Monthly Archives: December 2013

Dec 7 2013

Doctor Who: Sound FX Special Weapons Dalek by Character Options

I’m wrapping up the week with a Dalek Double Feature. Yesterday we looked at the Black Dalek Variant from the 3 ¾” line. Today we’re checking out this unique fella from CO’s 5-inch line. Yes, the Special Weapons Dalek! It turned up once in the 7th Doctor story “Remembrance of the Daleks” without any explanation or backstory. All we knew from that appearance is that this badass pepperpot is capable of destroying a squad of Daleks with one shot. He had a cameo appearance in the more recent 11th Doctor story “Asylum of the Daleks,” but you had to be pretty quick with the pause button to even see him. I like to think of this guy as the Boba Fett of the Doctor Who universe. People love him because he’s a mystery and looks cool, and similar to Boba Fett, details about the SWD have been fleshed out in “expanded universe” content of questionable canonicity. Sometimes known among the Daleks as “The Abomination,” he’s a Dalek that sports a weapon so powerful that his brain cannot be adequately shielded against its radioactive recoil. In short, every time he fires his weapon his brain gets dosed with rads and he gets angrier and crazier. It’s no surprise the Daleks only roll this guy out when the shit really hits the fan. It’s also no surprise that he wound up in the Dalek Asylum.

dwswd1

The SWD figure was originally released in the “Remembrance of the Daleks” Collectors Set, which was never brought over to the US. As a result, this guy has been crazy expensive and hard to get for us Yanks. It’s been a sticking point for me for quite some time, but CO has finally made things right by releasing him as part of this electronic Sound FX Daleks. He comes on a small card with a bubble large enough to contain his Dalek supremacy. The deco uses the current series branding, including the “DWARTIS” logo. It’s also a little misleading because it  exclaims “SPEECH & SOUND FX” and “EX-TER-MIN-AAATE!!!” but in very tiny words it points out that the SWD doesn’t actually say anything. I’ll come back to that in a few ticks when we talk about the electronics.

dwswd2

The back of the card shows the other SFX Daleks in the wave. I’m really tempted to buy some more of these, but they are rather expensive, so I’m trying to control myself. There’s also a ridiculous amount of warnings and information printed on the back of the card. You’d almost think you were buying a real Dalek.

dwswd3

dwswd4

There’s no doubt that the SWD features a unique design. I used to refer to him as the WWI Dalek because he looks like a cross between a bunker and an early 20th century war machine. While the skirt is standard Dalek through and through, the top half is what departs from traditional Dalek design and makes him so distinctive. There’s no eye stalk, just a shallow dome with a deep set ring that looks like it has what might be viewports all around it. There are no shoulder slats or mesh, instead his middle section is just smooth. And the biggest change is the giant cannon that replaces the usual plunger and gun arms. This appears to be the exact same sculpt as the original UK release of the figure and I’ve got no complaints. Articulation includes 360-degree rotation in the mid-section and his cannon angles up and down. He also sports the same style of wheels under his skirt that we’ve seen on all of CO’s Daleks.

dwswd5

While the sculpt here is fantastic, the paintwork was a sticking point on the original release of this figure. Many collectors complained that it was rather heavy handed, particularly the grease around the roundels. When the SFX version was announced I was hoping that it would receive a better paint job. Alas, this guy features the same caliber of paintwork. I think the antiqued brass or coppery parts look good, but the brushwork around the sensor domes is still pretty half-assed. It’s supposed to look like grease leaking from the domes, but instead it looks like just what it is, ham-fisted dry brushing.  It looks passable from a distance, but the more I scrutinize it, the more it falls apart. That having been said, it doesn’t ruin the figure for me at all. This guy is supposed to look old, decrepit, and ugly and he does. Besides, I’ve waited too long to add this guy to my collection so I’m willing to be rather forgiving.

dwswd6

Obviously the big difference between this one and the original release is the added electronics. He has an On-Off switch under his skirt as well as a battery compartment. The SFX are activated by pressing a well concealed button comprised of one of the sensor domes on his left side. As already noted, the SWD doesn’t speak and I suppose that’s understandable since he never spoke in the episode, but I was still hoping that CO might have thrown in an “EXTERMINATE!” Maybe he’s not supposed to be capable of speaking. Anywho, if you press the button once it will activate a firing sound and if you double-tap it you will get both the firing sound and an explosion.

dwswd8

dwswd7

Paint notwithstanding, I really dig this figure and while there are still more than a few variant Daleks for me to collect, this guy is the one most conspicuously absent from my shelves. Unfortunately, the SFX Daleks run at a rather pricey $27-30 a pop at most e-tailers. That’s not a bad price for this guy, since it’s a lot cheaper than hunting down the original non-electronic release. However, considering the other SFX Daleks are basically just a lot of the same figures we’ve seen before with added electronics, I haven’t been eager to hunt them all down.

