figures

We’re almost done with the nigh-insurmountable mountain of Toy Fair 2008 coverage (here, here, here and here), but no action figure, TV or movie geek could be satiated without a detailed mention of everything that happened over at the Mezco and NECA booths during The Fair.

[Click here for the full Mezco gallery at our Community!]

Now, I’ve been a dedicated Mezco fan since I first saw their Hellboy movie figures back in 2004. The movie hadn’t yet come out, and comic-based movies (and figures based on comic movies) have had a history of, well, sucking – but the Hellboy figures were outstanding items, and the movie turned out to be one of my favorite films. This year, for the first time in 4 years, Mezco’s booth had new Hellboy movie stuff for me to ogle.

Two waves of 6” figures are planned for Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army, due in theaters on July 11th. Like the figures from the first movie, they’ll be fully articulated and sculpted impeccably. Included in the first wave will be Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and finally, Liz Sherman, who was tragically absent from earlier figures. I have a thing for Selma Blair, and that thing is MY LOVE. Also in this first wave will be Johann Krauss, and bad guys Wink & Prince Nuada. The second wave (which was forbidden from photography, but looked stunning) will include a wounded Hellboy & a t-shirt Hellboy, as well as the beautiful Princess Nuada, the horrific Goblin (who is attached to a rickety wooden cart of some kind), and the huge, ominous Angel of Death. It’s a truly amazing collection of figures that completely blew me away. Even as stand-alone monsters, they’re really, really great.

Mezco is adding onto their usual offerings with small busts of Hellboy and the Right Hand of Doom, 18” figures of Hellboy and Abe, and at least eight 3.75” figures. These tiny, Star Wars-sized figures will have all of the articulation and sculpts of the larger figures, so nothing is lost in translation – an amazing feat that other companies would do well to learn from. Mezco revealed to us that while the tiny figures were cheaper in materials cost, the cost for the molds to cast the small figures was actually greater than the cost for the larger figure molds, due to the intricate details. There’s a certain production number somewhere in the middle where the cost justifies the product, and with all of these companies making 3.75” figures this year, I’m curious exactly how it balances.

Of course, Hellboy wasn’t the only license of note, as Mezco also has the Heroes TV show license. None of these figures have been released yet, but Mezco is already three waves deep into the sculpting, and the likenesses are really staggering. I’ve commented here before on the strange, imperfect likenesses that Mezco released as their PR photos, walking a weird line between photorealism and comic-styled artwork. As it turns out, you just need to see them in person. They’ve applied every ounce of accuracy and skill that made me love the Hellboy figures to these Heroes figures. Forget everything you’ve heard about the figures not being perfect likenesses – they ARE perfect – and the character selection couldn’t be better.

The first set of 5 includes Hiro Nakamura, Claire Bennet, Sylar, Peter Petrelli and Mohinder Suresh. Hopefully, the varied images in our gallery here will clarify some of the misperceptions about the figures that I, too, was guilty of. Keep on clicking around though, as ten never-before-seen figures were also revealed! Included in Wave Two are (and I’ll try to say this with as few spoilers as possible), Horn-Rimmed Glasses guy, Niki & Jessica Sanders (with alternate heads), Matt Parkman & Molly Walker, Mr. Linderman, and Future Peter. Wave Three will include Nathan Petrelli, The Haitian, another version of Hiro from season 2, Elle Bishop, and another character from season 2 that’ll pretty much blow your mind if you haven’t been watching loyally as I have.

Mezco rounds out this license with 9” figures of Sylar, Niki / Jessica, Peter and Claire. Also, like every other company’s been doing with toys this year, wait for a 3.75” line. Sylar vs. Darth Vader vs. Serpentor vs. Doctor Doom isn’t very far off now!

It’s also worth mentioning that Mezco is on their 15th series of Living Dead Dolls - the cute-grotesque series of dolls that pays homage to some of history’s most infamous killers and movie murderers. I suppose they’re all either zombies or about to kill someone, but they’re a very popular collection of higher-end dolls that tend to be collected by cute goth girls – so I can’t argue. The less said about ‘Gangsta Babies‘, the better. Seriously – I don’t want to get drive-by’d from a stroller.

NECA also had a presence at Toy Fair. This company seems to pick up an odd assortment of movie-related licenses of all genres, but with a focus on fantasy and horror above all else. In the past, they’ve made action figures for Nightmare Before Christmas (a line that just ended, sadly), Planet Terror, 300, Reservoir Dogs and A Christmas Story. Despite the Christmas Story figure line being ostensibly dead for quite a few years now, NECA has just revealed an additional figure for the line in the form of bully Scut Farkus, sculpted in a perfect, creepy sneer.

