Did you catch my feature on the Batwoman, Jessica Cruz, and Collect and Connect Clayface figures from this new Multiverse series earlier this week? If not, FOR SHAME, but you can go back and check it out here.
As I made clear, I was happy to get Batwoman and Jessica, but I am really in this wave for the CnC. As such, and at the risk of starting on a bit of low note, I needed Rebirth Superman, All-Star Batman Two-Face, and Supergirl TV series Martian Manhunter for their Clayface bits more than anything else, but I wanted to include them for a look as well. Frankly, aside from a likeness issue I have with Superman, all of these figures are pretty successfully rendered. Granted, I am about 4-5 years behind my comics at this point (with a few exceptions) and I have not had a chance to partake in the Supergirl TV series, but I think that, overall, these figures represent their sources well.
REBIRTH SUPERMAN
This is definitely my least favorite figure of the assortment. Most of that is not really the figure’s fault, but some of it is, and it makes for a bit of an imperfect storm. Yes, I like the enhanced articulation (over DCUC), and the cape is nice and neutral for my tastes, but I am not a fan of the costume design at all. Yes, the obvious is true in me not liking the lack of red trunks, but the blue boots give the outfit even more of a monochromatic “onesie” feel, and the wrist cuffs are just … well, weird. Sure, the figure captures the source fine, but the source ain’t great as far as I am concerned, so this was going to be a limited success for me from the outset.
Where the figure itself really fails is in the production piece head sculpt/likeness and that such a pity and a disappointment for me. I have made it pretty clear that I think that Mattel, through their Superman line to DCUC to today, has never had a great Superman head sculpt, but this figure had a lot of hope in changing that. So much so, I was ready to swap the head from this figure to my classic DCUC Supes. However, it was not meant to be, and the production process definitely took its toll on design, which was GREAT in prototype form. However, the jaw got warped, the size skews proportionally small, and the paint is not helping much either, so I will be looking for the next possible upgrade. It really is a shame because, even though I don’t care for the costume, a great likeness could have made this a pretty successful figure.
ALL-STAR BATMAN TWO FACE
This figure is absolutely fine, and it’s probably the most successful overall of these three offerings. This is, of course, the All-Star Batman series version of the character, and the likeness matches the source well, it includes appropriate accessories, and the final product made it through production successfully. I am not trying to be dry about that, it really is a nice figure, and if you are a fan of ASB, I would imagine you will be pleased with this figure. The sculpting and likeness on the head is very nice (in a gross kind of way), and unlike Superman, it appears to have made it through production well. Past that, Two Face is a guy in a suit, so the purple and black fit the iconography well enough, but at the end of the day, this is just a pretty standard suit body.
The accessories on this figure are nice too, and they include twin pistols, two “grip” hands, and two “coin toss” hands. The guns are fine, if not a bit generic, and they both have a cut in the trigger guard to allow for the gripping hands to hold them naturally. That leaves the gripping hands as purely utilitarian, but that is fine, because Two Face needs to wield his weapons well (with alliteration). He also comes with two extra left hands to mimic his iconic coin flip, and while both are open handed and holding his coin, one has the “good” heads up, and the other the “bad” heads with the scratch. This is a nice option to have, and they could have just included one and been done with it, but I am glad we got both.
SUPERGIRL MARTIAN MANHUNTER
While I feel that Two Face might be the most successful figure of the three, this one is only a very close second and will probably rank higher for a lot of people, especially fans of the show. Since this is the MULTIVERSE line, Mattel brings in representation from comics, cartoons, movies, games, and live action TV shows as well, so MM is representing the latter and will accompany the previously released Supergirl well. This figure is a bit jarring to me due to the costume, but it is interesting enough and pretty typical for a superhero screen costume, so it is fine. The figure seems pretty short to me, but that might be my classic Manhunter affiliation that is throwing that off. Is he more normal-sized in the show? If so, then this is good to go. I will say the head is very nice on this figure and works well for a live-action version of the character.
The accessories are a split for me. The extra hands are nice to have, as is always the case, but the half closed set, while likely referential, are not overly useful or exciting as they cannot really hold anything. The inclusion of the Black Mercy, however, makes this the most useful figure of this group for me. I almost hate to say that since it is technically an add-in, but the Mercy is an important part of Superman’s history (from the seminal Moore and Gibbons “For the Man Who Has Everything” story) and I will get this to pass close enough for a comic version. So, I am very glad to have this, and it naturally attaches to figures, so it will most certainly be making it into my display.
Yeah, I like Batwoman, Jessic Cruz and Clayface the best from this new Multiverse series, but Two Face and Martian Manhunter are not bad either, especially if you are into the source material. That makes for a pretty strong wave overall, even in light of Superman being pretty much a dud for me. Sure, the Multiverse line is not DCUC, but I still enjoy getting figures that fit with that collection when I can, I did pretty well here. The series continues to be pretty diverse, so I hope that continues and we can get more comic figures, and I cannot wait to add Vixen and the Ray to my shelf in the next series. Overall, Clayface is totally worth it here, so go get him ordered at BBTS now.
