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Packaging - ***1/2
The boxes continue the consistent look of the first two waves. They look
good, and show off the figures quite nicely, and there's a minimum of twisties.
They aren't actually collector friendly, and they could be a little sturdier,
but they are certainly above average in looks and appearance.
Sculpting - Wonder Woman ****; Deadman, Magog, Flash ***1/2
In general, the sculpting on this line has continued to improve.
Actually, that's one aspect that's never really been an issue, and they continue
to produce great looking sculpts.
Wonder Woman is the big winner here, and looks so much better than the first
try. This is due mostly to her wider stance and improved pose, although
the cool armor gives them a chance to add more detail and style to the figure.
Magog is also extremely nice in the armor and clothes, with plenty of muscle
detail thrown in for good measure. The Flash suffers from his clear red
appearance, which makes it hard to see any of the detail very well. Still,
it's there, and the selected pose looks powerful and commanding.
Last but not least is Deadman. I don't know who they used as models for
the other figures, but it's nice to see Calista Flockhart getting work
again. The pose is a little wonky - he looks a little like he's doing a
one man Shakespeare revival - but they've managed to capture the look from the
books extremely well.
One negative for Magog and Wonder Woman is the soft plastic. Both of
these figures feel far softer than Flash or Deadman, and it's particularly an
issue for Magog where the legs may have trouble holding up the weight over time.
Paint - Wonder Woman ****; Deadman, Magog ***1/2; Flash ***
It's not really fair for the poor Flash - he only has paint ops on his
helmet, where the tough gold/silver combination gives him some issues.
There's some bleed and poor definition between the wings and the helmet, but the
clear plastic used for the rest of his body looks great.
Magog had the most issues of any figure with his overall paint application,
but even here they were very few. Some of the gold ended up on the flesh
of his torso, but the slips were minor. Deadman had a couple minor issues
between his bones and the red of his costume, but again, they were very minor.
Wonder Woman is as close to perfect as you can get. I didn't see a
single issue on mine, and there's tons of color. The great paint ops add
to her great sculpt to make her a figure that truly stands out on the shelf.
Accessories - Wonder Woman ***1/2; Magog ***; Deadman **; Flash Bupkis
Wonder Woman comes with three accessories, the most of the group. She
has her shield, spear and small stand. The sword *might* come loose, but I
wasn't willing to try to pull it off. There's also a nice gold (string) lasso
attached to her belt, but it doesn't look like it will come off either.
Her spear looks great, and isn't as floppy as I'd expected. The shield
also looks good, but doesn't really fit her left arm particularly well. I
could only get one strap over the oddly sculpted hand. It fits better on
her right hand, but of course that's the hand sculpted to hold her spear.
Let's not even talk about the display stand - it's completely worthless for
both WW and Deadman, and these are the only two that come with one. This
is the same stand that was included with the first Wonder Woman, but neither of
these characters actually fit on it. One foot is going to be hanging off,
dangling out in the breeze. Flash could actually stand on it, but he
doesn't come with one.
He comes with nothing, actually, which makes him a far poorer value than any
of the other figures. Magog has one accessory in his spear, and it's well
done and fits nicely in his hand.
Articulation - Wonder Woman, Deadman ***; Magog, Flash **1/2
Most of the figures come with the minimum articulation - neck, shoulders, and
hips.
Magog has an extra set of joints at the wrist, but doesn't get much credit
for them since the plastic is so soft. I almost tore the hands off trying
to get them to break free, and even after they did, the soft pins are very easy
to damage.
Deadman and Wonder Woman get extra points though for different reasons.
Deadman has a great ball jointed neck that allows him to look up and down as
well. Deadman also has a jointed jaw, which allows him far more
expressions than the usual nothing but a skull superhero. Wonder Woman has
the wrists joints like Magog, but I had far fewer quality issues with hers.
Value - ***
These are a small run through a specialty retailer, and at $13 they aren't
bad. It's nothing to get up in the middle of the night and write grandma
about, but you won't feel ripped. However, if you start paying $15 or more
each, I'd drop another half star.
Overall - Wonder Woman ****; Magog, Deadman ***1/2; Flash ***
Wonder Woman is an excellent figure, and perhaps my favorite of the entire
series so far. She is rivaling Shazam for that top spot, with an excellent
sculpt and great paint.
Magog and Deadman are much better than average, and it's nice to see the
entire wave be an improvement over the previous two. Flash might not be
particularly flashy, but none of the figures are below average.
Where to Buy -
I picked these up at a local Media Play, where they were $13. On-line
options include:
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