BATMAN - Mattel Total Heroes figure

I never really dove full-blast into Mattel's Total Heroes line of DC figures. I didn't mind the look of them, but they didn't really grab me, either. I think I was simply over-saturated between DCUC and Power Attack figures, so I only ever picked up two Total Heroes figures: this Batman and a Mr. Freeze. Both sat in their packages for ages, mostly forgotten, until the new Batman v Superman movie re-kindled my interest in the Dark Knight. So, I decided to finally open this guy up and see what he could do...

Package Backside

Total Heroes Batman strikes me as a really great Batman for a kid, but as a poor specimen for an adult collector. The packaging is quite nice, with lots of eye-catching colors and neat artwork.You can clearly see the figure and accessories inside, and nothing is posed in a way that would cause warpage. 

Batman comes with a cloth cape and 3 accessories: 2 Batarangs and a grapnel gun. They are all completely black, the Batarangs are stamped with "China" on one side, as is the handle of the grapnel, and are made of soft, rubbery plastic.

The Batarangs peg onto Batman's utility belt in the back and fit into his left hand adequately enough to look ok, but they fall out if they aren't shoved down into the hand far enough. The grapnel also goes into his left hand (the right one is a closed fist, but is held at a really awkward angle, pointing nearly straight upwards. There's no trigger finger on the figure, and his head doesn't tilt upwards at all, so as a result he looks pretty odd with the grapnel in nearly any pose.

With regards to articulation, there's  a swivel head, hinged shoulders that can go forwards/backwards and out to the sides (slightly less than parallel with the ground), DCUC hips that can go forwards and out to the sides (very little backwards movement, as they hit the butt sculpt), hinges at the knees and ankles and a twist at the waist and wrists. Sounds like a lot. It's not. There's nothing below the waist to allow the legs to rotate in any fashion. In other words, the toes will always point straight ahead. As a result, it's difficult to get something dynamic out of this guy below the waist. It's unfortunate, because if the knees were done like the elbows are (I purposely left his out above, but it's the best joint on the figure - a ball and hinge that allows for rotation as well as bend, and is hidden pretty decently by the sculpt!), the figure would be fairly awesome. As it is, he's just fun. The oversized feet help keep him standing, and I did have quite a bit of fun messing around with him, but the poses just aren't very fluid or natural looking.

I really do like the actual sculpt of the figure. I think the body is re-used across the line, so I suppose it's good that I generally like the proportions and shapes they chose. He's muscular without being too bulky. The abs and thigh muscles are clearly defined, and there are some details sculpted in somewhat random places. The belt pouches, shoulders and torso have lines engraved on them, and there are two spots on his back that have some lattice work sculpted on, almost like bandages or something. The figure is otherwise mostly smooth and made of a neat speckled grey plastic, painted matte black in places. The joints are all tight and hold poses well, and nothing feels like it's going to break, so it should stand up well to play, even from kids. There are a couple of small quality control issues with my figure - two deep scratches in the neck straight out of the package, and a small dot of flesh paint on the nose of the cowl. I can take a black marker to all of those, I suppose, so they are really minor issues. At the $10 MSRP this figure carries, it's a really good deal - something I would not hesitate to buy for my own kids. At TRU's markup price of $15, it was less attractive, which is another reason I never bothered to dive "all-in". As a collector, I'm happy with this guy, but he won't be at the forefront of my Batman shelf, though with one change to one joint, he might have been...

BATMAN - JAKKS Pacific Big Figs 19" Batman v Superman figure

JAKKS Pacific looks to have stumbled across a couple of real winners over the past two years. Their World of Nintendo line seems to be going strong, judging by the empty pegs at my local Toys R Us (4 inch line, I mean). And then there are the Big Figs. These started out as Star Wars staples, which then branched into several varying sizes (though all relatively "big"). Now we've got Link from Legend of Zelda, giant electronic Star Wars troopers and Vaders, Godzilla and lately DC superheroes. I've mentioned the large scale 31" Darth Vader before on this site - I really like the figure - and after seeing Batman v Superman this past weekend I just couldn't pass up having a Big Fig Batman. I went with the 19" version, though there's an even bigger version out there...

