Rant Review: Masters of the Universe Origins Evil-Lyn figure

Despite managing to order Evil-Lyn from Walmart's supremely uncooperative website a couple of weeks ago, it took six days before it was actually shipped, so I actually had my store find He-Man in-hand first. Hence, this figure that I ordered a week prior is going up a week after him. Such are the hoops we jump through when a hot new toyline launches! Evil-Lyn's inclusion in the initial launch of the MOTU Origins line is an example of how Mattel is (thankfully) mixing things up a bit with the figure assortments, rather than rolling them out in more or less the same order as the vintage line. (Scare Glow in wave two, Ninjor in wave three, and Clamp Champ in the debut wave of the deluxe line are even better examples!) This is a very good thing in my mind, as it adds a bit of anticipation to reveals, instead of us all knowing who is coming next. It also means that those of us who count some of the later series figures among our favorites might not have to wait years to get Origins versions of them! (Seriously, we're already getting the Champ in a few short months! I am all over that!) It's particularly nice in this case, as Evil-Lyn is one of the core characters in the mythos, and it would really kinda suck if we had to wade through multiple waves before we got to her. 

As with Teela, with whom Evil-Lyn shares most of her parts, the sculpt is more or less a more sharply detailed recreation of its vintage counterpart, with a few differences. The weird left hand that both of the main MOTU ladies were saddled with always looked to me like they were being introduced to people at a fancy dinner party who were lining up to kiss their hands. Thankfully, this has been replaced with a functional grasping hand, adding to posing options far more than a recreation of the old "How do you do?" hand would have. Like her snake armored counterpart, Evil-Lyn also lacks the vintage figure's fuller Frazetta-style thunder thighs. Childhood me would be very disappointed! 

The biggest departure, as with most of these figures, is with the head. Evil-Lyn has a snarling expression that, while very specific to certain situations, does suit the character. The tiny teeth are individually sculpted, which surprised me a bit. The face does look noticeably different from the vintage figure, and it only kind of looks like this is the same person. It's not a bad sculpt, but it is different. As seen in the photo below, my figure's helmet wasn't put on straight during assembly, so the damn thing is crooked. It's not noticeable unless you're looking at her straight on, but it annoys me enough that a bit of surgery will be required. Hopefully the glue they use at the factory isn't too strong! Unfortunately, based on the many photos I've seen of other people's figures, the crooked helmet seems to be a widespread issue.

The paint apps are pretty neat for the most part, but my figure has a little blob of light blue between two of the points on her crooked helmet. This figure got beaten all up by the QC stick! The paint apps on the face are responsible in large part for how different this head sculpt looks from the original, as the lipstick and eye shadow applications are far more restrained. The eye shadow, in fact, is barely there at all! I'm still on the fence about whether or not to add some myself. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to be aware of.

Evil-Lyn sports the line's standard articulation, with a ball jointed head, swivels at the waist and boot tops, and swivel & hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. The joints move easily and hold poses well, and they pop apart and back on without much trouble. I do recommend heading the elbows, knees, and ankles before popping them out, as they're much smaller and tighter on the ladies. It's a great articulation model that I like quite a bit, though the knees stand out much more on the ladies. Evil-Lyn falls far short of the others in the accessory department, with only her magical orb staff. This is simply cast in light blue, and it does not glow in the dark as many of the vintage ones did. This really does feel like we're being shorted here, as there are numerous sensible options that could have been included to prevent the accessories from being so light. How about a set of swappable "spell casting" hands? What about the dagger that's been a standard inclusion since the character's 2002 iteration? Or a swappable head without the helmet? Or maybe a removable cape, since the character is often featured with one? With so many viable options, it really does feel like Mattel cheaped out here. The standard wave one minicomic is also included, and (broken record time!) it remains short and underwhelming, but it's cool as hell to get an honest-to-god minicomic with a figure in this day and age! Hopefully their quality will improve in the future.

