|
|
Sculpting - ***1/2
One of the areas that has improved with the more recent releases in this
series has been the head sculpts. Like the Green Arrow before him, the
Bizarro head sculpt is a nice, sharp, clean, well defined comic book look.
There's nothing soft about this sculpt, and the hair has some excellent
detail. The face is craggy and rough, with very lifelike eyes and
teeth.
The fisted hands look great, although they are made from a very hard
plastic this time. They stay on tightly, in fact too tightly. I
couldn't remove the right hand without damaging the peg. The stupid
bendy hands are one of the better sculpts in a long line of stupid bendy
hands, and are a bit less bulky and fat fingered than past attempts.
The bendy hands are also less of an issue here because he doesn't have
any accessories which require a tight grip.
This figure has the same issue they all do - it's too damn big.
Oddly enough, the other problem is that Bizarro really isn't big
enough. Because they've used the same 13" super sized body for
all the adult males so far, Bizarro is no bigger than Flash, for example,
and that doesn't look right on the shelf.
But since there's now so many figures in the overall line, I can
certainly live with the fact that these are generally larger than other
sixth scale figures.
Paint - ***
The skin tone has that sort of deathly, sickly look that has always been a
trademark, and they did a good job matching it between the head, neck and
hands. The wash they used to bring out the details is a little heavy
for my tastes, making it look a little more sloppy in this scale than it
should. This is particularly true on the hands, but it's also a bit overdone
on the face. The detail work on the eyes and teeth is great though,
and I love the strong blue color of the pupils. There's even a little
gloss on the eyes, giving them that lifelike wet appearance.
Articulation - ***
If you've bought a 13" Deluxe figure before, then this body will hold no
real surprises for you. All the joints you're used to are here, and they
work at least in a similar fashion.
The ball jointed neck is a big plus this time, however. All the figures have
it, but many of them have very restricted movement. Not so this time, and
Bizarro's head can tilt and lean in all sorts of ways. I will always contend
(at least for today) that this single joint is the most important once you
get past the basic articulation of a figure. It makes it possible to give
the figure so much more life than the static cut joint.
He also has ball jointed shoulders and hips, the usual cuts at the biceps
and thighs, double pin elbows, pin knees, pin/post ankles with a cut joint
just above, cut wrists, cut waist and a pin (ab crunch) chest joint.
The outfit is a bit thicker than usual (more on that in the Outfit section),
which does help hide the cut thighs and biceps a bit more than usual. But
the body has some of the same articulation issues as always, particularly
with those damn cut wrist joints. I think I've made my hate for the bendy
hands and cut wrists well known, but just in case you've been ignoring me -
I hate them.
Accessories - **
When you drop this kind of cash, you expect a few extras with a figure.
Unfortunately, you won't be getting them with Bizarro.
There's the extra set of hands, and as I admitted in the sculpt section,
they don't look quite as bad as usual. Oh, they still pose terribly, fall
off every time you touch them, and can't hold anything, but at least the
sculpts look better.
There's also the usual black display base, and it has the reverse S emblem,
just as you'd expect.
The only unique accessory he has is his stone 'necklace', with Bizarro #1 on
it. It does have a nice sculpt, and the rope has a very realistic look, but
it tends to lay a bit too high on his chest because the rope is a bit too
short, making it stick out at an odd angle. It's a decent accessory on it's
own, but not enough to boost this Accessory score very high.
Outfit - ***
Another area that's seen real improvement over the course of the series is
the outfits. Bizarro's continues that trend in a couple key ways.
The outfit isn't particularly complex, but the quality of stitching and
material is great. The outfit seems a little thicker to me, which hides the
cut thighs and biceps better as well as simply feeling higher quality in
your hands.
The cape is short, and the way it's sewn into the neck allows it to lay
completely flat across the shoulders, or you can fold it over a bit on one
or both sides. It has the reverse S on the back as well.
That's one area that still lacks a bit - the iron on emblems. They feel a
bit cheap, and haven't changed much over the course of the series.
Fortunately, they are applied nice and straight.
Bizarro's boots are a material that's similar to Green Arrow's, only
thicker. This faux leather makes a MUCH better looking boot than the silly
vinyl material, and I'm much happier with it. It's a little thick here, as
they used a double layer, but I can live with that.
He still has the same goofy zippers on both the boots and the costume, and I
don't expect we'll see that change any time soon.
His shorts and belt round out the costume. The shorts look pretty good, but
they tend to ride low in back and high in front, giving them an odd angle
downward along his side. But you'll only notice it from specific angles, and
you can fidget it around to look decent most of the time.
The belt was my biggest issue, and probably what held the overall outfit
back from a half star higher score. The buckle would not stay buckled,
especially over time. It popped loose right out of the package, and as I
popped it back together time after time, it became less and less interested
in staying closed. Hopefully you won't have the same issue.
Value - **1/2
I'm usually harder on these figures in this category, and this guy isn't
worth the SRP. But you should be able to pick this guy up for under
$60, and these figures are getting more expensive from here on out.
When you see the price tag on the Dark Knight figures in a couple weeks, you'll
be wishing they were this cheap.
Fun Factor - ***
Yea, these aren't really kid's toys, but you know what? They could
be. They are fairly well built, and could hold up reasonably well to
play. Kid's couldn't handle swapping the hands though, and let's face
it - you probably can't afford to give them $60 toys for the sand box.
Things to Watch Out For -
The big one is those hard, tight hands. I almost broke the peg on the
left hand, and I highly suggest using some hot water on the hands before
trying to remove them.
Overall - ***
Bizarro exhibits some fine improvements: better neck articulation, better
boots, great sculpt, better bendy hands (although I still hate them).
However, there are still a handful of issues that kept the overall from
reaching another half star higher. For me, the issues around the swappable
hands (the fists are almost impossible to get off, while the soft rubber
bendy hands fall off every time you touch them), the belt not staying
closed, and the general lack of accessories at this price point hold the
poor guy down.
Still, there is definite improvement here, and I could imagine a time when
these were getting consistently higher scores with just a few minor
improvements. In just a couple weeks I'll be getting the Dark Knight Batman
and Joker, and I really am looking forward to seeing what they do with that
pair.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***
Where to Buy -
If your LCS didn't pick him up (or are charging an arm and a leg), try these
online sponsors:
- Amazing Toyz has him at
$54.99.
- CornerStoreComics has
him for $54.99.
- Alter Ego has him for
$59.49.
- Things from Another World has
him at $63.
- YouBuyNow
has him at $66.49.
|
Stumble It!
