If you ever decide to click the site’s “Staff” button you may find out that my dear co-writers have labeled me as the McFarlane Toys expert, which I take great pride in, and mourn for at the same time since offline life has kept me from fulfilling those sacred obligations… thus, a new column is born!
State of DC will be a (hopefully, probably not) weekly thing where I pour my thoughts and comments on what Uncle Todd is making with the DC brand, and maybe some other players here and there. It seems that with things back on track at Warner we’re going to be getting an influx of new releases, and it’s worth mentioning some, and ranting about others, so join me and let’s take a look at how we’re starting so far…
I will skip all the ones we knew about since NYCC 2022, and go straight to the first real surprise of the year: Blue Lantern Kyle Rayner. I mean, it’s a predictable move, the whole Lantern spectrum is ripe for repaints and re-releases (my heart is still sore for the old DCD convention exclusive Hal Jordans in each Corps color, mainly for not having them, but yeah…) but still, it leaves the door open for more figures that I think that any Lantern fan would want. And let me remind you, that this is entirely canon, the same as a Red/Blue/Sinestro/Indigo/Black/White Lantern Hal Jordan, a Red Guy Gardner, an Indigo John and Sinestro… see where I’m going? Pure repaint heaven for Todd (although let’s be honest, the ones that need a complete retool are less likely).
Then I want to skip to the Dark Knight Trilogy BAF wave… and let me give you some context: besides the times at home, I’ve seen TDK at the movies 23 times; and yet I don’t have a single figure from that era, because other than high-end collectibles, Mattel really did us dirty with that franchise. If you don’t remember, look at these:
I was skeptical at first, but with all the in-hand pictures, damn, they really nailed this one. Sure, there’s some stuff here and there like most of McFarlane releases, but Bale and Ledger’s likeness is there, the detail is awesome, and even if Harvey doesn’t look as much as Eckhardt, it’s a solid first take on Two-Face to include in any collection. Scarecrow and Bane are the least graced upon, but with some blackwash I see them standing up to the rest in what I hope is just wave 1 of at least 2 for this set of amazing movies.
Then we have some Gold Labels. Scratch that, a lot! of GLs. Not much to say about Project Superman, other than our predictions were right! He may be an unknown for those who haven’t read the spectacular Flashpoint event, but you’ll get familiar with it one way or another, his background story is the base for what you’ll see of Kara Zor El on the upcoming Flash movie. Seeing an even skinnier figure would have been ideal, given that he’s sun-starved when we meet him, but the face sculpt has some very nice details!
Impulse is alright in every way except for the most important one, he’s supposed to be a kid; Damian’s base body would have been more in line with the way he’s portrayed in the Flash War event. A couple of years ago I would have said beggars can’t be choosers with any Flash pantheon character just being done, but with so many of them adorning the Multiverse line these days, I think this omission was a bit more on the dire side.
But hey, he’s not as hard to watch as Dick Grayson’s version of Robin. Which is funny, he’s spot on, the design is perfect, the proportions are accurate… and yet I can’t look at that classic Robin suit without getting cringy vibes. But looking at how fast he sold out at the McFarlane Store, that’s probably just me.
And then there’s the Dark Detective Jokerized Gold Label. I mean… why? I get the kick a lot of people get out of these -Todd, mostly- but I just can’t justify this, not even with all the accompanying accessories it carries, and even worse, thinking about what the man himself said: we’re going to see a bunch of these in the future. I’d like to say that these are going to be some serious peg warmers, but I dare not make such a presumption by now.
Talking about The Joker… that vampire version. All I’ll say about the ones that have been announced so far “guys, please… somebody at McFarlane HQ needs to pick a comic book and actually read what the story is about”.
And last but not least, we arrive at this past week’s reveals: the Titans wave. I’ve read a lot of people’s disappointment with Beast Boy taking the BAF position when all leaks pointed to Trigon, the decision to pick modern designs, and even the line-up. To all of you, I say, patience, and play the long game: you’re finally getting a Titans wave, and I’m sure more will come eventually. Todd learns, slowly, but he does… case in point… 2 female figures in a single wave!? That’s a first and unheard of in the past couple of years. And of course, 2 seconds after this wave went live for pre-order, we got the announcement of a second Beast Boy coming soon -looks ultra generic- but hey, back to the point… patience.
Anyway, that’s it for now. This week we’ll be getting tons of new announcements with the Winter Showcase, so I’ll be back with a lot more to catch up on. And don’t forget to use the comments section below to let us know what YOU think about what’s on the shelf right now from DC.