One of my favorite toys as a kid was a Shogun Warrior Great Mazinger. Man, I played with that thing. It was hollow, made of hard plastic, had missiles that shot out of its fingers and could be stored on its legs, a removable Pilder glider atop its head, and wheels under the feet to roll it over the kitchen floor. But what I loved most about it was its size. For me, as a little boy, it was HUGE - way bigger than my Star Wars or He-Man figures. In fact, I remember going toe-to-toe directly with Great Mazinger, Jimmy Snuka-style on more than one occasion. JAKKS has done a great job of translating that feeling of awesome size to today's toy shelves. These figures consistently sport really strong sculpts (my Vader and this Batman both look great) and adequate paint work to mostly justify their price tags.

Batman here has a better sculpt than any of the Mattel products. He does stand just over 19" tall, and is made of really hard, lightweight plastic. He feels hollow, and he sports a cheap cloth cape. There are 7 points of articulation, useful only for fine tuning his vanilla pose: swivels at the shoulders, wrists, hips and head. Besides the grey and black, there are some gold/bronze highlights on the knuckles, gauntlets, toes and belt. Oh, and fifteen screw holes holding him together, clearly visible on his back. The details are pretty good, actually, and I've seen some customizers add a dark wash to the outfit to bring out the detailing even further; there are raised seam lines sculpted in addition to some wrinkles across the outfit. I suppose an air brushed five-o'clock shadow would add a lot, as well - the paint work here is almost too clean for this particular version of the character.

And that's about it. You've probably seen this guy on a shelf somewhere - they are everywhere right now - and if you are reading this, you might be wondering if it's worth getting? Well, you see everything you're getting right there in the store. The packaging has nothing to hide. There are no accessories, and minimal articulation to be had. He'd be great for a kid, no doubt, and will probably look terrific alongside his Armored version, Superman and Wonder Woman on a collector's shelf. So, for the price (I paid about $20), he's worth it. I'll get $20 of enjoyment out of having him in my collection. I don't know that I need to run out and find ALL of the others, but that Armored Batman was looking pretty cool the last time I was at Target...

BATMOBILE - Jada Toys Batman v Superman Model Kit

I first discovered Jada Toys and their die-cast vehicles through their Halo line. There were about a half dozen really nicely done die-cast metal vehicles and figures in what seemed like about 1:35 scale. They were solid, painted really nicely and affordable. The largest I owned was a USNC Hornet, but I think they even made a larger die-cast Warthog around the same time that McFarlane Toys released theirs. I came across their newest creation, the Batmobile from Batman v Superman, and decided to re-visit the brand.

This is billed as a model kit, though that's a bit of a stretch. Mind you, I'm an old-school model builder. You know, the kind that involves sanding, glue, lots of products named Testors and Model Masters, waterslide decals,  lots of time and patience - the whole nine yards. A true model kit this is not. It's more of a disassembled toy. In fact, my hunch is that by having us assemble the thing, they were able to save enough in labor costs to make a pretty penny. There's a little screwdriver included and about a dozen itty bitty screws. Along with some tricky aligning of parts, metal axles and plastic wheels, that's about all there is to putting this thing together. It's not a bad gimmick, actually. Except for the fact that it wasn't a ton of fun. The directions are sketchy at best (I really had trouble figuring out how to align the rear brake pads), the wheels don't sit flush on the axles too well, and those screws are really tiny. But, in the end, it all went together and I'm happy with a pretty nice looking Batmobile.

From the front and the side, I feel like this version of the Batmobile looks like the sporty futuristic fin-thing from the Arkham Asylum video game. From the back, it's all Tumbler. In all, I find it to be an interesting mix, which I like. The guns on the front strike me as an odd addition, but don't look nearly as out of place here as they do on Mattel's toy. The plastic wheels spin freely, the cannons rotate, and the canopy actually flips up and open in two separate halves. The interior of the cockpit is detailed to an extent. There's minimal detailing to the exterior, in terms of paint, however. The entire car is flat gunmetal grey, or blue, depending on the lighting. It looks good - no blemishes, dings or quality control issues - if not a bit bland. There are a couple of tiny red highlights on the front fenders, but otherwise nothing. The mostly plastic undercarriage and interior are black plastic.

