Justice League Superman & Batman

In continuation of my last post on the new 5" Justice League figures, I present the New 52 Superman & Batman. I hadn't originally intended to pick up yet another Batman in the Brave & The Bold style, but liked his classic color scheme so much that I went ahead and grabbed him while getting the other three characters. I was certain, however, that I'd be picking up this fun little New 52 Superman...

Again, these don't have any articulation beyond what we saw in the Brave & The Bold figures- swivel head, waist, arms and legs, the latter restricted by the posterior sculpt, and hinged elbows. They don't need it because little kids don't pose their action figures- they play with them. The colors are bright and cheerful on this Man of Steel, styled after Jim Lee's New 52 Superman- a design I like. While I somewhat miss the hexagonal accessory slots prominent in the original B&TB line, caped figures benefit from their omission- no hole punched in the cape. Superman can now have the family shield emblazoned across the back of his cape!

This is a great looking Superman- the New 52 S shield is tamped neatly on his chest, which has armor lines running throughout like Jim Lee's redesign of the iconic suit. Mattel also squared off the boot tops, pointed his cuffs, and stamped a shield on top the belt buckle to update the character. And like the Green Lantern from this line, Superman has a collared neck, only visible when his head is turned. Mine has a slight chip in the chin, but it's not too visible in person. While this is a only a redeco of the previous B&TB Supermen, he may be my favorite.

BubbaShelby confirmed that the Flash from this series came with a re-purposed Justice League Unlimited accessory that Red Tornado also had, as did the Green Lantern share the same construct as the JLU Parasite. I'm certain this strange device came from a JLU Superman, but I can't seem to find confirmation of this on the internet. I've said in the last post that while I can appreciate the cleaner appearance without the heaxagonal Snap & Attack accessory feature that defined the Brave & The Bold Line, I feel some of the play value has been removed, so why bother giving me this chunk of gray plastic that has no mutual context with this New 52 Superman. It's only a reminder of Mattel's recent refusal to give us much in the way of accessories. I should mail it to them. But I digress- I love this little Superman as much as my other two.

Justice League Superman with Brave & The Bold Total Armor series Steel Power Superman and Kryptonite Collision Superman. I love having a few variants of any character, within a single series or across multiple toy lines and manufacturers...

Batman is the same figure as all the basic variants in the Brave & The Bold line, of which I have many, but he's so cool I had to have another. I didn't have a black & grey B&TB figure, nor a New 52 styled Batman, so I picked him up with Superman & the others. He has the best accessory of these new Justice League figures, a simple batarang with a handle to slip over his hand. I love the B&TB styling of this Batman- I loved the show, and the toy line is perhaps my favorite. The guest characters and their subsequent action figures like Blue Beetle, the Atom, Green Arrow and Plastic Man were really great, and Aquaman was hilarious!

Justice League Batman with Brave & The Bold Total Armor series Batman from the Kryptonite Collision battle pack and Stealth Strike series Gear Up Batman...   

This new Batman has no hole in the back of his cape like the previous line, the hexagonal accessory plugs removed from his body, which I found handy for plugging in Gear Up Batman's saber. As I've said before, once I got past their aesthetic as a kid's toy, I didn't really mind the socket holes in the B&TB figures- they were what the were, made for play.  Still, it's kinda nice to have a n example without to appreciate. I have some really fun B&TB Batmen I should open and post on, and in fact just found two more I liked!   :D

I have fourteen Batmen from the Brave & The Bold line, and will soon be adding two more, but am always on the lookout for more! Take a look at the last photo on my post from Nov.11th, 2011 to see a few from my collection.

And finally, Green Lantern and Flash with Superman and Batman, all the latest single carded 5" Justice League members available at Target. The card backer does show a Lex Luthor I'd be interested in, but he was nowhere in sight. Since getting these last weekend, I've seen the boxed set which also includes Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, but I have a Brave & the Bold Aquaman I love already, Batman didn't come with a Batarang, and it was a little more than I wanted to spend on these right now. These were the four are the one's I cared most about and are a lot of fun!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Justice League Flash & Green Lantern

I was surprised to see these 5" Justice League figures appear suddenly, obviously styled after the Batman Brave & The Bold figures that seemed to be on their way out. If you've read this blog for awhile, you know I'm a big fan of that line of Mattel toys and have a nice collection, several of which I've yet to open & photograph. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see a Flash and Green Lantern in this style!

The first thing you will notice is the lack of hexagonal accessory slots prominent in the Brave & The Bold figures. I am certain this is welcomed by most everyone, but I have mixed feelings about it. I actually liked that play feature, and can imagine this Flash figure with some cool lighting bolt accessories that could have been a lot of fun. I can't argue that without the slots these figures have a cleaner appearance, but some of the fun factor is lost in my humble opinion.

These don't have any additional articulation- swivel head, waist, arms and legs, the latter restricted by the posterior sculpt, and hinged elbows. What he lacks in articulation Flash makes up for in his dynamic paint deco, lightning bolts running over the torso and head like the New 52 Flash. The eyes are very well detailed, giving his tiny face a lot of personality- a trait only seen in a handful of the previous Brave & The Bold line. The ears are of a softer rubber so the won't poke or chip, and he's of generally sturdy construction like the Brave & the Bold toys.

Flash comes with a funnel accessory- it doesn't fit over his hands, but he can hold it well enough. It works. Seems like I've seen this included with some other Mattel toy line though, but can't put my finger on where I've seen it. I say this because one of my Justice League Unlimited figures has the same accessory Mattel gave the Green Lantern from this series! This is a fun Flash I'm glad to see produced in the Brave & The Bold style, even if he's missing missing the unique accessory capability the previous line was known for.

