Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
For a great selection of superhero action figures and collectibles, check out fine sponsors BigBadToyStore.com, ClarkToys.com, VNCToys.com, ToyWiz.com, BriansToys.com, PastGenerationToys.com, Urban-Collector.com, YesAnimation.com, and SuperheroToys.com.
For a great selection of pop culture t-shirts and apparel, check out TShirtGurus.com and 80sTees.com.
DC Comics revolutionized the whole idea of a crossover event with Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. This first of its kind “maxi-series” told a truly massive and universe changing story, introducing many new characters and killing off even more. The DC universe was never the same, and ripples emanating from this first Crisis continue to spread and cause trouble. Several other Crises have followed (including last year’s Final Crisis), but none were as momentous as the original. And so it was with great anticipation that fans started collecting Mattel’s DC Infinite Heroes figures, the first year of which were emblazoned with the name “Crisis.”
Comic-Con brought the Crisis fever to a new pitch with the release of the Anti-Monitor figure. The enemy of the original series, his counterpart in the positive matter universe was the heroic Monitor. It was the Monitor who marshaled the superheroes (and even villains) of dozens of worlds to fight the ever-encroaching evil of the Anti-Monitor. Among his emissaries throughout time were the Flash (Barry Allen) and Supergirl. Each would meet his/her fate before the series’ end. The Anti-Monitor too relied on some secondary agents, most notably the emotion-crazed Psycho Pirate. Each of these, and many more, had his part to play in the grand drama of the Crisis.
Available only on Mattycollector.com is the Crisis 4-Pack, including the Monitor, Flash, Supergirl, and Psycho Pirate. These figures/versions are available in this set only, and with them you can relive many moments from the maxi-series. The Monitor is wholly unique to this set, while the other three are exclusive variants of figures soon to be on store shelves.
The Crisis 4-Pack comes shipped in a white cardboard sleeve emblazoned with the Infinite Heroes logo. Inside, each figure is packaged just like every other, on the standard Infinite Heroes bubble and card... with a few notable distinctions.
The Monitor, like the Anti-Monitor before him, is encased in a smooth lozenge-shaped bubble instead of the typical grasping hand. He also has the same notation in the upper right corner “a source of power in the DC Universe.” Finally, behind the figure is a great image of the Monitor, and his figure number is the infinity sign.
The Flash and Psycho Pirate have standard packaging, while Supergirl is pre-posed in her final moments, with a special cardboard insert of the Superman figure behind her.
The back of each figure’s card has that character’s info and power scores, which let you know such interesting tidbits as Flash’s 90 point near light speed movement and the source of Roger Hayden’s powers. In the section of the card that usually cross-sells other figures, these all show the same 4-pack figures only.
The Monitor is a being of immense power, as old as the universe itself. Throughout time he has satisfied himself simply watching the comings and goings of life, until his anti-matter counterpart threatened everything. At once on the defense, the Monitor attempted to stay one step ahead of the Anti-Monitor by using the native superheroes and encouraging their unique talents. While he would not survive the battle, the Monitor’s sacrifice ensured the universe would continue, and in later series more Monitors have since appeared.
The big “M” is a unique looking character. He’s got the warrior-sage vibe going on, with bulky chest armor, a long skirt, and flowing cloak over a bodysuit. The Monitor is roughly human, with a large head dominated by black eyes, a thick protruding brow, and interesting hairstyle.
As the only all new figure in this set the Monitor has a very good sculpt. Both armor sections are attached pieces over the basic Infinite Heroes body. They are nicely detailed with mostly smooth lines and interspersed line effects. The skirt in particular has a cool pinwheel logo in the front and multi-layered pleats. The Monitor’s main body has plenty of muscle definition, and his head is very intricately sculpted with all of its weird proportions and hair. The cloak too looks good with a nice flowing pattern.
Paint on the Monitor is pretty good. The basic body suit is bright blue and metallic gold, both of which are used to great effect on this figure. The armor adds white and gray, nicely offsetting the brighter main colors. Finally, both the Monitor’s flesh tone and his cloak are different shades of purple, while his hair and eyes and pitch black.
There have been many characters named the Flash over the years, from the World War II-era Jay Garrick (the one with the metal hat) to young Bart Allen (better known to most as Impulse). For many, the quintessential Flash was Silver Age Barry Allen. A police scientist, Allen was granted super-speed when a freak bolt of lightning hit a cabinet full of chemicals and bathed him in the result. The Flash served in the original Justice League and shared many adventures with Superman, Green Lantern, and others.
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor specifically targeted the Flash for capture, allowing the Psycho Pirate to torture him. Allen escaped, after using the Pirate’s powers against the Anti-Monitor’s own Qwardian troops ran beyond the speed of light to destroy a superweapon. In the process he discorporated and, depending on your point of view, became one with the Speed Force or turned into the very lightning bold that gave him his powers year before. One of the “saints” of the DC Universe, Barry Allen only very recently returned to life.
The Flash figure included in the Crisis 4-Pack is a bit macabre. It captures the speedy hero in his final moments, trying desperately to run fast enough to destroy the Anti-Monitor’s cannon. And so, while the figure re-uses the new standard Infinite Heroes body, Barry Allen has a very haunting head sculpt.
Barry’s version of the Flash costume was more straightforward for a simpler time. Basically consisting of a one-piece skin-tight suit, there’s not a whole lot in the way of sculpted details except for the tiny wings at the Flash’s temples and boot tops. Those are done very well, and the body is lean and strong, perfect for Barry.
