DC Universe Classics Wave 10
Batman, Joker, Man-bat, & Imperiex
Before you read this review, you’ll need to go back and stop by my review of the first half of DCUC 10. With a full 8 figures in this wave of toys (and since I’m such a lazy bastard) I had to break them up into manageble groups. I suppose I could have just done one paragraph on each, but in addition to being a lazy bastard, I also can’t leave well enough alone.
So what do we have left? There were 7 figures in the Tenth DC Universe Classics series. I’ve already gone over Beast Boy, Forager, Power Girl, and Robotman. Today we’ll go over the Build-a-Figure (or fine, the Collect-n-Connect figure) and the 3 Batman related figures.
These 3 figures are really the reason I got this set. After hearing that the wave would be a Walmart exclusive, I was on the boards at PinoyToyKolektor checking out who had them, how much, and when they’d arrive. I was determined not to let Joker, Man-bat, and the Tim Burton Batman slip through my fingers this time. It was only after I had secured my set that news started filtering in that it wasn’t as hard to find here in the Philippines as I first thought.
Apparently, CADS Toystore brought in quite a few sets and released them during their Christmas Sale. They singles of The Joker (php1000) and Man-bat (php2500). Since I don’t really know any of the other figures in this set, and Bats will probably be the peg-warmer in this bunch, I probably could have cherry picked the 3 out of the set without getting saddled with the rest, but I’m glad I went this way, since I’m really starting to like this toy line. Still, that’s good news for collectors, since it won’t be that hard to get your own figure. I hear that stocks are surprisingly good in Walmarts in the States, too, unlike the Metallo wave, which was only available in theoretically universes.
We’ll start with Batman since he is the favored peg-warmer among the bunch. He’s been released several times already in other colors (most of which are closer to comic canon than this one), doesn’t come with any must have accessories or modifications, and comes with the most useless piece of the build a figure puzzle; the figure stand. I mean really, this figure stand will barely fit a standard DCUC figure, let alone the big guys. What’s the point? To include another figure in the assortment, that’s what. Of course it kind of backfires when you decide to stick it with a figure most collectors will pretty much ignore.
Me though, my biggest exposure to Batman has always been the movies. I fell in love with the Tim Burton/ Michael Keaton Batman and if ever I was going to own a Batman toy, it was going to be one in the black and yellow, not the boring gray.
Sculpt wise, this bats doesn’t seem to be much different from the first DCUC Batman. And the second. And the third. It’s a nice looking body, perfectly heroic as befits a Dark Knight. He’s not a hulking brute or a skinny fella. He’s just the right amount of beefcake to look like he could slap you around and hold you off the side of a building for a few hours.
The suit is very nice. Simple, but with sculpted boots and gloves. There are some great looking wrinkles of cloth sculpted in so he doesn’t look totally like a flat, smooth, spandex-wrapped sausage. The cape is also nicely done, with great looking folds designed into it, and that nice scalloped edge with the points. So kewl.
I do have to gripe though that all that attention to the cape has made it way too heavy. The numerous folds mean that there is a good amount of plastic to support each of them. DCUC Batman is stupidly back heavy and for most poses, you’ll either need to use the support of a stand, or to use the cape itself as the support. It’s actually pretty sturdy, so it will take his weight pretty well.
Paint is pretty much what you’d expect from a figure that’s almost all black. He’s cast in a glossy black plastic so there’s barely anything that needs to be colored. Basically it’s the yellow bat sign (which was spotless in mine), his belt (some squiggly register lines and slop), and his face. The face is pretty good. Square-jawed and stoic, just like he’s supposed to be.
He’s got two accessories (not including that superfluous stand); a batarang and a bat-laptop. Neither are particularly appealing. The batarang fits pretty well in his hand if he’s just being displayed, but you’re going to want to watch it. If he drops from your shelf, that thing will fly out of his hand and you’ll probably never see it again. It’s got some funky techno baubles sculpted into it. They’re not really bad, but I’d have preferred a regular sleek batarang.
The bat-laptop. Remember the old TV series with Adam West? ’nuff said.
Articulation is good, though Batman, like Daredevil, deserves a few double hinge joints here and there. I know, I know: DCUC articulation is standard because they use standardized bodies for every character, but a guy can dream.
Really, the DCUC standard joints are a welcome counter to DC Direct’s non-poseble statues. He’s got about 16 points of articulation, and that will give you some decent poses, but don’t expect him to kneel down.
