Surf's Up Joker

I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw it on a peg at Wal-Mart. And when I did I snatched it up so it could go up on my wall next to Surf's Up Batman.

Blue Beetle

I have some Gamestop credit, so I thought I'd try my luck with the Scribblenaut  Unmasked blind box figures. They only had 1 box from Wave 1 left, and it was already half opened. But Wave 1 has some very appealing figures (like electric blue superman) so I just bought the thing. To my delight I got one of my favorite DC characters ever: Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes).

So that was awesome.

Beast Boy

Teen Titans Go is a great comedy series that play upon the already humorous and deep mythology established by the original Teen Titans cartoon. By making the characters broader it made them even more fun to watch.

Which is why fan favorite Beast Boy is now hilarious and why I'm so happy they released a toy of him depicting his Teen Titans Go look. And bonus! It comes with a version of him as a tiny pig, which is what he turns into in order to eat mass amounts and underline what a horrible slob he can be. EXTRA BONUS He comes with a fridge that opens and has many empty shelves for you to put things on.

Seriously, this is a great set. And the figure has a surprising amount of articulation for a 2.25 inch figure. Which is to say it has articulation. Yes, the legs are connected and must be moved together, yes the head is heavy making it difficult to stand some times, yes none of this matters and this figure is still great.

Mister Freeze

Oh, DC Multiverse, you're everything DC 4" figures should have been before they failed horribly and made me want to curse Mattel. But now you're here and even with your limited articulation, at least the toys look great and are in scale with.... okay actually they're not in scale with any other 4" figures but at least you look pretty good.

At least this Mister Freeze figure looks good. So with this and the Penguin, I think you're batting 1 out of 6 for me, which is still a hell of a lot better than the DCU Infinite Heroes which I believe was 1 out of 50. (That's my own personal satisfaction ratio. Which I think comes down to me saying there were three figures I liked in that line. Green Lantern Guy Gardner, translucent green Green Lantern Guy Gardner and the Ryan Choi Atom.)

Catman and Spider-Girl

I've begun to open a lot of the figures I've put aside in the last few years because I need to make room. Let's start with these two.

Originally introduced as Araña, the character Anya Corazon was rebranded as Spider-Girl because damned if Marvel was going to let a franchise go to waste. When she first debuted she got some press for being a teenaged latina superhero... and now she's a supporting player in the Spider-Man comics wearing a hand-me-down costume from the 80's Spider-Woman. Whatever. The character had/has some potential and that's why I'm celebrating that they made a Marvel Legends figure of her, even if it is in the Amazing Spider-Man Legends wave listed as "Skyline Sirens" so they could use the same packaging for the Black Cat figure. Ugh. Why would you call her a siren? She doesn't sing and no part of her powers has anything to do with music or noise.

Then there's Catman, which I got back when I was trying to build a comprehensive 6-inch set of Batman villains. I've given up on that and have moved on to trying to do that in the 1:6 scale, but I'm still amused they made a Catman action figure, so I opened the toy.

Penguin

Hmm, looks like my 4th of July post didn't go up. Ah well.

Anyway: they made a Danny Devito Penguin in the 1:18 scale. What am I going to do, not buy it?

Pfft, no. Then I wouldn't have a tiny Danny Devito Penguin. Batman Returns was awesome, what with it having less gruesome burned out skeletons than the first movie.

It has pretty good articulation, too. If Mattel made all their 4 inch figures as good as this one maybe the DC Universe Infinite figures wouldn't have been an abomination against all that is good with the world.

Aquaman

So I'm still checking Toys R Us for the clearance blast deals. This week I picked up one of the Mad Magazine based Just Us League of Stupid Heroes. Since Mad Magazine is published by DC Comics, this isn't really that huge of a deal.

But Alfred E Neuman Aquaman is a pretty neat figure. In addition to the accessories (The underwear on the pitchfork is removable although the tin of sardines has to be balanced or they fall out very easily.) the figure has ball jointed shoulder and a total of 14 points of articulation. Neat!

Green Lantern Maxwell

This Green Lantern version of Maxwell from Scribblenauts looks too much like an actual Green Lantern I've seen in crowd shots to feel completely original.

But it's not horrible for a mini figure. 5 points if articulation, although his legs were warped when I pulled him from the package, so it was difficult getting him on the pega of his little base.

I got this because I had a gift card to gamestop and their video game prices are a little high for my comfort. These mini vinyl figures are blind packed, in boxes so even the pinch and feel method is out, so I doubt I'll get another one without a gift card. Because why would anyone spend real money to buy a blind item when they have an INSANELY EXCELLENT chance to end up paying for the same thing twice?

Only crazy people who don't have e-bay.

Harley Quinn

Okay, Sideshow 1:6 scale Harley Quinn figure.

I picked this up because 1) They're not going to make a Harley Quinn Hot Toys figure any time in the near future and 2) I'd like to collect a bunch of 1:6 scale Batman villains in "movie style." There's that Medicom 1:6 scale figure but that looks too stylized and cartoony. This Sideshow isn't as "photorealistic" as the Hot Toys sculpts tends to be, but it's close. The face is too smooth. It lacks the fine detail, although one could just say she's wearing a LOT of makeup.

Still, compared side by side next to a Hot Toys figure, the Uncanny Valley becomes a lot more obvious. The nose is too perfect and the eye paint isn't as "taxidermy" perfect as the Hot Toys figure.

