Tag Archives: rebirth

Mar 22 2023

DC Multiverse (Rebirth): Lobo by McFarlane

As promised, the DC Multiverse reviews are going to be ramping up, as I have spent the last month or so plunging head first into this line and grabbing a bunch of figures on clearance. And it seemed like the perfect time to get into the line as Todd put up the very impressive looking 89-style Batmobile for pre-order just last week. But for now, I’m delving back into the Rebirth era with a look at everyone’s favorite cigar-chomping, genocidal asshole bounty hunter, Lobo.

Here he is in the package, and boy do I have a lot of these big and beefy Multiverse boxes stacking up around here. Storing all of these figures in their packages is sheer folly, as I will eventually fill up an entire bookcase, but for now that’s what I’m doing to make it easier to see what I’ve picked up so far. I like these boxes, even if they aren’t all that visually striking. The blue behind the tray looks nice, you get some artwork on the back panel, and while removing the figure itself is collector friendly, you have to rip the backer to get to the figure stand and trading card. For now I’m leaving those be. I never did pony up for any of the Mattel versions of Lobo, so I’m pretty excited to get this guy opened!

Generally speaking, I like the costume designs that came with Rebirth, and Lobo is no exception. Indeed, while I was largely fine with The New 52, its depiction of Lobo was a huge wrong turn, something which Rebirth set right again. Here, Lobo is quite a beast of a figure sporting a suitably chonky build and lots of great detail in the sculpt. He’s got a ribbed tank top worn under a leather jacket, with the sleeves absolutely shredded off of it, revealing some jacked up arms with some bulging veins. The texturing on both the shirt and jacket is superb, with some tears, and what look like bullet holes in the shirt. He’s got a studded belt with a skull belt buckle, and super tight blue jeans with sculpted pockets, tailoring and all the little wrinkles and rumples to make them look great. The lower leg armor has forged skulls protecting the knees and sharp spikes running down the sides. These grieves are sculpted all around the leg and with straps, but the backs and straps are just painted blue like the jeans. Yeah, these would have looked much better if they were painted all around. I mean, that steel paint on the fronts really is nice. Finally, he has a pair of fingerless gloves painted onto his hands, and some massive shit-kickers on his feet with steel plated toes for kicking that shit!

The head sculpt is solid, and different enough from Mattel’s versions to make comparison’s kind of tough. This one is a bit more stylized, with some exaggerated wrinkling in the forehead to make him look more like a proper alien, and even a bit evocative of a vampire. I love the way his red eyes are partially shrouded under that plunging brow line, and even his nose is wrinkled into a permanent snarl. His sculpted beard follows his jawline, jutting out with a prominent chin, and his teeth are on full display through his wicked grimace. The blue highlights to his wild hair is an interesting choice, at first I was a little iffy on them, but they’ve grown on me. All in all, this is great stuff!

The back of the jacket is a fun nod to the 1992 cover of Lobo’s Back with the “BITE ME FAN BOY” winged skull logo. This stuff is partially sculpted into the jacket as well, and it looks great. If this extra paint is why the paint on the backs of the leg armor didn’t cost out, than I’m totally fine with that. Once again, the texturing and detail on the jacket is superb, and those spikes on his epaulets are pretty sharp!

Despite being a powerhouse, Lobo’s articulation is pretty much in line with the DC Multiverse standards. Granted, because of his bulging muscles, those double-hinged elbows don’t get quite the range of motion as normal, but they can do a bit better than 90-degrees. Everything else is solid, with some especially wide stances up in them hips, double hinges in the knees, and a ball joint under that chest. All these joints feel super solid and are fun to play around with. I don’t know if it’s still the thrill of a new figure line, but I think these Multiverse figures feel fantastic in hand.

Lobo comes with one accessory and that’s his coiled chain blade. The chain is sculpted to be coiled around his wrist when he holds it, and it works OK, but the Mattel figure wins this round for having an actual chain attached to it, which would have been a lot more fun. Still, this looks pretty good in his hand, and the sculpted weathering on the hook is a nice touch.

