Joker and Poison Ivy

Joker and Poison Ivy

DC Multiverse Originals - Mattel

There’s a new Joker movie out, and while we’re waiting for another Halloween where the streets are flooded with insufferable Mister J. costumes, here’s a classic take.  Like the recent Killer Croc wave, Mattel is bringing us more Batman 80th anniversary treats as part of it’s farewell tour.  And look, Poison Ivy was apparently freed from her Mattycollector hostage deal to be able to join the party!

The Matty version was the all-green, shoe-less, modern take...I think popularized by Jim Lee’s run on the books?  Maybe the re-vamped look on Batman: The Animated Series?  Anyway, that figure was great, but part of the lame subscription service.  (Thank goodness for EBay sellers in China!)   This one has a more human look and all the same articulation of Multiverse’s improved female sculpt.  While some prefer a smaller, pixie-like Ivy, this one works and is definitely true to the “classics” moniker.  She features a crossbow (repainted from another Matty hostage, Huntress) and some flexible plastic vine to coils up her arm and leg.

Some weirdos don’t think the head sculpt is “attractive” enough for Ivy.  Ehhh...that’s a debate one shouldn’t be having about little plastic dolls.  One thing I will say about the head is watch out for sloppy paint apps.  I have seen eyes, eyebrows, and lips being hit and miss from picture to picture.  Quality control has always been here and there with Mattel...I didn’t notice that the one I picked up had a lower leg assembled backwards at the knee.  A quick fix with some hot water, an exacto knife, and a dab of glue.  

Joker uses the same body sculpt as the new Alfred figure.  It’s fantastic on both, though the tails on the jacket should be different on this one: longer and more separated.  They modified the front of the jacket to accommodate a removable lapel flower:  one standard, the other with a removable acid effect.  The acid is hollowed on one side, so will need to be rotated to maintain the illusion with different poses.  This effect, well, the whole figure in general, is a throwback to the Toy Biz 1989 figure.

He doesn’t come with a hat, but they must have spent the plastic on the addition to the cane.  The gold jester skull looks great, and is a welcome variant from the other Jokers over the years.  I honestly expected to see a reused accessory here.

"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

"Wait til they get a load a me!"

New Jokercopter part of the cheaper Batman Missions line.

The head sculpt is definitely “classic”, though might not fit with most Mattel Batman displays.  Again, a nod to Toy Biz, maybe even the Kenner Super Powers takes.  It also kinda resembles a mix of Joker depictions from the 70s and 80s.  A decent middle-ground, Neil Adams/Jim Aparo look to go with the earlier Dick Sprang.  I dig it, though I may still experiment with head swaps...the near perfect body is too tempting not to do so.  I may also repaint his left eyebrow, which somehow missed the sculpted plastic by that much.  Oh, Mattel!

These are, so far, Target exclusives.  Did I mention how much I hate the Target in my town?  Target in general?  I paid $8 over retail to get Joker.  Worth it in wasted gas and frustration.  Of course, a week later, visiting a neighboring town’s far superior Target, I see him and the whole wave...smile, darn ya, smile....

Shazam Part II

Shazam Part II

DC Multiverse and True Movies Figures

Mattel

The one true Captain Marvel is here!  So many haters have been silenced by excellent reviews and box office receipts...Shazam!  The DC Cinematic Universe is finally finding it’s footing, no thanks to Sad-Sack Snyder.  Anyhoo, we’ve got some more movie figures to look at from Mattel, and they are surprisingly great as well!

The six-inch DC Multiverse Shazam figures are some of the best figures Mattel has done to date.  The sculpting, head scans, and articulation rivals that of Marvel Legends.  Like the Aquaman movie line, the actor likenesses are spot on.  

Shazam’s colors pop, and little details like the suit texture, sharp lines, and tiger buttons all stand out. You get some extra hands for accessories, but that’s it.  I would have liked to have seen some lightning effects included and a pissed off alternate head...or maybe a bubble-gum bubble like the promo images.  You can get him in a lot of great poses.  If there was one gripe here,  it’s that the torso might appear a bit long.  Forgiven...they have double-jointed elbows!

Dr. Sivana might just be a “guy in a suit” figure, but its a totally new suit and articulation scheme than we’re used to from Mattel.  Used to be that they would cheap out on something like this if they couldnt figure out a way to reuse a buck about ten times over.  And the suit doesn’t hinder articulation...he still has an ab crunch!  He even bests the Big Red Cheese in the accessory department.  He has alternate hands, a magic 8 ball ("Outlook not so good!"), and a second head!  One with his sunglasses, the other sans glasses to show his New 52 thunderbolt scar.

As a bonus with Sivana, you can modify your basic Pedro figure to fit his head and...Shazam!  A superpowered Doc from an old comic one-shot!