As an essential character and a fan-favorite, Evil-Lyn is a sought-after figure for pretty much anyone who is collecting this line. Despite a few flaws, this is a good plastic rendition of the character, but unlike most of the wave one figures, I consider this one as a bit of a starting point. We need a better head, and we need more accessories. By all means, grab her if you can, but be prepared that the figure feels a little light compared to the rest of those released so far. She's good, but there's plenty of room for improvement. Below is a shot of the figure after a bit of repainting, mostly applying some metallic blue dry brushing to the armored parts of her outfit, and painting the orb on her staff. I'm not done with her yet, as I still have to remove the factory-applied blob on her helmet and paint in the boot detailing, but it's already looking better! That's all for this week, but swing on back next week for a look at another Origins figure! Until, then, happy hunting, and stay safe out there!

And here's a look at what happens when Evil-Lyn tries to sneak out for a girl's night out! ;)

   

Rant Review: Masters of the Universe Origins He-Man figure

 

As Mattel's new Masters of the Universe Origins line continues its gradual rollout. more and more people are finding the figures at their local Walmart stores. The one nearest my house received a shipment Sunday, so Monday morning saw me driving over to see this awaiting me:

All joking aside, the feeling I get seeing MOTU figures in a store again, especially in the classic packaging, is indescribable. Many of my earliest memories revolve around MOTU, and seeing that package art. There's a deep connection there that makes me forget about all of my problems, and the new horrors we're all facing daily during this seemingly endless pandemic, and that's a very valuable thing. So, after paying for my precious discoveries, I buckled them up for the ride home.

Seriously, we have a lot of terrible drivers around here! ;) Despite a few lucky grabs on Walmart's website, the main man had still eluded me, so it's very nice to add him to the collection. There have been numerous figures of He-Man produced across the decades, each with their own strong points and weaknesses. How does this newest incarnation stack up? Read on...

The sculpt, for the most part, is something we're already pretty familiar with. New articulation model aside, this is a new rendition of the classic MOTU body we all know and love, and is remarkably faithful to it. One difference worth noting is that the bracers are now symmetrical, whereas He-Man traditionally has had a longer half bracer on his left forearm. I suspect this change was made since several aspects of the design hearken back to the early minicomics lushly illustrated by the great Alfredo Alcala, and the symmetrical bracers were seen in those. The head has been perhaps the object of the most discussion, both good and bad. It's definitely a departure from the vintage head, and while I was ambivalent about it when it was first revealed as part of last year's SDCC exclusive, I've grown to like it quite a bit. It seems Alcala-inspired, but is rendered in a slightly more cartoony style. I think it's a few tweaks away from being in the same class as the vintage head, but I do like it for what it is. Thankfully, we've already seen new heads that will be packaged with future releases, so people will have options. 

The paint apps are applied pretty well, overall. There's little slop or overspray, and what there is lies well within my expectations for a mass-produced kid-friendly toyline. It's nice to see that Mattel painted the fur fringe on the boots and the arm bracers. While this is what I expected, they didn't bother to paint those parts on certain other figures. As with Skeletor and Teela, I really love the bright, vivid colors Mattel is using for this line. They really do "pop" on the shelf!

The articulation is standard for the line. He-Man has a ball-jointed head, swivels at the waist and boot tops, and swivel & hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. It's a well-designed articulation model that I've grown to love, and He-Man snaps apart easily at each POA. The parts pop apart easily, yet don't feel loose when attached. The designers deserve a great deal of acclaim for their work here!

