Chase Pics: Justice League Unlimited Display! (and other updates. ;] )

5 long years after the last episode aired, I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and opened up all the JLU figures that I have.  The reason I took so long was partly laziness, partly because I'd discovered DC Universe and Marvel Universe figures were more poseable (and up my alley), and mostly because I've never had the space to display 'em all.

Well, after getting married and moving into our own place, I finally have a whole room I can devote to displaying stuff!  Even then, I realized that packaging was taking up a lot of space.  And I mean a LOT.  That also meant that I was buying more stuff than I had time to open.  (Weird, right?  Ok, maybe not...)

I guess I had the lofty ambition of reviewing every toy I bought, thinking that I could do it because I'm a self-professed cherry-picker and proud of it.  But boy was I wrong.  There ain't no way I can review toys faster than I buy them.  The verdict?  I get a brand new JLU display!

I needs me Justice Lords Wonder Woman!!!

Read on for more updates! ;)

DC Universe Classics Wave 15 Martian Manhunter

Yessssss!!! He's finally here!  The Magnificent Seven is finally complete!  Or not.  I have a Two-pack Aquaman (And Black Manta) on the way, but he's stuck somewhere in Canada...for now...

So we'll just use Hawkgirl as a stand-in for now!  Yeah, it'll be Justice League Animated Series Mag 7 for now. :)

I chose to get the variant version of J'onn J'onzz because he's be less "standard"-he'd have a pointy head, a chopper blade hand and be loads better than the human form version.

As the Rangerlord says, the classic Manhunter can be quite boring, depending on your taste.  But after having a gander at both, I realized that they were both equally ok, and that in order to have the complete Martian Manhunter, you'd have to get them both.

Why?  He's a shapeshifter, so having interchangeable parts like Plastic Man would be totally awesome.  But Ol' Stretchy Tights was a Comic Con Exclusive, meaning that there is no way Manhunter could be equally awesome, yes?  Well, yes and no.  And here's why...

Can't Get Enough of Them Green Lanterns!

A trip to the local toy flea market yielded a pretty rare find today:

That right, it's the 2009 SDCC Exclusive Justice League Unlimited Green Lanterns Origins 3-Pack! (Minus the packaging)

I'd been rather surprised to find these 3 guys loose and going for only S$25 (US$ 17.80) despite the lack of the packaging. I thought they might have been in poor condition, which they aren't. So I put it down to shipping cost--somehow this seller got his hands on a loose batch of the trio, probably super cheap straight from the factory in China, and saved a bunch on having to pack the thingy nicely in order not to get it damaged in transit. And he decided to pass on the savings. Or he could've robbed some poor kid at the San Diego Comic Con. But I'm optimistic, so I'll go with the former.

Now I wouldn't have minded getting the Lantern shaped, re-sealable packaging, but those that I have MISB seen here in Singapore have been priced in the region of S$60 (US$ 43). So I figure if I can pay less than half price for this cool set minus the package, why not? :)

The first thing that struck me about these figures is the wonderful paint job and sculpts of the heads.

Never mind that they don't stand too well unless balanced just right, and forget the forgettable articulation, these guys were made to look pretty and as animated accurate as possible. And they do, as far as Sinestro goes, because he's the only one to appear in the Justice League Animated series. Hal does too, but only for a very short instant and with his mask on. But they style of the sculpts fit very well and the eyes are painted magnificently.

I really love the 2 alien heads. All of them are of course interchangeable with each other. Abin Sur's matte pink looks like it could be real rubbery skin, while Sinestro's red tone is just right. Gotta love the painted 'stache too. And his jaw and ears are done spot on. I don't have a problem with Hal, except that he doesn't have a mask on and his neck lacks a bit of green that's needed when you swap head so you can turn Hal into Green Lantern. Yeah, so he does look a little off when "in costume."

Oh and there's one other problem with Hal: his right leg is shorter than his left. Thankfully, he's got larger feet than the other two due to his flight boots, so he doesn't have a hug problem balancing

Let's rate 'em!

Aesthetics: 9.5/10

I have to say, they are all well executed. Despite Sinestro's and Abin Sur's body being the same generic smaller male JLU body (Supes and Batman are larger) painted only slightly differently at the shoulders, lots of work was put into the heads. On Hal, his head is sorta generic, but the work was put into his rubber jacket, new arms and legs. And average looking as it may be, Hal's head is still painted well.

Poseability: N/A - I won't rate them here cuz I think JL and JLU figures were not meant to be posed, really. A broken Superman and Wonder Woman are kinda big hints that these guys were not meant to have supermodel poseability. They were meant to look great and maybe stick an arm or a leg out once in a while.

Fun: 9/10 - It's awesome that these 3 came together. You can now re-enact the whole Hal as Green Lantern origin story. And it's great that the heads are interchangeable. They should do this with more figures, especially those with secret identities. Unmasked Batman/Batman Beyond would be cool, as would Lex Luthor in a suit/prison duds/power armour. Also, this GL set is extra fun as I'm now catching up on my GL literature thanks to my cousin Byron, who's got a real knack for finding the good reading material. Thanks for passing it on. ;)

Value: 8.5/10 - For the US$20 it's going for MISB at Mattycollector.com I'd say it's just about worth it. If you live outside of the US though, shipping will be expensive. So buy more to save on shipping. :P

Overall 9/10 - A solid set which will increase in fun value if they make more Lanterns, especially with more interchangeable heads. Why they've already got a Kilowog, and with John Stewart, you can already have a mini-Green Lantern Corps get together. ;)

It's worse than I thought...no wait, it's better!

So I'm cleaning out space on my shelf and rearranging the toys to create more space for my recent acquisitions like Henkei Grimlock and Skyfire.

3 3/4" Hulk, Wolverine, and Captain America get re-posed to face off 2 to 1, with hulk grinding a fist into his open palm, while the other two get posed side by side on one of my spare G.I. Joe stands (Duke's, actually. He's currently driving Indy's Jeep. But that's another story. Heh.)

I used to be a toy hog, I must confess. I would keep my toys unopened, telling mself how great they look in their packaging. But after Transformers Animated and now Henkei/Universe made me want to play with my toys again, I've been playing/posing my action figures, boxes be damned.

So lo and behold I find Justice League Power Escape Superman in the corner of my shelf taking up space. His box was tattered and I remember getting him in a toy sale for a mere S$10. (that's like slightly less than US$7).

The rubber bands holding his collapseable wall had long dried up and snapped, leaving Supes looking like his house had crumbled around him while he was chained up. (Like, I know. What chains could hold the Man of Steel?)

So I bust him out.

First thing I notice is that his arms are loose. Like swinging from the hinges loose. No wonder I saw him going for S$5 after had gotten him some years ago. (Yup, he was stuck in his paper and plastic prison for 5 years. At least.)

But upon figuring out how to make him yank out his chains and cause the wall behind him to crumble, or rather, explode, I actually had a ton of fun busting him from his chains again and again.

You see, this is how he works:

The base of his chains are spring loaded, so you load the ends into the sockets as if they were projectiles from any sort of action figure gun. The base piece of the breakable wall behind him has a long stem which is also loaded likewise in the floor behind him.

Then you hit the two buttons at his feet:

First the one on his right, which shoots out the chain, and with his loose arm, makes him look like he yanked the hell outta the puny steel restraints.

Then the left button,

which produces the same effect, but also ejects the base wall piece and causes the bricks behind him to shatter and fall like a ton of...well, bricks.


Neato. Way more fun than I thought he ever would be.

And being in a black suit with a silver "S" doesn't hurt. :)

Whoddunnit???

To say it wasn't a good day for Wonder Woman would be an extreme understatement.

After all, she was found dead yesterday.

Her body? Torn in two.


So the obvious question is: who did it?

Was it the jealous teammate in a cat fight gone wrong?

After all, it was Hawkgirl who found her at the crime scene in this state.

Or was it the crazed big-brained ape, arch-enemny of the Justice League and convicted criminal?

Yes, the evidence against the Ultra-Humanite seems overwhelming. Some would even say highly incriminating.

But sometimes the truth is simpler, and sadder than fiction.

Yep, I confess. It was I who tore Wonder Woman in half. But I swear it was an accident. Who knew that the mushroom cap in her waist joint was already partially torn?

Who knew she couldn't rotate at the waist? Ah well, 4 out of 5 working joints ain't bad. Or is it?

I guess the moral of the story here is this: When buying loose figures, always check that everything is working right. Even something as simple as a usually sturdy hip joint can sometimes be, well, unreliable.

Oh well. I just superglued her back. It's not like these Justice League figures are gonna be posing themselves to the top of America's Next Top Model.

The sad thing is, Wonder Woman was meant as a gift.

The great thing is, the gift is still greatly appreciated. ;)

Show Accuracy: 9/10 - WW's face and hair look exactly like the animated version of her.

Aesthetic: 7/10 - She's great to look at, but her paint apps could've been way better. There's even a spot on her chest that looks like i had be touched before the paint was dry. But somehow the face is paintd beautifully, especially the eyes. Go figure.

Poseability: 1/10 - Yeah, and this is before she got torn in two. Lol.

Overall: 6/10 - Buy it. Only if you're a die-hard Justiice League Animated/Unlimited fan.

Or you just have to complete your animated Magnificent Seven.

Or both, like me.

Go for the 7" DC Universe figures instead. :-s