Dec 6 2013

Doctor Who: Variant Black Dalek (3 ¾” Scale) by Character Options

Today we’re going to take a gander at another one of CO’s variant Doctor Who figures! I’ve had a killer day at work and I just want to ease myself into a warm alcohol-soft stuper so I’m picking something I can get through pretty quickly. I’m going with the Black Dalek because he’s a repaint of a figure that I’ve already looked at. I’m tempted to call this guy Dalek Sec, but I think he’s just supposed to be a Black Dalek because, much like bowties, Black Daleks are cool. I haven’t decided where he’ll fit into my ranks, but right now I’m waffling between “Stealth Dalek,” “Dalek Commander” or “Black Hole Dalek.”

dw334vdalek1

The package is the same we’ve seen in this line before with a generic card and an insert that simply reads, “Dalek.” Just like the regular Dalek release, he doesn’t come with a figure stand because he clearly doesn’t need one. The back of the card has the newer “Time Zone” playsets pictured.

dw334vdalek5

dw334vdalek6

The variant Cyberman had some new sculpting, but the Dalek here is just a straight repaint. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, because the Daleks are easily the high point of this entire 3 ¾” line. That’s not meant to be a back-handed compliment either. While the bulk of this line has ranged from fairly decent to downright poor, the Daleks are excellent figures with great sculpts. They are, for all intents and purposes, shrunk down versions of CO’s 5-inch scale figures. The regular Daleks came with two different eye stalk lengths, but of the five of those I own, only one has the shorter one and this Black Dalek follows suit with the longer stalk.

dw334vdalek7

dw334vdalek4

The paintwork here is absolutely fantastic. This guy has a beautiful high-gloss black for his upper half and sensor globes and a matte finish for his skirt and the screening under his dome. Toss in silver paint for the sucker arm, gun, and eye stalk, and clear plastic eye lights, and you have one beautiful looking pepper pot of hate. The articulation remains the same. The dome will swivel, the eye stalk can move up and down, and the arm and gun are each ball jointed. The Dalek rolls along beautifully on three wheels concealed up under his skirt.

dw334vdalek3

dw334vdalek2

I told you today would be quick, but the truth is there’s not a lot to say about this guy other than he’s a gorgeous repaint of a great sculpt. These Daleks seem way too good to be part of this line and I’ve been picking up the regular ones every time I come across them at a good price. For now I’m content with just owning one of the Black Dalek, but if they’re still around after all this Christmas madness subsides, I may pick up another two and make a “Black Hole Dalek” Squad.

Dec 5 2013

Transformers Armada: Demolisher with Blackout by Hasbro

Alrighty folks, Transformers Thursday is back in business. Sorry about last week, but taking Thanksgiving off was necessary for my sanity. Today I pulled a random figure from one of the many Transformers drawers and low and behold it is Demolisher from Transformers Armada. Ah, the Armada days. I took to this line like crack, and it was not uncommon for me to make midnight runs to three different Walmarts just to hunt down a pointless Powerlinx repaint of a figure that I already owned. I was in pretty deep. As a result, let’s check out both versions of Deluxe Class Demolisher. There’s no packaging to look at, so let’s just skip to the alt mode.

tfademol2

tfademol3

Demolisher’s vehicle mode is some kind of crazy mobile-missile-launcher-tank-thingy. As a rule, Armada tended to be fairly grounded in many of its alt modes, but Demolisher is an example of the designers letting their freak flags fly and I like it. I think a lot of my love for this toy has to do with it just being an unabashed war machine. Also, I won’t deny that the giant Decepticon emblem molded into the front tickles my fancy. While Robots in Disguise fiddled about with Predacons (and a few proper Decepticons), Armada brought the Decepticons back in full force and it was good to see this emblem on all the bad guys again. I really loved the way the Armada toys had the emblems included as part of the sculpt, rather than just paint apps or tampos. It may seem like an odd detail to fixate on, but then I’m a pretty odd guy. The mold here is crazy with sculpted detail, particularly on the tread covers. Hasbro did not skimp on the details here, nor were they frugal with the paint apps. I can’t even imagine a Deluxe Transformer nowadays having this much color. There’s even a paint wash over certain parts to further enhance the sculpting. This toy is just loaded with reasons why I still love Armada so much.

