Disney Store Mother Gothel, Evil Queen, and Maleficent

It's been almost a year since I last updated, and a hectic year at that. After seven years in Queens, my wife and I packed up and moved across the country to Seattle.

In addition to that, there are a few other reasons this blog fell to the side. The first is that I've been concentrating on my fiction: I wrote a huge number of short stories over on Mainlining Christmas, and I'm working on a new novel. In addition, my collecting habits last year became less focused. While I've never been a completist, DC Universe Classics has clearly been the centerpiece of my collection for years. With that wrapping up, I'd moved away from collecting lines and towards picking up the odd figure here and there. I didn't feel like I had as much to add to the discussion around most of those.

It was a visit to The Disney Store that got me typing again. My wife picked up the Mother Gothel figure last year, and we've been waiting ever since to see if Disney would expand the line of villains. Today, I wandered in to find Maleficent and the Evil Queen sitting on the shelves. I haven't heard about them until today, so I wanted to spread the word.

These are 12 inch dolls, in scale with Barbie. Needless to say, you can pick up the princesses and princes, too, as well as accessories, additional costumes, and even some supporting characters. Overall, the princesses are pretty good, while the princes still look like decade-old Kens. I keep hoping that Disney catches up with modern conventions and brings their male characters up to the quality of the females.

These dolls are more like the princesses, minus the vapid expressions protagonists have as a default. There's also a Jafar in this line, but - like the princes - he just doesn't compare. Each villain features a unique head sculpt and - for the price - a nice costume. I'd have loved to see some accessories - say a staff or raven for Maleficent and an apple or even a mirror for the Evil Queen - but that's probably a lot to ask.

The clear winner of these three is Mother Gothel, with the Evil Queen coming in second. Maleficent is still a good figure, but the skin tone doesn't quite work.

The best part of these is the price: they retail for $14.50, less than I'm used to paying for a six-inch action figure. Plus, they seem to be on sale more often than not. I picked these up for 2 for $20 today, though I was so excited to find them, I didn't even notice they were on sale until I was at the register.

These are obviously low-end dolls, but I'd argue they hold up pretty well as collectibles. In the current market, these seem almost comically under priced. I suspect some collectors dismiss The Disney Store as being too kid-oriented, but it's become a fantastic source of reasonably priced dolls and action figures.

Crazeracers

My wife knows me pretty well. She found this set of collectible erasers and gave them to me as part of my birthday present. Collectible erasers have been around for years in Japan, and they seem to be becoming popular around here now. Personally, I love them. In addition to the fact they're adorable, they're close enough in scale to fit in with six-inch figures. I've got some similar ones, but these might be the first that aren't imports.

These are interesting for a few reasons. First, they're labeled "puzzle erasers," but that's a stretch. The number of pieces is extremely limited, and there doesn't seem much point in disassembling them. In addition, I've got a few puzzle erasers, and these are the first I've seen with decals. I'm no expert, but I get the feeling that kind of defeats the point. Not that I care, mind you: as far as I'm concerned, decals as good as these make these more useful, not less.

All four are cool, but the clear standouts are the cereal box and milk. The milk cap pops off, in case you want to display it open. As far as I can figure, this is the only useful removable part, at least for my purposes.

My least favorite is the toast. In addition to being too big for six inch figures, it's got an image of grapes sculpted over the jam, presumably so you know what flavor it's supposed to be. Unfortunately, that kind of breaks the illusion.

The set's great overall, though. When you've been collecting action figures as long as I have, you're never lacking for guns, knives, and explosives, but unique and unexpected twelfth-scale accessories like a jug of milk are a godsend.

DC Universe Classics: Captain Boomerang

Captain Boomerang is a fairly straightforward villain included in a very bizarre wave of DCUC figures. Overall, Wave 18 is defined by its assortment of figures from the 80's show, Superfriends. That series was a little before my time, to be honest, and while I find the concept amusing, I have a hard time sitting through episodes. So while I appreciate the much needed diversity this wave offers, I can't bring myself to drop twenty bucks a figure for a bunch of characters I have no attachment to. If they ever hit clearance, I might rethink that, but for the time being, this is the only character I was really interested in.

Captain Boomerang is the only figure from this wave who's a villain, not a hero. He's one of the Rogues, the team of criminals who are usually battling Flash. In addition, this is a modern version of the character, making him clash even more with other figures in this wave.

This is nice work. The sculpt is strong, and the paint is clean. Further, Mattel's included some "extra" joints: you get double-pins in the elbows and knees, in addition to all the other DCUC joints. Plus, the scarf's a loose piece, meaning it can face any way you want it to.

The accessories are a bit light. Other than the boomerang (which is required in this case), the only things you're getting are the head and crotch of Apache Chief, the Collect & Connect figure from this wave. Honestly, even if I were a bigger fan of the show, the head seems relatively weak.

I was expecting to be similarly underwhelmed by his boomerang - it's made of a very soft rubber - but I was pleasantly surprised. While it is flimsy, it works well in his hand and looks pretty nice.

I was surprised to find Captain Boomerang marked down to ten bucks at Forbidden Planet. For a relatively new figure, that's a good deal. Especially since he actually seems like the least obscure character from this wave (which is saying a lot, when you think about it).

Picture: Justice

Action League: Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Aquaman Vs. Black Manta

So, a while back I noticed that I owned every founding member of the Justice League in this scale except Aquaman. I knew there were two versions of the character Mattel's produced: the Brave and the Bold version from the early days of the line, and the newly released Flashpoint version. The Flashpoint one has a far superior sculpt and paint work. Unfortunately, he sort of looks like a Nazi general, since that's more or less what his character was. So I decided to keep my eyes open for the Brave and the Bold one.

I expected it to take longer than it did: I found this set in a convenience store near the Bronx Zoo. It was going for eight bucks, which is about what I'd expect to pay at retail these days, so I picked it up.

Aquaman is good, though I'm sure he'd be a lot better if they did him now. The skin tone is too orange for my tastes, and I'd like to see more detail or shading in the costume. Still, he's a decent figure, all things considered.

In some ways, Black Manta's the better figure. I like the head quite a bit. Granted, it's comically undersized given the style, but the style supposed to be comical so it all works out somehow.

The articulation here is the same as later waves: cut shoulders, waist, and neck. I'd like more, but that's life. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Black Manta retains at least some of his neck articulation, despite those tubes on his helmet. It's limited, of course, but I'd half expected it to be stuck in place.

Mattel's made far better Action League figures, but ultimately I'm just happy I finally have the entire Justice League.

DC Universe Classics: Azrael Batman

The nineties were a strange time from comics. Actually, the 90's were a strange time, period, but their effect on superheroes is particularly relevant to this review. The decade was an extreme one, or at least it pretended to be so. In reality, the years were probably more melodramatic and angst-ridden than anything else, but, in hindsight, they're good for a few laughs.

In fact, this guy might be good for a lot of laughs. Yes, Azrael, the assassin turned crime-fighter who took on the mantle of Batman when Bruce Wayne was crippled by Bane: is there anyone more extreme?

Well, probably.

Mattel has made at least one version of Azrael previously, but I think this is their first Batman-Azrael (or Bazrael, for short).

Truth be told, I've never had much interest in this guy. He's ridiculous, absurd, and - well - stupid. But, looking back, he's also kind of fun. There was an unintentional campiness about him and his era that wasn't really evident at the time, but now it's impossible to miss.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that this is an absolutely fantastic action figure. The sculpt and paint work is top notch (though the legs are a bit bland). The added bits of armor, along with the utterly ridiculous number of spikes and pointy bits, add to the overall impression. Sure, Azrael's trying too hard, but you don't name yourself Azrael if you have a healthy sense of self.

I don't think I need many reminders of the 1990's (living through it was enough, thank you), but I'll happily take this one. That cape/wings/apple slicer on his back's a great example: what the hell is that supposed to be? What's it's purpose? And, frankly, who cares? It's a hell of a lot of fun.

Articulation is unusual this time. From the abs down, he's a normal DC Universe Classics (other than having double-pins on his knees, but even that's pretty common these days). But the top part of his body is a whole new game. His elbows and wrists are ball-jointed to take advantage of his gauntlets. His head's technically still a ball joint, but won't get much movement at all due to his suit.

The only accessory Bazrael comes with is one of Bane's legs. Jeeze, I know Bazrael got violent towards the end, but that's a little dark, isn't it?

I'm kicking myself, because I once passed this guy up for something like $12 or $13. I wound up paying twenty at a shop here in Queens and calling myself lucky: he's going for $40 and up online. In part, I bought him for the leg - I do want to finish Bane - but I'm also loving the figure. He's not a part of DC history I'm fond of, but I really dig the toy.

Robin, Revisited

I've been dishing out quite a bit of cash over the past year on new Robin figures. First, I bought the Young Justice version, which I reviewed here. Then, in order to complete Bane, I bought the Wave 16 Robin. In both cases, I bought the figures for their accessories.

The thing is, I actually did want another Robin to display: I've got a general DC shelf and a separate Batcave, and I wanted the Boy Wonder represented in each. But the Golden Age-costumed Robin, while having a good head sculpt, just didn't work for me: the outfit just didn't work with either display. The Young Justice Robin, on the other hand, had a great body but an awful head.

The solution, of course, was to swap their heads. I ran into a snag when I tried removing the head of the Wave 16 Robin. I should have immersed him in hot water first, but I skipped that step. As a result, the peg snapped, leaving half in the head and half in the body. Getting it out the body wasn't too hard: I just used a Leatherman to pry open the neck and yank it out. But if I wanted to use the head, that half had to come off as well. That required a Dremel and some assistance from my wife (while I could probably manage myself, she's far more experienced with the tool, and I don't want to take chances with something like this).

She drilled into Robin's head and removed what was left of the peg. In the process, she also wound up increasing the size of the hole. This turned out being quite a boon: Robin's head now functions like an actual ball-joint. There's a gap between the back of his neck and head now, but frankly it's worth it for the added articulation.

At some point, I should probably paint over his arms and neck: the flesh color doesn't quite match up. It's not really essential, though. If I ever want to go the other way and put the Young Justice head on the Wave 16 body, I'll definitely need to break out the paint: a darker face on a pale body works far better than the reverse.

I'm considering doing so, by the way. The Wave 16 Robin body was extremely cartoonish, and actually looks like it could work pretty well with that head. The fact the YJ head is oversized works, too: it actually seems to fit in with the larger Robin body. I'm in no hurry, though: this is the Robin I needed to pose.

Interestingly enough, this wound up similar to the Robin Mattel released back in Wave 3. I still prefer that one, by the way, but this is a close second.