Review of The Comedian - Watchmen action figure

Introduction

Matty Collector promised us that they would produce the full set of the modern Watchmen (comic based!) by the end of 2013. So far, they've held good on that promise, releasing five of the six - Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre and tonight's review, The Comedian. That just leaves Oz now, and they have plenty of time to get him to market before the end of the year.

While all the members of this team are damaged in some way...seriously damaged...I think none have the issues that the Comedian does. He's like the love child of the Punisher and Norma Bates.

Remember, this is the comic book version. If you were expecting a figure that looked like the film version, you'd be disappointed. He's still available at Matty Collector for $25 plus shipping.

Packaging - ****
Mattel did a terrific job with the style and design of the packaging for this series.

There's two boxes - an outer black and yellow box that has a special feature, and a terrific inner yellow box that looks fantastic.

Once we have all 6 figures, you will be able to place the outer boxes side by side, and have the graphic of the wall with the slogan "who watches the watchmen" emblazoned on it.

The inner box is a combination of a cardboard cover and inner plastic tray, all a single construction. This time they did throw in a couple rubber bands, but you really don't need them - toss them out, and the rest of the package is completely collector friendly. The tray is designed so the figure and accessories will snap back in tightly and stay put without the bands to hold them.

Sculpting - ***1/2
These figures are done in a 6" scale, and since the Comedian is a big guy, he gets an extra half inch of height.

The detailing on the costume is good, and I think they've done a nice job capturing the comic book look. He stands great on his own, and the hands are designed to work well with the accessories.

The best work is on the belt and pistols, which are a permanent part of the sculpt. They look terrific - what you can see - and the scale is good.

The head sculpt isn't bad, but he's a little pin headed. That's not super uncommon with comic book hero action figures, but it's made all the more obvious here by the inclusion of the character card. Because the card art is about the same scale as the figure, it's easy to compare the two and see where the figure comes up a bit short. The head should have been a bit less elongated and a bit more round, but it's a fairly minor nit.

The scarring on the right side of the face looks great, and has enough depth and detail to stand out even to the nekkid eye.

Paint - ***
The paint work here is a step up from some of the other figures in the series, and the addition of some bright colors makes the otherwise black outfit pop nicely on the shelf.

Most of the edges are clean, with sharp cut lines between, and there's very little slop. The eyes are a little wonky on mine, but you'll have to look pretty close to notice.

Remember - this is only a 6" scale figure. Small details like the silver bullets and silver grips on his guns look very good for this size, and add a bit more color to the uniform. Overall, the paint isn't without issues, but those it has are fairly minor.

I'm sure you'll notice that his yellow button lacks the smiley face. That's a copyrighted image of course, and while the comic and film were able to afford the rights, the toys have not had that luxury.

Articulation - ****
If the base body looks familiar, don't be surprised. That's the DC Universe Classics body, and it has all the same great articulation you'd expect. More importantly, the joints are engineered to allow for natural, flowing human poses, and it's one of my favorite bodies in this scale.

The ball jointed neck is a bit restricted this time, but the ball shoulders, cut biceps, pin elbows, cuts wrists, ab crunch, cut waist, hinge hips, cut thighs, pin knees and pin ankles all work extremely well together, with a nice range of movement and a terrific design. Nothing was too loose, nothing too tight, and he can take and hold excellent poses with or without the accessories.

Accessories - ***1/2
Some of the figures in this series have been a tad light in this category - fortunately, that's not the case with the Comedian.

It makes sense that he gets some great extras, since the character has plenty in the comics.

He has a pump shotgun, scaled well for the character. He can hold it in one or both hands, and it looks great. The only problem is that damn soft rubbery plastic once again - I'm sure it's for child safety, but considering that this toy will never see a child's hands, it's probably unnecessary frustration.

The second weapon is a flame thrower, complete with the backpack of tanks. The pack snaps on his back, and the 'wand' fits in his hands nicely. The hose is a little short, but you'll be able to make it work.

The guns in the holsters are NOT removable, but part of the sculpt. 

There's also the small display stand that we've seen with the other figures. It's not necessary, but is a nice add for consistency.

Finally, he comes with the large character card with some bio information on the back. You'll have to figure out how to display these, but I think they will make a terrific backdrop to the figures on the shelf.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
No kids are going to know who this is, or ever get to play with him, but that doesn't make him a bad toy. In fact, with the DCUC style base body, he's an excellent action figure - way better than most of the stuff Mattel is producing for mass market.

Value - **
I'm not thrilled by the $25 price tag, but with the decent amount of accessories, I won't whine too much. Twenty bucks still seems a whole lot more appropriate, but I'm betting that the low production numbers on this is jacking up the price as well.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***1/2
While I have a few issues with the figure, I have to say that overall he's my favorite of the series. I doubt that Ozy will topple him from the top spot, but there's always that chance.

This is going to be a terrific looking team once they are all assembled, and I have to commend Mattel on keeping their word with the series and producing them all. Far too often with this - and other teams - we've only gotten part of the line up, and that's a huge disappointment to those that stuck with the line from the beginning.

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

Where to Buy 
Matty Collector still has these in stock as I'm writing this, which is pretty rare. He'll cost you $25. Or you can search ebay for a bargain.

Related Links -
So far, Mattel has released Nite Owl,  Dr. Manhattan, Silk Spectre II, and Rorschach. They should have the full team out by year's end. This isn't the first time the license has been hit with collectibles either - smaller figures that I've checked out include some of the variants, and series 1 split in two reviews, one of Ozymandias and modern Silk Spectre, and the other of Rorschach and modern Nite Owl. There's also the series 2 review, and I also checked out one of the 13" deluxe figures, Dr. Manhattan.

Hot Toys produced two sixth scale figures with the Comedian and Silk Spectre.

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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