tfademol1

tfademol9

tfademol13

Of course, it’s hard to not love Armada when you get a little Transformer with each figure. In this case, Demolisher came with Blackout. He’s a little military truck with a simple and clean looking robot mode, but sadly not much of a face. He also has guns for hands, which if you’re a Decepticon, probably comes in handy. HA! I said it comes in HANDY! Obviously Blackout skipped the face line and got on the gun-arm line twice. Probably a good choice. Anyway, in terms of Minicon design, you can’t get much better than Blackout. He’s just a fun and solid little guy.

tfademol4

tfademol6

tfademol7

tfademol8

Before we get to Demolisher’s robot mode, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s some pretty good play value packed into this Demolisher’s alt mode. His turret swivels, he can fire off two of his four missiles via the Minicon port, he can angle his top guns into various positions including to cover his own back. There’s also two ways Blackout can interact with him. In his truck mode, Blackout will plug right into the front to give Demolisher some chin guns and there’s a button on the back to eject him. There’s also a fold out seat in the back, which Blackout can use in robot mode. I love this last part because having the little bot operate the bigger bot in vehicle mode is so very Headmastery in concept. Headmastery. It’s a word. Look it up. Actually, it isn’t… so don’t.

tfademol15

tfademol16

tfademol18

Demolisher’s transformation is pretty simple, but still features some clever engineering, and man do I love his robot mode. He looks like the love child of a Transformer and a MechWarrior robot. The missiles coming up off the top of his shoulders look suitably imposing and the five gun barrels from his alt mode make up each of his hands. Let me rephrase that… HOLY SHIT, DEMOLISHER HAS GUNS FOR FINGERS!!! If that’s not cool enough for you, you can mis-transform his arms so that he still has his guns and missile launchers while in robot mode. It really plays off on the whole Mechwarrior vibe and I love it. This is a Decepticon that I would want alongside me in a fight. He’s just a lumbering machine of death.

tfademol17

The only gripe I’ve ever had with Demolisher is his head sculpt. Armada had some really questionable head sculpts, and Demolisher’s gritting teeth, black face and giant green left eye have always left me a little wanting. I can’t deny he has a lot of personality, but the portrait lacks the detail of the rest of the toy. That having been said, it’s kind of grown on me over the years.

tfademol5

tfademol10

tfademol20

Of course, many of the Armada figures were repainted into Powerlinx versions. I’m usually fine with repaints when they are used to make a new character, but repainting a figure to replace an existing figure as the same character doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Of course, that didn’t stop me from buying all the Powerlinx figures. In this case, Powerlinx Demolisher is a rather unnecessary repaint because I don’t think the recolor does him much justice. It’s not better, just different. The gold plating on the front looks good, and I don’t mind the maroon plastic replacing the tan, but the white camo-motif is pretty weird. I just don’t get what they were going for here. A much better repaint was released later on in the G1 Constructicon colors. It’s a beautiful figure, but one that I sadly lost in a flood about five years back. I don’t mean it was swept away by flood tides. I mean the storage flooded and the boxes were saturated with mold and had to be destroyed. As much as I wanted to save the toys in them, I wasn’t willing to risk getting tuberculosis in the attempt.  I’ll have to replace him eventually.

tfademol19

Demolisher is about as fun a Transformer figure as I can think of. He’s chunky and packed with sculpted detail and play features. The engineering may have gotten more sophisticated over the years, but if I were a kid I’d much rather play with this guy than most of the Deluxe figures we’ve had in the last couple of years. There are plenty of figures from the Armada days that haven’t aged all that well, but I certainly don’t think that Demolisher here is one of them. In fact, I was quite surprised how much enjoyment I got out of pulling him out for this feature and playing around with him again. It made me want to put all my Deluxe Armada figures out on display again, and I even started eyeing some shelves to see if a display rotation was in order. Then again, if I do put my Armada Deluxes out it means I’d have to see this guy again. Maybe it’s not worth it.