The car measures about 8 & 1/2" long and about 2" high (it slopes upwards to the back). Overall, it's a pretty nice model. It looks less "toyish" than anything else I've seen in this size, and for the price it's worth having. It looks pretty great beside my Walmart Exclusive Tumbler from The Dark Knight Rises, so I really can't complain. I wouldn't recommend giving it to a kid to build straight away, but it might be a nice introduction to the world of modeling with a little parent/child shoulder time, and heaven knows we could all use more of that. It's a nifty model, and could stand up well to play - I'd recommend it!

KRATOS - GHOST OF SPARTA NECA Ultimate God of War 3 action figure review

Mezco Toyz has been getting a lot of (deserved) attention and accolades in the adult collector world for their One:12 Collective line of action figures. That line is pushing the boundaries of 6 inch scaled action figures designed specifically to be considered "high-end", meaning a price point that matches a superior quality of figure, materials and presentation (ie, packaging).  I love the releases so far, and the ones that have been solicited for this upcoming year are equally deserving of high expectations. However, NECA has, somewhat more quietly, ALSO upped their game for the adult collector, specifically in their "Ultimates" line. They've brought in window-box packaging, increased articulation, dynamic sculpts (which has long been their trademark), improved paint, and tons of accessories, while KEEPING their price point only marginally higher than that of their "regular" releases. The Ultimates have often re-visited previous figure releases, with improvements in some or all of the factors mentioned above. I've managed to resist buying all of these until recently (I did pick up the amazing Devil May Cry Dante, but eventually returned it, as it's not a character I'm "married to", and I've got a New Year's Resolution to stick to ONLY the characters I truly love). NECA captured me with their Ultimate Striker Eureka, and now, with their Ultimate God of War Kratos - The Ghost of Sparta. I've played through God of War II, and I have a couple of the regular release Kratos figures. I also had the Play Arts Kai version, which I eventually parted with. I've really liked the figures we've gotten, but I've never truly been "blown away". Until now...

The packaging presents NECA's Ultimate Kratos as an amazing figure. The artwork is eye-catching and appropriate to the source material. There are multiple action shots showcasing the figure and what it can supposedly do. Inside the velcro-closed flap is artwork detailing the articulation scheme (one hopes) and a window that shows the figure and its accessories very nicely. There is no clear plastic film like one would find with Mezco's One:12 or with the Japanese Figma and Figuarts releases, nor is the product sandwiched between clamshell trays. There is some scotch tape to keep the accessories from rattling around. Kratos comes with his "growling" head attached, and a "scowling" head off to the right. His Blades of Whatever (I'm going to call them Chaos for this review) look like they feature translucent orange plastic around the blade edges, rather than the previous "painted yellow" blades. He also comes with a pair of Cestus gauntlets, as well as an additional Golden Fleece armor piece for his forearm (it needs to be detached to get the gauntlets over his hands). It's a nice assortment of extras and goes a LONG way to making this figure "ultimate" or at least "definitive".

It would have been great if the previous NECA release accessories could have worked with this figure (the Medusa head or the flaming blades), but since those were God of War 2 figures and this one is from God of War 3, I can understand leaving that ability out. Having that level of interchangeability could have made tracking those older figures down now worth it. Maybe even re-releasing the weapons only as an accessory pack might be something NECA could do?

The figure itself is appropriately intimidating. Ultimate Kratos stands nearly 7 & 3/4" tall and features a gorgeously detailed sculpt. The muscles have plentiful and appropriate striations, and thick veins criss-cross the deltoid muscles, and even the temples of his head. Scars adorn his thigh and pectoral muscles, while the stitched gash from the Sword of Zeus (I think?) prominently cuts across his incredible abs. The sculpt detailing is deep and varied to convey textures, from the leathery sandals and gauzy wrappings at the upper thighs, to the wind-swept feel of the "skirt" and the heavy chain metal of the blades anchored around his forearms. It really is one of the finest sculpts I've ever seen on an action figure, period, and I've been collecting for 20 years.

What makes the figure even more striking is that the paint applications are impeccable, and serve perfectly to enhance the sculpt, rather than detract from it. First and foremost, the ashy appearance of the skin is truly incredible. There's a base of dark grey with the white almost dry-brushed over top, allowing the deeper crevices of the body to be subtly accentuated. The skin itself has a dappled texture to it, giving the entire thing a grainy look. The tatoos are a deeper crimson than on previous Kratos figures, and the deeper brow wrinkles and eye scar really add to the grim determination of the Ghost's countenance.

