Well, we have come to the penultimate installment of our Mattel/DC looks for the week (we have something a little different planned for our DCUC 9 review), are you overwhelmed by now? Yeah, so are we. This time we will be touching on the first ever DCUC box set – the Gotham City 5 pack! This Wal-Mart exclusive is starting to hit all around the country so there have already been several success stories from our members that they were actually able to find a store exclusive. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Let’s see what the goods are for this new execution.
One of the things that Mattel has been great about doing is making a lot of the old, hard to find DC Superheroes figures available again in the DCUC line. We have gotten a second crack at Azrael, Mongul, Clayface and the extremely hard to find Cyborg Superman – which wasn’t a Big Lot’s exclusive, but it sure felt like it in his original release. Now, with this set we get to go back to the well on a couple more ghosts of toy lines past with Two Face and Catwoman. But that is not all – we also get the Classic Detective Batman in a black and gray deco (sans mud splatters), a classic, short-haired Superman (without the heat vision), and the set’s belle of the ball: an all new classic Lex Luthor in his purple and green jumpsuit! That’s a lot of love in one set. Let’s take a look each figure.
Catwoman
First, while I know I said we are getting a second chance at Catwoman and Two Face, as you probably already know, they are not straight up rereleases like their previously offered DCSH brethren. Nope, Selina and Harvey both come with a new paint deco – Catwoman in purple and Two Face in his more Bronze-Aged purple and orange suit. Of the two, I think Two Face works much better than Catwoman in terms of a viable and desirable variant, but they both have their strong points.
As mentioned before, Catwoman is the same figure from the DCSH series but this time she is sporting a purple version of her costume. I don’t recall this every being in a comic (I could be wrong though) but it is similar to the look she has in the Mortal Kombat vs DC video game. She is the only figure in the set that comes with an accessory (her previously included whip) but she is now without her backpack. Another positive thing to note though is that the paint work on her head is much improved over the previous version and she doesn’t have the weird tan lines/milk mustache that the old version has.
Overall, she is a nice figure, but she will not be replacing my more comic-accurate DCSH version on the shelf.
Two Face
Ol’ Harv’ here was certainly one of the most difficult to find characters from the old DCSH line. That version was more of a modern incarnation of Two Face with a black and white suit deco and red scars. This new one however is a dead ringer for his more Bronze-Age look, and I think that will make a lot of fans happy as it is a highly desired new variant. There are some things that this figure improves upon from the old one as well, despite which era you prefer. First, like the DCSH counterpart, the paint it very clean and very detailed. All of the pinstripes on the jacket are very clean and the green base and brown wash on the scarred portion of his face actually brings out more detail in the sculpt than the other. Also, as you can see in the pictures the new Harvey has a different left hand than the old one (I think it is the old Clark Kent hand).
As a matter of personal preference though, I think I am going to stick with the DCSH version on my shelf. I have always found the green scars on Two Face a little weird as he is a really a burn victim when all is said and done, so to me his scars should be red. That of course is just my preference and I certainly do recognize that this figure is top drawer and if it was the only Two Face I had, I would be totally happy (just as I am sure that the fans of this look are thrilled). I just wish he could have come with a couple of hand guns or a reissue of his tommy gun, but that is a minor nit.
Superman and Batman
I am going to spend a little less time on these two figures as they have the smallest changes to them of any of the figures in the set, but they are great changes none the less.
We finally have a short-haired DCUC Superman without the heat vision. Yay! See, it didn’t take all that long, did it? If you do own the Superman from the Brainiac two pack you essentially have this figure, but it is amazing how much difference repainted eyes can make. This is now going to be my default Superman on the shelf (until we get one with a lighter blue deco and shorter cape) and I will retire the original DCSH series 2 figure with due credit for many years of great service. All of the paint is nicely done (they should have this one down by now as it is really the third time at factory for this costume) and the eyes are painted well and do not have the “looking up” stare that the DCSH Superman suffered from. A great addition.
Batman is a pretty cool figure too, though I am not really a huge fan of this look. Don’t get me wrong, I love black and gray Batman, but I want one with a pouch belt and non-oval logo. Again, if you own the Fists of Clay mud-spattered Batman you essentially have this figure. The only differences that I can see are obviously the lack of mud, no black line around the Bat-logo and a slightly more pale tone. I think I will Frankenstein the head from this figure onto the new Public Enemies body to make a new passing black and gray Bats, but I am holding out for a new version in his modern dark blue and gray togs.
Lex Luthor
Of course we saved the best for last! If nothing has tempted you into buying this set yet, Lex will. We have gotten a wonderful battle armor Lex in the past and for that version, he is great. However, there are A LOT of people that have been waiting for this more classic jumpsuit Lex since the inception of DCUC (yours truly included). As usual, the Four Horsemen nailed the sculpt.
He is essentially the Black Manta buck with canisters on the legs, a harness, Booster Gold’s collar and a new head, but all of those parts come together to work extremely well. I guess I just assumed that they would reuse the head from the old Lex on this figure, but I am pleasantly surprised to find that is not the case. I really like this new head sculpt (but I am also a huge fan of the old one) and there is a lot of subtle airbrushing on the face to bring out the details. Like I said, I really love the old head sculpt too so I can’t really call this one better, but it is different and very fitting for the costume.
The harness is all new too and it is loaded with his little canisters (just like on his legs) so he can hide plenty of Kryptonite and keep the included Superman at bay. Speaking of Kryptonite, I wish that we could have gotten a little piece in this set (just like the old one) but the accessories are limited in this set and Selina was the winner in that, ahem, category. Oof, sorry for that last one.
Overall, I am pretty happy with this set. I get a new default classic Superman and my favorite version of Lex for my shelf. The Two Face is also a big winner, especially for the Bronze Age crowd. It seems that, so far, this set is flying off of the shelves and that is a really good thing in my opinion – I REALLY want to see more things like this in the future from Mattel. I will take the regular series, two packs, box sets, the whole deal to get as many new characters as possible as quickly as possible. This is a tried and true formula for success in a box set – the two heaviest hitters in the DCU accompanied by some demanded rereleased characters and a new version of a character. I would really love to see Mattel take a little bit more a risk in the future with a five pack and give us some JSA, all villains or the FOREVER PEOPLE! Yeah, I know pipe dream but I won’t rest until I have them. This set is a great start though and I hope it will prove to the retailers that this is a viable execution for new product.
*Thanks so much for sticking with us this week for all of our looks at the new Mattel DC swag. Also, thank Toy Guru as well, without is constant goodwill none of this would be possible. Thanks, TG! Don’t forget to stay tuned later this week to see our DCUC series 9 review; as mentioned before, we have something special planned for that. See you on the boards!
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