He-Man includes all of his standard accessories, though with sculpts differing a good bit from their vintage counterparts. The power sword is the opposite half to the one packaged with Skeletor, and is sculpted in the Alcala style. The swords fit together easily, though there is a bit of slight warping. As you can see in the photo below, they'll need a dip in some hot water to straighten the tips of the blades. The axe and shield are also sculpted in the style seen in the early Alcala-illustrated comics, and the shield is quite a bit larger than the vintage one. It is one piece, and the handle's design is sturdier than its vintage counterpart. I don't foresee this one breaking as easily as the old one did! Last, but certainly not least, is He-Man's chest armor. It's the classic gray and red armor we all remember, but again, it's sculpted in Alcala style, so the back is different than the vintage version. There's an added loop that can be used to store a weapon. I quite like this design, and it does seem as if it may be less prone to breaking over time, though only time will tell for sure. You do have to pop the figure's torso off to remove it, though. The minicomic is the same as with other figures in this debut wave, so all the same comments apply: It's too short and underwhelming, but I still love that we're getting an honest-to-god minicomic with these figures. Hopefully the quality of them will improve in the future. 

With any MOTU line, the standard He-Man figure is the biggest hurdle. Mattel could easily have played it safe, but they took some risks by giving us a figure that blended the vintage toy with some design cues from the early minicomics. Collectors seem to be divided, but personally, I love it! We've gotten the same basic design so many times that, ironically, going backward helps to move things forward in this case. By taking some elements from the earliest MOTU media, the iconic character's design has been freshened up a bit, bringing something different to the table. This isn't a perfect figure, as I like but don't love the new head, but it's a damn good one, and a more than worthy successor to all that have gone before. That's it for today, but be sure to swing back by next week for more! In the meantime, happy hunting, and stay safe out there!

Here's a look at this figure after a bit of repainting. I did less work here than with the other figures, as much of the detail I painted in on those is already taken care of with He-Man. It mostly amounted to a light paint wash and some bronze drybrushing, plus some silver on the edges of the axe's blades. I'm planning to apply a paint wash to the hair as well, but I don't have the color I want to use, so that'll have to wait until my next trip into town.

Rant Review: Masters of the Universe Origins Skeletor figure

The August 1 launch date for Mattel's new-ish Masters of the Universe Origins line has come and gone, and things seem to have gone pretty much the way most of us expected. The amount of product on store shelves was rather lacking, and many stores (including all three in my city) received nothing at all. Meanwhile, everything still showed up as "sold out" on Walmart's website, so no help there, either. Both Mattel and Walmart have longstanding issues getting an ample amount of product on shelves, so this wasn't exactly a surprise. Frustrating at the situation is, we just need to have a bit of patience; first waves of major lines are always abundant, even if it takes a bit of time for lots of product to make it to store shelves. In a few months, when we're all hunting for wave 2, we'll no doubt be cursing the wave 1 figures that remain on the pegs. In the meantime, Walmart's website lottery continues, with figures randomly available to order for upwards of 30 entire seconds, which allowed me to get my second figure from this line, the Lord of Destruction himself!

We'll become very familiar with most of this sculpt, as it will form the basis of the majority of figures in this line, in grand MOTU tradition. For now, however, it's the first time seeing the new incarnation of these classic MOTU parts in person. (Aside from all those Masters of the WWE Universe figures I've gotten, anyway!) The sculpt is a very close match to the vintage figures, especially the torso. Some parts have a bit more detail, such as the little emblem on the belt. The sculpt on the chest armor is particularly sharp. The "boots" look to have the greatest difference in look from the vintage counterpart, with plenty more detail. (Anyone who was concerned with the construction of the lower legs on the prototype will be happy to know that these have been redesigned, correcting the issues the prototype had.) The left hand is a gesturing hand, as with the vintage figure. I'm glad this was retained, as Mattel was quick to change it to a grasping hand with the MOTUC line after fan complaints. I greatly prefer something like this that mixes things up a bit and aids in dramatic poses. The most hotly debated part of these figures, aside from their very existence, is the head sculpts. The new heads represent the biggest deviation from the vintage line, with varying degrees of success. I quite like Skeletor's open mouth, though from certain angles, it can look a bit like an old man with withered lips screaming at someone. Unlike the vintage figure, the hood does not join together at the bottom, eliminating the "bonnet" look the '80s figure had. I would have preferred a hinged jaw, but I'll take this over yet another close-mouthed sculpt. Hopefully we will get some alternate head sculpts in the future so people can mix and match according to their personal preferences. 

