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Packaging - ***
The DC Deluxe packaging is attractive if a
bit large for what's actually inside. The interior fifth
panel
has some basic background on the figure, based on the traditional comic
book history. The package isn't as collector friendly as some
other sixth scale stuff out there, and you'll have to deal with more
annoying twisties than you want. The twisty across the chest
is
particularly annoying, since it creates a nasty wrinkle in his jacket.
Sculpting - ***1/2
I
might have been born in the sixties, but I still loved the comics of
the 70's, particularly when it came to Batman. This sculpt is
a
wonderful call back to that silver age art of the early 70's, and the
quality of the sculpting is top notch.
There's some really
amazing detail here, particularly for a comic book interpretation.
The work on the teeth, lips and gums is extraordinary, and the
hair is some of the best they've done in this series.
I also want
to give them credit for the very cool sculpted hands. The
sculpted hands work well with both the accessories and a variety of
poses, and are a HUGE improvement over the awful bendy monstrosities.
Paint - **1/2
DC
Direct took a risk. They went for a very specific look, with
the
Joker giving you the evil stare out of the corners of his eyes. It was
risky, since pulling it off is almost impossible.
The odds were
against them, and the odds won. I'm putting this under the Paint
section, since its mostly a paint issue, with the pupils placed in the
slightly wrong location in relation to each other.
The right eye
has the pupil way to the right, while the left eye does not have the
pupil over far enough. That means that from almost every
angle,
he appears to have a lazy eye. Look at him from *just* the
right
angle and you can get it to work - move a millimeter to either side and
it's a googly eye again.
This is really unfortunate,
because
otherwise the paint is fantastic. The mouth, teeth and gums
are
once again amazing, and the excellent sculpting is supported by great
paint. The skin and hair look excellent as well, and all the
colors are consistent and clean, with sharp cut lines between.
But it's all about the eyes, and
no matter how good the rest is, no one will notice it if the eyes are
so far off.
Articulation - ***
This
is the new 13" body that's a little more lithe than the standard
superhero version. We saw it with the movie Joker as well,
but
the long, lanky legs work a bit better with a comic book based
character,
where wonky proportions are more the norm.
It's
certainly a better articulated body (in terms of natural poses) than
the original large superhero body, but it still has several glaring
issues.
It
still has the cut wrist joints, although the hands don't appear to be
swappable (at least not easily). The ball jointed neck does
not
work as well on this figure, but there is still a bit of tilt
available. And both the hips and the ab-crunch joints are
designed to only allow the leg or upper chest to move forward, not
backward.
This figure has sculpted
shoes/spats for feet, which
means there's no pin ankle, but just a cut joint. Considering
the
price of the figure, there's no excuse for joints like that.
I
was tempted to knock off another half star, but I got to give them big
props for dropping those damn bendy hands. Oh, I'll complain
in
the accessories section that we didn't get any additional swappable
hands in other poses, but in the Articulation section, I want to be
sure to send out the love for going with a new style of hands.
Hey, I was certainly complaining enough about it before.
Let's hope this remains true with other releases as well.
Accessories - ***
The
Joker doesn't come with a ton of stuff, which is disappointing because
a) he's so damn expensive and b) there are so many things to choose
from that could have been included.
He
comes with four paper
cards, his trademark. There's also a laughing fish, adapted
straight from Detective Comics #475. This classic story from
1977
was re-done in the animated series as well. The sculpt on the fish
isn't quite a perfect match to the bronze age comic, but it's pretty
damn good. The paint is a little sloppy on extreme closeup
too,
but in person it's not as bad. It's also a great accessory
because it's so specific
to the character, and because it matches with the artistic style of the
figure as well.
He also has a Joker head cane,
and it's one of
the nicest we've ever gotten. Very attractive sculpting and nice scale
make it something you'll opt to include in the display.
Finally,
he has a plastic display stand, similar to the other Deluxe figures.
You won't have to use it unless you live in an earthquake
zone,
but it's nice to have nonetheless.
I
do wish there was more here
though. At this new, ridiculous price point, DCD really needs
to
add in some additional items. I'm particularly annoyed that
there aren't any extra hands, since that seems like such a no-brainer.
Outfit - ***1/2
The outfits continue to improve on these figures, especially the more
complex clothing.
As
I mentioned, his shoes and spats are sculpted. They look
good,
but this was a bit of a cheap out. You really expect actual
shoes
over feet at this kind of price point.
The pants are well
tailored, and don't over exaggerate the already long, lanky legs
unnecessarily. There's three layers on his torso - a cool
green
polyester shirt, an orange vest, and a purple coat with tails.
All
three of these look terrific, with properly sized buttons, ultra-thin
material that's right in scale, and good quality snaps holding them
shut.
There's still a few nits - the
snap on the shirt is sewn on
over so far that it's clearly visible rather than hidden, and the
flower on his jacket has a soft plasticy looking sculpt. But
overall, the quality on this outfit is top notch.
And in the 'wow, that's a
surprise' category, the tails on the jacket have wires to allow for
more dynamic posing!
My
biggest issue with the appearance of the outfit overall is due to that
damn twisty they used across his mid-section. It left seriously
annoying wrinkles in the fabric, and I may have to break down and use
an iron to try to get them out. It will have to be on VERY
low
heat though, because the jacket is made from material that has a
crushed velvet feel, and can be easily damaged by heat.
Fun Factor - ***
While
these aren't actually 'toys', they are sturdy enough that (assuming
you're rich and crazy enough to give a kid an action figure that costs
almost $100) kids could play with him with little worry of damage. Over
time, the costume will show the abuse, but the same can be said for my
old Captain Action outfits.
Value -
*1/2
A
SRP of $90? Seriously? With the quality coming out
of
Sideshow and Hot Toys at similar price points, I gotta wonder what DCD
is thinking.
You won't pay $90 for this
figure of course, and I
have sponsors selling it for as little as $75 or even less.
But
that's still a good $15 overpriced. Considering the small
number
of accessories, and the body that's not up to the price point, I bet a
lot of folks pass this figure buy because of the cost.
DCD might
just be pricing themselves out of the market entirely. I know
several people that wanted the 13" Watchmen figures, myself included,
but simply can't convince themselves to pony up that kind of dough for
them.
Things To Watch Out For
-
Nothing really.
The figure and accessories are quite sturdy, and it's
unlikely
you'll have issues with handling or breakage.
Overall - ***
I have to give DCD some real credit here.
While the bodies still have issues (like the cut wrists, cut ankles and
sculpted butts that don't allow the legs to move backward), they've
done a nice job moving forward with the sculpted hands, improved
costumes, and improved accessories.
This figure would have scored
another half star higher if not for two issues: 1) those funky eyes.
Yea, they tried, but they failed. 2) the ridiculous price
point.
Still, this guy will look great
on the shelf with the classic Batman
and Robin, and is the best of the Bats related comic based villains
they've done in this scale so far.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - **1/2
Articulation - ***
Outfit - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***
Where to Buy -
Sideshow's website has him, as
well as these sponsors:
- Urban Collector
has him at $72.
- CornerStoreComics
has him at $73.
- Alter Ego Comics
has him at $76.49.
- YouBuyNow
has him listed at $85.49.
- You can also use the
sponsor MyAuctionLinks
to search ebay.
- for the British readers, Forbidden
Planet has him for 38 GBP.
Related Links -
I've reviewed a fair share
of the 13" Deluxe figures:
- the most recent was the Dark
Knight movie based Batman
and Joker.
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