The Joker is one of the big draws of the wave, and if you don’t have one in your collection, odds are this is the best you’re going to get in this scale.
Joker’s sculpt is amazing, far better than most action figures I’ve seen. Just look at this guy’s face:
How could you not love it?
The rest of his body is a repaint of the Gentlemen Ghost body (which I have yet to find at a good price) with a few additional things. The flower is an awesome little detail I really like. He’s also got spats on his shoes, which I’m not sure were on the original. The whole thing works perfectly for the Clown Price of Crime though.
His articulation is pretty much the same as Bats’, though his torso is a bit hampered by the waistcoat. But then when was the Joker really know for doing back flips?
You will need a stand to pose him in some of the more dynamic poses, as his footpring is relatively small compared to his mass. This might be a good time to break out that heretofore useless figure stand.
As for accessories, he’s got the most of any of the wave. A cane with a joker head, a joke mallet, a few joker cards, and a fish?!
That’s right. A fish.
It probably has something to do with an obscure story reference that I don’t get. They’re all sculpted well, and they’ve got some paint applications, but the mallet has none. It’s left in the cast color of the plastic, a bright green. Depending on how you look at it, this is a good thing (looks like a toy mallet) or a bad thing (looks fake).
Last up is Man-bat, the antithesis of Batman. This guy is awesome, and that awesome can pretty much be seen by looking at him.
He is a bit different from the regular DCUC figures though in that he doesn’t have any sideways movement in the hip. He’s a repaint of an earlier figure, before DC figures evolved that particular joint. As a result, the lower portion of his body doesn’t really move much; he’s basically going to be standing on your shelf in perpetuity. But since he does such a good job of that, there won’t be many complaining.
Upper arm articulation and the neck are both excellent, allowing a wide range. Paint is pretty decent, though you may notice that the ribs of his wings were kind of given a once over with a brush. The color doesn’t really match the rib, but it’s not really THAT noticeable. The whole wing is made up of a transluscent plastic that allows light through, which means the rest of the arm is probably just painted over. It’s great that the brown on his arms then, matches the rest of him. In the past, many toys had that problm.
But wait!
We forgot the Collect And Connect figure, or CnC, Imperiex. This is actually the first CnC I own, since I had been mainly focusing on Marvel Legends and their Build-a-Figure series.
Since Imperiex isn’t a well-known character (or at least not a household name), here’s some background. He was created in 2000 by Loeb and Churchhill for the “Our Worlds At War” crossover. He is the embodiment of entropy and attacked Earth for to use it as a staging ground for the destruction of the galaxy. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Sigh. Crossovers.
Whatever his origins, this toy is pretty great. It’s big, well articulated, and mean looking. The head is all scarred and wrinkled like a prune, probably because of all that entopolicious energy that he is busy embodying. It makes him look ornery. Grrr.
The joints are mostly limited due to his size, but again the combination DCUC joints are really what give him such playability. The articulation is much better than say the Red Hulk BAF.
He does have that skirt, and normally, this would limit his hip movement, and it does. But the limitation is much less than expected since the designers were able to provide a little room in his shorts. They basically made his pants two sizes bigger, providing that extra space for little Imperiex and friends to wiggle around. Really great work there.
Despite the bulk the extra large armor provides, he still seems a bit small. In the wiki articles, he’s supposed to be massive. Art shows him towering above Superman. If you’ve seen the Infinite Crisis Mongul, or the Legendary Comic Book Heroes… well it’s a nice pipe dream, but I think we’re far past BAFs that could properly “tower”. Now they kind of stand on their tip-toes and “second floor”.
Paintwise, you might encounter some slop when it comes to the fine register lines required on the gold on black piping. But then, considering you can’t really see the parts in the package and cherry pick which part you get, it’s pretty much luck of the draw.
Also read the following reviews:
DC Universe Classics Wave 10 - Part 1
DCUC 6 Hawkman Review
DCUC Wave 4 Wonder Woman
DCUC Wave 8 Hawkgirl
DC Direct Nightwing & Flamebird
All comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
If you're looking for biased, one-sided views of toys and other assorted geekery, then you're in the right place. If you want objective, you'll need a blog written by someone who isn't an obsessive geek.
These are my views on various toys, movies, places, and things, along with assorted pictures and the the occasional link to stuff I find sufficiently geeky.
Enjoy your stay and leave a comment.
Slangards
I may give you a half-way serious answer.