Dec 4 2013

Star Trek Enterprise: Nausicaan Captain by Art Asylum

[Just a quick note, folks. Due to a scheduling snafu, today’s feature turned up briefly on Monday before I woke up saw it had posted, spit coffee all over my cat, and quickly took it down. If you happened by and read it before I took it down then I’m afraid there’s nothing new for you today. Although, I have since did some proof editing and added a couple new pictures, so you can consider this the Special Edition complete with blinking Ewoks and Greedo shooting first.]

As promised a week ago, I’m back with more Enterprise goodness recovered from the dark reaches of the Toy Crawlspace. This time we’re mixing it up by taking a look at one of the aliens in the line. I happened to find the Nausicaan Captain in one of those totes so I’m going to open him up and check him out. I seem to recall not caring a lot about this figure back when I was collecting these guys and I’m pretty sure I got him along with some others. Either way, I don’t seem to have been interested in him enough to bother opening him and he eventually found his way up into the dreaded Crawlspace.

stenaus1

The packaging is similar to what we saw with Malcolm Reed. It’s a massive bubble set on an equally beefy card.  You get a panel lined deco on the inserts to replicate the ship’s hull; only this time it’s colored brown instead of grey to distinguish it as part of this “Away Team” series. I was never big on them using that term in conjunction with Enterprise. It was adopted during The Next Generation and never used in Classic Trek so it feels rather out of place in a show that was supposed to pre-date both. I should point out, I also was never fond of the writers using aliens that were introduced in Next Gen. It always seemed to me like those should have been races we first encountered after expanding beyond the territorial confines of the Classic Trek era. I’m sure there have been ret-conned explanations, so whatever. Despite all my issues with the series, I still tend to enjoy Enterprise a lot. Let’s bust open the Nausicaan and see what he’s all about.

stenaus3

stenaus4

I gotta be honest, I do not remember the episode with the Nausicaans, so I’m not judging this figure based on its screen accuracy. That having been said he really is a spectacular design and sculpt. His outfit has a somewhat primitive vibe that looks like it would have been at home in the Classic series. The tunic is rubbery plastic and layered onto the figure’s buck and features a very nice sculpted, texture. This is precisely the kind of detail that makes me love AA’s work so much. The outfit isn’t flashy or even all that interesting, but the design is elevated by AA’s craftsmanship and attention to detail. In other words: This Nausicaan was made with love.

stenaus5

The Nausicaan design went through some changes over the years and I wasn’t a big fan of this race’s revised look. These guys were a lot scarier and more alien looking early on and later became more humanoid and more in line with the generic Trek “alien of the week” formula. Regardless, the head sculpt is still a superb piece of work. The ridges and creases in his face are all really sharp and well defined, as are the horns and tusks. You don’t tend to see a portrait sculpted this well in mass market figures these days, proving that the inmates at the Art Asylum certainly were pros. The only nitpick I have here is the gloss paint used on the hair. I think it should have been matte. Another nice touch are the bone ridges in his knuckles. You do not want to get punched by one of these guys.

stenaus6

stenaus2

While the sculpting represents AA’s usual peerless efforts, the Nausicaan Captain got cheated in a few other areas. The Enterprise line didn’t usually skimp on the accessories, but all this guy comes with is his Plasma Pistol. He also got shorted on articulation. The arms feature ball joints in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the wrists. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, hinged at the knees, and there are swivels hidden under the soft rubber of his boots. He can also swivel at the waist and his neck is ball jointed. He’s certainly poseable, but the standard swivels in the biceps and thighs are conspicuously missing.

nauss1

Yeah, so I wasn’t really chomping at the bit to own a Nausicaan in this series. I don’t think they really belonged in Enterprise, I’m pretty sure they only appeared once, and I can’t even remember their episode off the top of my head. Nonetheless, as is often the case with Art Asylum’s work, this execution here overpowers the lacklustre subject matter. Sure the articulation could have been better, but this is still a great looking figure and a nice addition to my Enterprise shelf. Besides, there were only a handful of alien figures released in this line, so I guess beggers can’t be choosers. If you enjoy the Nausicaans feel free to check out the Playmates version of him, which I featured about a year ago HERE and holy crap, I seem to have been pretty ripped when I wrote that!