The few paint apps, all of which are on the figure's "face," are a mixed bag. The green area around the outer part of the skull is crisp and neat, though I preferred the fading-in airbrushed look on the prototype. The black areas on the nose and mouth are very neat, while the eyes have uneven amounts of red. The big screw-up is with the teeth. Where the prototype left this area unpainted, Mattel opted to highlight the spaces between the teeth with little black lines. That's all well and good, but these apps are misaligned on my figure. From photos I've seen, this is apparently a widespread issue. Mattel typically does a good job in this category, but they shit the bed a bit here. Thankfully, paint issues are an easy fix, and I'm planning to do a good bit of repainting to these figures, anyway. They definitely need to address this for the majority of buyers who will not, though. The overall color scheme is nice and bright, with shades of blue and purple that really pop! They make even the vintage figure look rather drab in comparison.

The articulation model on these figures is very well-designed, and blends well with the sculpt. (On the males, anyway.) Skeletor has a ball-jointed head, swivels at the waist and calves, and swivel & hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. I really like the articulation model they're using on these, and all POAs work very well, allowing for a wide range of cool and dynamic poses. As with all figures in the line, Skeletor pops apart easily at most of these POAs, allowing for easy customization. Despite that, the joints feel nice and sturdy, and not at all as if they might come off on their own. This may change over time with much use, but only time will tell.

All of Skeletor's standard accessories are present and accounted for, including his half of the Sword of Grayksull, the Havoc Staff, and his chest armor and baltea, if you count those. While I like the half-swords thing as a plot point, rooted as it is in my beloved early MOTU minicomics, I would have preferred a full sword here. I admit that part of that is due to memories of the vintage half-swords looking weird and not fitting in the figure's hands (unless you had them hold them by the hand guard, but who the hell does that?) when they were combined, so I may soften on this point if they fit together very well once I manage to score a He-Man. The sculpt of the sword is great, pure Alcala, and the Havoc Staff is a sharply-detailed update of the vintage version. The armor is nice and soft, and goes on and off with no issues. The weapons are cast in a harder plastic than the armor, so they're not soft and pliable like the armor is. Mattel has had problems with that in the past, so it's nice to see they addressed it here. Skeletor also includes the minicomic that ships with all the figures in wave 1. As I said in my review of Teela, the contents are short and underwhelming, but it's still fantastic to have an honest-to-god minicomic included with these toys! 

Despite some iffy paint apps, I really love this figure. True, it's Skeletor, who is probably my favorite character from anything ever, so it would have to be a total stinker for me to dislike it. Still, the designers have done a great job crafting this figure. It's a great nostalgia piece with loads of appeal for adults who grew up with this stuff. More importantly, it's a damn good toy. For this line to survive and thrive in retail, it must capture a wider market than adult collectors alone can provide, and for that to happen, these have to be engaging toys that kids will enjoy. I think they're managed it. This line stands poised to capture the love of a new generation, if only Mattel can keep the stores supplied with product. With new media set to debut beginning next year, we may well see a new wave of He-Mania sweep the nation! (Yeah, that was cheesy as hell. No, I don't care.) That's it for today, but swing back next week, when I'll have a review of the other figure I managed to wrest from the clutches of Walmart's uncooperative website! In the meantime, here's a look at this figure after I did a bit of repainting. 

Rant Review: Masters of the Universe Origins Teela figure

Mattel's long-awaited Masters of the Universe Origins line, teased with last year's sadly unobtainable SDCC exclusive, is finally here! Well, sort of. Figures have been randomly popping up for order on Walmart's website, only to disappear within seconds as scalper bots wipe them out so they can resell the figures at a horrendous markup. Bless their hearts. The upshot is that these figures have been damn hard to acquire for anyone who refuses to feed the-- how can I put this politely? Oh yes: greedy pricks who employ bots to wipe the site's inventory clean. I managed to beat the odds a couple of days ago and snag my first figure in the line! I was hoping for Skeletor to be my first figure in this iteration of my beloved MOTU, but as Teela was the second or third figure I got from the vintage line back when I was a spry three year-old, it's cool that she wound up being the first. (Really, though, don't give in and pay scalper prices for these. They'll only become easier to find in the coming weeks, and if people stop playing the scalpers' game, they'll have to stop their greedy hoard & resell tactics.)

