|
Hasbro is well known for many things, not the
least of which is repaints. They've managed to repaint just about
every Batman and Joker figure they've done in the last few years, if not
once then multiple times. And most of these truly suck. (that's a
very technical reviewer term). The
Batman (and Superman) license is running out this year with Hasbro, and it
looks like they are going to get all they can out of those old molds
before it's too late. This series, called the Spectrum of the Bat,
includes repaints of three animated Batman, and the first animated Robin
figure (originally called Glider Robin). The only figure I got from
the set is the Terror Cast Joker. These
are only available right now at the odd lot type stores, and small
mom-and-pop type locations. I haven't heard of any large retailer
picking them up, so your best bet is a place like Big Lots or McFrugals.
They run from $5.99 to $9.99 depending on the store you find them
at. Packaging - **
There's nothing particularly exciting here, with very basic graphics and
text. Clearly this series was done on the extreme cheap.
Sculpt - ***1/2
Here's a great Joker sculpt. Of course, I've always loved all the
animated sculpts, but this Joker is one of my favorite head sculpts.
The outfit, the style, everything about this figure is great. It was
a good figure the first time around, but it's actually an improvement in
these colors.
Paint - ****
The choices in color on this figure are what really make it stand
out. The original figure was good, but the black coat and hat, along
with the new shirt and suit colors, really makes this one stand
out.
Articulation - **
It's the standard five point Hasbro articulation. If you are used to
this line, you'll be getting what you expect. If not, don't be
surprised when you get a pretty basic articulation.
Accessories - ***
The two accessories included are the same ones that are included with the
original Machine Gun Joker. That's the machine gun, which fits
nicely into his hand, and the Joker dynamite. Both make perfect
sense, and work well with the figure.
Value - ***
It depends on where you buy - at six bucks or less, it's a great value,
but at ten or more, you're spending too much. However, this whole
series may never make it to wide spread retail, so if you're interested in
these I'd buy them the first time you seen them.
Overall - ***
Occasionally, the repaint is an improvement over the original. For
example, the Wind Blitz Batgirl came out first, but the second repainted
version that came with the Knight Quest four pack was far superior.
This is one of those cases - this repaint
is absolutely great. The color combination is eye catching AND
reasonable, unlike the average day-glo orange repaint. Even if you
have the original Machine Gun Joker, I recommend picking this figure
up. And if you are into customizing BTAS characters, the body of
this figure can be used for quite a few good customs.
|
