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After a brief lull punctuated by figures based on the animated Superman/Batman Public Enemies film, Mattel's DC Universe Infinite Heroes line is back with all new single and three-packed figures! As collectors have become accustomed, the new figures capture a wide variety of DC characters ranging from the ultra popular to the relatively obscure and historic. This year the Infinite Heroes line will switch to a new theme, but for now, and in one three-pack especially, the Crisis is still very much in effect...
The Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series of 1995 has formed the overarching theme for the Infinite Heroes line since it began. An epic story pitting the heroes of many Earths against the universe-destroying Anti-Monitor, the Crisis brought together all of the DC Universe. The good guys were organized by the Monitor, but most of the actual collecting and deployment was handled by his trusted aide, Harbinger. A human recruited into the cosmic conflict, Lyla Michaels had various energy powers and could divide up her consciousness to be many places at once. Meanwhile, the Anti-Monitor has minions of his own, the ruthless Shadow Demons sent to attack the Monitor's forces. Made of anti-matter, these shades could disintegrate with just a touch. In this set they can finally join their masters in the never-ending struggle between good and evil.
Nothing has yet changed in the packaging of Infinite Heroes three-packs. Harbinger and twin Shadow Demons come in a low-profile flat window box with the three figures clearly visible to the potential collector. The box has the standard yellow starburst background with the grasping hand of the Anti-Monitor behind the figures. At the bottom of the front panel are the names of the figures and a simple number to identify this set (#12).
The back of the box has statistical and biographical information on the included characters as well as pictures of other three-packs now available.
Harbinger, the star of this set, utilizes the standard Infinite Heroes female base body. It fits her well, being slender rather than muscle-bound. Articulation has not increased for the female figures (yet?), which means that Harbinger has only the basic neck, shoulders, waist, V-crotch, and knee joints. This doesn’t offer a huge amount of poseability, but most of the time in the comics Harbinger just stood around looking mysterious and powerful anyway. Like all of other female figures she comes with a clear oval display stand.
The heroine's costume is fairly non-standard, consisting of an open-faced cowl, one-armed shirt, arm bands, skirt, and boots. The sculpt on this figure is good. While the base body is mostly smooth, there are some additional sculpted clothing elements on the boots and bodysuit. The skirt is an additional piece fastened loosely around Harbinger’s waist. Most striking, of course, is the figure's head sculpt.
The face is quite serene, capturing the character's quiet beauty and standing in contrast to the roiling explosion of hair floating behind her. In the paint department, Harbinger has a lot going on. Her exposed body is a pale flesh tone, her hair a bright yellow. Clothing runs the gamut from purple to red and blue, with details in pink, white, and yellow.
While Harbinger is bright and colorful, the Shadow Demons are the exact opposite. The identical villains utilize the original "1.0" male Infinite Heroes body with only a unique head sculpt to set them apart from the crowd. That venerable figure has pretty good articulation with joints at the neck, ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, and knees.
The choice of using this body will be somewhat unsatisfying to some fans; since in the Crisis series most of the Shadow Demons resembled jet black versions of the Monitor, many had hoped that superior body would be used. In the end, though, this is a pretty cool figure on its own.
The Shadow Demon sculpt is good, even though a lot of the details are tough to see; look closely for the familiar muscles. What's really good is the Demon’s head sculpt. The face is frozen in a horrifying snarl and looks like it's melting. It's pretty scary. How about the paint, you ask? Well, there isn’t any. Instead, the entire body is composed of a dark gray translucent plastic. While it looks black in the package, take out a Demon and hold it up in front of a light to see what I mean. With a backlight the effect is very cool, and even standing among other figures the Shadow Demons look good.
Hardcore fans of the Crisis storyline (as well as Infinite Heroes collectors like me) are sure to have picked up the main characters of the event already: Anti-Monitor from SDCC 09 and the Mattycollector set of the Monitor, Psycho-Pirate, Flash, and Supergirl. This new set fills out the dramatis personae with the added benefit of army builders. Each figure is good on its own with very unique looks and will be welcome in any collection.
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin
Review Sample Courtesy of Mattel