Mattel has nailed the vintage feel of the packaging, featuring the classic red rocks explosion and vintage MOTU logo. The cardback art, cross sell, and even the fonts used are evocative of that classic line. Even at a glance, there is no doubt what this line's purpose is. It's also downright awesome to have an honest-to-god minicomic included, even though the contents are very short and underwhelming. I'm glad to have it, but if this is the best they can do, I think I'd prefer a reprint of a vintage minicomic instead. Hopefully they'll improve in future waves.

The sculpt is very well done, capturing the look of the vintage figure without it feeling dated, though it is worth noting that this figure is actually less detailed than the vintage version in some areas. the head displays some Filmation influence, and while that is very far from my preferred iteration of MOTU, it integrates very nicely with the rest of the figure. My only issue with the sculpt is the design of the thighs, which are very slim and not at all like the MOTU female figures we're used to. Teela needs those Frazetta-style thunder thighs, Mattel! There's also a large copyright stamp that takes up the lower half of the figure's back. This could have been placed in a better spot, and really doesn't need to be obnoxiously large. The figure scales perfectly with the vintage line, and is pretty much the exact same size as her vintage counterpart.

Teela includes her requisite accessories: Snake armor, snake staff, and shield. The armor is flexible and easy to take on and off, and the hands hold the staff very well. The shield has a tendency to fall out of the figure's hands, making one miss the little clips the vintage version had. The accessories are devoid of paint apps, and are simply cast in red. Paint apps on the figure itself are quite good, especially on the face. I do wish the gold was metallic, as it looks rather dull as is, but that's an easy thing to fix.

Teela sports the standard MOTUO articulation, with swivel & hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, swivels at the waist and boot tops, and a ball-jointed head. All the articulation works properly, with a large range of motion. None of the joints are loose, and the figure holds poses well. This could change with time, of course, given lots of reposing and swapping of parts. Speaking of part swapping, most of the pieces pop off and back on easily, yet don't feel as if they may fall off once you have them back in place. The hips are the only POA that requires a bit of work to remove and reattach, but it still seems within reasonable bounds. A special thing to note that might not be so obvious: The sculpt of the boots look correct no matter which way they're turned. Why am I mentioning that here? If you rotate the boot, then rotate the foot to face the appropriate direction, you have a sideways hinge for the feet, allowing for stability in deep poses that require it. (This can be sen in the pic with Evil-Lyn above.) This is a POA Mattel has rarely seemed to get right, even when they bothered to include it at all, so it's nice to see that it's implemented here, even if it requires a bit of finagling.

There have been some mixed reactions to this line, with some lashing out at it simply because it's not MOTU Classics. While I sympathize, and I have a sizable MOTUC collection that I love, I am all-in with this line. Classics had its day, enjoying an astonishing twelve-year run that delivered far beyond what any of us dared hope. Origins is a different beast, and I feel it's a damn good step to take as part of Mattel's initiative to bring MOTU to the forefront of popular culture once more. The feeling I had holding this figure in my hands within the beautiful vintage package art, is indescribable. For a few fleeting moments, I felt like an excited, hopeful child again. I can't imagine how it will feel when I finally see dozens of these hanging on the pegs in a store. Mattel seems to be going all-in on leveraging the deep connections so many of their customers have to the MOTU brand, and while that may sound rather cynical, it feels anything but. Hopefully today's children will feel something of that connection as well, and MOTU will soar to new heights. Mattel has something very special on its hands, if it can only get the product out there so the people who want it can buy it. MOTU Classics will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm damn happy that we have MOTU Origins, too. You can look forward to plenty more reviews of this line as I manage to get more of the figures. Until then, take care, stay safe, and happy hunting!