Dec 3 2013

Star Wars: A-Wing Starfighter (#42003) by Lego

Yup, it’s more Lego!  When I went out yesterday morning for provisions at Wally World I was hoping to pick up one of the Lego City Coast Guard sets. Unfortunately, the Wally World here sucks and they had none. There once was a time when I could fall back on their decent Lego selection to make up for their horrid selection of action figures, but now it seems as if the entropy is spreading and their Lego aisle has been compromised. Part of the problem is that they cannibalized half a Lego aisle for model kits and paint. Really? Anyway, they did have Jabba’s Sail Barge and it was mighty tempting, but I can get it about $10 cheaper online and I really have way too many Sideshow Flex Pays hitting this month to be spending a hunny on a Lego set. So I went cheaper and got me this A-Wing to compliment the X-Wing I built last week.

lawing1

lawing2

Ah, the new deco! Gone is Darth Maul, the Poochie of the Star Wars Universe, and in his place is Yoda. Alas, it’s prequel Yoda and not cool and wise Original Trilogy Yoda. That makes it kind of an unfortunate even trade off. Why do I care? I’m not keeping the box.

lawing3

Inside the box you get three numbered baggies containing 177 bricks, an instruction booklet, and a rather sizeable sticker sheet for such a small set. When all is said and done you get to build the A-Wing and three Minifigs. Minifigs? MINIFIGS??? Let’s check out the Minifigs!

lawing13

Oh, Lego you had me at Ackbar. Seriously, Admiral Ackbar feels like an odd inclusion to this set, but he’s a big reason why I chose this one over a few other $25 selections. I like to think he’s included here because Lego secretly knows that at some point in Return of the Jedi Ackbar simply jumps into an A-Wing and flies off to blow up the goddamn Death Star himself. It’s a behind the scenes kind of thing. Anyway, if you don’t love Ackbar, you’re a fool. And if you don’t love Minifig Ackbar, than I don’t know why you bother even getting up in the morning, becauses all the joy has left your soul. The head sculpt is fantastic and I’d say that as far as Minifigs go, this one is a perfect ten. I just wish they gave him his trademark baton.

lawing5

Speaking of odd inclusions… why the hell is Han Solo in here? At least Ackbar is a Fleet Admiral. Even if you don’t buy into the whole “he blew up the Death Star in an A-Wing” theory, then maybe he just came down to the flight deck to warn the A-Wing pilot about a trap? But Han Solo appearing in the set makes little sense to me. I’m not complaining though, as I have a pretty paltry collection of Star Wars Minifigs, so getting a staple character like Han is a nice pick-up. He comes with a blaster.

lawing4

Last up, you get the A-Wing pilot, which is a no-brainer. This guy is really cool and features a very detailed green flight suit and a bitchin helmet. He has two printed faces and he comes with a wrench.

lawing7

lawing8

The build doesn’t feature a lot of surprises and I’m pretty pleased with the final model. The rear fins are a tad thick, but it’s Lego, so you have to accept some liberties with the aesthetics. The only other way to do them would have been to use specialty pieces molded in the shape of the fins, and I’m not a big fan of that in my Lego sets. The engines look particularly nice with the green translucent bits and the rings at the ends. The stickers are also well executed and do a nice job of enhancing the look of the piece.

lawing11

lawing12

The play features are pretty simple on this ship. You get a retractable landing gear and an opening cockpit. There are also flick-fire proton torpedoes on the sides. The laser guns were supposed to have black pieces at the end, but I was one short, so I had to use grey. I still think it looks alright, but that’s twice in one month where I’ve had color mix-ups in my sets. I hope you’re not slipping on the QC, Lego! Honestly, the other other black piece might have fallen on the floor and been eaten by the cat. Who can tell? One cool surprise was the way the back of the cockpit lifts out to give access to the reactor. I know it’s depicted on the back of the box, but I try not to look at that to avoid spoilers while building. Wow, that A-Wing pilot is pretty good if he can fix that starfighter reactor with just a giant wrench.

lawing9

lawing10

So, a cool ship and three solid Minifigs make this set a nice score for $25. If you’re looking for a quick Lego fix, this one should tune you right up. It didn’t take all that long to build, but it was fun and it’s hard to argue with the end result. The A-Wing seems to scale pretty well with the X-Wing I just built, and I’m really enjoying assembling an assortment of ships for my Rebel hanger. I think my next Star Wars ship will be the Z-95 Headhunter. I have fond memories of that one from the old X-Wing and Tie Fighter PC Games and I like the idea of going the Lego route to get ships that never got the proper Hasbro toy treatment.

