Mattel’s DC Multiverse line has been covering a wide range of different media representations of our favorite DC heroes and villains for several years now. So, the standard line has been very good about getting us figures from comics, movies, video games, and more. Recently, Mattel has been branching out into more specific executions in terms collector-grade offerings, and now, new materials are coming into play. Batman and Superman from the game Injustice 2 will be hitting the shelves soon, and they employ die-cast metal frames, bringing a new material execution to the Multiverse umbrella.
I must admit, outside of Mega Man and classic Nintendo games and characters, I do not consider myself to be a “gamer” in the least. I am, however, and big-time DC Comics fan, and I have been collecting Mattel’s offerings since the old Batman line designed by the Four Horsemen (the precursor to DCUC). So, I have had a chance to see a lot of evolutionary changes in the line and figure executions over the years, and this new die-cast imprint is something that is certainly new to the line, but it creates an interesting mode of uniqueness to styles that are certainly collector-focused. Mattel is casting a wide net of DC fans, action figure collectors, gamers, and all combined with this subject matter, so being made of metal (and larger than most other Multiverse figures), these will certainly stand out in your collection.
Do to the character designs alone, these are going to stand out from the rest of your DC figures, but I see these more as conversation pieces than filling a hole in a collection, and for that, these certainly bring something different. Now, I usually find modern video game character designs to be blown out and completely overdesigned, but these takes on armored version of Bats and Supes are interesting, or at least not offensive or completely bewildering to the eye. The trend towards super-realistic video games follows the same design trends as many modern movies, and that is fine, but I am one to generally default to classic, iconic, and clean comic designs.
With Batman, this figure and design follows a long history of armored versions of the character, so this not something completely out of left field. There are certainly a lot of lines and some embellishments to the overall form, but for an armored version of Batman, this fits a feasible battle suit for a modern Dark Knight. Superman is armored as well, and while his lower legs/boots, and funky head piece get-up (reminiscent of Superman Red/Blue) take several steps outside of a classic Superman form, the rest of the armored suit helps to retain the classic silhouette, at least for the most part.
Now, as I said, these figures are mostly constructed from die-cast metal, but aside from a bit of paint sheen, they don’t scream it. They are certainly hefty in terms of weight (duh), and these stand taller than most standard Multiverse figures as well. I am going to SDCC next month, so I will be eager to talk to the Mattel DC team to hear the thought process for this style and material because I wonder about the longterm plan for this kind of figure. As I said, there has certainly been a bit of move back to focusing a bit more on collector eyes and dollars with some the DC figures as of late, and if Injustice figures are going to continue, this is a good way to make them stand out on the shelf. I do want to mention that, despite the lack of plastic, these figures do retain a good amount of articulation, in fact, I would say it is pretty standard for DCM figures, and the range of movement on all of the joints is very good. So while this is a new material, the engineering is very nice.
I really appreciate Mattel’s willingness to branch out and have some renewed interest in focusing on the collector sect. Doing collector-focused figures based off of popular next-gen video games is a good combination, so I think this will find a nice niche with the gamers who also collect. Like I said, I will be interested to see where this goes, but these first offerings are due out by August of this year, so keep a look out in the usual spots.