Here's a look at this figure after some customizing. The bronze dry brushing looks even cooler than I expected!

Rant Review: DC Multiverse Batman, Alfred, Red Robin, Red Hood, KGBeast, Katana, and Killer Croc

Early this year, it was announced that the DC license for 6-inch scale figures will be passing from Mattel, who has handled it for over a decade, to McFarlane Toys. Mattel's involvement with DC characters dates back to 2003, when they took over the Batman license from Hasbro. A few years later, their license expanded to include the Superman family of characters, and further to encompass the entire DC Universe a couple of years after that. Due to Mattel's long history with the DC characters, this wave takes on a greater significance, as it is their swan song to a line that has existed in various permutations for sixteen years. Is it a worthy finale to such a long-lived line? Read on to find out!

This final wave includes some long-requested fan-favorites, so the character selection is sure to please many collectors. Alfred is probably my favorite from the wave, and is one of the only comic-style representations of this crucial character ever made. (The only other one I recall right offhand is the figure from DC Collectible's Hush line, released more than a decade ago. For collectors who own that earlier figure, this one is a huge upgrade.)  Alfred boasts an excellent sculpt, with an expressive face that suits the character perfectly. All of the articulation works well, and some of it is better than usual, particularly the range of motion in the head. That's been an ongoing issue with Mattel's figures for many years, one that they never seemed able (or willing) to solve consistently. The paint apps are quite neat on my figure, and he is absolutely loaded with accessories. Aside from the Killer Croc BAF piece, Alfred includes a serving tray, a very cool Batman cowl, and three extra heads! One head represents Alfred's brief tenure as the villainous Outsider, one is in the likeness of Michael Gough's turn in the role as the beloved butler in the Burton/Schumacher movies, and one is Alan Napier's Alfred from the old Adam West TV series. These are an excellent inclusion, and allow collectors to display the Alfred of their choice. (It should be noted that the Outsider head does not want to pop all the way onto the figure, hence its odd appearance in the photo. Hopefully this is just a problem with my figure, and not a widespread issue.) It's a shame we had to wait so long for Mattel to release a comic-style Alfred figure, but honestly, he benefited from the wait. Let's face it, if this figure had been released during the peak years of the DCUC line, there's no way in hell he would have included so many high-quality accessories. (And he probably would have been saddled with those awful gorilla arms the suit-wearing characters were always marred with back in those days!)

KGBeast, my other favorite from the wave, is another long-awaited figure. The redesign used in the recent Rebirth All-Star Batman series is the basis for this figure, rather than the classic design, but I'm okay with that. It's not far off from the classic design, and actually improves on it in a few ways. The Beast benefits from the use of the MOTUC-compatible body, last seen on the Lobo BAF at the beginning of the year, giving him the stature he should have. (This also leads to his tendency to pop apart at the waist when being posed, as he's built from BAF parts. No need to freak out, as he snaps right back together.) The sculpt is great, with some very nice detailing on the mask, in particular. The belt is another highlight, with a nicely rendered leathery texture, and some shurikens sculpted in place. All the usual articulation is present, but the shirt overlay is quite restrictive to the abdominal hinge. The paint work is nice and clean on my figure, and he's also packing some nice accessories. Beasty has a removable projectile that stores neatly in his massive bolted-on arm cannon, two removable knives that slide easily into the sheathes on his boots, and a big-ass bayonet that fits into the aforementioned arm cannon. Frankly, it looks rather odd there, so I have him simply holding it as a sword, and it works quite well for that purpose. The KGBeast makes for an imposing presence on the toy shelf, and is a very welcome addition to the Batman rogues gallery.

