus on the large selection of DCUC figures they had, and Guardian happened to be amongst them. I’m glad I finally found the figure. He’s often been referred to as the sleeper hit of this series, and I can see why. He doesn’t have the bells and whistles that some of the better DCUC figures had, but he’s a solidly put together figure who is just undeniably fun.

#0394: Tomar Re

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

TOMAR RE

GREEN LANTERN (MOVIE)

The 2011 Green Lantern was certainly not the greatest thing to be shown on the silver screen. That being said it’s far from the worst, and I personally found it to be about on par with the Tim Burton Batman films, which suited me just fine. One of the nice things about one of your favorite characters getting a movie is all the toys that are bound to be released to coincide. Sadly, while I found the Green Lantern movie to be inoffensive, the same can’t be said for the vast majority of the toys released for it. One of the few figures from the line I didn’t hate is Tomar Re, the subject of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tomar Re was technically part of the first series of Green Lantern figures, but he was not amongst the initial assortment of figures. I think he came in the second wave of product. The figure is about 3 ¾ inches tall and he features 8 points of articulation. The articulation is one of the most annoying parts of this line, because it was about 10 years out of date at the time of release. It’s completely useless for anything outside of a standing pose, and in some cases it couldn’t even do that. Case in point, Tomar’s right leg is slightly warped, and the articulation is such that standing is not a thing that happens. Tomar’s sculpt is fine. There was a deluxe Tomar in wonky colors that was released first, so technically this one’s a re-use of that one. There’s some okay texture work on the body, which is nice, I suppose. However, the head is rather smooth, and definitely too squat for the character. In fact, the whole body is off when compared to the on screen character. He’s just too bulky. Were this figure 10-15 years older, the scale might be excusable, but come on, Hasbro’s Battle Droids from 1999 looked better than this. The paintwork is rather vaguely handled. In some places, lines are very sharp, but in others, everything just sort of runs together. That’s sort of what they looked like in the movie, but it wasn’t this bad. He just ends up being a bit of a mush of colors. Tomar included a construct of some sort, but I threw all the constructs together, so I don’t remember which was his.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Tomar from a Walmart near where I was vacationing the year these were released. This was notably two days AFTER I broke down and bought the wonky colored deluxe Tomar because I hadn’t been able to find this one. Yay. It’s hard to say much about this figure that isn’t negative. I honestly don’t hate it, and I really think it was one of the better small scale figures Mattel offered in this line, but that isn’t saying much. There’s a reason this line didn’t sell well, and it wasn’t the poor performance of the movie.

#0381: Robin

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

ROBIN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE

Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! Frequent readers of the blog will probably be aware of my less than stellar opinion of Mattel. For those of you who have only recently joined us, let me ‘splain….no it is too much, let me sum up: Mattel has a tendency to make bad decisions and when said bad decisions fail like they should, they like to place the fault on their fans. It’s not a particularly endearing quality. I am also not a huge fan of the current output of DC Comics. So, it would seem that Mattel holding the DC License would be a perfect partnership for me to ignore. However, I am stubborn, and in spite of my issues with Mattel and DC, I still like the DC characters and Mattel occasionally stumbles their way into a decent action figure. Such is the case with today’s figure, Mattel’s latest version of Batman’s faithful sidekick Robin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robin was released in the fourth assortment of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse line, which is their current “collector oriented” line of 3 ¾ scale figures. Robin is based on the character’s appearance in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight game, which seems to take fair bit of influence from the Damian Wayne Robin design. The figure clocks in at just about 3 ¾ inches tall and he features 18 points of articulation. Robin’s articulation scheme is the same as that seen on the Christopher Reeve Superman. It’s not bad, and it’s certainly better than what we saw on Zod, but he really would benefit from some ankle articulation, some sort of swivel in his upper arms, and maybe a mid-torso joint. As it is, the figure’s posing options are rather limited, which leaves him rather stiff looking. He’s good for a standing pose, but not much else. Robin appears to have a completely unique sculpt. Overall, it’s an okay sculpt, but it has some rather glaring faults. His head is a bit too small and his torso is too large, resulting in some serious pin-headedness. His torso is also rather flat, and his waist seems to sit too low, making the torso too long. All that being said, the sculpt does have some nice detail work, especially in the armor’s various engravings. The cape is not sculpted, but rather made of cloth. The material used for capes in this line seems to be inconsistent. They go back and forth between cloth and plastic with very little rhyme or reason. I personally prefer the sculpted capes, so the cloth isn’t a huge plus for me. This one’s not too bad, so there’s that. Robin’s paint is decently handled. It’s relatively straight-forward; there aren’t any washes or different finishes or anything. For the most part, it’s rather cleanly applied, but there are one or two areas, like the shoulders, where there is a bit of slop. Robin includes no accessories. His right hand looks as if it should hold a staff or something, so it would have been nice to get something, anything. As is, the figure feels light for the price.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I swore I was done with the DC Comics Multiverse line once I got Superman and Zod. So, why then did I end up with this guy? Call it nostalgia. I was visiting some family in mountains in North Carolina. We were picking up a few things at the nearby Walmart, and as I am prone to do, I wandered over to the toy section. I saw this figure and remembered something: on my very first trip to NC, back in 1998, my Dad bought me a Nightwing figure from the Animated Series line of the time. With this in mind, I was drawn to this Robin figure (for those of you confused as to what the two have to do with each other: Nightwing is an older Robin). So, here I sit in my family’s NC house with no internet connection or cellphone service writing this review and feeling nostalgic. This is certainly not a perfect offering, but I feel like it’s better than most of what Mattel and DC are putting out these days.

