Before jumping into today’s review, I have to sadly report that my shitty old Nikon has finally kicked off. And rather than use it as an opportunity to upgrade, I’m just replacing it with the same shitty old model because it’s comfortable and I’m an old man that doesn’t like change. It’ll be about a week until the replacement comes in, so I’m resorting to use my even shittier phone camera for a few reviews. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

While I really do enjoy collecting the DC Multiverse line, it really can be frustrating waiting for those sporadic releases of classic characters. Case in point, this line has been running for nearly five years and there are so many greats still begging to be done. I don’t begrudge Todd his Batman fetish and odd eclectic character choices, but I would like to tip the scales in favor of more traditional legacy releases without always hiding them behind the paywall of the more expensive Collector releases. Well, today I get to cross Darkseid off that list. This Megafig arrived at my door last week, and even with dozens of Multiverse figures waiting for their turn in the spotlight, I immediately bumped him to the head of the line.

As with all the DC Multiverse Megafigs, Darkseid comes in a satisfyingly huge window box, showing off the figure inside. The box is collector friendly, but be prepared to rip and tear the backing of the inside tray to get the collector card and stand off. And that’s fine with me. Even though I’d love to keep these figures boxed, I would run out of room fast even if I only kept the Megafig boxes. Darkseid comes boxed with his peepers charging his Omega Beams, but I’m going to start off by swapping in the regular head.

As a Megafig, Darkseid is obviously a big boi and I absolutely love the powerful and stocky proportions here. Granted, this Lord of Apokolips is not as big as the gigantic New 52 Darkseid that DC Collectibles put out over ten years ago, but he does tower over Mattel’s DC Universe Classics version. The suit is indeed very classic in its inspiration with the sleeveless blue tunic and shorts, bisected by a simple white belt, and matched perfectly with his thigh-high boots and gauntlets. The blue plastic chosen here is absolutely gorgeous and looks great beside the pale gray skin exposed on his upper arms and legs. The upper arms are borrowed from Mongul and yeah, that kind of works if I don’t think too hard about it. Darkseid’s skin should be more granite-like and these are rather veiny, but I can live with it. The ensemble is rounded out by what may seem a curious choice of silver chest medallion and a flowing blue cape, neither of which represent any mainstream comic appearances familiar to me, but rather references Jose Luis Garcia Lopez’s art from the vintage Kenner Super Powers figure. Even the belt is a nod to that design, and I freaking love it!

The regular head is extremely expressive, with his broad, disapprovingly downturned mouth and his heavily purturbed brow ridge. The ashen skin gives way to darkened blackness around his piercing red eyes and the chiseled lines in his face look great. I would have liked to see some ancient crevices in his face, rather than just smooth skin, but I still dig what we got here and I think it pairs well with the simpler Super Powers vibe the body has going on.

The alternate head has some permanent effect pieces around his eyes as he prepares to toast you with the awesome power of his dreaded Omega Beams. I really dig the way these translucent red pieces emanate from the depths of his eyes. Here you do get some wrinkles in his forehead, and he grits his teeth as the power builds. I often stick with displaying figures with the more neutral head choices, but here’s a case where I may go with this one. It just looks so cool!

The cape is made of a super soft and silky fabric and it does have wires running along all the edges to give it that added dynamic posability. My guess is that most collectors would have preferred him without the cape, but again I just dig that Super Powers nod so much. I think it adds a sense of regality to his overall appearance and the cape is extremely fun to mess with.

The articulation is pretty typical Megafig fare, meaning you only get single hinges in the elbows but you do get the doubles in the knees. There’s a ball joint hidden behind the belt and everything else follows the Multiverse system. The elbow range is limited because of the single hinge and muscle sculpt, but he can still pull off some nice poses. You get two pairs of hands for display and these include a set of fists, a left pointy finger hand and a right grasping hand.

If I’m being honest, I don’t usually pick up a lot of the Megafigs until they hit clearance, but this was a case where I had to drop that preorder. The figure looked amazing in the solicitation shots and he looks every bit as good now that he’s in hand. Even better, the turnaround on this one from preorder to shipping seemed super quick. Sure, I would have liked to see this one be 100% new sculpt, but the more I play around with him, the less the Mongul arms bother me. Maybe it’s just a bit of the principal of the matter. If a character with the gravitas of Darkseid doesn’t call for 100% new sculpt, than what does? But I’m not going to let that stop me from enjoying what is just an all around awesome figure. And with Darkseid on the shelf, I guess it’s time to open up his son, so I’ll get Kalibak in here for a review sooner rather than later!