Katana is another long-requested figure. She was included in the Suicide Squad line a couple of years ago, but this is the first time Mattel has produced a comic-style figure of the character. I quite like the costume design they used, but anyone who was hoping for her classic costume will be disappointed. Personally, I prefer this one. She's built on the new female body Mattel introduced last year, and has all of the benefits and drawbacks of it. It's nicely proportioned, and has a good overall look, but it's missing a couple of key points of articulation, and some of what it does have is more limited than it should be. Still, Katana is a nice figure overall, and a welcome addition to the collection. Paint is neat and clean on mine, with some particularly nice detail work on the mask. Katana comes with her sword Soultaker(which I managed to drop somewhere while moving the figures to take these photos, D'OH!), and a couple of swappable hands, one specifically sculpted to wield the sword. Katana checks a few boxes for the line, as a Batman ally, a much-requested female character, and another member of the Outsiders. (A shame that the vast majority of that team was neglected during Mattel's reign!) Personally, I would have swapped Katana out of this wave in favor of Orphan, as she is now the only member of the Rebirth Detective Comics team missing. But that's not a knock against Katana, as she is very deserving of inclusion, and I'm glad to finally have her.

Red Hood is a very nice figure overall, but he does suffer from one of those baffling Mattel decisions that marred many figures throughout their tenure. This guy has three pairs of hands, including some perfectly sculpted to hold his guns, but his guns are molded into his holsters. Really. Mattel has made figures in this line before with working holsters and/or sheathes, including in this very wave, so it's not as if they couldn't figure out how to do it. It's just another of those bizarre decisions that would pop up here and there throughout their various collector lines. It would almost be oddly reassuring to see it even in such a mostly stellar final wave, if it wasn't so damn annoying. Aside from that, Red Hood is quite good. Both head sculpts look great, and swap easily. You can also use the masked head and have him hold the helmeted head as if it's just the helmet, which is a pretty cool display option. He has quite a few newly sculpted parts, and all of them look great. Paint apps are nice and neat, and the helmet is painted in a nice glossy red that really pops. It's just a damn shame about those guns!

Red Robin is one of the standouts in this wave. Thankfully, he has no weird design decisions holding him back. This is an excellent realization in figure form of a fantastic costume design, with all the new parts he needs. As with the other figures, paint apps are very neat for a mass-produced toy. The belt could use a wash, as the plain bright yellow plastic is rather garish, even with the other bright primary colors on the figure. The blue highlights in the hair-- something I've never been a fan of in general-- are a bit heavier than they are on the others in this wave who have them. I'll definitely be painting over them at some point. Tim includes some extra hands and his signature staff, which he can hold quite well with the excellent articulation. Tim Drake is one of my favorite characters, so it's nice to see a very good figure of him in the final wave.

Dick Grayson Batman is the big loser of the bunch, and it's a damn shame, as it's a figure many of us have wanted for the past decade. He suffers from the weird proportions of the base body, the cape feels cheap and is far too narrow, and the unmasked head is rather ugly and just doesn't look like Dick Grayson. On the plus side, the color palette is dead-on, the articulation works very well and lets the figure hold some great poses that simply wouldn't be possible on most of the older male bucks, the masked head looks great and has a roguish smirk that suits him very well, and the dangling cowl accessory, for use with the unmasked head, is a very cool inclusion. (If only that unmasked head wasn't so ugly! It's not as noticeable in photos, but in person, it's very obvious.) BatDick is definitely the dud of the bunch, but I admit I'm still glad to have him. He'll just require a bit of work to fix his various issues. He's essential for posing with Damian, and is a representation of one of the handful of greatest Batman stories ever told.

