Grodd

This is the newest offering from the JLU line, bringing this long living line in closer to completion.  Grodd was one of the main bad guys on the JLU show and now we have him to add to the growing roster of villains for the Justice League to square off against.   

The main feature in this box set is the Gorilla Grodd.  Grodd was an ape who came in contact with a meteor during the 19^th century.  This gave him and his fellow apes both super intellegence and, in some cases like Grodd and his adversary Solovar, telekinesis and telepathy.  Grodd and Solovar clashed time and time again for the great Gorilla City.  When Solovar was captured by humans and brought to Central City, Grodd saw an opportunity to not only take over Gorilla City but also the world.  This plan put him in the scope of the Flash and brought Grodd into The Flash’s Rogue Gallery.  Over and over the Flashes of many generations would come to blows with this foe.  Over time Grodd’s abilities have grown, developing both his mental abilities as well as his telekinesis.   Most figures in the JLU line have issues standing, but like the other larger figures Grodd has no problems at all.  The figure has an amazing sculpt, really bringing to life the cartoon character.  The figure is well painted and the detail on his face brings that sly look of the criminal mastermind to life. 

The other new edition to this box set is the Red Hood.  This figure is a simple repaint of the Joker.  The new part of the figure is the addition of a large red dome and cape.  The largest problem is that you can not see the Joker’s face before you buy the box set.  After opening the set and taking off the hood this Joker looks like Crazy Eyes from Mr. Deeds.  Given a profile view the Joker looks great but if you look at this figure straight on his eyes are looking in completely different directions.   

Overall a solid set for both collectors and parents.  Hopefully this will not be the last, and Mattel will continue box sets to get us larger characters. 

         

 

The Last of the DCSH: Part III

Well we have reached the end of the last DCSH reviews.  The next time I review a DC figure it will be from the new Classics line, and I can’t wait.   

First up today we have Selina Kyle, Catwoman.  This is another female figure which gives us another body type to use for future figures.  Catwoman is well articulated showing Mattel’s ability to both give us a great sculpt and great range of motion.  The paint job on the figure is flawless and really reflects the comic version of the character.  The only drawback of this figure is her goggles.  The picture on the card back and side both show Selina without the goggles and she looks great, but with goggles she loses some style points.  They are thick and make her face look awkward up close, but as part of a display she looks good.  Now Selina comes with a ton of accessories, which is nice to have in this minimalist age of action figures. The extras include Isis her kitty, a removable back pack, a whip, and necklace. With these items she can be either Selina the hero of Gotham’s East Side, to Catwoman the villainous cat burglar who also tries to seduce the Batman.  She is a great addition and nice way to end this run. 

     

Our final figure of the newest wave is Clayface.  There is no doubt that the Four Horsemen are fans of the DCAU after seeing this figure.  The best way to describe Clayface is one word, WOW.  The Clayface sculpt is amazing given the fact the character is just a blob of clay, and the guys really brings out the detail of this character’s design.  But as with most figures no matter how well made the figure maybe, there is at least one problem.   The arms on Clayface are made of a very spongy rubber with wire in the middle making him really bendy.  I think the idea of making one of the most flexible villains in the DCU a very flexible figure is brilliant.  The problem is that it almost feels like the wire will break through the rubber if he is moved too much.  I myself will probably buy an extra just incase of a break, and if Mattel planed that, then they just doubled the demand of this figure for both collectors and parents. 

       

Overall I think this was a sold wave giving us 3 villains, and 3 different heroes.  As time goes on and we start to see how the new Classics line plays out the DCU will grow to Marvel Legends size. 

And a final look at our villains…. 

The Last of the DCSH: Part II

Welcome back to our look at the final wave of DC Superheroes.  In this review we will look at the other 2 repaints from previous waves.  This whole wave may be a filler to get us some new figures and keep the line on the shelves till our Classics line comes in, but I think we get some solid figures in this wave. 

We got our Clark Kent in the first round of 2 packs from Mattel, and now we get Bruce Wayne with Batman gear.  This figure was originally part of the last wave of Batman figures in 2002.  While some of us saw him during his original release he was hard to find, and then line went to exclusive releases in Europe.  I have to say not many kids would want to be Bruce Wayne for Halloween but Mattel gives us Bat gear to make this a kid friendly figure.  I think the details and sculpt are what makes this a worth while figure.  You can see the gloves have a little bat symbol and the Batman head is well sculpted just like the other Batman figures.  The one draw back as with the other re-release figures is the lack of articulation, though I have to ask how much articulation does a Bruce figure need.  This figure not only comes with a gloves boots, a belt, and an upper body piece, but also a flashlight.  That is the only way to describe this weapon, because I don’t really know what kind of gadget it is. 

       

The next figure is one of the standout repaints of the wave.  The gray and black Batman is a repaint of other Batman figures but really is a great addition to the line.  While I think the blue and gray design is my favorite version of Batman, this figure is a strong second.  The paint is well done on this figure and really has a nice sculpt.  Their is one improvement on this figure from some of the previous Batman figures, his stance is not as wide and the figures stands more natural.  The one criticism I have for the figure is that the face of makes him seem older.  This figure comes with 3 batarangs, which adds to the bat gadget arsenal. 

    

Come on back for Catwoman and Clayface