DC Universe Classics - Batman Legacy Action Figures Preview

For a SDCC UPDATE - July 2011 - click here

***WONDERCON 2011 UPDATE - APRIL 8th, 2011***

A couple of new action figures to add to the Batman Legacy line up.  First, we get another classic version of Batman.  Some noticeable differences compared to the other Batman action figures we've see to date in the DCUC line up, specifically a new head sculpt. 

The second new action figure is actually just a repainted Batgirl.  Apparently the belt she is supporting in this picture will not be the final version when the action figure is released.   She'll be supporting something a little less bulky.

For more on the Mattel Batman Legacy toy line (which will be released in the fall of 2011), check out my original post below from Feb 2011. 

Revealed at the 2011 Toy Fair show is the new Batman Legacy action figure toy line by Mattel which will be released sometime in the late spring or early summer.  This toy line supposedly NOT based on the Batman Legacy comic series but rather is more designed to "celebrate" the Dark Knight's rich history.  I assume this means we're going to get different versions of different characters (could mean a lot of repaints).  The first wave of Batman Legacy action figures will include "Movie Masters" action figures from Batman Begins, all in the 6 inch size, as well as a few re-released/repainted figures and some new action figures based on the new Batman Arkham City video game which will be coming at the end of September 2011.  So lets take a look at the line up:

First, the movie masters action figures which i believe will be sold as a 2 pack.  From Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne in his prototype Batman suit and Commissioner Gordon. 

Pictures from the Toy Fair 2011 show that included with the Prototype Batman action figure is a removable ski mask for Bruce. 

The Prototype Batman/Commissioner Gordon has been labelled as Wave 1 by Mattycollector and there is also a Dark Knight Batman and Police Honor Guard Joker − "Wave 2" two pack that has been announced.  No pictures or released dates though of TDK figures though.  I assume this means one Movie Master 2 pack per wave.

The following 3 Batman Legacy action figures will be sold as singles:

•Silver Age Mr. Freeze

Here we go, repaints already.  This is simply the Mr.Freeze action figure we've seen previously about 3 times back before the DC Superheroes Toy Line.  In my opinion the Mr.Freeze from the 2007 NYCC is the best version out there. It was very hard to get a hold of if you were not at the show or did not snap it up on eBay when it first came out.  Ive seen recent eBay auction go in the $60 USD range for that action figure.  Since Mr. Freeze is a must for any Batman fan, this will be a decent addition for collectors who are missing him (although, I'm not crazy about the paint scheme).   To read the ATR review click the link to the right--> DC Superheroes Mr. Freeze Review. Next up:

•Platinum Age Batman

This Platinum age Batman is simply, from the neck down, the Batman figure from the DC Superheroes Wave 8 line up (which is considered to be quite rare).  The DCSH Batman from Wave 8 is still one of my favorite Batman action figures to date.  It had a limited release just prior to the DCUC toy line began.  The head sculpt looks exactly like the Sinestro Corps Batman in DCUC Wave 15.

DC Superheroes Wave 8 Batman Review

 

And the third action figure to be sold as a single will be: 

•The Joker

For the most part, this Joker is very similar to the DC Universe Classics wave 10 Joker.  The differences being, in the Batman Legacy version, The Joker is supporting a long trench coat instead of the jacket with coat tails and flower on the lapel.  I would guess, the trench coat is probably similar to the one used on The Question from Wave 11, just in purple.  The rest of this sculpt is probably spot on to Wave 10 Joker.  As far as the paint job is concerned, gone are the pin stripped pants and orange vest replaced by a solid purple color for both.  Also Joker's shoes are now all black. 

Finally, from the upcoming Batman: Arkham City video game (which is a follow up to the very popular Arkham Asylum video game), we get a Batman and Two Face 2 pack which is also listed as Wave 1.

I must admit that these Arkham City Batman action figures look pretty sweet.  Batman Arkham Asylum had some amazing character designs and you know they will look even better in Arkham City.  It appears these action figures are entirely new sculpts so even though they will compare in size to your DC Universe Classics collection, the will look slightly different.  This does give us potential for finally getting characters such as Poison Ivy, Ra's Al Ghul, a new Killer Croc, Scarecrow and so much more.  Almost every major Batman villain are in these games in some form or another.

That pretty much covers the DC Universe Classics news from Toy Fair 2011. If you missed my previous posts about other Toy Fair announcements, such as DCUC Wave 18 and the Crime Syndicate box set, be sure to check them out. 

Don't forget to help keep Action Toy Review alive simply by visiting our sponsors and also be sure ylou check back for more info, news, previews and reviews of Mattel's DC Universe Classics, DC Universe Green Lantern Classics and down the road, Batman Legacy action figures. 

To find and/or purchase Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures on eBay, click here.

DC Universe Classics - Two-Face (Gotham City 5 Pack)

Today's review will be the final action figure from the Wal-Mart Exclusive Gotham City 5 pack which was released a couple months back.  Two-Face.

Now this of course, is a repainted figure of the previously released Two-Face from Mattel's DC Superheroes toy line which was released back in the fall of 2007. 

There is one small difference between the two sculps.  The sculpt of Two-Face's left hand (the scared one) is different.

The face sculpt itself is exactly the same.  Obvously the paint job is much different.  The original DCSH Two-Face looks to be painted with a was to bring out the details of the scars but the GC5 Two-Face's skin is just painted in one shade of green.  A tad dissapointing.  Even the hair was not painted as nicely. 

Here is a close up of the hands sculpt below.  DCSH Two-Face has a deformed sculpted hand with scarring and the Gotham City 5 Two-Face just has a standard sculpted hand, most likely a re-used part with no scarring at all.

Ive touched on the paint job a bit but overall Two-Face has got a clean paint job, it just lacks detail compared to the DCSH Two-Face.  The face looks good but some shading and a dark wash would have really brought out the detail in the face more. 

Here is a side by side comparison of the two action figures.  Two-Face's articulation is of course the same as the DCSH version.  He generally has all the usual joints as an other DCUC action figures with the exception of an abdominal joint. 

As for accessories, Gotham City Two-Face does not come with anything at all, compared to DCSH Two-Face who came with a pretty cool Tommy Gun.  One major disappointment with the Gotham City 5 pack is that only one of the 5 figures comes with an accessory (Catwoman)

Overall Gotham City Two-Face is a good action figure but compared to Mattel's DC Superheroes Two-Face, it falls a bit short.  No accessories and an inferior paint job compared to the original sculpt places Gotham City Two-Face in 2nd place between the two figures.  If you only get one of the two, i would definitely suggest the original

Sculpt/Design - 7, Paint - 7, Articulation - 8, Accessories - 0, Fun -7

Both Two-Face action figures can be found on eBay.  GC Two-Face can usually be found sold loose or in the 5 pack on eBay.  DCSH Two-Face may be a bit harder to find since that action figure is two years old now. 

To find Mattel's DC Superheroes or DC Universe Two-Face action figures on eBay, click here

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 pack on eBay, click here.

DC Universe Classics - Gotham City 5 pack PREVIEW

If you're into variants of previously released action figures than this is the set for you. Mattel has released Wal-Mart exclusive Gotham City 5 pack which mostly consists of previously released DC Universe action figures with different paint jobs. Lets take a closer look.

The "Gotham City 5" includes Catwoman, Two-Face, Batman, Superman and a brand new sculpt of Lex Luthor. But how different are some of these action figures from previous versions you may already own. Lets start with Superman.

The most similar DCUC Superman action figure to the Gotham 5 version would probably be the Superman from the Braniac/Superman 2 Pack released in the Spring of 2009 (2nd stock photo from the set). The only difference between the two toys is the 2 pack version has red "heat ray" vision eyes. The Gotham 5 Superman (first one above) is your standard classic Superman. Personally, I like the figure. Mattel did release a long hair version of Superman in DCUC wave 6 but not a classic looking one like this since the DC Superheroes toy line was around. Be sure to check out my DCSH Superman review for more details. Look for this Gotham City 5 version of Superman to be sold individually when Mattel releases their DCUC wave 11 (Kilowog) set in late 2009/early 2010.

Next up is Batman. The first photo above is the Gotham City 5 version and the 2nd, from my own personal collection is a photo of DCUC wave 1's Classic Detective Batman. The sculpts are exactly the same. The only difference is the blue and grey suit vs the Gotham City 5's black and grey suit. Also, this is the same Batman sculpt we saw with the DCUC 2 pack of Batman and Clayface, except, this time, Batman is not covered in clay. Oh ya, if you're looking for new accessories with the GC5 Batman, forget it. You get zip in this pack . Again, Mattel appears to be selling this figure individually with the DCUC wave 11 set as there are a few sites on the internet that are taking pre-orders for it. Is this figure worth the purchase. Perhaps. Depends on the collector. You may already have a Batman in Black in Grey from the DC Superheroes wave 8 set. But this is a new sculpt. Decisions, decisions....

Above is the Gotham City 5 version of Catwoman in her purple outfit. The 2nd photo is Catwoman from the DC Superheroes wave 8 set. The only difference between the two figures is one, the purple vs black outfits. And two, the accessories. The original DCSH version came with a whip, a backpack, a pearl necklace and a cat statue. The GC5 version of Catwoman is the only one of the 5 action figures in this set to come with an accessory, however, she only comes with a whip and that is it. If you check my review of the DCSH Catwoman figure, you'll see I wasn't too big of a fan of this toy compared to the others from the set. Its very thin and flimsy. She could not hold the whip very securely, the paint job on the face was sub par and her goggles are not removeable. The DCSH version was very hard to find back in 2007 so if you were not lucky enough to get your hands on her, you are probably interested in grabbing the GC5 version. Just be aware that the figure is really nothing special.

Above you will see the Gotham City 5 version of Two-Face in purple and orange, and the 2nd photo, again from my personal collection, is a picture of the DC Superheroes version of Two-Face. Other than the colors between the two figures, the one main difference I can see is that Two-Face's left hand has changed. Possibly to make it easier to hold a gun....but wait GC5 Two-Face doesn't come with any accessories, so whats the point?? Oh well. I did have a few issues with the original Two-Face action figure. One, its was hard as HELL to find. Two, the paint job was mediocore at best and had a lot of botches. Click the link above for my review. Other than the face, it was not an original sculpt. (Body was taken from a previous DCSH Clark Kent release). For me though, I am interested in getting this version of Two-Face. I quite like the more colorful look with the green face. Its a little more....comic booky.....if thats even a correct term, than the previous version.

On to the final figure of the DCUC Gotham City 5 set and that is the only original sculpt (sort of) of Lex Luthor. I say "sort of" because, yes there are a lot of standard looking parts used for this figure but compared to the DC Superheroes version of Battlesuit Lex Luthor, it is a huge difference. The head is a completely new sculpt giving it a very classic look of Luthor. Again, the crappy thing is GC5 Lex does not come with any accessories, were as Battlesuit Lex came with a very cool ray gun and a piece of Kryptonyte which fit in either Lex's hand or the actual gun. Despite the lack of accessories, personally this is the Lex Luthor figure I've been waiting for Mattel to release.

So, is this set worth the purchase? Depends. Do you like the characters. Do you like repainted variants. Is the new Lex Luthor figure worth it? Personally, I like the repaints....Catwoman I can do without but the Two-Face, Superman and Batman would be cool to have. Lex is a must for my collection though. If you're not lucky enough to find this set at your local Wal-Mart, there are tons of auctions on eBay right now for these figures individually (loose) or for the full pack. Expect to pay between 20-35 bucks for Luthor and 10-15 for the other 4 if you decide to by them loose. For the full set, you're looking at 60-90 dollars (plus shipping costs of course).

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 set on eBay, click here and on Amazon.com, click here.

Hope you enjoyed this DC Universe Classics preview. Be sure to come back to Action Toy Review for more news, info, previews and reviews of Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figure toy line.