[See the full NECA Gallery at our Community by clicking here!]

NECA’s Harry Potter line continues, and likely will continue throughout the release of every foreseeable movie, with figures that include all of the wizard kids, Voldemort, Snape, Dumbledore, the Malfoys, Bellatrix, Mad-Eye Moody and even a handful of the fantasy creatures. I’m no Harry Potter fan, nor have I personally seen the movies, but the figures are another example of the great likenesses that NECA captures for cult-favorite characters. There’s only so much I can personally geek-out over. I need to set limits so that I can be a functional adult – it’s nothing personal against Harry Potter.

Speaking of cult-favorite, my personal highlight at the NECA booth was the figure of Beetlejuice, perfectly rendered with a chubby Michael Keaton face and stained, striped suit. It’s the first time we’ve ever had a Beetlejuice figure that wasn’t from a bizarrely tangential animated show. He’s a great movie ‘monster’ as it stands, and I’d love to see figures of Lydia and the families with a build-a-sandworm – though a few less-than-great figures of the ghost family were released some years back. Let’s just start over. And next time you guys make Ghostbusters figures, make some of the Ghostbusters, okay?

Also an unusual license for NECA, but a great one, is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This isn’t the movie license, or even the cartoon license – this is the license to make figures from the original comic books by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Believe it or not, these original comics were a fairly complex drama, and drawn in a very different style than what ended up being animated in the 90s. These comic-accurate figures will all come with red masks and different weapons, and be sculpted to look ‘drawn’, with all of the original ink lines intact. April O’Neil will also join the line (but was forbidden from photography), and a series of black & white turtles (colored like the original comics) will also be released. They will all come with interlocking bases to form a scene together.

In terms of even more entertainment properties, Amok Time is a newcomer company with some interesting licenses. Not only are they making 12” figures from the original Lost in Space, but they’re doing the same for the original Battlestar Galactica, and Gort and Klaatu from ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still‘. Any of these will stand proudly right next to your high-end Sideshow Collectibles monsters, with a few additional B-movie monsters round out the collection, from movies I’ve never heard of, but look visually entertaining.

[Click here for a gallery of toys from Amok Time in our Community!]

The highlight at Amok Time’s booth was the 12” Elvira figure, which sported another perfect likeness, and would absolutely go well in any ironic monster display. I’ve been told that the figure will be solicited in late 2008, so there’s going to be a wait to even order it. On the bawdy end of things, Amok Time is producing bookends in the likeness of adult film star Seka, as well as a 12” figure of the same. True to form, all of these things, even the bookends, will have removable clothing. Two Bettie Page figures are also being produced, to the delight of pin-up fans everywhere.

Stay tuned for one more post about Toy Fair 2008, in which I summarily round up the rest of the awesomeness and finally put these life-consuming toys behind me until next year.

I wasn’t gonna buy ‘em. I was really going to let my first wave of Marvel Legends in seven years just pass me by, and I really wasn’t going to care. I was unenthused about the eight featured characters, and I wasn’t that excited about Hasbro’s execution of the line to date, either. Sure, that She-Hulk knocked my socks off, but it’s She-Hulk – it’s impossible for that to NOT happen. Alas, I’m also a complete sucker for a good sale, and when Hasbro Toy Shop handed me a 20% off coupon, I buckled – and they even sent me a sizeable die-cast Hulk figurine for free. You win this time, you purveyors of addictive plastic!

It’s not that Hasbro does a bad job with the Marvel Legends line – it’s just that ToyBiz did such a GREAT job with them. Despite Hasbro’s long history with action figures, they just haven’t been able to really capture 6” scale Marvel characters since they took it over. So, why do I continue to collect them? It’s probably an unhealthy habit, or that pure rush of excitement that comes from exploring a new toy – no matter how shoddy it might be. Maybe, just maybe, I need more social contact that isn’t with things 1/12th the size of me.

Included in this third wave from Hasbro (called HML3 in nerd-shorthand), or ‘The Brood Wave’ (because of a buildable Brood Queen figure that comes in many pieces packaged in with each main figure) are First Appearance Captain America and Bucky, Marvel Girl, Black Knight, Danger, Astonishing X-Men Cyclops, Colossus from the movie X3, and a Hydra Soldier.