There's a level of thought that has gone into this figure's engineering that isn't usually found in mass market figures. As a result, it's nearly perfect. The Golden Fleece armor is made of rubber, so it's pliable enough to accomodate various poses. The skirt is swept to the side, so that his thighs can flex forward somewhat more easily. Two heads are included so that buying multiple figures is less necessary. There's a place to store the Blades on Kratos's back, and there's a ton of good, solid articulation to be used. Overall, a magnificent figure worthy of accolades! My first qualm is a small one, and has to do with another bit of thoughtful engineering on NECA's part. They have included a tiny baggie with 2 small posts inside. The rack on Kratos's back can be removed and these pegs can be inserted if one wishes to display Kratos without the rack. However, the posts are very smooth and don't blend in with the ash paint of his back, and they sit flush once inserted, making their removal a wicked pain. That said, it was a really incredible gesture on NECA's part, and shows that they are action figure lovers in their own right!

My second qualm is a bit bigger. It has to do with the way The Ghost of Sparta's feet are engineered. The shin guards come down low, and the tops of the sandaled feet arch pretty high. As a result, the shinguard hinders the foot's ability to flex (toes upwards). This is significant because in order to take a deep stance, a human leg needs to be able to flex the knee forward enough to align with or be in front of the toes. This figure's foot makes that impossible. As a result, Kratos cannot take the deep iconic stance that he should. In fact, my Kratos couldn't stand at all on his own, as the right foot on my figure was impeded so much that he would be forced into a serious lean backwards with the foot flat on the ground. I took a Dremel to the armor and the foot, and as a result he can now stand unsupported, but that deep crouch is still out of the question.

The Ultimate Ghost of Sparta comes outfitted with a full compliment of excellent accessories. The Blades are sculpted impeccably, from the demon heads to the blades themselves, which are thinner than previous versions, and which are made of clear-ish orange plastic. There's a small piece of Golden Fleece Armor included to attach to the right forearm when Kratos is wielding his blades, but which can be removed for his other included weapons, the Cestus Gauntlets. These beasts are incredibly detailed, quite sharp, heavy and painted beautifully! They slide over his fists to remain snuggly in place. Finally, there's the alternate heads. I love both, and might need two figures on display for all of the weapon/head options that exist. I've gone back and forth about the size of them, however. There's something about the entire figure that makes the head(s) look too large for the body. I think it's an illusion created by the small waist, and from a distance, there's really no issue.

If you want an A+ action figure, NECA's Ghost of Sparta Ultimate Kratos is it. It's probably in my Top 10 Best action figures in my entire collection, and does SO MUCH right that it's really easy to overlook its few detractions. This is everything that an Adult Collector's action figure should be: 1) thoughtfully boxed in re-sealable and attractive packaging, 2) perfectly sculpted, 3) perfectly painted, 4) well-endowed with articulation and practical and thoughtful accessories, 5) engineered to enhance its abilities, and 6) (maybe most importantly) priced appropriately. Kratos is a figure worth having in your collection, even if you are not a fan of the game, and that's the real compliment to any figure: when it can stand alone without its media support and still be remarkable in its own right, you know you've got a winner in your hands...

Beside NECA's earlier GoW2 Kratos

WONDER WOMAN - Adam Hughes Art of War Statue

The Adam Hughes version of Wonder Woman from the Art of War series of statues portrays her in a fairly traditional outfit. The gold, maroon and blue colors match the rest of the line so far as I can tell (I currently have 3 statues from the series), and the base matches as well, providing some consistency. The scale is slightly off, however, with this statue coming in just under 7" tall, while the Yannick Paquette version I reviewed earlier reaches nearly 7 & 1/2". It doesn't sound like a big difference, but on the shelf it's quite noticeable.

The Hughes Wonder Woman cradles her sword (mine doesn't quite line up to the put the blade into her hand), and matches the others that I own in that she doesn't have a lasso. Her copious mane of hair is blowing off to the side, and she stands with one foot out in front of the other, giving her hips a more notable slant from the back. The statue is nicely sculpted and well-painted, though it looks like they forgot to paint her earrings red. Her earlobes look oddly huge and blobby as a result. Otherwise, everything is sharp and neat, even the white on the boots. It's a beautiful statue overall, and displays really nicely in the group!