This
two-pack is the obvious mate to yesterday’s Mr.
Hammer & Harley Quinn,
but it was less desirable to me because I already own a Penguin.
Although I have no idea where his little cigar went, so at least I
get a new one of those.
Plus,
I never reviewed that Penguin because I was still didn’t want to
admit that I was buying DC Direct figures again after being so vocal
about how poorly made they were.
Were.
They’re
much better now. Well, mostly.
The
Penguin from the Arkham games is my favorite interpretation of the
character. He’s mostly the arms dealing criminal from The
Animated Series,
but he also has a good bit of Danny DeVito thrown in. Not to mention
a light dusting of any gangster from a Danny Boyle flick. It’s an
effective combination of menacing influences that make it a lot
easier to take this short, dumpy dude as a threat. Particularly after
the chilling torture scene in Arkham
Origins.
So
despite the resulting double Penguin, I had to have this set. I was
totally excited about pairing up Mr. Hammer and his brother, Sickle.
First
Glance:
Two more examples of perfect plastic adaptations of the trademark
Arkham
style.
How
did nobody do a “Arkham Style” video back when all of the
“Gangnam Style” parodies were going on? Let’s put Neil Patrick
Harris in a Music Meister outfit and make this happen. He can dance
through the halls of Arkham past all of the incarcerated lunatics.
Harley Quinn can follow him around.
“Heeeeyyyyyy,
crazy laaaady!”
Articulation:
Both figures are articulated with the usual aesthetics this line puts
forth – a smart combination of form and functionality.
Sickle
Head
– ball joint
Shoulder
– ball joint
Bicep
- swivel
Elbow
–pivot
Wrist
– swivel
Waist
- swivel
Hips
– ball joint
Knees
– swivel/pivot
Calves
– swivel
Sickle’s
head has a decent range of motion in every direction. He can’t look
up and down as much as I’d like, but he does alright.
All
of the arm joints work quite well together. You can achieve most
poses you might want to for a huge guy with a big ol’ sickle.
The
legs do as much as you need from a guy this size that basically just
needs to be able to walk around and whack things. I opened this set
after the experience with Mr. Hammer’s foot tearing off, so when
the
exact same foot on Sickle wouldn’t move
I just left it alone. Seriously, DCC?
Overall,
though, Sickle is well articulated. There weren’t any wacky
decisions to articulate him differently from his brother and
everything except that damned right foot functions the way it should.
Penguin
Head
– ball joint
Shoulders
– ball joint
Wrists
– swivel
Waist
– swivel
Mr.
Cobblepot’s head has a great range of movement. The articulation is
at the base of the neck rather than the top, so he actually moves a
bit like a bird. I think this was mostly done to show off the thing
on the side of his neck.
Penguin
is minimally articulated, but what are you gonna do with such a squat
little dude? It would have been nice to have some swivel/pivot
elbows. I’m okay with the complete lack of leg articulation,
though. It wouldn’t have been very useful and would have only
served to break up a nice profile.
Sculpt:
Sculpt-wise this is the exact same Penguin that was one of the waves
of Arkham
City
action figures.
Penguin’s
head is pretty hideous. His facial features remind me of Bob Hoskins
somewhat. He has a device implanted in his neck that is thus far
unexplained. All I know is that it creeps me out. He also has a
cracked monocle seemingly permanently implanted in his face. His hair
has the right amount of texture and is shaped like it is in the game.
I’m not crazy about him being straight-up male pattern bald like
this, but that’s what he looks like in the game.
Penguin’s
torso has a vest with all kinds of sculpted detail and a cravat. It
looks good.
The
arms match the look and texture of the coat. The hands are awesome
because they’ve got four fingers and a thumb but still manage to
look like flippers. It’s a nice take on the BTAS
and DeVito versions of the character. The bandage on his left hand
looks really good, as it appears to be wrapped rather than just some
blob of texture.
Penguin’s
trousers just look like suit pants. His shoes have spats. Everything
looks good there.
I
like the way this figure was done. DCC didn’t go crazy trying to
articulate him or give him extra features. He’s just a good, solid
representation of Penguin as seen in Arkham
City.
And that’s all he should be.
Sickle
is an all-new sculpt that almost perfectly mirrors his brother, Mr.
Hammer. Also, HE IS KANE:
Seriously,
if WB ever gets their shit together and realizes a movie based on the
Arkham games would be way better than anything else they can do, they
have to
cast Glenn Jacobs as Mr. Hammer and Sickle.
Sickle’s
face is definitely more beaten up than Kane’s, though. His lips are
mashed and scarred, his teeth are totally jacked-up, and that nose
has been broken a few times. I love the shelf of brow over his beady
little eyes and the fact that the stubble on his jaw and head is
sculpted and not just paint.
