Review of Green Lantern Hal Jordan action figure
Toys R Us exclusive 12 inch figure

Introduction

There are three big superhero films hitting screens this summer - Thor, which has already debuted and has been doing excellent numbers both in attendance and reviews, Captain America, and of course, Green Lantern.

Hal Jordan comes to the screen on June 17th, played by Ryan Reynolds. When I first considered these three movies and their trailers, I had the highest hopes for Cap, since it looks close to the original story, and hey - you can't go wrong when there are Nazi villains. Thor was on the bottom of my list, due to it's mythical nature, and yet it has done extremely well. Green Lantern has been someplace in between, and I'm not yet sold on the CGI costume or some of the apparent story line. Time will tell though, and I'm cautiously optimistic.

The toys have been flowing to stores, finally, after a rather long drought. There's plenty of 4" and 6" figures, but what about those looking for a 12" version? Mattel has just released the DC Universe comic style 12" figure of Hal, which is a Toys R Us exclusive and runs $30. If you've picked up some of the other Mattel 12" DC figures like Cyborg Superman or Dark Knight Batman you will be well acquainted with the style.

Packaging - ***
The box is very thin front to back, only deep enough to hold the figure. That's good - less waste these days is always a responsible thing. It's also a very sturdy box, and very unlikely to suffer damage on the shelf or in your collection. MIBers will appreciate the cool die cut front, and they'll also appreciate how easy it is to store. This is one of those rare occasions where you could keep this guy in the box on display and it would look almost as good as loose - it's your call whether that's a positive or not.

Sculpting - ***
It's important to keep in mind that this is NOT a movie based figure - you're not getting Reynolds here. This is a comic based version of Hal, released to coincide with the film's release.

The portrait is extremely nice, with far better detail work on the strands of hair than we ever see on mass market toys - and better than a lot of specialty market releases as well. The head is hollow and most likely rotocast, but the detail is still clean and sharp.

The stern expression works for me, and the sharply sculpted raised edge on the mask gives the face depth.

The body is a bit on the cheap side, however, with more rotocast parts and re-use. Some of the plastic is thin enough to remind me of a chew toy, particularly the upper arms and thighs.

The ring is sculpted on his right hand of course, but without wrist articulation he can't do much with it come posing time.

He does stand great on his own though, and the left hand is sculpted to hold an accessory. Perhaps you have a sixth scale lantern laying around he could borrow?

Paint - ***
When it comes to the paint, there's nothing really to complain about, but not much to brag about either. Mattel did what they needed to do, and that's about it.

The cut lines on the mask and the hair line are fairly clean, and the tampo symbol is straight and even.

The white, green and black costume is clean, but very basic, with no additional detail or ornamentation. It also has a bit more of a overall gloss finish, making it less realistic and more toy-like. This gloss finish isn't consistent either, with different body parts exhibiting more or less shine.

Articulation - *1/2
Not much of that going on here. There's a ball jointed neck, but you won't get much tilt or lean action out of it. The shoulders look like ball joints, but they aren't - they're just a cheat. They operate as a simple cut or swivel joint, allowing forward and backward movement only.

The knees and elbows are pin joints, and there are T hips and a cut waist. With the rotocast, hollow nature of this figure and the limited articulation, there's really only one useful pose he can take - standing straight up. Thankfully, he does stand great on his own.

Accessories - Bupkis
Nada, zero, zippo. At a $30 price point, they really needed to add something - how about throwing in the die cast ring that's also available at Toys R Us right now? That would have greatly improved this figure's value and interest. Or maybe a lantern? The left hand is already sculpted to hold one...

Fun Factor - **
With such limited posability and no accessories, this is really just a figure for the comic fan to stand on the shelf.

Value - **
This is one area where these always take a hit. On the one hand, the price for this style figure from Mattel hasn't risen in almost 3 years. But what that really means is that it isn't quite as psycho of a price point as it was in '08, not that it's a great deal.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much, but some of the joints seem a little weak. This cheaper, softer plastic might be more prone to issues at the knees and elbows.

Overall - **1/2
There isn't any one aspect about this figure that's terrible, but with little articulation and no accessories, he's just not going to get anyone hot and bothered. And while this comic version is nice, I'd also like to see a movie version to place with the movie versions of Batman and Superman - c'mon, Mattel! And this time around, give us something extra to justify a $30 price point on a rotocast figure - a wearable ring perhaps? You've already got one on a key chain...

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

Where to Buy 
This is a Toys R Us exclusive, and that's where you should be able to find him right now, or very soon. You can also search ebay for a bargain, perhaps.

Related Links -
I've had lots of other Green Lantern reviews:

- last week, I checked out the first wave of Movie Masters.

- prior to that, I looked at a few of the 4" scale figures.

- GL has his own series of figures in the popular DCUC line up, and I reviewed wave 2 (part 1 and part 2) as well as wave 1 (part 1 and part 2).

- my personal favorite Green Lantern figure is the 13" DC Direct version.

- Green Lantern figures have also been mixed into various DC Universe Classics waves, including wave 14, wave 11, and more.

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

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