#0337: Superman

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

SUPERMAN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE

ReeveSuperman1

In 1979, Superman started a trend of superhero movies that has continued for over 30 years. There had been superhero movies before, such as the 60s Batman: The Movie, but Superman is important because it treated the source material seriously, while simultaneously making winks at the audience about some of the stranger aspects. It knew what it was. It may not be for everyone, but it’s the prototypical superhero movie without a doubt. Because of this, it’s remained one of my favorites. Until the recent round of Marvel Studios movies, it was my go to example of what a superhero movie should be. One of the movie’s greatest strengths was the casting of Christopher Reeve in the title role. He played both sides of the character with a lovability and sense of heroism that his performance serves as many people’s ideal Superman even to this day. In the late 70s, movies didn’t get toylines like they do today, leaving collectors lacking in a Christopher Reeve Superman for three decades. A few years back, Hot Toys released their own take on the character that was phenomenal, but the smaller scale was lacking a bit. With the announcement of their DC Comics Multiverse line, Mattel confirmed a Christopher Reeve Superman. Yes, I know, it’s Mattel. This is about the point where I warn you it’s gonna be rough. Well, this figure’s actually a bit of a surprise.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReeveSupermanWilsonSuperman was released in the third assortment of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse line. For those of you keeping track, yes that does put him an assortment later than the previously reviewed General Zod figure. I’m not sure what Mattel was trying for there, but it resulted in peg-warming Zod’s everywhere. Sound move, guys. Obviously, this figure is based on Christopher Reeve’s portrayal of the character. If you want to be specific, he’s based on Superman in the first movie, but there really wasn’t much change from film to film. The figure is a little over 3 ¾ inches tall and features 18 points of articulation. The articulation here is better handled than it was on Zod, though they have removed the bicep swivels in exchange for thigh swivels. He also gained a waist swivel that Zod was so sorely lacking. Superman is still a bit stiff looking, and he could really use some ankle movement, but he really isn’t bad. If Zod’s waist was too high, I’m gonna go ahead and say Superman’s waist seems to be too low. It’s not as bad, but it does seem a slight bit off. Aside from that, the sculpt is pretty great. The proportions seem pretty on mark, and the head bears a pretty decent likeness to Reeve, especially at this scale. Superman’s paint isn’t terrible, but I had to look through several figures to find one that didn’t have any immediately noticeable issues. I still didn’t find a perfect figure, as removing him from the package revealed a sizeable portion of missing paint of the logo on the cape. Other than that issue, the paint is pretty good, though there are few areas with some bleed over. Superman includes no accessories, which is really a shame, given the cost of the figure. It would have been cool to get the chunk of Kryptonite Luthor hangs on his neck, or something. Anything would be good.

ReeveSuperman3 ReeveSuperman2

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Superman from a boardwalk shop in Ocean City while I was there celebrating my friend Jill’s birthday. Surprisingly, I really like the figure. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than a lot of Mattel’s output these days. It’s a shame that Zod wasn’t quite as good, but the true tragedy is that many people will probably end up passing on Superman based on the lackluster Zod, thanks to Mattel’s odd release order.

#0289: General Zod

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

GENERAL ZOD

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

Zod1

The Birthday Reviews continue. We’re at Part 9, and we’re drawing quite close to the end. Today, I’m looking at a figure from one of Mattel’s recent DC lines, DC Multiverse. Frequent readers of the blog will have just cringed, cuz yeah, it’s a Mattel review. Be prepared. Anyway, Multiverse is Mattel’s new line of 3 ¾ inch DC figures, based on various movies and video games over the years. The most recent assortments have been focusing on the 70s-80s incarnations of Batman and Superman, and I’ll be taking a look at one of Superman’s nemeses, General Zod. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!!! …..Sorry, the figure makes me do that sometimes…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zod2General Zod was released as part of the second assortment of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse line. He’s based on the version of the character as portrayed by Terrance Stamp in the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies. He stands about 3 ¾ inches tall and features 17 points of articulation. It might seem like a decent count, but he’s lacking basics, such as thigh and waist swivels, or any kind of ankle articulation. This results I n the figure being rather stiff looking. The slightly odd posture and proportions of the sculpt don’t really help the stiff-ness. The legs are a bit too long, and definitely too thin, and his waist seems like it seems too high up. The head isn’t terrible. It does bear a passing resemblance to Terrance Stamp, though he’s kind of a bit generic. His face seems to be a little chubbier than Stamp, but it’s not bad for the scale. The paint on Zod is okay, but not amazing. The uniform is fine, and they’ve done a nice job differentiating between the sheen on the materials, so there’s that. The face paint isn’t the greatest. The beard is the worst; it looks a bit like it’s been drawn on his face. The eyes and eyebrows are pretty good work, and the hair is cleanly painted at the very least. He would certainly benefit from a few streaks of gray in his hair, though. Zod includes one accessory: the machine gun he destroys shortly after arriving on earth in Superman II.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Zod was one of the gifts I received for my birthday this year, given to me by my parents. It was actually a slightly late addition to the Birthday haul, as my dad forgot he had gotten it for me. It’s not a terrible figure, and I feel certain I’ll like it a bit more once I have the accompanying Superman. That being said, he is a slightly disappointing figure, especially for the price and compared to what others have done with this scale. Most wounding is the fact that Mattel seems determined to stay behind the industry standards, moving to the 3 ¾ inch scale just as it’s been largely abandoned, even by Hasbro, king of 3 ¾ inch. Still, I guess if you’re a fan of this version of Zod (and who isn’t?) you could do worse than this figure.

ZodWilson