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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Etrigan, Klarion action figures
The New Batman Adventures

DC Collectibles
Date Published: 2016-09-09
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

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TNBA Etrigan, Klarion animated action figures by DC Collectibles

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Introduction

My favorite version of Batman is easy - the animated universe. Starting with Batman: The Animated Series and continuing on through shows like The New Adventures of Batman and Batman Beyond, the writing, designs, and characterizations made for some amazing episodes.

DC Collectibles began a new line of action figures and vehicles based on the DCAU last year, and have continued to produce some terrific characters.  The latest release includes a two pack of Etrigan and Klarion, along with some great extras.

Etrigan is THE demon of course, bonded to the human Jason Blood. He's been in lots of comics, including his own, since his introduction in 1972. He was in at least a couple episodes of the animated Batman shows, including one ("The Demon Within") in which he teamed up with Batman to fight the character he is paired with here, Klarion. Klarion, often called Klarion the Witch Boy, was after a mystical branding iron (yes, a branding iron) that he planned to use to control Etrigan.

This pair will run you around $35 - $40 depending on the retailer, and I have some great suggestions in the Where to Buy section.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
TNBA Etrigan animated action figures by DC Collectibles

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Packaging - ***1/2
The large window on the properly sized box allows you to see the figures and accessories clearly.  There's some reasonable personalization both front and back, and the box is fairly sturdy.  It's also largely collector friendly, although there are several twisty ties holding they heavy Etrigan in place.

TNBA Etrigan, Klarion animated action figures by DC Collectibles

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Sculpting - ***1/2
Both of these look fantastic, but I do think they managed to capture the look of Klarion slightly better.

Etrigan is hefty, made from solid plastic with a solid rubbery cape.  He stands a full 6 inches tall, and has the wide upper body to match.  The likeness is good, although there's a few nits I can pick. The head seems a little undersized, and the ears aren't quite right...you can see a screen capture of the demon here.

I like Klarion slightly better, but there's still some nits. Here's a shot of him with Etrigan from the episode in question. The 'devil horns' in his hair are about right for this episode (they were longer in other shows) but the shape of the face is slightly off. I like the scale - he stands 4 3/4 inches tall - and I like the detail work on the costume, but the shape of the face throws it just slightly for me.

TNBA Etrigan animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Paint - ****
This is some pretty impressive paint work for figures around 5" tall, costing about the same as most 'collectible' figures in this scale at the local Target.

The lines are sharp and clean, and even smaller details are free of mistakes.  They eyes are straight and even on Klarion, and the black outline looks great even in a macro photo. There's no gloppiness, and tough colors like the white clasp on Etrigan's cape, are neater than I expected.

While there's not a billion small details - the animated style doesn't allow for it - the work here is truly impressive at this price point.

TNBA Klarion animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Articulation - ***
Here's a spot where these are certainly an improvement over the old school animated figures from Kenner, but not quite at the level we expect on the current market.

Klarion is the better of the two, simply because you don't expect quite the same mad posing out of him.  His ball jointed neck works great, and is a critical joint for adding that smart ass evil personality to any pose. The cut shoulders, rotating hinge elbows and cut wrists don't allow for a ton of arm poses, but he can hold the accessories in some interesting ways. The dual hinge hips are restricted a bit by the long pilgrim style coat, but the pin knees and cut ankles work about the way you'd expect. No deep stances here, but he can take some fairly natural short ones.

Etrigan's neck works well, and his rotating hinge shoulders have a better range of movement thanks to the sculpt. His entire upper body works pretty well, with good rotating hinge elbows and wrists, a cut waist and a nice ab crunch.  The duel hinge hips are good, but with no real cut or twisting joints in the legs - just regular pin (hinge) joints at the knee and ankle - the legs are quite limited in their posability.  I was able to get the feet to turn slightly at the top of the boot, but I'm not sure I'd crank on that joint too wildly. Add in the heavy upper body and some pretty weak ankles, and you get a situation where it is very hard to pose him and for him to maintain a pose for any period of time.

Rocker joints in the feet would be a big plus here too, as long as they aren't as loose as the ankles.

TNBA Etrigan animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Accessories - Etrigan ***; Klarion ***1/2
Both figures come with the same style display stand as previous releases - a small, white base with nifty 'maquette' style reference artwork, and a clear waist grabber support. You'll certainly need it for Etrigan, at least long term.

He also has two additional sets of hands, one in a gripping pose, one in an open hand pose, that compliment the set of fists he comes wearing. The hands swap easily with little fear of breakage.

That's it for Etrigan, but Klarion adds some more goodies. He also has two more sets of hands to go with the fists he is wearing in the package - one set of open hands, one set of gripping hands. They work well with the accessories and a variety of poses, and swapping was easy enough.

He also has the branding iron that was a central part of the show, with the 'M' on the end. That stands for 'Morgan le Fey', a DC sorceress from the demon's past. He can hold it easily in the hands provided.

He also has his most important cat, Teelk. Teelk is his familiar, and this version comes jointed at the hips and neck, sporting a nasty hiss expression.

It adds up to a very nice assortment of episode specific extras that makes putting the two characters together in one package all the more sensible.

TNBA Klarion animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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TNBA Klarion animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Fun Factor - ***
Most of the fun here comes from the episode specific nature of this pair. By providing key accessories, you can set up a great looking display that keys off one episode, and test the knowledge of your Batman fan friends.  Unfortunately, the articulation (especially on Etrigan) lets them down a bit in this category.

TNBA Klarion animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Value - **1/2
Full retail looks to be $40 on this set, which is pretty much in line with the $20 a pop price you'll see at Target or Toys R Us for similarly sized figures from other lines.  You can get deals however, and I have one sponsor as low as $33. At that price, you can add another half star to this score, boosting them above average and having a positive effect on the Overall.

TNBA Etrigan animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. The hands swapped cleanly, and I didn't have any stuck joints or signs of potential breakage, even after putting quite a bit of pressure on various joints.

Overall - ***1/2
Of course, there's a few nits with every individual figure.  And the overall series has had it's bumpy moments. Breakage was a serious issue for the first wave or two, giving them a bad rap early on. But DCC appears to have that completely under control, and their last couple waves have been terrific, well done representations of the characters.  While I'd love to see the articulation become a *little* more useful, especially in the legs, these still make a major impact on the shelf. This is one of those rare newer lines where I'm all in, and I can't wait for every new release.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - Etrigan **1/2; Klarion ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

TNBA Klarion animated action figures by DC Collectibles

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- is at just $34.

- has the pair for $35.

- Entertainment Earth comes in at $38.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other new animated figures from DCC I've covered include the terrific Roxy Rocket, the super sweet Batmobile, the Creeper, Robin, the Joker, Man-Bat, Batman and Catwoman, and Two Face and Mr. Freeze.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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TNBA Etrigan animated action figure by DC Collectibles

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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