Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
Creative designs inspire unique figures...
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When DC Direct decided to do the Justice figures, based on designs by comic legend Alex Ross, it was no surprise that fanboys went bananas for them and bought them by the wave. Sure, some of the costumes and characters had been done dozens of times in the past, but Ross’ attention to detail and signature realism made the Justice line special. When the designs did diverge from the iconic and usual, expanding to more experimental takes on various denizens of the DC Universe, the line became even more appealing.
One of the most dynamic and unconventional design choices made by Ross was putting several heroes of JLA in armor. Those figures, divided between the sixth and seventh waves of the line, offered fans a new, unique look for some of the DCU’s hottest heroes. The original two figures in armor are Green Lantern and Batman, with Superman and Aquaman following thereafter. Below, we’ll be looking at all four.
The packaging of these figures matches that of the others in the Justice line, with a blister featuring promotional photography of all 4 figures in each wave, in addition to a brief description of the character. The packaging displays the figure in full view, and MOC collectors will be happy with the on-card presentation. For loose collectors, the figures are east to access and remove.
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Green Lantern, for example, has no hands. His lance and shield are sculpted on his arms, which is obviously fine if it’s comic accurate but makes the toy a bit limited. A set of interchangeable hands sans gear would have been fantastic and really increased my love for the figure. As it stands, the figure still looks great, but I would have liked the weapons as added accessories or interchangeable hands.
Superman, on the other hand, features perfect engineering and design. His shoulder pads, for example, are made of soft plastics allowing for a full range of motion for his arms. It’s a fantastic way to integrate articulation without losing any aesthetic quality, and I am really impressed by DC Direct’s choice to do it.
Why DCD did not do the same thing with their armored Aquaman astounds and frustrates me. Granted, the sculpt on Aquaman is more complex, and his shoulders are much thicker; however, the use of hard plastics on his sculpt hinder his shoulder movement extensively and really detract from the figure. He still looks fantastic, but the engineering choice is disappointing—especially considering they had done it right with Superman.
But the greatest shortcomings in the line belong to Batman. Batman looks awesome. Whether his wings are fully spread or he is holding them at his side, the figure looks fantastic…as long as his glider is attached. The sculpt sans glider is really, really lacking, and on my figure, I had to force the handlebars in the figures closed hands, nearly breaking the figure in the process. Eventually, I just cut the hands open for ease of holding the handlebars, but it frustrated me to do so. Of course, now that they are in, I have no intention of bothering to remove them, as the figure just look plain silly without his glider.
That being said, of these figures, the Superman is the most well-engineered and sculpted. While all the figures look great, they have some limited functionality, and that bothered me. If you’re not one for posing your figures or removing them from the package, you’ll most likely have no complaints about the sculpts; but as a collector who loves to pose his figures and create displays, these shortcomings bothered me.
As I said, the aesthetics are great; and the paint apps are a major part of that. The figures have no discoloration, smudging or “off” paints. Every app is crisp and solid, and the figures are enhanced by it.
Each figure includes a Justice base like all the figures in the line and retails at $15 US, which is standard pricing for specialty market figures. The price is fair, particularly because of the unique designs and the overall presentation of the figure.
Overall, as disappointed as I was some of the production choices, I am still happy with the four figures. I know I was very hard on some of the engineering, but that is due to my own collecting preferences. If you are the type of collector has no need for poseability, then these figures are seriously worth your time and energy. They really look sensational and will make wonderful additions to any 7” figure collection, DC or otherwise. For those who are into posing or playing with your figures, you may want to be selective with which members of the “armor corps” of the JLA you purchase, as some are more in-line with your collecting preferences than others. Knowing what I know now, I would still get them but treat them as “plastic statues” rather than “action figures”.
--Review and Images by C.J Stunkard
To see these figures in more poses, check out the full picture gallery HERE