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Packaging - **1/2
I still love the card art and inserts. The text is good, and they show
off the entire ave on the back of the package. They even do a good job
of showing off the nifty pin. So why the low score? Because
several of the figures are suffering from warped ankles and knees, and
it's because of the interior tray. The pins are soft as it is, but the
figure is posed in the tray in such a way that it puts additional
stress on the joint, warping the legs.
Sculpting - Martian Manhunter ****; Raven, Jemm ***1/2; Batman **
Let's start with the best - Martian Manhunter. I'm a big fan of the
character in general, and this is an excellent rendition. I love the
head sculpt and expression, and the body is sculpted with just the
right amount of detail for this style. The cape isn't too heavy to
allow him to stay standing, and it doesn't restrict any of the
articulation. Yes, it's a simple design, but sometimes the most beauty
is in the simplest design. On
the opposite end of the spectrum is Sinestro Corps Batman. I hate the
snarling, weirdly shaped mouth, which looks more animalistic than
human, and has an oddly warped shape to it. This is a portrait that
leaves me cold. He does have a nice touch though with the sculpted ring on his right hand, and the cape looks good. Raven
has an excellent cape (yes, these four all have capes) with a flowing
design and large wing-like folds. It's a tad heavy, and does tend to
pull her over backwards, but it's long enough to rest on the floor and
keep her standing. She also has a beautiful portrait, as all ladies should. The hand poses are excellent, and the overall costume looks great. My
only complaint with the lovely lady is the goofy librarian shoes she's
got on. Yea, I suppose it matches up with the style of the day, but it
hurts the overall appearance of the figure. Finally, there's
Jemm. Originally intended as the cousin of Martian Manhunter but later
turned into a Son of Saturn, Jemm is very much a B-list character.
Still, they've done a nice job capturing his look, including the funky
long ET fingers. He wasn't a must have for me, but now that he's in the
collection, he'll make a nice conversation piece next to the Martian.
Paint - Batman **1/2; the rest ***1/2
Thankfully, all the figures have above average paint work, much like you'd expect from a largely collector focused series. Some
have pretty basic paint operations, like the Manhunter. But the green
skin tone is very consistent across the different body parts, which
seems to often be an issue for this color. The yellow and black
on Sinestro Corps Bats looks great, with sharp cut lines between the
two colors. These two colors are always tough to keep clean, with bleed
between the two very common. They've manage to avoid all that this time
around. But
as a helpful reader pointed out, the symbol on his chest is upside
down. Some folks are getting it right - others, like me, aren't. That's
why he loses the extra star over the rest of this set. Raven has a fairly simplistic costume, but the work on
her face is terrific, with beautiful lips and eyes. I also like how the
hands are painted with the index finger and thumb uncovered. Again,
last but not least there's Jemm. His costume is a little more complex
than Martian Manhunter's, but not by much. The pastel costume is
certainly unusual for a superhero, but it goes well with the red skin
color.
Articulation - ***
All the figures sport the usual articulation - ball jointed necks and
shoulders, pin elbows, knees and ankles, hinge hips, ab-crunch, cut
wrists, waist and thighs. The ball jointed neck works pretty well on
most of the figures, and I didn't have any trouble with broken or loose
joints. The
basic design of the articulation is one of the best currently on the
market, and these figures can take fairly natural poses. However,
the pins on both the ankles and the knees were pretty soft this time
around, and with the plastic trays creating so much stress on the
joints, they were very weak right out of the package. The joints
themselves were tight, but the pins felt like they could tear
very easily.
Accessories - Batman ***; the rest **1/2
The big selling point here is the body parts for Validus. Without them
- or if you have no interest in the BAF - these figures are pretty
weak in this category. All four figures have some piece of the big guy, with Martina Manhunter getting both the head and pelvis. They
also all have the little pin with a graphic specific to that character.
I like the pins, and they are certainly better than some lame-0 paper
pack in, but they are still only mildly amusing at best. Sinestro
Corps Batman is the only figure with anything additional (at least of
these four), and he comes with a batarang like weapon that attaches to
his fist, and is obviously created by the ring. It fits tightly and
looks good on his arm.
Fun Factor - ***1/2
I think these figures are consistently great toys. My only concern with
this wave is the weak ankle and knee pins, but otherwise they are great
for kids and collectors alike.
Value - **1/2
You'll pay around $12 - $13 for these at
Kmart, although the price is a bit higher from online retailers. That's
about the same as we've seen for some time now, and pretty average
in the current market.
Things to Watch Out For -
Just those damn soft pegs. You'll want to free up all the joints carefully, as they tend to stick due to the paint. A
helpful reader also pointed out that some folks are getting different
biceps on their Martian Manhunter and Jemm figures. On mine, Jemm's do
seem a bit thin, but MM's look good. He also said that sometimes people
are getting one big, one small - clearly something to watch out for.
Overall - Martian Manhunter ***1/2; Raven, Jemm ***; Batman **1/2
The only consistent issue across these four figures (particularly the
men) is the weak ankle pins and knee pegs. This is the only issue
holding back the Martian from a full four stars. He's a pretty simple
design, but they've pulled it off extremely well. Raven
and Jemm are both solid, but have basic issues that keep them in the
middle of the pack. It's those pins again, but Raven also has the goofy
shoes that are really annoying. Finally,
there's Sinestro Corp Batman, the weakest of the bunch due to that
goofy facial expression. Perhaps a head swap would help things. I'll wrap up my look at wave 15 later this week, including the BAF Validus.
Score Recap:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpting - Martian Manhunter ****; Jemm ***1/2; Raven ***; Batman **
Paint - Batman **1/2; the rest ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - Batman ***; the rest **1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - Martian Manhunter ***1/2; Raven, Jemm ***; Batman **1/2
Where to Buy -
The retailer to hit is K-mart. Yep, they're still very much alive and
kicking, and they've been doing a pretty good job of getting wave 15 to
the pegs. Online options include:
- Urban
Collector has them on pre-order for $16 each, including the
variants.
- Big Bad Toy Store
has them on pre-order for $18.
- or you can search
ebay.
Related
Links -
I've covered plenty of these boys and girls:
- the SDCC Plastic Man was the last review.
- I split the wave 13 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.
- no, I never reviewed wave 5,
but prior to that was wave 4 which I also broke into this review, and this
one.
- of course, prior to that was wave 3.
- I covered wave 1 in two parts, one here
and one at here.
It took me so freakin' long to find them, I never did review wave 2,
but if you're looking for one, Kastor's
Korner has a great review.
- last up in the DCSH figures
were the Clayface and Bruce
to Bats figures.
- before that was Mongul, who is also one
of the best figures this year and Parasite
and Steel.
- don't forget the 12" version of the
smaller Batman, and the 12"
Cyborg Superman.
- in this smaller line, the
fourth series was Superman themed, with Brainiac
and Darkseid. There's also the Batgirl and Superman
from the two packs.
- there's the guest review of series 3 Batman
and Azrael.
- a guest review of series 2 Doomsday, and another of
the series 2 Superman.
- my review of the series 2 Bizarro and Supergirl.
- my review of the Batman and Killer Croc
from wave 1.
- and finally, my review of Bane
and Scarecrow that were released internationally as part of
the old Mattel line, and then re-released with wave 1 of the DCSH.
- and while the aren't
technically DCUC, the new Public Enemies figures are close enough for
most of us. I split the review into part
1 and part 2.
Discussion:
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