Killer Croc Wave

Killer Croc Wave

DC Multiverse

The newest (and possibly last) wave of Mattel's DC Multiverse is all bat-family and a couple of villains:  Red Robin, Red Hood, Dick Grayson as Batman, Katana, Alfred, and KGBeast...each with a piece of a large Killer Croc figure.  

I need another Robin figure like I need a hole in the head, but he sure does look nice with the newer, smaller male buck from Mattel.  He's perfect in sculpt, paint, and poseability. I was using the Batman Missions Robin as my go-to Tim Drake, but this guy is the new champion.  He comes with an extra set of closed-fist hands and his battle staff.

Though this may be the best comic-accurate Red Hood figure to date, I was happy with my Gamestop exclusive Arkham Origins version.  However, once I saw he came with an alternate, unmasked Jason Todd head...beat it with that "Robin is the Arkham Knight" nonsense!  He also comes with alernate hands, trigger-fingers ready to...wait...the guns in his holsters are non-removable?!  WTF?!  Sigh...I guess we pretend those are his "last resorts" and bum some other firepower from his predecessor.

Lots of people online are giving the Dick Grayson Bats flack for his cape and feet.  The feet aren't as big as they say, but the cape could have been a bit wider and more dynamic.  I don't mind that it is made of fabric, but you just can't do much with it.  Oh well...it works with the extra "cowl down" accessory and the first unmasked Dick Grayson head.

Katana is the weakest link in the Batman-themed wave.  Sure, she was one of the Bat-mentored Outsiders...I just wish we had gotten a modern Cassandra Cain figure in her place.  She's not a bad figure, probably the best Katana we could hope for.  So long, "Suicide Squad" movie figure stand-in!  I wanted to take a pic with some of the other Outsiders we have gotten, but I seem to have misplaced my Black Lightning figure.  Static Shock is covering him in his absence.  

Speaking of Outsiders...we come to the "ultimate" Alfred figure.  Not only do I have a superior-articulated figure to replace the DC Direct Hush Version, but he comes with some fantastic accessories.  You get a silver tray to hold Batman's removed cowl and a glass of water to cool down on after a long night on the beat.  You also get four different Alfred headsculpts!  66' Alan Napier and '89 Michael Gough?!  Sheer madness!  Who would have ever though we would get figures of these Alfreds?  Near perfect actor likenesses, and Mattel has nailed two different styles of glasses to boot!  (Figure companies are finally figuring out how to make small, durable glasses after all these years.)

The comic heads are also near perfect.  True Alfred and his Outsider persona from waaay back in the day when he died and came back as a zombified supervillain.  Obscure and awesome!  I intend to put the Oustider head on a different body (like the mod Joker) to represent the modern, Earth 3 version of the character.  Meanwhile, I have given the standard Alf his much-needed shotgun (from the DKR Son of Batman figure.)  When your Batcave's high tech security measure fail, nothing beats the Batman's most trusted ally and his primitive firepower!

Next, bring on the baddies:  two in this wave!  If a new Alfred figure wasn't shocking enough, can you believe we finally have KGBeast!  And re-using some of Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics heft, what a beast he is!  He comes with a big, permanently attached arm canon that has a removable missile and bayonet blade and a couple of knives that fit into his boots.

And if a super-assassin wasn't enough to take a bite out of the bat-family, the massive Killer Croc collect-n-connect figure will play clean up.  Mattel did a strange, tailed Croc waaay back in 2003 with their "Batman" line.  That figure was retooled for the DC Superheroes line with a more traditional head and paint scheme, but lacked additional articulation.  So I guess a re-do was a long time coming.  Some fans take issue with this figure's size.  Sure, he could go toe to toe with my Marvel Legends Hulk figure, but I'm fine with it.  Croc's size has varied artist to artist.  This one is comparable to the tall Arkham Origins take...he's also replacing that figure on my shelf.

He shares some leg parts with the King Shark figure from many waves back, but other than that, he's a new sculpt.  The detail on the scales and the opening jaws make him a must-have.  I modified a torn up shirt from the earliest Mattel Croc I mentioned.  It's a bit small, bit I do think it adds something to him visually, just a bit to break up the blue-green combo.

Unlike most Mattel DC product, this wave has been readily available at Walmarts and online retailers.  Maybe it's Mattel going out with a bang before handing over the keys to the DC kingdom or they wanted to go big for Batman's 80th Anniversary.  In any case, this wave was pure win.  Bittersweet...this may be the end of my days as a DC collector unless McFarlane can make something in-scale.  I have my doubts...

The beginning is the end is the beginning:  1st and Last Collect-n-Connect Figures