Dec 2 2013

DC Universe Signature Collection: Ra’s Al Ghul by Mattel

Here we go! It’s the penultimate release in Matty’s nearly dead Club Infinite Earths line. Last month I was pretty smitten with Ocean Master: Great character selection and a rather well done figure. I wish I could say the same about this month’s figure. Ra’s does indeed represent a great character choice, but the figure leaves me rather cold for a number of reasons and I’m willing to bet I’m not alone on that!

dcuras1

There it is the Signature Collection box. We’re only going to see this one more time, folks. Well, maybe more if Mattel uses it for next year’s quarterly releases. I think these boxes have served us well. They offer a fairly compact and totally collector friendly experience and if I had the room I would have an entire shelf of these lined up with the character art on the side facing out. Of course, space being the valuable commodity that it is, I pitch the boxes. For a while, I was clipping the back panels and saving them as cards, but I don’t even do that anymore.

dcuras2

When it comes to DCUC and its satellite lines, I’ve been suffering from a bit of what I like to call “suit fatigue.” In reality, there haven’t been all that many figures released wearing suits, but when you’re talking about a line dealing with comic book characters, it seems like we got a disproportionate amount of them in the last two or three years. When I first saw Ra’s here in his green suit, I was immediately reminded of DCUC Wave 19 Sandman, but then Sandman had an older style double-breasted suit, whereas this one is more modern. And then it struck me… Ra’s uses a recolor of the exact same body as last year’s Black Mask. And so what we have here are two Batman villains released nearly a year apart, with the exact same bodies. Two figures that will inevitably be standing next to each other on my shelf. Man, that pisses me off!

dcscrasag2

dcuras4

I had every intention of flipping Ra’s on Ebay as soon as I got him. I’m sure he’s not going to be worth much, but I figured that if I could trade him for a bottle of Canadian Club, then at least I could get a cheap buzz out of the deal. Now, with that having been said, this figure looks much better in hand then in the pictures I’ve seen. I was compelled to open him up and check him out, and I have in fact decided to keep him. It’s not so much a question of the figure impressing me, but rather one of me not hating it enough to want to take the trouble of off-loading it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know!

dcuras3

The head sculpt isn’t one of the stronger ones in this line. Over the past two years, we’ve seen some exceptional portraits come out of the Signature Collection, but I won’t count this figure among them. In person I don’t find it as weak as I thought it looked in promo shots, but it’s just not a homerun either. There’s also a curious amount of mold flashing evident on mine. Did Mattel realize the line was kaput and just not care anymore? I don’t know, but let’s just label this portrait “about adequate” and move on.

dcuras6

As for the rest of the figure, I don’t have anything to say really. As far as suited bucks go, this one is not bad. The jacket is a tad bulky, but it’s a worthy trade off for having it layered onto the figure and giving it some depth and credibility. The tie is also sculpted as a separate piece, which is pretty cool. The cape looks Ok and is thankfully rather understated, but the chain that holds it in place is needlessly chunky, especially when compared to the character art. Still, as good as the figure looks, when he’s standing next to Black Mask you can clearly pick out all the same wrinkles and folds, and it’s rather annoying. Ra’s comes with a sword, or rather a ludicrously huge scimitar. Taken on its own, it’s not a bad accessory; however, it seems to me that a guy wearing a suit would have something a little more elegant and discrete. He looks kind of silly holding it. Seeing as this is a direct reuse of Black Mask’s body, I’m just going to assume you’ve read that feature and not bore you with the details of articulation.

dcuras5

dcuras7

dcscrasag1

It’s well known that I’m not the biggest Batman fan around, but even I have to wonder at the way Mattel seemed to non chalantly slip such an important character into the tail end of this line. He doesn’t feel like he was given any special love or care. It’s more like the guys were sitting around the office looking for parts to reuse and then just said, “Screw it, let’s just use Black Mask’s body and make Ra’s with it, so we can all get out of here and go over to Applebee’s for some sodium-enriched dinner specials and watered down drinks. The sad thing is that to me Black Mask is a far more effective figure, and I wasn’t exactly smitten with him either. In the end, Ra’s Al Ghul will stand in the back of my Batman display as a place holder until the pendulum swings back. At some point Mattel has to get all this Total Heroes bullshit out of their system and goes back to doing the DCUC style. I have to cling on to that hope.