Among the eight figures in the set, the quality is all over the road, both in character selection and the plastics used. One might expect that a singular wave of figures would use a consistent grade of plastic, but that isn’t the case, and it creates a kind of schism. Colossus, Danger and Black Knight are made of disappointing hollow plastic parts that feel cheap and don’t take paint very well, while Marvel Girl, Bucky and the Hydra Soldiers use solid, thick, and slightly pliable plastics, and the other figures fall somewhere in between. In the case of 6” scale, articulated figures, going slightly pliable is the way to go – it prevents breakages, seems to take paint better, and allows for a smoother motion along points of articulation. If you go too brittle, you’re just asking for a Krazy Glue accident.

The character choices for HML3 are also all over the place – though Hasbro mostly made up for the weirdness by releasing a whole surprise wave of eight different Fantastic Four figures immediately before the release of these. Still, slopping X3 movie figures into a ‘Legends’ line always leaves me with figures I don’t want to have lying around. Hasbro’s been doing this since their first wave, pushing Jean Grey and Juggernaut into the collection, and into spaces that could be occupied by more relevant folks. Because of this, Colossus is going on eBay pretty soon. I enjoy the presence of Golden Age Captain America and Bucky, but we DO already have two Captain America figures – as well as at least three previous Cyclops figures. Black Knight is a welcomed addition to the lineup, as he’s an important Marvel character – but Danger? She’s relatively new, and while she was the villain in a pretty good story, I can’t say it’s worth making a figure of her just yet no when there’s Machine Man, the Inhumans, and Arnim Zola left to be made.

Strangely, my favorites are the Hydra goons. ToyBiz was trying to work goons into Marvel Legends for a few years before they finally had to give up the license. As I recently spoke to in my ‘Army Building‘ entry here, we’ve never had a whole crew of mindlessly loyal Marvel drones to fight and display. From what I understand, the Soldiers were originally an unused ToyBiz design, and since Hasbro has use of all previous figure molds, they’ve brought it into fruition – though allow me to conjecture that the gun holster on the goons’ belts once actually held the gun that they came with, but was sculpted closed by Hasbro to save a few fabrication bucks. I don’t know this for a fact, but ToyBiz woulda given me a place to stick the arsenal. Especially since it’s almost the exact same size and shape as the gun. To date, I’ve found and purchased five goons.

As usual, the big ol’ Brood figure (also an older, unrealized idea) has all of the attention to detail and high quality plastics that’s so random in the rest of the wave. I always love the larger, frightening figures, and the process of assembling them – Blob notwithstanding.

So, consider this a very mixed review, combined with the fact that I’m still excited to see the fourth wave of these – as well as the mysterious Hulk figure line, and whatever Hasbro decides to do with the Iron Man movie. They’re secretive and sneaky that way. Check out a full photo gallery of these in our Community Section!

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For a second time, I was called upon for my curatorial expertise in filling the display case in the childrens’ section of the library. The basic instructions? Bring in something you have a lot of, preferably relating to books. And, oh yeah, fill four shelves with it.

Immediately, my mind spun into the possibilities… collections of robots or dragons, Star Wars or Trek, Batman… what DON’T I collect? I settled on my Marvel character collection, exclusively in Marvel Legends form (with one Marvel Select, but who’s counting?). I’ve lamented and rhapsodized over these figures before, their shaky transition between the hands of ToyBiz and Hasbro, excitement over future figures and disappointment in how the final produced figures might have looked, but I figured that I could absolutely fill four shelves with them… and I had to make it good. I was going to set it up this time.

There was a time when I was unconcerned with what character fit onto which team, as long as they all looked neat together. Having a Dr. Octopus right next to a Hulk didn’t create any cognitive dissonance, but as I became more familiar with the literary history and exploits of the characters, these concerns emerged. Sure, I’ve always kept my Marvel stuff and my DC stuff in very different areas of the room, lest we be stuck in some kind of poorly-written Marvel / DC crossover (because really, they all sucked bigtime), or even worse, another Amalgam universe. Or, holy jeez, another ‘Stan Lee re-writes the DC Universe‘ train wreck and the survivor’s guilt that we all felt. So Marvel was going to take a trip to the library, and DC was staying home this time, perhaps for a later display.

