Sometimes
I find myself thinking, “Man, my toy collection is a bit drab. It
seems like action figures just don’t pop like they did in the
eighties”.
Side
Note: As I get older, many of my thoughts are along the lines of
things not being the way they were in the 80s.
Today
the Creeper is here to brighten up my shelves and possibly even
induce a migraine, because this figure captures all of the clashing
brightness of the original Steve Ditko design!
As
with most things, the DC Animated Universe gave me my favorite
interpretation of the character, taking the best aspects and
amalgamating them into one great version. And they certainly didn’t
do anything to dull down his outrageous design.
FIRST
GLANCE
So
bright. This has been a fairly subdued line so far, but Mr. Ryder’s
alter ego is here to change all of that. The figure looks incredible
and those colors are almost aggressive.
So
far DC Collectibles has managed to maintain the gravity-defying
designs of Gotham’s inhabitants, from their huge chests to their
tiny ankles. Creeper has his trademark… back hair? I’m curious to
see how that’s going to work out.
PACKAGING
These
come in just about the simplest blister card you could ask for and I
love it. The character specific information is all on the plastic
blister because the backing cards are all the same.
It’s
classy packaging, but it’s as simple as can be – much like the
style of the cartoon these figures are adapted from.
Most
importantly, DCC provides credits.
LOOKS
Normally
I start with the head, but that brilliant red back thing – a sort
of boa on the show – demands comment. Unlike the old Kenner toy,
this one is not removable, which is probably a good thing because the
one on my Kenner figure won’t stay on. The sculpt is beautiful.
Rather than giving it a bunch of detail, it’s just this big, red
blob that has a hairy outline and shape. It looks fluid and light
(despite being a heavy chunk of plastic) and gives the figure a
dynamic look.
While
there are passing similarities with the Joker’s visage, this figure
is an excellent example of just how different the Creeper is as a
character. There’s no slyness or evil in his face. He just looks
manic and wild. Those huge, oval eyes and gleeful grin are very
different from Joker’s sinister, involuntary smile and hooded eyes.
The sculpt of those features is wonderful, with the cheeks being
particularly good. Creeper’s hair has a very out-of-control look.
The paint is spot-on.
Creeper
has a relatively basic body – most of the DCAU superhero males look
like this. The physique is streamlined and simple. His skin is a
flat, bright yellow that brings sixties design to mind as much as
anything else. The green and black striped trunks compliment his hair
and have a very delineated paint job – no slop or blurry lines.
There’s
furry fringe around Creeper’s boots and gloves. It’s surprisingly
narrow, but looks great. What surprised me was that it does not
conceal articulation at either spot. More on that later.
ACCESSORIES
The
Creeper comes with a stand, two extra sets of hands, a pool cue, a
rat, and a Batman mask.
The
hands are open fists and “gotcha” hands. They switch out easily
and aren’t particularly fragile despite the daintiness of the pegs.
The
pool cue has four paint apps, which is crazy. It looks fantastic and
makes me wish I had a pool table in this scale. The rat only has
three paint apps, but it’s the cutest darn animated rat you’ll
ever see.
The
Batman mask deserves its own paragraph because it might be the
greatest toy accessory ever made. Not only is it a faithful
reproduction of the classic Ben Cooper Halloween mask:
The
figure can’t really wear it or even hold it in front of his face
successfully, but it’s such a great and perfect accessory that I
don’t care (too
much).
I’m
a little tired of these stands. They all work slightly differently
depending upon how the figure is designed and for most of them they
increase the amount of shelf space needed. And at the present time, I
am running short of shelf space. They aren’t bad stands, but I’m
starting to wonder if DCC could have done better.
FUN
As
I mentioned above, I was surprised that Creeper’s fringed forearms
and calves weren’t hiding swivels. They aren’t really necessary
for the forearms given the wrist swivels, but it would have helped a
lot on the calves. The Creeper is one of those guys that you really
want to be able to achieve a lot of wild poses – like squatting,
for example – and this guy just can’t do it. He’s still fun to
pose and his back fur actually assists a bit in some cases, as it’s
a third point of contact for the ground.
There’s
only so much articulation this aesthetic can support and still look
good. Double jointed elbows and knees would be terrible. I’d prefer
ball jointed hips with sockets, but that isn’t the way they went.
Otherwise I think that DCC is doing about as good a job as they can.
The
accessories can all interact with the figure in a meaningful way
(though the mask is slightly less meaningful than the rest) and
they’re all fun. I like Creeper standing around holding a rat:
OVERALL
Visually
this is a fantastic action figure. He’s bright and stunning and
brings some much needed color to your Animated Series shelf.
Play-wise he’s par for the course within the line and while he may
not be a s poseable as some lines, he’s packed with great
accessories.
For
me, the Creeper is a must-have. The character and the figure delight
me. If you’re not a fan, you can pass on him and stick with the
more traditional Bat-villains. He makes me happy, but he’s not so
good he gets the “must-have” for everyone.
4
out of 5
Buy
one from Amazon and help Needless Things pay the bills!:
Nice review! This guy is one of my favorite figures from the past year and the Batman mask and pool cue definitely are partially responsible for that.
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