And now for the BAF himself, Killer Croc! The most obvious observation is that he's HUGE. Far larger than the character is supposed to be, and far larger than any portrayal I've ever seen. (Barring stuff like that Batwoman/Wonder Woman team-up arc where he was mutated into an avatar of the mythical hydra.) The scale in this line has long been kinda all over the place, so this isn't a huge issue for me, but for some, it may well be a deal-breaker. All the parts are new, of course, and the sculpting is excellent. The pants are rather plain, but the insane detailing elsewhere makes up for that in spades. This is basically the design for the DCSH Croc figure cranked up to 11. The articulation works well overall, with a nice hinged jaw. Some POAs are limited by the sheer size of the appendages, but that is to be expected with this sort of figure. Croc can still strike many very cool poses,and so far, he hasn't been prone to falling over. He does come apart at the waist when posing sometimes, a recurring issue with some of the BAFs in this line. Thankfully, like the KGBeast, he easily snaps back together. My main criticism of this figure is the mostly flat green that makes up most of the figure. He could really have used a nice wash to bring out all the exquisite sculpted detail. I gave him one myself, and it makes a tremendous difference in how cool the figure looks. Scale issues aside, this is a fantastic BAF, and if you're on the fence about grabbing the last couple of figures from this wave to complete him, I'd say he's worth it. Collectors have been wanting a Croc BAF for many years, so he's a fitting note for the line to end on.

I'm happy to have the final wave completed, but it's a bittersweet feeling. Mattel's handling of the DC license has definitely had some serious peaks and valleys, but when it was good, it was damn good! Even with all the frustration that is inevitable with any Mattel line, they still gave us some fantastic figures, often of characters I never would have expected to be produced for a mass retail line. (Killer Moth! Vigilante! Friggin' Gentleman Ghost, for Grodd's sake!) Even DC Collectibles seems to have given up on producing figures of the less prominent characters, so it's awesome that Mattel managed to give us so many figures along those lines. Overall, this was a great wave to end on, and it's fitting that their 6" scale DC lines end where they began back in 2003, with a Batman wave. Whatever McFarlane has planned for their DC collector lines, they have a hell of an act to follow. Everyone have a fun and safe New Year's Eve, and let's all hope for a fantastic 2020!

Nightmare Escapade has a new edition!

I've never been happy with how my book covers turned out, for various reasons. Recently, I resolved to rededicate myself to my writing, which is why my postings here have slowed down so much. As part of that, I decided to do new covers for my two existing books, serving as a sort of relaunch as I work to complete my next novel. Today, I'm happy to announce that my first book, Nightmare Escapade: A Horror Anthology, has a brand spanking new, 1000% cooler cover! As always, you can buy the book here, and if you buy the paperback, the ebook edition is free! You can check out the cover below. If you do buy a copy, I hope you enjoy it, and please leave an honest review afterward. Reviews sell books, plain and simple, especially for small-time indie authors like myself. That's it for today, but stay tuned for more news in the near future!

The Top Ten Posts of 2018

(Yes, it's weird that this didn't get posted until two weeks into 2019. I had it all typed up and ready to go, but had a brain fart and forgot to set it to auto-post. Only just noticed and  manually posted it. Whoops!)

Another year has ended, so it's time once again to take a look at the most popular posts of the past year. Pointless? Yep. But still kinda fun? You betcha! Let's roll!

10. Man-E-Faces

9. Geldor

8. Extendar

7. Despara

6. Strongarm (Strong-Or)

5. Skeletor's Pal figure comic story

4. Blade

3. Wind Raider with Eternian Death Race figure comic story

2.  Lodar

1. Entrapta

Do note that the Free Comic Book Day guide cracked the top ten, but I decided not to list it since it always gets tons of views due to being swept up in the media surrounding the event. It didn't seem fair to stack the "normal" posts up against it. (Though it didn't quite crack the top ten last year, that seems to have been a one-time anomaly.) There are definitely some surprises here. The full-length figure comic stories ranked in the top five, as I expected. (More of those are coming, I promise! Real life has been so crazy that I don't get to devote the time I want to doing them, but they are in progress.) Entrapta snagging the top spot was definitely a shock! I don't remember her review generating much of a reaction, but apparently lots of people at least read it!

So, that's another year in the bag. I didn't get to post as much as I wanted--those aforementioned real-life commitments getting in the way again-- but I really enjoyed what I was able to do. It was especially fun to return to doing the full-length figure comics again! As always, this stuff is a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun, and I'll keep doing it as long as I'm able. :) Happy 2019, and I'll see you all again soon!