It's a small complaint though. On the upside, I love the articulation, even her jester prongs on her hat can be moved around and posed. The cuffs and neck frill are soft plastic to maintain shape, which is a cool idea. Also, second head:

The main downside I see is that her hammer accessory is so heavy that if you put it in her hands it has a tendency to yank the hands out of their sockets. I'm half worried it will tear the arm out, or even worse, break the elbow joint. So that's a big worry.

Larfleeze

Who better to unbox and talk about for Black Friday than the embodiment of greed!

And now I'm one step closer to collecting the best of the different Corps in six inch scale... Wait, no bicep swivel. Dangit Mattel!

Other than that, I'm fine with this. People say it doesn't look right, but Larfleeze varies so much depending on the artist that I feel it's good enough.

Now I just need some more Indigo tribe figures.

Batman

I don't know why I like cheap minifigures, but DC Grab Zags for $2 at Walgreens? Where you can easily tell which one is Batman?

Done.

Tiny batman!

Now I'm tempted to get a tiny Wonder Woman because they made it so her face looks like a character from Adventure Time. 

Red Arrow

As far as I'm concerned this is actually a 6 inch scale base that happens to come with a Red Arrow figure. Although I will say that it's a pretty good Red Arrow figure.

When the Young Justice 6 inch figures first came out, I remember being excited at the possibility of getting characters that we didn't get through DCUC. Then I was excited by the idea of diorama bases for six-inch figures. Then the rest of the 6 inch figures came out and I was disappointed by how character specific and undiorama like the bases were. Then they cancelled the line before the figures I really wanted had a chance to be released because they filled the line with Batman. Damn it Mattel. Of course if I see a figure at a discount store for a good price, I'll still consider buying it.

The rooftop base is very similar to the one that came with Robin. The differences instead of a gargoyle you get a smokestack, which has a wanted poster on it... destroying part of it's generic-use it any way you want to value. But in a nice touch the wanted poster has notches that the arrows can be placed in making it look like Red Arrow has been shooting at it as target practice.

Penguin

Hey, it's the Penguin. Old school comic book Super Powers Penguin, before everyone tried to make him dark and gritty because of the Tim Burton vulgarity version. This Penguin was just a wannabe gentleman who had some cleer umbrella/bird/monocle gadgets. 

But I have trouble justifying buying Mattel figures for full price these days. So good thingario got me this guy for my birthday!

Cyberman and Psycho Pirate

So I picked up a couple 3.75" figures over the last few weeks. Among them: the Cyberman and DC Infinite Heroes Psycho Pirate figure. Psycho Pirate only because it was insanely cheap at a Tuesday Morning which had some MattyCollector stuff.

Surprisingly, the better figure is the Psycho Pirate. 

The Cyberman has 9 points of articulation, mostly hinge or cut joints with limited movement. Psycho Pirate has 14 points of articulation, including a waist cut which the Cyberman does not. End result: a limited amount of poses for the Cyberman. Which is a shame since I love Cyberman figures.

The 3.75" Doctor Who Range is proving to be a big disappointment compared to their old 5" line. Especially since the price isn't changing to reflect the diminished figures. (Diminished as in smaller size and lower quality.) Thank goodness the Classics line is staying 5" 

Riddler

Making a well articulated Riddler figure? I'm there.

This Batman '66 Classic figure of Frank Gorshin as the Riddler is pretty good. A lot of articulation, a pretty good likeness, but dang is it scrawny. Sure, Gorshin was skinny, but look!

So obviously not in scale with the DCUC figures.

Riddler

At Stockton-Con there was a vendor who was selling blind box vinyl figures. But if you didn't like what you go you could put it in a special box and take something from the box. One of the figures was a Riddler from Funko... so SOLD!

I got a Penguin, put it in the box and took the Riddler.

I asked what they do if someone doesn't want a short-packed figure. The lady said they'd treat it just like any other figure, it goes in the box. They say they'll be doing this at cons, so if you see them, check them out.

Brother Warth

I totally thought this dude's name was Brother Wrath in a nod to some sort of Irony since the dude is one of the Blue Lanterns, a lantern of hope. My Mattel splurge at the toy show had me jonesing to build up my 6 inch Lantern Corps collection, so I finally bit the bullet and picked up Warth after years of fence sitting. Idioms, gotta love em. Warth is a solid piece of plastic, although the skirt is made of that soft rubber that has that weird sheen toys made of soft rubber eventually get.

Also, his tiny feet on the thick legs worry me a bit. Otherwise, a solid figure with a fairly good set of articulation. I mean, no knee articulation, but cut feet.

Toy Sale

Went to a parking lot toy show. It was fun and I ended up buying a lot of Mattel stuff... I'm clearly a masochist. But I also picked up a mr Burns figurine with his brain scoop for a quarter.

Saw it at Target

Sorry Target, I can't justify paying $20 for an Aquaman minifigure. I really want one though.

Green Lantern (Lego)

Oh Galidor, what have you wrought. These Giant Superhero Legos are a mix of the worst parts of Galidor and Bionical to create what are essentially non-magentic versions of magnetix action figures with disturbingly normal heads. It's like someone cut off Hal Jordan's head and put it on a crude robot body.

Wait, that would make an awesome story line.

But this is not that story line, it's just a really lame mech thing.

I got this as a birthday gift though, so at least I know I was able to experience this because someone else bought it for me.