King Shark wave: DC Multiverse

King Shark wave

DC Multiverse - Mattel 6-inch figures

This is one of those waves that makes you want to pull your hair out.  The Collect-n-Connect figure (a piece coming with each smaller figure in the wave) was the sole reason to get them all.  Half this wave are keepers, the other half are duds.  Luckily, since I found the bulk of this wave on shelves earlier than most of the country (way back in February), I had no problem unloading the duds on Ebay.  Sorry, fans of the CW shows, Hawkman and Jay Garrick are gone.  Nothing against the characters, I just have better comic-accurate figures of them already.   Consider them sacrifices to the glory of his majesty, King Shark!

There was one dud I kept...Zoom.  It's not a bad character design, especially for television, but it doesn't translate well into figure form as far as the articulation goes:  kinda long torsoed and doesn't look all that great in running poses.  

He's got a pretty scary looking face and some blue lightning effects.  The problem is, these have been lifted from Superman Blue from wave 2 of Mattel's DC Universe Classics (2009?).  The shield shape on the back is a dead giveaway.  How villainous...anyway, let's get to the keepers.

A new Batman!  One can never have enough Batmen, right?  What sets this one apart from the others is that is based on Commissioner Jim Gordon's short run as the Caped Crusader...er...scratch the cape.  I had not read this storyline before the figure came out, but now that I have, it makes more sense and is pretty awesome. 

He comes with an alternate unmasked head and a gun that can be holstered to his leg.  No, Batman isn't really shooting people.  It's more of a taser pistol.  I'm really looking forward to the next wave where the Collect-n-Connect figure is the mech-suit he rides in.

I'm not a huge fan of Frank Miller or The Dark Knight Returns, but this is a fantastic Joker figure!  Mattel gave us a 100% original body sculpt!  No re-used parts!  Makes you wonder if they have any plans for this suited body down the line, though, since it's pretty specific to the Frank Miller style, I can't imagine where.

Mattel has also been treating us to more and more interchangeable heads!  One is a more serious, sinister Joker, the other a scary, open-smile, sadistic Joker complete with batarang to the eye!  That right, a pretty violent, scene-specific detail from the hook on a Wal-mart shelf right across from some Paw Patrol toys!  Who would have expected that?  He also comes with a pistol and a knife accessory. Batarang half is removable, but leaves a pretty noticeable slot when absent.

Finally, we come to Batgirl.  I am happy with my old DC Superheroes line Batgirl, so I wasn't really excited for this figure save for it being packed with the last King Shark piece I needed.  It took me four months after finding the rest of the wave on shelves to find a Batgirl at a decent price online!  I paid out a little more for her just to be done with it.  I needed a complete King Shark, dammit!  May his majesty devour you and your stupid cell phone accessory!

Take my spot on the Suicide Squad movie will ya?!

So what if King Shark is based on his appearance from the CW Flash show...he's still awesome.  Or should I say... JAWSOME!  Nice detailing on the choppers!  Love the opening jaw.  He shares a crotch piece with Solomon Grundy from way back in DC Universe Classics wave 3 (2009?) but everything else here is new.  Hey, jean shorts are hard to find for big guys.

A little while later, Toys R Us released an exclusive Damian Wayne Robin figure packed with an alternate head for King Shark; it's the Hammerhead look from his New 52 comics design.  Pretty neat, but I still prefer the Great White.  Robin is a retool from the Mattycollector subscription line, but this time features a hooded head sculpt, sword, and Court of Owls mask.  Neat, but I would have passed on him if it weren't for Sharky.