[An array of Avengers, including Thor, Giant Man, Wasp, Spider-Woman, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Quicksilver, Captain America, She-Hulk, Luke Cage, Hawkeye, Vision and Scarlet Witch]

I settled on dividing the display shelves into four main areas : the X-Men, the Avengers, some Bad Guys and the Fantastic Four & Miscellaneous other heroic folk. The library’s director had made a comment that the orcs from my previous Lord of the Rings display might alarm children, so I decided to keep the bad guys on the top shelf, out of the eyeline of smaller children. I was also told that my Scarface-with-ape-head shirt might scare kids, and to stop dropkicking the more obnoxious runts into the stream. I’m not allowed to do anything, man.

Ultimately, though, any display including a 16” Galactus would be an automatic winner. He’s my piece de resistance. Which is French for ‘awesome space-conqueror’.

[Thanos, Green Goblin, Loki, MODOK, Galactus, Dr. Doom, Mojo, Blob, Magneto]

I’ve never really has such a nice space to display these guys in, since I’m usually relegated to Wal-Mart-purchased do-it-yourself shelving in a very dusty area of the house. I made an effort to determine the most widely recognized and traditional costumes for these characters, since many Marvel figures have movie versions, Ultimate versions, ‘New’ versions, First Appearance versions, and even ‘that one time in 1992 when Rob Liefeld got ahold of us and we still have nightmares about’ versions.

The thing about the childrens’ floor is that it’s a sweltering little division of Hell itself. Not so much in theme or content or even amicability, just in temperature. For some reason, out cooling units have perennial problems, and the upstairs floor is nigh unbearable. Since plastic is such a pliable, resilient and ultimately malleable material, even slight fluctuations in temperature will cause knees to expand and buckle, toppling figures from wherever they might be standing. I know it’s summer not by the crickets or leaves on the trees or my thoughts turning to romance, but by being woken up at 4 AM by Martian Manhunter clattering to the floor and taking Flash and Mr. Terrific with him. These things don’t happen in the winter, leading me to conclude that either our ghosts hibernate, or it’s a product of atmospheric heating.

The display figures take the occasional faceplant. It was at least two days before I got back into the display case and thwarted Dr. Doom’s obvious attempt to project himself through the restraining glass. More often than not, though, the Marvel display is met with delighted inquiries and enthusiasm, and I bashfully admit to ownership of the items contained therein. I’ve met a woman who used to illustrate for Marvel Comics right in my own hometown, and when someone asked “Top shelf, far left?”, I could tell them, “Why, that’s Ultron! Enemy of the Avengers!” I very quietly added ‘please kill me’, but no one heeded my pleas.

I’ve found so much more pleasure in interacting ABOUT the collection than owning it, and just keeping it in Tupperware drawers until I find the next opportunity to display it. In addition to continually inspiring me, the odd guilt I have about collecting (and not, you know, saving the world) is being alleviated by being able to share the fun and joy that I get from looking at these things with the strange denizens of my tiny mountain valley town.

New York Comic Con has begun today, but before any of that can be processed and photoshopped, organized, recovered from and foot-blisters gently soothed, there’s still a good handful of Toy Fair to get through, so expect NYCC coverage this Wednesday. If we manage to get in the doors, and if we aren’t ushered out by fire marshals, and if Peter David doesn’t start eating people at his booth. Which really isn’t that much hyperbole.

Mezco Toys has stood out in my mind for the past several years due to their completely flawless handling of the Hellboy figure lines, from movie figures and into the Mike Mignola designed comic book figures. Somehow, Mezco Toys (one of the smaller action figure companies) had managed to merge form and articulation in a perfect mix beyond what and major company was doing, and still went severely underappreciated. They are a collector company, staffed by incredibly talented fans and toy enthusiasts.

Check out the full Mezco gallery here.

Unfortunately, there are no future Hellboy products planned at this time except for the comic line’s Abe Sapien, which is a beautiful thing. Alas, it will be a San Diego Comic Con exclusive item, because (and say it with me), “Dammit, SDCC gets all the cool stuff!” We were told that it would likely also be available through Club Mez, Mezco’s online collectors club, which I’m still trying to justify shelling out 40 dollars for. Action figures for the next Hellboy movie have not been determined yet, and figures based on the animated movies are not being handled by Mezco. Though they should be. I’d trust them with pretty much anything.