Of course, it’s the face that makes the hero. As he pushed the limits of physical speed, the Flash literally wasted away, conscious of what was happening the entire time. And so this figure’s face is pretty scary. The eyes are open wide in horror, and the lower face droops, wrinkles surrounding the slackened mouth. It’s a great sculpt, but one that definitely reminds you of the tragic scene.
We’ve already got two Flash figures in the Infinite Heroes lineup, Jay Garrick and Wally West, to compare with the new Barry. Comic accurate, Barry’s costume is a much brighter red than Wally’s, and it looks very good. [Note: the red is so bright that in the pics it can come off a little orange. It’s red.] The yellow of the boots and lightning bolt effects completes the look, and this Flash is very spiffy. A lot of attention was paid to the exclusive head sculpt of course, including Barry’s open mouth and bright blue eyes.
Psycho Pirate (or Psycho-Pirate) is the only villain in this set, but he’s a doozy. Craving the taste of human emotions, Roger Hayden has massive control over people with the Medusa Mask, a most powerful artifact. Simply by describing the effect and “acting it out” while wearing the mask, Psycho Pirate can make a villainous fall in love with a hero, make the mightiest superhero cower in fear, or make the most stoic hardass cackle hysterically.
In his methodical takeover of the multiverse, the Anti-Monitor recruits Psycho Pirate and his powers, and the villain would be one of the few to survive the Crisis with memories of its events. Unfortunately for him, the experience would leave him quite insane.
Psycho Pirate is an old school villain, and his costume reflects that. He wears an all-over bodysuit that covers everything except for his hands and face and includes a long cape and huge collar. The regular version of this figure ends there, which is really a shame. Any true fan will need this version, for only this Psycho Pirate wears the Medusa Mask!
The featureless mask with the blank eyes represents the character’s true power, and it looks very cool. The figure’s sculpt is again pretty basic but good. The body has nothing out of the ordinary, but the massive collar piece and cape are nicely shaped, and of course the Mask looks great. What really stands out here is Psycho Pirate’s paint job.
Nothing says crazy like all-over black and red checkerboard, which is exactly what Psycho Pirate is sporting. His arms and legs have the basic geometric pattern, while on the chest are additional tragic and comic masks in gold and a gold belt. Psycho Pirate’s mighty collar is black on the inside and red on the outside, while his cape is completely red. Covering his face is the Medusa Mask in bright gold with completely white eyes. Overall, Psycho Pirate is one of the best painted figures in the Infinite Heroes line. The colors are dynamic and the lines very crisp.
All three of these male characters share the same new Infinite Heroes articulation scheme first seen on the Green Lantern First Flight Hal Jordan figure. It’s a marked improvement over the old style that offers lots of flexibility and poseability. Each figure is articulated at the neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, forearms, waist, hips, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles. The Flash is the most poseable, while Psycho Pirate suffers a bit in balance due to the huge cape and Monitor is slightly restricted by his cloak and skirt piece.
The final figure in the Crisis set is the only female, Supergirl! This is 1980s era Kara Zor-El, a heroine from a different time. Another survivor of Krypton, Supergirl adventured with and without her cousin Superman, and was one of the mightiest heroes of all time recruited to take the fight to the Anti-Monitor’s citadel in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. When things were bleakest and the battle appeared lost, Supergirl bravely confronted the villain by herself in order to save Superman and the others. She succeeded in holding the Anti-Monitor back for a time, but would die of her injuries soon after.
Supergirl is definitely a holdover from the 80s, if for no other reason than her rockin’ headband. She’s a statuesque superhero complete with long curly hair. Her costume consists of a long sleeve shirt with “S” logo, miniskirt, thigh boots, mid-length cape, and aforementioned hair accessory.
This exclusive version of the superheroine is “battle-damaged” (a nice way of saying dead, really) with numerous additional painted effects. Supergirl’s sculpt is good, with parts that cross over into excellent. She shares the same basic female body with most of the other Infinite Heroes ladies, with the addition of the attached skirt piece, cape, and of course the new head. Supergirl’s head sculpt is quite good, with a very pretty face and detailed curly hair.
Supergirl, as with all “Super” characters, requires a very distinct paint job, and she’s got one. Her costume is the usual bright red, blue and yellow, with a lighter blue than you’ll find on the modern Supergirl figure. Her face is painted with exaggeratedly large eyes, and the red headband peeks out from her long blonde tresses. The wounds and clothing tears exclusive to this figure are all painted on, and range from a rip on her boot to lots of shirt tears and finally a cut across her right cheek. All of these are very well done.
The female Infinite Heroes have yet to see the increase in articulation the males have enjoyed, and so Supergirl is somewhat limited in that department. She has joints at the neck, shoulders, waist, V-crotch, and knees. She’s still capable of some good poses, though you’ll probably require the included figure stand (the same clear one that comes with all of the female figures).
With some careful balancing you can get Superman to carry Supergirl’s lifeless body in case you want to recreate the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.
Whether or not you’re a fan of the original Crisis, these four are excellent figures. If you are a fan, of course, then these are absolutely must-buys. Monitor is the only entirely unique figure available here, but the exclusive variants on Supergirl, Flash, and especially Psycho Pirate are all worthwhile. Right now the set is still available on Mattycollector for the incredible price of $30. Be sure to get yours while they last!
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin