Pulp Arcana Studios: The Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime

Mattel DC Batman and the Joker

Howdy Planeteers! So, if you’ve been following this column, you know that I was pretty dang impressed by the Mattel Masters of the Universe Chronicles figures I got my hands on. In that column, I mentioned that Mattel now has the DC Comics figure license, and I was curious how those figures might end up. Well, we have our first taste of that now with Mattel’s DC Super-Villains line hitting store shelves.

I want to point out, right from jump street, that this DC Super-Villains line is the Mattel kids line, and not their line aimed at adult collectors. Now, I will likely mention this numerous times throughout this review, because I feel it is important to keep this in mind as we evaluate these figures. These will not be bringing the same level of detail, paint, and articulation to the table that we are used to seeing in a Mythic Legions or even a Marvel Legends figure. And that is fine.

Because they are not supposed to.

These are figures aimed at a younger audience, for a more affordable price point, and not targeted for collectors. That line is coming our way next year. While I am excited to see what comes with the collector line, I’m always down to see what a company is putting out, especially with such a prominent property like DC Comics.

A PULP ARCANA FIGURE FIELD REPORT Mission Brief:

Artifact Identified:

Batman and The Joker

DC Premier Series Wave 1 Super-Villains

Mattel

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OUT OF THE CRATE:

Mattel has gone for a classic look for this line of DC figures with a bubble on card. It’s streamlined and looks good. I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of in-box collectors for this line, but what we do have is effective. The card is a vibrant blue that pops on the store shelves and the bubble gives us a great view of the figure. Both Batman and the Joker are posed in the bubble, and behind the figure is their sprue of accessories. Each card is particular to the character packaged on it, with nice art showcasing the hero or villain inside.

The back of the card features a classic looking cross-sell with the other figures available in the wave. As a kid, that’s something I always loved: looking at the other figures and seeing what else you can collect.

All in all, the packaging for both figures is simple and clean. All killer, no filler.

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS:

With both figures in hand, the first thing that stands out is just how good the facial portraits are. For what’s supposed to be a kid’s line, Batman looks great, with a classic mask design and deep set eyes. As good as Bats is, the Joker may be even better. The eyes have pin point pupils that catch the light, and the yellow teeth in that wide-set, maniacal grin give a perfect air of menace.

Both Batman and the Joker have what I consider classic, evergreen designs. Each McFarlane DC figure captures a specific look from a comic run. These Mattel figures have gone for a look both modern and classic. A great choice, and I dig the costume choices. Batman is in classic blue and grey, with a yellow outline on the bat emblem and a prominent utility belt. Joker rocks his iconic purple, with a yellow waistcoat and green shirt. The riot of colors is pure Joker and works really well.

Accessory-wise, these figures are absolutely packed. Each comes with a ton of weapons, equipment, and gadgets. Again, for a line that is focused on kids, this adds so much fun to the play factor of the figures. However, an interesting choice is that the accessories all come on a sprue, where they need to be cut free. You can twist them out, but for best results, you definitely want to use a set of model nippers or nail clippers.

Joker comes with a massive rocket-launcher with a huge toothy smile that opens up to reveal the two rockets loaded. One can be fired, and the other is stored there. It is big and kind of goofy, and yet still works. I found it a lot of fun. He comes with four rockets for the launcher, two discs that are either throwing discs or landmines (nobody seems to know which), and a clown faced green battle-axe. The axe is the most disappointing of the accessories, with details only on one side. It looks a little funky, but is not terrible. The coolest addition to the accessory pile though has to be the three joker-ized masks of Batman, Robin, and the Flash. These masks fit over the face of the other figures and is a great little addition. That may be a chance to poke a little fun at the McFarlane line’s propensity to release Jokerized versions of figures.

Batman comes with a ton of bat-gadgets. Bat-knuckle, three standard batarangs, and two remote control offset-wing batarangs give him some edge in combat, while his grapple gun allows him to reach Gotham rooftops. Three smoke grenades and two of the mystery discs round things out nicely. Finally, we get a grey weapons rack, reminiscent of the racks that came with the original Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from back in the day. All the weapons fit on the rack perfectly, and further, can each be attached to tabs on the back of the utility belt. I am an absolute sucker for when a figure can carry their accessories, so I love this.

MOBILITY AND MANEUVERS:

When we get to the articulation, we start to run into the limitations of the line. Far from bad, but you’re not going to get the same level of freedom that you do with something like a Marvel Legends. However, our previous source of DC Comics figures was McFarlane, and those figures have their own posing limitations.

Since both Batman and Joker have the same articulation suite, we will discuss them together. The neck is on a ball peg and gives a decent range of motion, but lacking a hinge at the neck does limit our ability to look up and down a bit. The arms have no bicep swivel, but do swivel at the single jointed elbows. I was pleased to see hinged hands at the wrists.

The torso has the most limits. There is no ab joint at all, and the waist swivel is ok on Batman, but restricted by Joker’s coat. This leaves us with a very static midpoint of the figure, and keeps poses upright.

The legs have good movement at the hips, an upper leg thigh swivel, and double-jointed knees. However, there is no boot swivel, and no ankle articulation. Again, this becomes a limiting factor when posing the figure.

However, I feel I have to remind myself and you, my dear Planeteers, that these figures are not designed for posing, but rather for play. The joints all move smoothly and nothing feels fragile or finicky. Instead, the figures feel solid in hand. With play being the design goal, they did really well.

RECOVERED EVIDENCE:

FINAL RECKONING:

For kids figures, these are beyond fantastic. The facial sculpts are great. The design and aesthetic look great. And you get a ton of fun accessories. Yes, they don’t pose like a Mafex or an SH Figuarts, but they’re not supposed to. These would look good on a shelf, but even better in a kid’s hand.

And knowing that the separate DC collector’s line is coming from Mattel next year, I cannot wait to see what they do with that. If this is the level of design and intention that went into this sub $15 figure, I think Mattel is going to bring the fire with that coming line.