Review of Plastic Man - DC Universe Classics
SDCC Exclusive Action Figure

Introduction

Mattel can be such a painful dichotomy when it comes to San Diego Comic Con exclusives. They've gone out of their way to design some truly cool figures and packages for several cons now. And for many collectors, it has appeared that they've gone out of their way to make it frustrating and annoying to get them, even for Con attendees.

One of their more popular collector lines is the DC Universe Classics of course, and this year they pulled out all the stops to give us Plastic Man. You could also pick up this figure after the Con (last Monday, to be exact) by hitting Matty Collector at the right time and with the right luck, but the con version (only available at the Con) included a small suitcase body for Plastic Man, which I'll discuss in detail as part of this review.

This figure was $20, per usual, or about $5 more than a regular mass market release.

Packaging - ****
Mattel tends to go above and beyond with their Con exclusive packaging, and this one is no exception. 

There's an attractive outer box, complete with cool funky Plastic Man comic book artwork. It also sports the new 75th anniversary logo.

Inside is a card back and bubble package, but it's not the usual design. The bubble is done up as hands and face of Plastic Man, complete with nifty glasses. These glasses are actually the real deal, and can be worn by kid or collector alike.

This is the sort of packaging that makes it emotionally tough to open a figure - that's good packaging.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is the happy go lucky Plastic Man, with goofy grin and dorky eye wear. The head sculpt is very sharp, with clean cuts around the smile and eyes and terrific detail work in the strands of hair.

The body shares some parts with past releases, but there are unique details sculpted in. The strings across his chest aren't merely painted, but are raised lines, and the diamond belt has cut edges along the yellow sections.

Scale-wise, he fits in perfectly with the rest of the series, and he stands great on his own with either the normal legs or spring attachment. The suit case doesn't stand particularly well on it's own, but you can find a way to prop it up with a little effort.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint is sharp and clean, with nice cut lines in most areas and very little bleed. The red color does vary a bit depending on the material - the softer rubber isn't quite an exact match for the harder torso and legs - but it's a minor quibble.

The bright white teeth lose some of the sharpness of the sculpt due to the thick paint over them, but the cut line around the mouth is even and sharp.

Articulation - ****
The basic figure has all the usual articulation - ball jointed neck and shoulders, pin elbows, knees, and ankles, cut wrists, waist, biceps and thighs, and the cool hinge hip joints standard with this line. These joints are all tight, with sturdy pins. The various parts pop on and off cleanly, and I never felt like there was a chance I'd break or damage anything.

Accessories - ****
The usual DCUC figure is lucky to get one or maybe two extras - sometimes there's zippo. Plastic Man comes with a ton of extras however, giving you a ton of posing and play potential.

There is a regular right arm, as well as an additional regular right hand. There's also a regular left arm and hand, as well as the regular lower body. I'm counting these as all the normal parts, since combined they make a regular non-stretched DCUC Plastic Man.

You can swap out the legs with a spring-like lower section, and they pop off easily above the waist. The curly piece has a broad enough base to hold the upper body in place with any combination of arms or add ons.

There are also two rubbery arms, stretchy and floppy. They can't be posed below the shoulders, but they still look great hanging off to the sides.

There are also two swappable 'hands', one done as a fly swatter, and the other as a paddle ball, complete with rubbery string and ball.

But as Ron Popiel always says, but wait - there's more! He also has a poseable neck extension! Using all these pieces in just about any combination gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility in the display of this figure.

In the box but not in the bubble came an additional item - a file folder with a couple sheets on Plastic Man himself. These are slightly larger than trading card size, and it will be interesting to see if future characters get this same treatment.

I mentioned this in the Packaging section, but the large glasses you see inside the top of the bubble are the real deal, made from cardboard and wearable by most kids and adults. You too can look like a goofball!

If you picked up the exclusive version, you also received a small suit case in a separate baggy. This case has holes on either side for arms to attach, as well as a neck post for the head. Either arms work, and you can also use the neck extension.

The suit case also opens, and inside are three comic covers, classics from the Golden Age. As I was opening this figure up, it just seemed like the goodies kept coming and coming!

There is a button on the back of the figure that releases the arms at the shoulders, making it much easier to swap them. The handle on the suit case serves the same purpose, allowing you to pop the arms off without damage.

Fun Factor - ****
With all these cool snap on parts, this figure is tons of fun. Collectors will enjoy being able to swap parts and change up the display regularly, while kids are familiar enough with Plastic Man (particularly from Batman: Brave and the Bold) to make him recognizable.

Value - **1/2
Considering that the regular figures are now around $15 at most retailers, and the sheer number of extras with this figure, the price seems about right.

Things to Watch Out For -
Make sure you use the provided buttons on the back of the figure and the top of the suit case to release the arms, especially the rubbery versions. Otherwise, you could tear the rubber removing them.

Overall - ****
This is a really cool figure, and perhaps the best of the exclusives Mattel released this year for the San Diego Comic Con. Unlike the color change Orko, the suit case is a worthwhile addition, and most collectors will have to turn to ebay to add this guy to the shelf. Annoying as that may be, once you have him you'll be glad you did.

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

Where to Buy 
Obviously, SDCC was the place to pick this guy up. Now you're best bet is ebay, where prices aren't too bad...

Related Links -
I have lots of DCUC reviews:

- I split the most recent wave up into two sections, part 1 and part 2.

- I covered half of wave 12, but it took awhile to pick up the second half.

- prior to that was part 1 and part 2 of wave 11.

- big surprise, wave 10 was before that, with some here and some here.

- you can find wave 9 part 1 here, and part 2 over here.

- I split wave 8 up into two parts, one here and one here.

- prior to that was wave 7 (duh), which I covered here.

- I broke wave six into two reviews, one here and one here.

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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