Tag Archives: They made THIS guy?

#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.

#0401: Composite Superman

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

COMPOSITE SUPERMAN

FIRST APPEARENCE

In the 50s and 60s, DC Comics was really king of the absurd idea. Their stories pretty much run on absurdity. When it comes to absurd characters, Composite Superman is definitely up there. Right off the bat, he’s a dude who’s half Superman ad half Batman. But, what’s even wackier is that his origin has nothing to do with Superman or Batman. He’s actually a janitor from the future, granted the powers of all of the members of the Legion of Super Heroes when lightning struck a display of figurines possessing their abilities. So, umm… yeah. On the plus side, the fact that he’s half and half of two of DC’s top characters means he’s gotten not one, but two action figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Composite Superman was released in Series 3 of DC Direct’s First Appearance line. The first two series were purely golden age characters, but the diversified a bit starting with Series 3. This is the first of the two Composite Superman figures. The figure is about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation. In case the name of the line didn’t clue you in, he’s based on the character’s first appearance, drawn by the legendary Curt Swan. Simply put, the sculpt is outstanding. It’s head to toe a perfect recreation of Swan’s art. The two halves are distinct to each character, but still totally in synch with each other. The only downside to this figure is that DC Direct never separated the sculpt out into proper Swan versions of Superman and Batman (though they did release a completely unique Superman sculpt of a similar style in their Showcase line). The paint is fairly straightforward, but that’s not a bad thing. The colors are all nice, bold and distinct, emphasizing the differences between the halves. The boots and glove have also been done in a very nice glossy sheen, which adds a nice amount of depth to the look. Composite Superman included a mini-replica of his first appearance and a gold display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Composite Superman, like so many of my DC Direct figures, was gotten from a friend who works for Diamond Distributors. I’ve always loved the look of the character, and I was thrilled to find out he was getting an action figure. To top that, it’s not just any action figure, it’s a phenomenal action figure. This really was one of DC Direct’s best efforts.

#0237: Agent Jasper Sitwell & Batroc

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

AGENT JASPER SITWELL & BATROC

MARVEL MINIMATESJasper&Batroc

Today marks the final entry in my reviews of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Minimates. It’s okay. We can get through this together. I started off a bit rocky with Classic Cap & Winter Soldier, regained some of my momentum with Black Widow & Falcon, and was more than pleased with Stealth Cap & Rumlow, but the excitement I have for this series has remained with me throughout all of my reviews. I’m a little sad that there aren’t a never ending supply of these figures to review, but I think I’ve saved the best for last here. Today, I’ll be looking at Agent Jasper Sitwell & Batroc. Due to the nature of this set, I’ll be getting into some SPOILERS for the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve been warned.

 

 

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Agent Sitwell and Batroc were released in Marvel Minimates Series 55, which was a tie-in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This set was released one per case, so it’s a little harder to come by than the other three.

AGENT JASPER SITWELL

JasperSitwellIn the comics, Jasper Sitwell was the SHIELD agent assigned to Tony Stark, he drove a flying car, and he was meant to be that “normal” guy amongst the crazy. Sound familiar? Yeah, Jasper was the proto-Coulson. When Coulson took his place in the movie-verse, I just assumed he’d be replacing Jasper outright. But, Marvel decided to put Jasper in the mix anyway, and he served as a supporting character in Thor and the first three Marvel One-Shots, before showing up on Agents of SHIELD, and eventually in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which proved to be his end, after he was revealed to be a covert Hydra agent. But, hey maybe he’s actually working for SHIELD…. and he could have totally survived being thrown in front of an oncoming tractor trailer. Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine.  Jasper was built on the standard Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation, and he stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He’s a mostly vanilla figure, with just a sculpted coat piece and tie, which have been seen on numerous suited figures before him. They do their job well enough, and look appropriate for a standard issue SHIELD suit. Paint is also pretty basic, with some paint for his tie and belt buckle, which look pretty decent, though there is some slop on the shirt collar from the tie. The best part of the figure is the detailing on the face, which is a spot on likeness of Maximiliano Hernàndez. Truly amazing work. Jasper includes a hand gun, a briefcase, and a clear display stand.

BATROC

BatrocGeorges Batroc, or as he’s known in the comics “Batroc the Leaper” (Batroc ze Leper if you go heavy on the French accent), is a character I never thought I’d see on the big screen. Even when I heard he was in the movie, I assumed he’d just be some generic thug who dressed in black. There was no way he’d actually leap around, right? Or wear even a semblance of his comic book costume, right? Well, I was wrong, and I’ve never been happier to be so. Batroc’s fight with Cap near the beginning is one of my favorite parts of the movie, hands down. Batroc is presented here in his look from that portion of the movie. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with sculpted vest, belt, and holster add-ons. The holster is a re-use from Series 45’s Maria Hill, but the vest and belt look to be all-new. They look great, and are very accurate to Batroc’s gear from the film. Batroc features some superb paint work, with nearly every surface covered in detail. Most impressive is his head, which features his five-o-clock shadow and his buzz cut, both depicted through some excellent use of pointillism (every once in a while, my former art major kicks in). I also love the fact that the yellow and purple detailing of the uniform continues under the vest, giving you a decent start to a comic styled Batroc if you want one. Batroc includes a hand gun, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sadly, due to their one per case nature coupled with my being out of town, I was unable to get Jasper and Batroc with the rest of Series 55 from my local comicbook store (It’s okay, I’m fairly certain I know who got the set, and I know it went to a good home.) Fortunately, I was able to get ahold of one from Luke’s Toystore, my favorite Minimates retailer. I’m glad I was able to get this set because it’s the highlight of the series for me. Sure, the others are all solid sets, and I wouldn’t want to have missed any of them, but this set just makes me smile. Diamond could have easily phoned it in on these two, but they really brought their A-game, and this set is total win because of it.

I just wrote over 800 words about a Jasper Sitwell & Batroc the Leaper two-pack. Based on their appearance in a multi-million dollar film, no less! I cannot begin to tell you how much that thrills me.

BatrocVSCap