McFarlane has to abide by Warner Bros’ no gun policy, but you can pick up one of the weapons packs to skirt that silly regulation and give Lobo some firepower. I only have the second weapon pack, and to be honest, most of the shooters are too small for Lobo’s extreme manly meathooks, but this one looks OK.

Lobo was one of the first McFarlane figures I picked up, after getting that Booster and Beetle two-pack, and it was spending some time playing around with this guy that really affirmed my decision to start collecting this line hard. This is a big and beefy badass of a figure, that I managed to pick up for about $17 and that’s a deal that you can’t shake a Czarnian stick at. This brute has been on my desk for weeks, and he is just loads of fun to pick up and play around with, even if you do have to be careful with some of those sharp spikes!

Mar 3 2023

DC Multiverse (Rebirth): Batman and Superman by McFarlane

A little while back, I popped my cherry on McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line with a look at the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold two-pack, and now I’m going to start unloading on reviews for this line, because I bought a whole hell of a lot of them on various sales. Of course, this line is very Batman-heavy and otherwise pretty scattershot when it comes to the comic period and costumes, which can be infuriating when trying to build a team, but otherwise fun if you’re just looking at individual figures. And, coming into a line late in the game also has it’s ups and downs as well. Some figures have gone on deep discount, while others have gone up in value on the secondary market. Right now I’m still in the looking for good deals phase, but eventually I’ll probably hunt down some specific releases. With all that having been said, let’s have a look at Batman and Superman in their Rebirth costumes!

The packaging here is consistent with what we’ve been seeing in the line. I really dig how the bright blue interiors contrast with the black boxes. I’ve never really enjoyed how grimdark modern DC has become in the mainstream, so I think these packages stride the line nicely. Each figure comes with a collector card and a stand. Batman comes with the regular disk stand, while Superman actually comes with a clear flight stand. I bring these up now, because for the time being, I will not be removing the cards or stands from the boxes, as it damages the trays. Eventually, I will get short on space and have to pitch all these boxes, but for now I’m keeping the figures in them. Let’s start with Batman!

Cards on the table, I really loved the New 52 Batman costume, so I was a little apprehensive when Rebirth came along. Turned out that I really liked this one too. Maybe not loved, but it’s not bad at all. The dark gray suit looks great against the black of the boots, gauntlets, cape and cowl. The big change here is the brighter yellow belt and yellow outline around the chest symbol, both add a nice little pop. The suit has a few panel lines, but it doesn’t overdo it, and that sort of detail is mostly reserved for the boots and gauntlets. The serrated blades on the gauntlets are awesome, and I absolutely love how the bat symbol is sculpted and not just printed on. I’m not a huge fan of the bat-head knee guards, but they’re not too distracting. The cape is sculpted so that it stays fairly tight with the body and not fanning out too much. I do tend to prefer this to the dynamic, windblown effect, which I think is best saved for statues and not action figures. All in all, this is a great looking suit and McFarlane executed it beautifully for the figure.

The head sculpt, on the other hand, is nothing to get excited about. The lower half of the face is a pretty soft sculpt. So much so that my shitty camera took half a dozen shots to finally get somewhat focused on it. I do dig the cowl, as it gives me a bit of 89 Batman vibes, and the whited out eyes look fine. There’s nothing really bad here, but I just don’t find it exceptional.

The articulation is exactly what we saw with Beetle and Booster. Eventually, I’ll get to the same point as I did with Marvel Legends and just stop surveying the points of articulation on these. When it doesn’t change from figure to figure, it gets old to recount it all every time. But these bodies are still new to me, so let’s give it a rundown. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps, double-hinged elbows, and ball hinges in the wrists. I really have no complaints about the arms at all, and I love how tight the elbows will go! The legs have rotating hinges in the hips, which offer a pretty nice range of motion going forward, back, and to the sides… but so very little swivel, it’s practically non existent.. The knees are double-hinged, the ankles have both hinges and lateral rockers, and the feet are hinged for the toes. The one gripe I’ll keep coming back to in the legs is the lack of a thigh swivel. The neck is ball jointed with some nice range of motion, especially for Batman’s constricting cowls. Finally, you get ball joints under the chest and at the waist, which do a fairly decent job. This is a fun figure to pose and play with, even though the cape can make him a bit back heavy.

