I feel like I’ve been extremely
neglectful of this toy line, and it’s one of my favorites.
The only other reviews I’ve done of
DCC’s line of figures based on the Arkham games were of Mr.Freeze and Killer Croc. I think part of the reason I
skipped reviewing the initial releases was that DC Direct used to be
known for making fragile toys with odd articulation. I bought a few
here and there – usually characters that I didn’t expect to show
up in other lines like Stephanie Brown – but kept it on the down
low because I was a little embarrassed that I was still giving the
company money.
Like everybody else on the planet I
loved Batman: Arkham Asylum. So when DC Direct announced
figures I ordered them. I figured I’d take a chance again because
the character designs were so cool. And besides, they’d probably
only end up doing a couple of series anyway.
Ha.
And now we have this fucking behemoth –
Solomon Grundy. Easily the largest twelfth scale action figure I own.
And the heaviest.
He was pricy at $90, but I didn’t
even hesitate to order the big guy. First, I had my discount. But
mostly it was because DCC has earned my trust and my fandom. They
have been cranking out high-quality, durable figures for the Arkham
franchise and every one I have bought has been a win. I want them
all. Well, all of the ones I like, anyway. And Grundy was such a big
deal and significant presence in the game that I simply couldn’t
not get him.
First Glance: This figure
is truly gargantuan, and in a way that you simply can’t understand
until you are holding it. I thought Killer Croc was huge. In the
review I described him as “massive”. Killer Croc is a baby kitten
compared to Solomon Grundy. Plus, Grundy’s sculpt is as tight and
detailed as any other figure in the line. He does not suffer from the
condition where larger figures are plainer.
Articulation: Grundy is
probably about as articulated as a figure this large and heavy could
be.
Head – ball joint
Shoulders – ball joint
Biceps – swivel
Elbows – pivot
Wrists – ball joint
Hips – ball joint
Knees –pivot
Grundy’s head is mounted on a ball
joint, but it’s mostly good for swiveling. He has a slight range of
up and down movement, but not a ton. It’s okay because not many of
the poses you can accomplish require much range in that way.
Between the shoulders, biceps, elbows,
and wrists Grundy’s arms move about as much as you might want. Each
of these joints has a good range despite the bulk of the figure.
The hip joints move just a little. At
this point the figure’s size and balance are really coming into
play, so these really needed to be tight, restricted joints. I don’t
want this guy falling down and taking all of Arkham City with him.
The knees bend a good bit, but there’s not much to do with them.
All of the joints are worked into the
sculpt quite well. Grundy maintains a nice profile however you have
him posed.
Sculpt: Like every other
figure in this line Grundy is near-impeccable. Every single bit of
detail from the game model is captured here. It’s almost eerie how
much these figures look like their counterpart Character Trophies.
Before I get any further, I have to
compare this Grundy to the Grundy from the Alex Ross Justice
line. That Grundy was thought to be quite a large figure that also
happened to look an awful lot like The Juggernaut from
Thir13en Ghosts.
This Grundy also looks a bit like The Juggernaut
in the face area (I think it’s mostly the teeth), but makes the old
Grundy look like tiny and shameful:
So now you know what we’re dealing
with, here.
The figure’s hair has a shocked look,
with pieces standing up in different ways and just generally looking
very distinctive. The face is terrifying. It’s sort of mummy-like,
but also full of strength. The eyes are wide-set and angry while the
mouth is full of huge, blunt teeth. The fine detail on all of this
just blows my mind. All of the wrinkles and lines give this undead
monster so much character.
The arms are massive and covered in
veins and stitches. I still don’t know that I like the
Frankensteinishness of Arkham’s Grundy, but I think the
story did say that Ra’s al Ghul had been experimenting on him, so
maybe he did that. Honestly it doesn’t matter because it does look
cool. There are also splits where his skin has stretched too far.
Gross. His hands are massive and each is posed differently. Both are
open, though, so they can grab other figures as needed.
Grundy’s torso is a thick and solid
piece with a removable chest. We’ll get to that. The whole figure
is a solid piece rather than being hollow or rotocast. I appreciate
that. Granted, it’s what accounts for the high price, but it makes
him fit into the line so much better than if he were constructed of
different materials. Most of the torso is covered by coat and pants,
but then there’s the grotesque cavity that is revealed when you
remove the chest piece. Grundy’s ribs and guts are rendered in
loving detail, complete with a spot for the included removable heart.
