Cat's Outta the Bag!

Look what the cat dragged in!  Er, or rather the cat..er...um...yeah, it's DC Universe Classics Gotham Universe 5-pack Catwoman!

If you missed the boat to get the DC Superheroes black suit version way back when (and chances are you, like me, probably did) or you don't want to fork out a fortune for te DCSH version, then you'd really want to get this figure!

The problem then is what to do with your 17th Superman, 25th Batman, '60s Flash Gordon suit Lex Luthor (aka Danger Disco Dancer Lex), and Two-Face (but zero accesories).  In fact Catwoman is the only one of the five that comes with an accessory--her whip!

Indeed, some of you may like skin-tight-purple-shirt-starched-collar Luthor, and some (like me) will want a Two-Face to round out Bats' rogues gallery.  So what to do but turn to Ebay?  And that's where I found this gem along with half-orange-suit-half-Green-Goblin-Doc-Brown Harvey Dent (Review to come!)

But she didn't come cheap, at least far as DCUC figures and Cat Burglars go....

The Walmart Exclusive DCUC Gotham City 5-Pack (6-inch) sells for S$140 (US$100) here in specialty stores that bring it in.  Now when you break that down it works out to be S$28 (US$20) a fig, which is about S$7 less than retail.  Definitely reasonable except for the two deal-breakers--Superman and Batman, considering they're not new figures and you're never really gonna be able to sell them to anyone else. (You're better of donating it to charity or giving it to lil' nephews and nieces who probably prefer Ben10 anyway.)

So 140 buckaroos for 3 figures? That's waaaaay too much for me.

So when I saw Catwoman going for just over US$20 (final price was $21.02 after s&h), I jumped at the chance to get her because it meant getting her, and just her, for what she would ordinarily cost in the 5-pack (plus shipping) minus the pesky Justice League do-gooders. Heh.

And boy was she worth it!


Like: Colour scheme.  Well, I know some purists believe that either Catwoamn is in a purple suit with just a face mask or she's in black with goggles (current suit).  But the truth is I like the blend of old(er) and new.  She won't look too dull on the shelf among the dastardly denizens of Gotham, and she'll also look great next to Batman, whether blue/grey, black/grey or all black (go Keaton lips!).

Also, Catwoman's purple in the goggle getup can be equated to Batman's blue and grey appearance--the blue and the purple were/are used to add highlights to what (the inkers thought) would amount to a dull looking costume.  And presto, a variant is born!

Like: Paint on her face.  She's got great  big green eyes, which they didn't really have to do all that well because they're hidden from almost all angles behind the goggles, unless you look closely. Its fantastic cuz they're large and blue.  Her lips are also a nice shade of red and her skin tone is just about spot on.

Like: Tooling on belt, boots, sculpted detail in the costume, goggles, zipper.  All of these look great from far but look excellent up close.  Her belt's got a nice wrinkles leather effect, while her boots have straps and molded buckles.  They gave her the nice, round zip while also sculpting in the zip!  Her suit wrinkles in the right places around the neck and waist and her mask also has sculpted seams.

Like: Articulation to match the character.  She's got 25 points of articulation, up form the standard DCUC 23.

Catwoman can fully unilize every joint and look ever more so like Catwoman with every movement.  She's got her left hand in a cat scratch position and the right molded to hold her whip.

You need a whipping pose?  No problem.

A high back kick?  Any time.

A back flip?  Sure thing.

Dislike: Compared to her DCSH black suit version, she's got very much less accessories.  But then again, the old version came with the whip, a cat statue, removable backpack, and a pearl necklace.  And we all know that's ridiculous by today's DCUC accessory standards. :P

Dislike: That she's a Walmart exclusive and I have to pay a premium to get her, if I can find her in the first place.  But the thrill is in the hunt, is it not? ;)

Dislike: That she's in a 5-pack with 4 dudes.  C'mon, Mattel!  Give us say, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, and Huntress instead! So what if Ivy and Huntress don't exist? Make them exist!  Now that's a 5-pack we would all want. ;)

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9.5/10 - From afar, she stands out from other Bat-villains (or any villains) because of her colour scheme. Up close, there's all that wonderful tooling and a great looking face and green eyes.  She could do with a little bit of a smirk/expression, though.  But her goggles hide just enough that it isn't completely necessary.

Poseability: 10/10 - On her own or with the Bat (to come, hopefully), this cat's full of surprises. Catwoman is so agile that she rarely looks out-of-pose.  Every turn of a wrist, twist of a thigh-cut joint or turn of a shoulder gives you something and make you think, "Yeah, Catwoman could do that." Her score here has much less to do with her articulation than it has with her character and how she'd use it.  Oh, and her head can tilt up and down unlike the current DCUC figures.

Fun: 9.5/10 - Many a time I pick up a figure thinking that if I'd just get through taking photos of it for a review I could move onto something better.  And many a time I end up thinking, "Wow.  This toy is pretty darn neat.  I should've opened it earlier."  This is one of those times.  And I couldn't stop trying to pose her, much like how I am with GI Joes, Marvel Universe, and other 3.75 inch figures.

Value: 8/10 - Yeah, I know, it sucks (an 8 sucks? Wha?...)  But the truth is that she comes only in a 5-pack, she's only got one accessory, and she's a darn tootin' Walmart exclusive!  We don't have any of those here.  That makes local seller hike the price up for shits and giggles and a bunch of profit.  And then what would we do with the Superman and Batman?  Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh...

Overall: 9.3/10 - It's funny how the figures I tend to like are repaints/redecos from the old DC Super Heroes line.  Like Man-Bat.  Or Black 'S' Superman.  Or Mega Bat-Pouch Batman.  But I guess it speaks volumes for the quality product that Mattel has put out for this line.  Sure, we all have ur problems with the ball-swivel-only necks or the 'same-body-over-and-over' argument.  But if 5 years down the road we look back and don't think, "Man they don't make figures like that Guardian anymore," then we'll know for sure that what we've got in DCUC is truly plastic gold. Yeah, who needs that metal stuff anyway.