The Multiverse figures look to be Walmart Exclusives for now, but I have seen them on Amazon with a summer listing.  Sivana is short packed...maybe one to every 5 Shazams by my count, so he could be a tough one to track down if you hesitate on him.  It’s strange that these figures are only a 2 character wave with no build-a-figure.  I bet Mattel will regret that as they did in short-selling Aquaman.

I also picked up their 12-inch True Moved counterparts.  As I have said before, I love these big, cheap collector and kid friendly dolls!  They have 11 points of articulation and decent sculpts for ten bucks.  They sure beat Hasbro’s attempts in this scale!  Again, Sivana looks to be short-packed.  I spotted this lone one at Target after striking out at multiple Walmarts.  Backtracking to the basics line, Target seems to be the only place to score those.  Get em while you can!  The movie is going to rock, and with Mattel checking out, this may be your only shot at them!

Wonder Woman - Dr. Psycho wave

Wonder Woman - Dr. Psycho Wave

DC Multiverse - Mattel

So, Im waaay behind on my Mattel figures.  Now that Mattel is losing the DC license to the likes of Spin Master (WTF?!) and McFarlane (Eh, scale and fagility issues), I'm catching up on some great figures almost as if it they were "in memoriam."  Also, the "Lady Captain Marvel" movie is out now, so I wanted to remind people that the true "Wonder Woman" is one success that Marvel didn't beat DC to at the box office.  Anyway, this mini Wonder Woman wave was shipped with two long-long overdue Superfriends versions of Superman and Aquaman.  Nothing too exiting there, other than Supes finally getting a more powder-blue outfit.  I had to buy them as a set to get these, otherwise I would have passed.

I would have passed on The Dark Knight Strikes Again Wonder Woman as well, because Frank Miller is a one-trick pony and that book is trash...but I needed the Cassie Sandsmark Wonder Girl and Dr. Psycho!  Not that this WW is a bad figure or anything.  I do like that she is an imposing Amazon here, making the best of the larger Masters of the Universe female figure body.  She really does look like she's ready to kick some ass!  Maybe I can convince myself that she is another Amazonian warrior for my army building purposes.

The Cassie Wonder Girl looks to be made similar to the standard DC Universe Classics female buck, which was only terrible when figure proportions were off other places (pinheads, bigheads, small hands.)  The costume is comic accurate in sculpt and color.  The only gripe here is that her lasso is glued to her hip (like previous WW releases) and she comes with no other accessories.  Still, I am glad to have her next to the Donna Troy WG.

The hilariously small collect and connect figure for this wave is longtime WW villain, Dr. Psycho.  Good thing you only needed two figures to build him, but even that is a stretch.  Seriously?  Arms in one pack, everything else in the other?  He should have just been packed with Cassie!  From the waist down, he's one solid piece.  The arms only have articulation at the shoulder.  The head moves, but that's it.  Worth it?  Heck yeah!  You will never get another chance at this bizarre character, so take it while you have the chance!  For all of their inconsistencies, for all their ups and downs, Mattel did deliver a robust DC Universe over the last decade or so.  It's the end of an era, and I don't think I will see another like it again.

Bizarro

Bizarro

DC Multiverse - Mattel

Walgreens Exclusive

"Me no am last DC Mattel exclusive!" - Correct, you are the last of your kind, Bizarro Superman.  The end of an era.  But what a better way to close up shop than with a great, new rendition of an old favorite?  Well, maybe a classic-colored Superman on the new buck they are using here?  Sigh...Anyway, Biz is showing up at Walgreens stores now and you definitely need him in your DC collection.

He sports the same buck as the Rebirth Superman from a few waves back.  It's a great attempt at a new articulation set-up.  Some would argue not as good as Marvel Legends, but it gets the job done.  Like Superman, you get some interchangeable, flat flight hands good for salutes, karate chops, and...well...flying. 

While he does not come with a Collect-and-Connect part, he is packed with accessories that make it worth the $20 price point.  He's got a removable cloth cape, a-la the old Superpowers line.  The clip around the neck does look as bulky as in olden days, but it's not so much of an eyesore that I'm going to cannibalize another figure for a plastic cape...especially since this one has the correct, classic yellow "s" shield on the back (backwards, of course.)  I'm not usually a cloth cape fan, but it's necessary here for the awesome accessory gimmick.

"Me am Superman, me no am Kent Clark!" - It's so rare to get the alter ego and super persona in one pack!  Removable glasses, necktie, and tattered jacket...Lois can't see past Clark's glasses, so this should be good, right?  And to make it all the more appropriately silly, the cloth cape shines with the ensemble. 

The final accessory is the "Bizarro #1" neck stone.  You know...so you can tell him apart from the rest of the other-worldly clones.  - "What a "terrible, terrible" figure!  Low, low recommendation.  You no need Bizarro today!  No buy him right now!"