The aforementioned pants are frayed like crazy at the top like he
was a Suicide Girl on Instagram (those are funny folks – “Here’s
a picture of my ass, here’s a picture of my tits, here’s a
picture of my kid!”) with a rope belt.
I am not often impressed with pants
sculpts. But this Solomon Grundy has some amazing pants. The texture
on them is tremendous, but the rips are what really sell them. They
are so finely detailed and so spate from the sculpt that they…
well, they look like rips. Particularly the ones at the bottoms of
the legs. They are actually hanging away from the figure’s legs
like actual torn pants would. It looks amazing and is even better
when you can put your hands on the figure and feel just how well done
these are.
Grundy has huge, unarticulated feet.
They look great and have the same stitching and veins as the rest of
the figure, as well as big ol’ crusty toenails.
Coloring: Grundy’s
flesh is a lifeless grey color. It lends itself well to shading and
contrasts the red glistening underneath the splits and wounds nicely.
The blue veins, as well, for that matter.
The interior of the chest cavity is
painted with a glistening red that effectively emulates a big ol’
pile of gore. The stark, pale ribs make it even more disturbing.
His eyes are a ghastly pale yellow, but
when you look closely you can see that his corneas are a shining
gold. It’s quite creepy. The figure’s teeth and gums are
individually detailed and tightly done. Toenails and fingernails are
both a gross brown color.
The pants have a dry brush on them to
give them a weathered look and the frayed edge at the top really has
the look of a worn edge. The rope belt is painted so well that I
really thought it was an actual rope when the figure was still in the
package.
Grundy’s feet have some dirt painted
on, but it is subtle. He doesn’t look like he’s been stomping
around in a mud puddle, but he does look like somebody who lives
outdoors.
Flair: Grundy has a coat
and chains looped around both wrists.
The coat is made of rubber and is
textured and colored to match the pants. The color is very – very
– slightly off, but not bad. The coat fits the figure perfectly and
is cleverly used to keep the chest piece in place. I think it’s
funny that this is sort of a tail coat, complete with buttons and a
little strap on the back.
The chains are almost a little
disappointing after getting actual, die-cast chains on Croc, but I
realize how impractical it would have been to put metal chains this
size on the figure. They do look good and are separate pieces to
allow Grundy’s wrists to move freely. There are spaces between the
links so that they don’t look like they’re just big hunks of
plastic.
Accessories: Grundy
comes with his chest piece and the removable heart.
The chest piece is held in place by the
shape of the sculpt and how it lines up with the cavity, as well as
the jacket. I like it and find it to be a much better method than
using pegs or clasps. The figure has a much more organic feel thanks
to this. The interior of the chest piece is detailed with ribs and
glistening gore.
The heart is rubber and just sort of
sits in the hole. It doesn’t attach in any way, so you have to hold
the figure flat to put the cavity in place.
It really doesn’t
matter, but it made it difficult to take a picture of the figure with
the heart in and the chest off.
Packaging: Solomon Grundy
comes in a massive window box that helps to make you feel like you
really got something special. I really like the package design of
these large scale figures.
The window is stylized and several glosses
of paint are used to make it seem more collector-y.
Value: I didn’t pay
ninety bucks for Grundy. He is well worth what I did pay, and maybe
worth the ninety. This is a truly special figure that is going to
stand out in your collection.
Overall: I can’t
honestly say that everybody should own this figure, considering the
price, but if you’re the type of collector that likes special
pieces then Grundy is for you. DC Collectibles really did something
special here. I can’t think of anything I would have done
differently and I am stoked to have this big guy on my shelf. Except
that I need to find a shelf to put him on. My Arkham shelf is full.
Time to rearrange.
5
out of 5
Your local comic shop might have
Solomon Grundy in stock if they do big toy business. If not, you can
get him from BigBad or Entertainment Earth. I’d act fast, because I
doubt he’s going to be on the primary secondary market for long.
-Phantom
Good review, man. I'd love to own this figure but I've had so many DC Collectibles figures break on me recently- Croc was broken out of the box, as was Talia and Azrael. Deadshot broke within 2 days. Does he have that weird clear plastic for his joints or something more substantial?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that about your Arkham figures. I've found the line to be surprisingly sturdy. Several of mine have even survived falls from the shelf to the floor. Grundy seems very sturdy, but I feel like all of the figures have been. Of course, I only do about a day of posing/photographing and then stick them on the shelf. Your habits may differ.
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