They will continue with their popular South Park and Family Guy figure lines, which have thrived for a few years now. Bringing cartoon characters into three dimensions has always been a challenge for toy companies, and both the successes and failures could be seen throughout Playmates’ hold on the exhaustive Simpsons license a few years back. Mezco’s holding strong with unmistakable renditions of both core and auxiliary characters from both shows, with an Eric Cartman variation planned for every South Park wave. Admittedly, it’s a visually unappealing show that revels in its 2-D-ness, but the figures remain popular. Some excellent fan-favorite cameos of Family Guy’s Peter Griffin as Bionic Peter, Lando Griffin and Astronaut Peter are also planned, most of which appeared onscreen for about ten seconds total. Also included will be the creepy Performance Artist, Chris on a treadmill, Quagmire in a robe, the Black Knight, Bonnie Swanson and Diane Simmons. Creepy old man Herbert was released as a Club Mez exclusive this past year, to much acclaim (and griping that he wasn’t released to the general public). Mezco is also planning a box set of miniature figures in a Drunken Clam pub playset environment. They continue to bring animated characters to life with their upcoming Underdog line of figures, which has nothing at all to do with the regrettable live-action movie of the same name. Pure classic animation here, which will hopefully sell better than the failed Pink Panther line made by Palisades Toys before they folded.

What we also saw, but could not photograph, was a line of Goonies action figures, done up in realistic style, and featuring an enormous Sloth, and amazing renditions of Mikey, Mouth, Chunk and Data. Needless to say, we were giddy. More news and images will surely be forthcoming.

Mezco also dips liberally into the ‘horror’ end of things, being responsible for the popular Living Dead Dolls, the next series of which will feature the theme of ‘bad luck’. Collect all five and you’ll be able to assemble a creepy little charm! Also, that Texas Chainsaw Massacre babydoll thing is probably the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. Maybe not so much the idea that a small child could obtain a My Size working chainsaw and go on a killing spree, but that they’d have the concentration to be able to sew a mask out of their victims’ skin. In addition to that horrible fare, Mezco presented the usual array of 7” action figures of horror classics, including a tuxed-up Freddy Kreuger and various Texas Chainsaw Massacre figures. Add to that an array of mini-dioramas of horror movie scenes, horror character dolls, more 7” zombies (including a bowling woman and a guy who looks like a preacher, both covered in blood and brains), and you have Mezco.

NECA carries things in a very similar vein and quality, also addressing cult properties in both horror and fun varieties. The first thing that caught my eye was the display of Nightmare Before Christmas figures, which will be entering their 6th and 7th waves of four figures each. At this point in the evolution of the line, they’ll be revisiting Oogie Boogie (previously only available in a box set), Jack Skellington (this time, with his desk), and a third Sally (with cauldron), with the addition of a 2-pack exclusive Sally in Santa suit. Fans of the line will also note the Creature from Under the Stairs (which had three seconds on screen, literally), the Melting Man, and the Corpse Boy & his mother. As usual, these figures will be packed with great accessories. It won’t be too long before we see every single character brought to figural form. Can we see a deluxe Hanging Tree, guys?

The rest of the NECA gallery is here.

NECA has also just released the first four figures from the movie 300, again with the same tremendous attention to detail that they’ve shown the Pirates of the Caribbean line. While no future 300 figures were shown (and the possibilities for figures seem large, especially with army building characters), a few Pirates prototypes were shown, including a 2-up of Slo Feng from the upcoming third movie. Continuing with their movie properties, they’ll also be producing figures from the upcoming ‘Grindhouse‘ films, which got the following reaction from me :

“Holy crap, does that chick and a … gun…. for a … leg?”

Yes, she does. And as far as the action figure goes, you can switch it out with her actual leg, which also comes with the figure. Which is a fairly powerful testament as to why I love action figures. As if I needed more convincing, there’s a Quentin Tarantino figure with an alternate head, featuring a gouged-out eyeball. Which I’ve wanted to do to him at least twice in my life, but now I don’t have to, because the action figure sates my bloodlust. This alone is enough to pique my interest in the clearly gory, pseudo-explotation film that this promises to be. And because it’s a natural progression, they’ll also be doing Harry Potter figures. None of them, unfortunately, will have their limbs replaced with deadly weapons, but at least the prototypes looked pretty scary accurate.

Finally, NECA continues to explore ‘classic’ items, such as David Bowie’s Goblin King character from Labyrinth, which is sure to be a ridiculous hit with the ladies, and should be followed up by a handful of Brian Froud-inspired goblins. The Player Select line will also continue to explore popular video game characters, such as God of War’s Kratos, and the ever-popular Lara Croft, all in the popular 7” scale. And all, of course, absolutely beautiful.

These are two companies who have taken figural quality to new levels and kept it there, creating interesting, accurate toys that appeal to collectors of both toys and movie memorabilia, spanning genres and audiences alike. So watch out for ‘em.