I enjoy the contrast between Flash and Green Lantern's costumes- rattles my cones and rods, dazzles the eye. I appreciate the characters a lot more after I read Blackest Night a couple years ago, and later Flashpoint last year, and I feel they've come closer to the forefront in the last few years, alongside the Trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. 

This is actually my second Justice League GL, the first one having a faulty arm peg the promptly broke off upon unpacking, the first to be opened! I was bummed, but returned him for a replacement. Like Flash, Hal has a spectacular head sculpt, a little less doughy than the Brave & The Bold figures. His angular face and mask create great depth and shadow! 

Like I said, Hal has a re-purposed accessory, the same that came with my JLU Parasite, which makes no more sense as a Green Lantern construct. In fact, the pocket knife blade looks even more lame on the larger 5" Justice League figure. Again, I miss the kind of accessories we would have got with a Brave & The Bold figure- just look at the Skyshot Batman if you want to know what kind of Green Lantern accessories we used to get. Why not just a lantern? Whaddya gonna do with that thing Hal, cut the cheese? LOL!

Hal has a simple paint deco that works well- the green torso has a slightly opalescent quality, which looks to be in the plastic itself, slightly different from the semi-gloss green in the shoulders and boots. The lantern symbol is neatly tamped on the chest, but we get a green dot for his ring. There are some New 52 inspired armor lines in his shoulders, but thet are a little too faint, and I feel they could have run them down the back and chest for better effect. He has a couple nicks but looks really good overall.

BIGTOYlittletoy! Mattel DCUC Flash, Action League Flash, and Justice League Flash:

Mattel DCUC Hal Jordan, Action League Hal, and Justice League Hal:

Justice League Green Lantern and Flash with Brave & The Bold  Sea Spear Aquaman, Trap Hand Plastic Man, and Rocket Blast Firestorm:

 More Later- Make It FUN!

Wave 16 DCUC Robin

I haven't been opening enough of my action figures, so there could not have been a better time to bust out this DCUC Wave 16 Robin I got from  Mike's Comics & Stuff  in Anaheim! My last two posts have been about Batman foes, so as an imprompto tribute to the recently departed Damien Wayne, we'll look at the first boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, whom I photographed a week before I heard the news of DC's latest casualty. Oddly, Dick mentored the young Wayne, the two fighting crime as Batman & Robin while Batman was lost in the timestream, after what appeared to be his death in Final Crisis (2008).  I'd enjoyed the recent Batman & Robin Annual, but hadn't  kept up on the series much after the first sixteen issues. He was an interesting character, but I'm not, like, personally affronted or anything. It's DC's book, they can do whatever they want. They already did that to Jason Todd in 1988, anyway. They'll sell a bunch of books. But hey, no hard feelings, let's take a look at this great, classic Robin- a character I've loved since childhood!

There was a variant figure with a Golden-Age head, but I already has a pretty cool DC Direct First Appearance Robin, so I went for this Super Friends version, inspired by my favorite Saturday morning cartoon. Robin has great color, though this is my second, the first returned to Amazon for quality control issues in the paint on the legs. There's some subtle shading throughout the figure that adds some depth. Mattel nailed the Boy Wonder's original look, including his belt, the classic R insignia, and scale shorts! Greatness!

We get all that great DCUC articulation, including double-jointed knees & elbows, though his biceps are a little too big to give him any real, extra range. Robin has an abdominal hinge and a waist swivel, as well as swivels at the biceps & thighs. His ball-jointed neck has acceptable range, but not outstanding range, and he enjoys dual hinge/swivel wrists. I've heard of instances in which breakage occurred at the ankles due to weak plastic, but I feel it's due to the fact that Robin has little articulation in the joint there, and his feet are mistakenly pushed beyond their limit.

The star accessory in this package is the grapple gun, the anchor of which extends via a small black cord attached to the handle. Robin holds it firmly, and can hang from it quite securely. All Batman & Robin figures should come with this accessory, as well as a batarang, which was also included with this figure. Robin's batarang is a little too small unfortunately, making it somewhat tricky to pose him with, but at least he got one. Wave 16 included parts to collect and connect a Bane action figure, Robin's package containing the head and pelvis. To this day, of all the build-a-figure parts I've gathered, I've not the pieces to assemble one, my collection cherry-picked among several waves and some bought loose.

While his ankles aren't the best, Robin can do quite a bit, and is a stunningly great rendition of the Teen Titan! If you've read this blog for any length of time, you'll know Robin is a favorite character of mine, so I'll always try to pick up any action figures of him I can find. Often in the shadow of The Bat, Robin's spunk and enthusiasm offer a nice contrast to his brooding master, and his orphan status reminds Bruce of the fleeting and fragile nature of innocence.

Robin is pleasingly a little shorter than DCUC All-Star Nightwing and Legacy Golden Age Batman. He's in fact smaller in general, as a teenager would be, though his arms seem a little beefy. But Nightwing and Batman have thicker biceps and torsos, Batman appropriately largest in the latissimus dorsi.   

All-Star Joker and Batman Unlimited Penguin Vs. Legacy Golden Age Batman and Wave 16 Robin...!

And finally together out of package, a Bat-Family photo: Wave 16 Robin with Legacy Golden Age Batman, Bat-Mite, and Batgirl.

* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!

More Later-Make It FUN!