I
didn’t preorder this figure. I didn’t like the lack of purple,
the face seemed weird, I knew the voicing wasn’t going to be Mark
Hamill, and I already had a perfectly good Joker from Arkham
Asylum.
Okay,
well – I had the Joker from Arkham
Asylum.
The quality of that figure is up for debate.
By
the time this Joker hit stores I knew a few things – I had played
Arkham
Origins
and liked the depiction, the guy that replaced Mark Hamill was
fantastic, and the new clothes still should have been purple.
Then
I saw this figure in the store and the deal, as they say, was sealed
for one reason – this
Joker could look straight ahead.
I
don’t want to give away any plot points, but Joker plays a huge
role in Arkham
Origins.
There are definitely some problems with the storylines, but Joker’s
role isn’t among them. Not is the performance of the new voice
actor. Most of Joker’s on-screen time is just excellent. It all
feels a bit familiar – nothing surprising or new – but that might
have been a good idea. Anything too over-the-top might have seems odd
in a prequel game. And there is a definite progression from game to
game.
One
thing that I guess is good about this Joker’s lack of purple is
that it makes him different. I don’t collect Jokers like I do
Batmans, so getting one that stands out as different the way this one
does is kind of cool. And at least they didn’t just repaint the old
one.
First
Glance:
I just realized that this Joker is clothed almost exactly like Jonny
Lee Miller from Elementary.
I’m okay with that. I’m not crazy about the mouth, but everything
else looks pretty cool.
Articulation:
Parts of this figure are a bit of an improvement over some other DCC
releases. Parts feel like the same old thing. But overall I’d have
to say Joker is acceptably articulated.
Head
– ball joint
Shoulders
– swivel
Elbows
– swivel/pivot
Wrists
– ball joint
Waist
- swivel
Hips
– swivel
Knees
– pivot
Ankles
– ball joint (sort of?)
This
head has the best range of movement of any Joker I own. You’d think
a lunatic that is known for his wild and erratic movements would
always
have an extremely poseable head. Sadly, this is not the case.
I
am very disappointed in the cut joints on the shoulders. This seems
so primitive to be showing up at this point in the line. And again –
Joker is an individual that is constantly making big, expansive
motions. These simple joints do not accommodate that. I am glad for
the dual-purpose elbows and the ball-jointed wrists, but they only
serve to make the decision about the shoulders all the more baffling.
The
leg joints are simple but good enough. Joker can bend 90° at the
hips and almost that at the knees. I don’t understand his ankles at
all, though. They have a tiny bit of movement in every direction, but
not enough to be useful at all. It’s just weird.
Sculpt:
This Joker has the overall shape you expect from the Clown Prince of
Crime, but without any of the sculpted posture weirdness that has
afflicted some other versions. If you want him to just stand up
straight, he can. I like that.
I
love the look of the head. He’s visibly younger and different from
the Joker in the later Arkham
games, and yet the same character. But there’s something that’s a
bit off that I can’t quite put my finger on. I think his bottom lip
is part of the problem. It’s very thin and raised so it almost
looks like he’s biting it. It’s a creepy, almost perverse look
but it’s oddly wrong for this Joker. Not bad and not completely
wrong. Just a little. The hair looks great though.
Joker’s
torso features a swanky looking shirt and vest combo. The sculpt is
so good that the vest appears to be a separate piece. The buttons are
clean and well defined. The arms match the jacket.
I
don’t like that the hands are fists. The fists look great. They’re
gloved and have plenty of detail. But I would prefer neutral hands.
Or splayed fingers. Or pretty much anything other than closed fists.
Joker isn’t a closed fist kind of guy. I am finding this figure to
be very un-Joker-y as far as the design and posability.
Joker’s
lower portions look fine. His trousers are trousers and look about as
good as you could expect. His shoes have that weird overlapping
tongue thing that golf shoes have. I don’t know what that’s all
about. At first I thought they were part of his trousers somehow.
It’s weird and distracting.
As
many nitpicks as I have, this does look exactly like the in-game
character. My problems are more with the design of the character than
the execution of the figure. As far as that goes DCC nailed it except
for the shoulders. And maybe that bottom lip.
Coloring:
This Joker’s face is much more like the Heath Ledger Joker. The
dark circles around his eyes and the mouth that is wide rather than
long look good and aren’t so different that it couldn’t be the
original Arkham
Joker (though I do prefer that one and am hoping for an updated
figure of that design).
The
rest of the paint is fairly unremarkable. The shirt is an off-white
that seems odd for Joker. Plus, mine has two little splotches of
green paint on it from the vest. I didn’t notice them until I
opened the figure (I am not a guy that always inspects his figures
for stuff like that before I buy them, though I should be). I’m not
sure what I’m going to do about them. I don’t want to trouble the
comic shop with a return over such a small thing, but I don’t feel
like painting over them. And they won’t scrape off – I tried.
Joker’s
trousers have flecks on them to give some texture. They are much more
noticeable in pictures than they are in person. When you’re just
looking at the figure they blend into the trousers and create a sort
of tweed-ish effect. I will say that this is where I got confused
about what was happening with his shoes because the blue wash
continues onto those. If they had been a different color than the
trousers they wouldn’t seem so odd.
Flair: Joker's coat is a separately sculpted piece. The cut of the jacket is awesome and I want one just like it. The material is a soft rubber, so it moves well and doesn't interfere with posing. It has a cool texture to it, and that texture and the coat's color are matched on the figure's arms. One good thing about having cut joints on the shoulders is that there's no opening for the arms to protrude through - it's a clean seam.
I like that the lining of the coat is a different color. That does add a little distinction to this otherwise kind of drab figure. Also, I understand that portions of this figure look quite purple in the pictures, but they are super dark - almost black - in person. I have a crap camera. Go to the podcast page and click the PayPal button and help me afford a better one!
Accessories:
Nothing. He could have come with an extra set of hands or a pistol.
Heck, they could have done a box set with the electric chair from the
Blackgate level and that would have been awesome. As is, we have a
Joker with a couple of fists and nothing else.
Packaging:
The all-new amazing DC Collectibles clamshell. It’s slightly more
likely to cause injury, but less likely to cause frustration. And
they require no scissors. I’ll take the risk if it increases
convenience.
Value:
The MSRP on this guy is $24.99, which is not awesome. I’ve been
thoroughly impressed with many of DCC’s releases lately, but an
accessory-free figure with so-so articulation isn’t going to pass
muster here. While Joker still feels like a higher quality figure
than most 6” offerings (except NECA’s), his features are lacking.
Overall:
I can’t even say he looks great on the shelf because I can’t get
any poses I would really like out of him. He just has to stand there.
Which he looks fine doing, but it isn’t what I want out of Joker.
3
out of 5
This
isn’t a must-have. It’s not a signature Joker look and the figure
isn’t so great it demands to be in your collection. If you have to
have one check with your local comic shop, then BigBad, etc. But I
have to say this Joker is probably a pass. He could possibly end up
on eBay.
-Phantom
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