Batman comes with two accessories: His grapple gun and a batarang. His right hand is sculpted to hold either one, while the left is balled up in a fist. The grapple gun is pretty big and satisfying, with the grapple hook sculpted in place. Getting a string to swing the figure on would have been cool, but this looks good in his hand. There’s no obvious trigger, which I assume is part of Warner Brothers weird obsession with not allowing any guns or anything even remotely trigger-y. Quite frankly, I’m surprised McFarlane got away with this accessory at all.

The batarang is simple enough, but a pretty nice sculpt. It can be a little tough for him to hold it, but squeezing it between the fingers seems to work fairly well. If you’ve been around here a while, you may know that I’m not a huge Batman fanatic, and I’m not going to buying the majority of the ones released in DC Multiverse. But, I do indeed love this figure, and considering the insane number of Batman figures in this line, I’m glad I started out with this one. Let’s move on to Superman…

Unlike Batman, I’m always down for a new Superman figure, so I was really excited to get this one opened and check him out. Happily, he does not disappoint. Rebirth Superman’s costume didn’t stray too far from his New 52 look, and while I like it a lot, I still think it was a step down. I mainly miss the red boots here, as you now only get some red striping at the tops of blue boots. The cut lines in the suit have been toned down a bit, which is fine. I still like the red belt with the floating diamond buckle. And like Batman, I absolutely love that the chest shield is sculpted and not just printed on the figure. The coloring here is extremely nice, with the blue and red playing off each other brilliantly, and the glossy sheen on the chest shield is gorgeous. I do wish the striping under the knees were a little more vibrant, and I really would have preferred if the ball joints in the wrists were flesh colored and not blue. The cape is mostly tamed behind him, although there’s a little bit of flutter to his left side.

The head sculpt here is much sharper than Batman’s, but in fairness they had a lot more to work with. Overall, I like the portrait, but looking straight on there’s definitely an extra helping of jawline. I like the furled brow and intense gaze, which makes him look just a bit perturbed at the whatever injustice he is perceiving. I don’t like my Superman to be too angry, so this works for me. The cleft chin and the cowling are also wonderful little touches.

The articulation here is identical to Batman, so I won’t run through it all again. I will say how much I appreciate the upward range of motion in Superman’s head, which is perfect for flying poses. It’s ridiculous how many flight capable super hero action figures get this wrong. There are no accessories with Superman, unless you count the flight stand, which I suppose is a really nice bonus. And since he has nothing to hold, his hands are both sculpted as fists, which once again works great for those flight poses, or just punching villains.

I have to say, I’m having an absolute blast dipping my toe into McFarlane’s DC Multiverse. Rebirth Batman and Superman are both excellent figures, and I’ll wager they will reside on my desk within arm’s reach for a while before getting put up on the shelf. They are tons of fun to play around with and I couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out. I was able to pick this pair up for just $16 each, which is a helluva deal, and I’ve already got a few more Rebirth era figures to check out! Boy, does it feel great to be buying DC figures again!

Oct 13 2017

DC Icons: (#25) Supergirl by DC Collectibles

We knew it was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier. DC Collectibles has officially discontinued the single-boxed releases for their DC Icons line and as things stand Number 25, Supergirl, appears to be the final release, with Nightwing preceding her and a Robin and Superboy two-pack included in the assortment. I’ve reviewed a lot of these figures here, but certainly not all of them. I’m still pondering over whether or not to go after the handful that I missed. But for now, let’s just enjoy checking out this last figure.

