Apologies,
Needless Things readers – I had said that the reviews of the
Deadman and Batman Icons figures would be up last week. I got struck
down by a horrendous Virus From Outer Space that resulted in my not
giving much of an eff about anything. So now I’m catching up.
It’s
always exciting to review something from an entirely new line,
particularly when it’s a character that’s one of my favorites.
The
concept behind DC Collectibles’ Icons seems to be to create a line
of action figures that are properly scaled with uniform aesthetics
that can produce the most iconic versions of characters from the
massive history of the DC Universe. That’s why we’re seeing a New
52 Black Adam, a Longbow Hunters Green Arrow, and a Batman that still
has his trunks.
Longtime
DC go-to Ivan Reis designed all of the figures that have been
announced thus far, giving the line that uniform look. He was a great
choice for this, as his style is very tight and somehow encompasses
the very different looks of the many eras being depicted. Today’s
Deadman, for example, seems very inspired by Neal Adams’ work while
still representing Reis’ own work from Brightest
Day.
To
me, the most interesting thing about the line is the new scale. DC
Collectibles has been using a seven inch scale for most of their
lines for years now. The Icons are a noticeably smaller scale –
seemingly a true twelfth scale. The proportions are also more human
than many of the other superhero lines we’ve seen over the years.
I
ordered a Deadman when he was offered because I’ll buy pretty much
any Deadman merchandise that gets offered. Boston Brand is one of my
favorite secondary (tertiary?) DC characters and I’m always happy
to see new stuff with his ghastly face on it.
FIRST
GLANCE
Speaking
of ghastly, most Deadman figures either lean toward horror or
superhero aesthetics. Some look like a muscular guy in tights and
some are straight-up skeletons. This one finds some nice middle
ground. The sculpt and color are definitely a little more grim and
dark, but the overall feel is in line with a guy that might be in the
Justice League.
PACKAGING
This
line is utilizing the window box packaging that DCC started using a
couple of years ago. I like it mostly because the figure can be
identified from any angle.
Some
newly-standardized features of DCC’s packaging are the numbering
system and the information-free backs:
I
like having some kind of statistics or biographical information on my
toys. It’s not a huge deal considering I throw ninety percent of
the toy packaging I get in the trash, but I like to have it.
More
important, though, are proper credits. DC Collectibles has been
providing these for a few years now.
LOOKS
This
Boston Brand looks like a dead guy. Er, man.
That’s not white paint or a mask. This figure is sculpted with
sunken cheeks and eye sockets, with his skull clearly visible under
whatever thin flesh remains. The stark white of that flesh is solid
and consistent. The black around his eyes is precisely applied and
blends out nicely. The figure’s collar seems like the perfect size
to me. It isn’t ridiculously tall like a couple of others I have
and the sculpt on this one makes it seem a bit more pliable – it
has a sense of motion.
The
sculpted musculature is fantastic. Deadman is lean and gaunt with a
ton of definition. This guy looks like he’s about -10% body fat.
The figure sports a ton of articulation and it is all worked into the
sculpt about as beautifully as I’ve ever seen. More on that later.
The “D” on the abdomen is sculpted and painted white. The paint
is nice and thick, with no red tones peeking through.
Deadman’s
boots and gloves are a brighter, glossier red than his costume.
They’re just painted on with no sculpted seams at the tops, but
I’ll take that over cut joints that don’t line up. I’m glad
that DCC didn’t throw in calf swivels just to do it. And I
appreciate that they’re picking and choosing what works with the
aesthetics of each figure – the Batman from the same wave does have
calf swivels, but only because his boots allow for them. That review
will be up soon (hopefully).
Scale-wise
Deadman is a bit big for the 5” scale Doctor Who figures, too small
for DC Universe Classics, and about right for the movie-based Marvel
Legends, which are slightly smaller than the comic ones.
ACCESSORIES
It
looks like the amount of accessories will vary significantly from
figure to figure, and I am fine with that. Spreading them throughout
the line and only including things that make sense is fine by me.
Also – no stands. Hooray for no stands! Except that I have recently
noticed that DCC is selling generic stands separately, so the more
cynical me has to wonder about that.
Deadman
comes with an extra set of hands and a phasing Deadman piece.
The
hands are open and look great. I was super nervous about switching
them out, but the pegs seem quite sturdy and once you’ve done it a
couple of times it becomes easier. Those pegs are red, so when the
bit of paint on them flakes off it doesn’t really matter. I like
the sculpted poses on these – I call them “Haunty Hands”.
The
“phasing” piece is made of clear rubber with some black and red
paint. Deadman’s primary ability is possessing living humans in
order to carry out whatever it is he needs to get done. This piece
can attach to other figures to simulate that power.
It
works okay on Mattel’s Peter Venkman:
But
looks much better on Character Options’ Twelfth Doctor:
FUN
This
is one of the best articulated figures I have seen at this scale for
around this price point. Some of the joints have limitations, but for
the most part you get a lot of options out of this guy. Since this is
a new line, here’s what you have:
Neck
– ball joint
Shoulders
– ball joint
Biceps
– swivels
Elbows
– double pivot
Wrists
– swivel/pivot
Upper
abdomen – sliding swivel
Lower
abdomen – pivot
Hips
– ball joint
Knees
– double pivot
Ankles
– swivel/pivot
Frist
of all, let me address any concerns about the strength of these
joints. DCC has had some issues of late with lousy joints that are
stuck and/or break. Deadman does not have these issues. Not only are
all of the points of articulation on this figure sturdy, I didn’t
have to do anything special to loosen them up. I was still very
careful while initially bending them, but they all work fine. I
didn’t even experience my usual nervousness while moving them
around.
Having
said that, there are some minor issues.
The
head is just on a ball peg. It swivels just fine, but only has a
marginal degree of movement otherwise. This could be better. I would
hope that DCC knows they need to put a hinge on characters that fly.
This ball peg won’t cut it for Superman.
The
shoulders don’t have quite the range I want. They move as far back
as I need them to, but oddly can’t be pushed down to hang naturally
at the figure’s sides. This always bugs me, and is slightly more
annoying on a figure with this lean a physique. There’s just no
reason for it.
The
hip articulation is pretty basic, but works better than I thought it
would from the first glance. Brand won’t be squatting, but he can
do lots of other things.
The
abdominal joints work well:
Once
you loosen that upper joint up it moves around quite a bit.
With
all of the articulation and accessories, this figure is a ton of fun
and will likely be hanging out on my desk for a while. And I can’t
even tell you how relieved I am at the figure being so sturdy.
OVERALL
A
couple of very minor things keep this figure from being perfect, and
it might not even be fair of me to criticize them. But this Deadman
has essentially raised the bar for twelfth scale figures in the $15 -
$25 price range. This is the
best
figure I own in that category. It is much more aesthetically pleasing
than any Marvel Legends, it is sturdier than Funko’s Legacy
figures, the articulation is far superior to anything Mattel
produced, and it has all the right accessories. Hasbro’s Star Wars
Black line probably comes closest, but even those figures have some
rubbery parts or paint issues that have them falling short of the
excellence of this guy.
I’m
not saying that Deadman is a must-have because if you’re not a fan
of the character, you certainly don’t need him. But pick yourself
out a character you do like (hint: Batman is in this wave, too) from
one of these initial waves of DC Icons and see what you think. You
owe it to your toy collecting self to experience a great new style of
action figure.
4
out of 5
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can help out Needless Things and buy one of these great toys from
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