Among the nigh-endless parade of well-crafted collectibles that DC Direct have been gracing me with recently (for a moderate retail fee), I feel that their line of Infinite Crisis action figures, released this past week, just can’t go without a mention. Sure, I could rhapsodize over the 13” Batman figure with the real cloth attire and an assortment of batarangs, or their collection of mini Who’s Who Dioramas, or even the Alex Ross Justice line of figures with their startlingly realistic faces and excellent character range, but I’ll stick with the Infinite Crisis figures. Sometimes, there’s just too much collectible radness to address in a twice-weekly post.

This set of five figures focuses around some of the major characters of the universe-shattering Infinite Crisis storyline. They retail, as most of DC Direct’s figure lines, for about ten to fifteen dollars each, and are available only at comic shops or online, since they have limited production runs and limited mass-appeal. This separation from large retail chains allows them to produce more obscure (but fan favorite) characters and a much larger variety of characters, putting out at least a wave of five new figures every month, all of them very specific to certain artists and certain storylines. So, instead of five thousand nearly identical Superman Returns and Batman Begins figures clogging up the toystore aisles, we get high quality figures like Blue Beetle and Phantom Lady and Animal Man – things that your average toy shoppin’ kid wouldn’t really be that interested in. We get 15 versions of Batman too, but instead of Party Time Sleepover Batman and Rainbow Strike Force Night Vision Onion Blossom Batman, we get Batmen that have actually appeared in the comics. Ones that make sense. Ones that don’t make me want to tear my kidneys out in a disappointed rage. Ones without the dreaded ACTION FEATURE.

The star of the Infinite Crisis line of figures is certainly Power Girl, and there are two reasons for that. Those reasons are pretty much exposed by her charmingly ridiculous costume, but there’s a third reason also. This is only the second time that we’ve been given a Power Girl figure, and the first time was in the early days of DC Direct before production values were fully realized. She’s a pretty prominent character and an important part of the Justice Society of America, so she’ll be fast to sell out if you don’t grab one now. She’s detailed down to the zippers on her boots, and her presence on your shelf will probably cause women to respect you less. Like most DC Direct figures, she has a limited 11 points of articulation, but it’s enough to strike a few fancy action poses, as aided by the ‘Infinite Crisis’ base unique to this line. These have a small hole in them, the figures have a small hole in their feet, and somewhere in the package, there’s a small peg to join the two. It doesn’t always work and the tiny pegs get lost, but it allows for the most versatility in displaying the set.

If Power Girl is the star, then the enormous Mongul figure is a close second. It’s the largest figure that DC Direct has ever produced in their 1/12 scale line, usually just reducing enormous characters to a more manageable scale when and if they get made. This particular figure stands at over 9 inches tall, a huge difference over the usual 6-inch figure. Scale is a big deal to collectors, you know. You can’t very well have a Spider-Man battling a Flash that’s effectively 4 feet tall. All of the alternate-universe crossover theorems in the world can’t manage to make THAT less ridiculous. It’s all about the synergy. Mongul is tall enough to grasp a hero in his mighty fist and crush them above his head. For all of the vast canvas that is his body, he’s not really all that detailed, but man, is that guy big.

I’ve also mentioned that I’m a fan of Lex Luthor figures, and here we have a young Lex who is extremely notable for one reason alone : he comes with an alternate mullet accessory. Why every figure in the history of figures doesn’t come with an alternate mullet, I don’t know. It seems like the logical addendum to any figure. You know, a ray gun, a jacket, a grappling hook, and an incredibly unfashionable hairstyle. Perhaps it speaks more to his evil nature than all of the planet-crushing antics that he can muster. Being shiny and gold also strikes me as suitably nefarious.

Also in this line is another Superboy figure in a fancy battle-suit and an awesome translucent blue OMAC figure which can alternate between stabby and human hands – something that I aspire to myself, actually. Stabby hands would be really, really… handy. As if blue translucence didn’t immediately key you in to the awesomeness, he’s also got a little flight base, so he can be displayed hovering above the ground. Give me ten of these and we’ll have a real battle goin’ on. Give me about 40,000 and I could re-enact the whole comic. Those guys are bad news.

Even those collectors usually critical of DC Direct’s releases are praising this set, and the story’s not a bad read either. Keep an eye out for the second set in this series, including the classic Superman / Wonder Woman / Batman combo, as well as a Firestorm and a Wonder Girl.