Sickle
has the same big musculature as his brother, with well-defined
muscles and a ridiculous shneck. There are some differences (aside
from the reverse alignment) – Sickle has some wounds that have been
stapled shut. It’s a little extra gross touch added to the scar
from his brotherectomy. My guess is they’re from the steep learning
curve of handling a big-ass bladed weapon.
From
the waist down Sickle is a little different from Mr. Hammer. He has a
big utility belt with some pouches and grommets and all kinds of neat
detailing. I believe the lower abdomen and thighs are the same parts,
though. The upper calves are just an extension of his fatigue pants
and he does have different feet. The wrappings are slightly different
and Sickle doesn’t have the distinctive big toes that Mr. Hammer
does. But it all still looks great. The fact that his feet are so
absurdly detailed is crazy. These figures look almost exactly like
the character trophies you unlock in the games.
Coloring:
Sickle’s flesh parts are molded out of a plastic that looks very
much like human skin. I’m not sure how the effect is achieved, and
the painted washes certainly help, but it looks amazing. His tattoos
are just a bit too dark for my taste, but they do look great. The
details are excellently done, especially considering all of the
contours they had to be applied to.
It
would have been very easy for DCC to use the same head for Mr. Hammer
and Sickle. Not just because they’re twins, but because Hammer has
the clown stuff. But they didn’t do that. While the faces certainly
resemble one another, the facial expressions and detailing are
different. Sickle has a wash over his sculpted stubble that really
makes the effect look good. There are pink washes on his ears and
mouth and under his eyes. The eyes themselves are centered and clean.
His teeth are individually painted.
All
of the staples on Sickle’s fresher wounds are silver and precisely
painted.
His
belt is a bit brighter than a military drab green, but it has dark
washes to show wear. The silver grommets and buckle look great. Camo
is always a tough sell on an action figure. There are all kinds of
potential problems with camouflage – too much of the base color,
splotchiness, looking tie-dyed, pattern repetition. Sickle’s pants
aren’t the best camo deco ever, but they look pretty good. The
pattern looks just a bit too painted-on, but the wash of grime on top
helps. His foot wrappings are grey with a dark wash to highlight the
details. They look less bandage-y than Mr. Hammer’s.
This
is where this Penguin differs from the original release. His skin
tone is healthier than the other one. The old one is pale and pasty
and definitely leans toward DeVito’s portrayal. This one looks a
bit more human and as a result resembles the in-game character more
closely.
This
one’s vest is noticeably brighter. The sculpted designs have a dry
brush on them that looks great. The buttons are a bright gold that
stays where it should – no bleeding out to surrounding areas. The
wash on the bandage on his hand is a bit too dark, but it does bring
out the textures.
Everything
else is pretty much flat black except for his spats, which look good
and are cleanly painted. The only issue here is that his arms don’t
match his coat, but I’ll get to that.
Flair:
Penguin’s coat is a separately sculpted piece of soft rubber. The
sculpt is fantastic. It has fur trim on the collar and these amazing
designs on the back:
I
didn’t even notice those until I took pictures.
The
way the coat hangs is great and I love the shape and depth of the
pockets. But I can’t figure out what’s going on with the paint.
There’s this weird splotchiness that could be a design choice and
would actually look really cool if it carried into the sleeves. But
it doesn’t . It looks like it’s intended to be wear, but given
the lack of this look on the sleeves I think it might be some sort of
paint degradation. I’m really not sure.
Accessories:
This set includes Sickle’s bladed weapon and Penguin’s top hat,
cigar, and umbrella.
You’ll
notice I said, “Sickle’s bladed weapon” and not, “Sickle’s
sickle”. That’s because that thing doesn’t really look like a
sickle to me. It looks awesome
and I would be terrified if somebody came running after me with it,
but it isn’t very sickle-like. It fits fairly easily into Sickle’s
hand and stays there.
Penguin’s
accessories are made from a soft plastic. His hat has indentations to
match his head so it will stay on. For some odd reason the Penguins
can’t swap hats. Their heads look nearly identical, but the hats
don’t fit each other. The umbrella has a wonderfully sculpted
penguin head handle and the cigar has two indentations to accommodate
Cobblepot’s thumb and forefinger so it will stay put.
Also
the cigar really, really
looks like a poo.
Packaging:
Just a window box. I do like the uniformity of the DCC window boxes,
though.
Value:
Each of these three sets is the amazing low price of $29.99, which is
ridiculously good for two great figures, one of which is oversized.
GREAT value.
Overall:
Same as yesterday – this set is a great deal for a couple of great
figures. I doubt we’ll see a better Penguin from this line and
you’ve just got to have Mr. Hammer and Sickle. I am mostly
satisfied with this purchase. Just that damned foot again…
4
out of 5
Check
with your local comic shop first. If you can’t find this pair there
you can hit up Entertainment Earth, BigBad, or probably even Amazon.
-Phantom
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