The packaging hasn’t changed. Supergirl comes in a clean window box with an angled corner that bears her name. If you’ve collected any of the DC Designer Series, you’ll also know what to expect here. Her name and number are also on the side panel as well as the comic she’s drawn from, in this case ReBirth Renaissance. The window shows off the figure beautifully as well as the bevy of extra bits, which are laid out beside the figure. Everything here is collector friendly, and while I would have loved to be able to keep these boxes, my available space doesn’t allow it.

Here she is, freed of her packaging and looking amazing. Icons has been a great line from the beginning, so when I say I was impressed by Kara here as soon as I got her in hand, well that’s saying something. I think this is one of those perfect combinations of great choice of outfit, great portrait, and some spot-on coloring. So where to begin? Well, for starters, the costume design lends itself to this sculpt really well. The thigh-high boots are sculpted at the top edges, as is the belt and skirt. The S-Shield is fully realized in the sculpt and I love the look of the way the cape hugs her shoulders. Note, I said the look, and I’ll come back to that in a bit. The sculpt on this costume is just the right mix of poetic simplicity and just enough detail to know that no shortcuts were taken.

The cape falls naturally down Supergirl’s back with just a hint of breeze blowing it to the side. The yellow S-Shield is stamped on the back, and I will point out that there’s a bit of chipping to it on my figure. But that’s about the only place I can criticize the paint or coloring here. DC Collectibles used the exact perfect shades of red and blue for her costume. From the neck down, this is a figure that absolutely pops on the shelf.

And things aren’t too shabby from the neck up either. I really dig the way they sculpted her portrait and the use of a printed face instead of paint makes for a nice change. If you get in really close, you can start to see the halftone effect begin to break down, but when viewed in hand with the naked eye, it looks perfect. I like the styling on her hair, but I do think it could have used a little refinement. As it is it looks a tad more like putty and less like hair. Maybe deeper cuts in the sculpt to give it the feel of actual hair would have helped. But don’t get me wrong, Kara’s coif does not even come close to diminishing this figure for me.

The articulation here is standard for the Icons line, which means it’s good and comes oh so close to being great. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and have double hinges in the knees. The ankles have hinges and lateral rockers. There’s a hinge in the torso down near the waist, a ball joint under the chest, and the neck is ball jointed. Alas, the hair keeps her from being able to look up while flying and the absence of thigh swivels will forever bug me. I will say that they did a really nice job on the skirt. It’s very soft and pliable and allows for a decent range of motions in the hips. And remember that shoulder-hugging cape? Yeah, it does restrict shoulder articulation a bit, although not nearly as much as I would have expected.

Supergirl also comes with three pairs of hands, all of which are very easy to swap in and out. You get fists, accessory holding hands, albeit with nothing for her to hold, and hands with her fingers together as if she’s about to karate chop someone. But why karate chop your foes, when you can just fry them with heat vision!

Yes, Kara comes with a second head and two effect parts that plug into her eyes to recreate her heat vision. I think this looks pretty rad from a distance, although if you get in really close it looks goddamn creepy. Also, if you display this head without the effect parts plugged in, her eyes look like two bloody, vacant holes.

Supergirl includes one final accessory and that’s a rather unique flight stand. It’s actually just a clear cylinder with a slanted top and a peg for her right foot. The illusion is supposed to be not so much one of flight, but more like hovering. I’ve had mixed results with it, but I do think it’s a pretty neat experiment and I may very well wind up using it to display her. In fact, I wish they had included something like this with Superman as well.

If DC Collectibles wanted to punish everyone for not buying into this line enough, this figure was a great choice for the final single release. It makes the point that this line was pretty fantastic and that in a perfect world it would have kept going. I know at least one fellow collector who was confident enough in the success of Icons that he started selling off his DC Universe Classics figures. I’m glad I didn’t go that route, although I would have been very happy had Icons become as prolific as Mattel’s and took its rightful place as the new resident universe building line. As things stand, I will forever be disgruntled that we are likely to never get the Booster Gold/Blue Beetle 2-pack. I can, however, promise you that this will not be the last time you see DC Icons grace my pages of toy bloggery.