Elseworlds offers the opportunity to allow DC’s writers the chance to take their stable of heroes into time periods or realms that modern, “real world” simply won’t allow. This review focuses on DC Direct’s second line of Elseworld figures which also includes a couple of Kingdom Come releases.
Sculpting
No one figure in this line is the clear stand out to me but the two Batmans are possibly the most complex and visually interesting. Red Son Batman has a face sculpt that flat out states “Don’t mess with me.” He unshaven; his cape is torn and dirty; he’s got spiked, brass knuckles in one hand and a detonator in the other. He’s here to crash the party so don’t be foolish and get in his way. His puffy coat and pants suggest harsh weather survival in Russia but he’s still got that big bat on his chest because hey, he’s Batman.
Gotham by Gaslight is not a comic I’ve read but I am familiar with the artwork and it does appear as if Batman has jumped straight off the comics’ page, squinty eyes and all. There are lines creasing into his mask, his shirt, his pants and his boots. This version of Batman stands out a bit more at the belly than the chest and his shirt is not tucked in. He does have the iconic batbelt sculpted overtop of the shirt with multiple pouches and four small daggers.
Red Son Superman’s face is very expressive: he emotes power and sternness but also has a bit of beleaguerment. His hair is receding and he has a sculpted, three-dimensional S-curl that floats in front of his forehead. The rest of his sculpt is traditional and straightforward but he does have a large, three-dimensional belt buckle.
The Spectre and Norman McCay are packaged together and makes perfect sense to me. Spectre uses, I believe, the Kingdom Come Flash body. All that is readily exposed from his cape is most of his chest, left arm, and his face. The cape is very long and flowing and adds to his overall menacing demeanor. I recommend him to the one person out there who has been dying for the perfect base to make a custom William Sadler as the Grim Reaper from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey; that person will be very pleased. Similarly, I’m betting that same person has been pining over having the perfect old man figure to add to his collection – I’m happy to report, you collection is now complete. Norman McCay is old . . .really, really old. This is the guy who’s driving five miles per hour, hunched over the steering wheel, slowing all traffic down to a crawl on his way to Old Country Buffet. He has the receding hair line; the wrinkles around his eyes; the old man beard and button down sweater; his reading glasses and a pen to do crosswords in his front shirt pocket. I’ve never read Kingdome Come but I have to imagine this is the old guy telling all the superheroes to “Keep it down” as they pummel into each other. Or at least he offers them peanut brittle, right?
Lastly is Jade. Sure, she’s got a giant hole cut out of the front of her shirt and her breasts are still staying in somehow, but I just can’t seem to care for this figure in the least. She’s sculpted to look good in basically two poses. One where she absent mindedly stares at her right hand, as if she’s just now realized she’s lime green. The other is to have her looking ahead with her right arm down at her side, but without an elbow bend, she can’t have her whole arm down at her side to complete a true vanilla pose. Instead, you can twist her forearm in towards her chest, but then she has her hand palm up, just a short distance away from that giant hole in her shirt. Now she looks like she’s burning a hole in you: “Stop staring at my boobs, fanboy. And don’t you dare lift up my skirt, you won’t like what you find!” For you dear reader, I will. What I find is that dreadful DC Direct sliver in the middle, t-crotch articulation that goes all the way around, back up the butt. Frustrating. I always feel like I’m looking at some sort of sex change operation gone horrible wrong. So to try to say something nice real quick, the head sculpt is fine but it does remind me a bit of Anna Paquin and that white streak in the front isn’t going to dissuade me otherwise anytime soon.
Paint
Both the Batmans come out on top here again. No noticeable paint smudging to note. I’ll give top honors to the Gaslight Batman as the Red Son Batman, while the majority of him is very dirty, his gloves and boots are bright and shiny. How he got the bottom of his cape and his pants so dirty but no mud on his boots at all is a mystery to me.
Superman did have some smudges on the symbol on the back of his cape but I really appreciate the shadowing around his eyes and the color of his lips. Odd as it may sound, it does add to the tired look and gives the figure more character.
Spectre, well, there isn’t much room to go wrong with paint applications on him so I am happy to tell you he is well painted. Norman McCay had some paint slop on the back of his pants, in his hair, and on his knuckles. Jade has clean paint applications and uses multiple shades of green in a very effective way as it is very soothing to the eyes.
Articulation
DC Direct has never known to be a pioneer in the category of articulation so this Elseworld wave is not going to surprise you in the least. Both Batmans have practically the same articulation: ball jointed head (limited) and shoulders; standard single articulation at the elbows and knees; t-hips; twists at the wrists on Gaslight Batman and mid-forearm on Red Son Batman. Superman has a little less than the Batmans as he shares the same points of articulation except that he has a standard twist at the neck and no articulation at the wrists or forearms. Spectre: twist at the neck and left shoulder (possibly right shoulder as well, but if so, is worthless with his cape on). Norman McCay: ball jointed neck; twists at the shoulders and wrists; single jointed elbows. Jade: ball jointed head (limited) and shoulders; standard single articulation at knees; twist at the waist, right elbow and left forearm; and t-hips.
Accessories
All figures come with a base. The Elseworld figures’ bases mention who they are and what comic they are from whereas the Kingdom Come figures come with very minimalist black bases. Red Son Batman comes with a detonator and a batarang. Red Son Superman comes with the severed head of Brainac.
Value
Are you an Elseworlds fan? Are you a Kingdome Come fan? My nitpicks aside, I’m sure these figures will sell just fine. DC Direct has never geared their offerings towards those who want hyper articulation or to even play with the figures. Are these going to look fine standing on a shelf? Sure they will. Spectre will look very menacing as he seems to float in mid-air due to his base being mostly hidden by his robe. Norman McCay will stand there and look old. Red Son Batman and Superman look pissed and ready to square off. Gotham by Gaslight Batman. . .well, I don’t know if he’s looking at all since he’s got those permanently squinting eyes but even with a lack of accessories, he’s probably the best of the bunch and a must for fans of that comic. Oh yeah, there’s Jade too. 😛
IF Fwoosh Ruled the World
Just like last time, more articulation! Their t-hip design continues to irk me as the Jade, Red Son Batman and Superman all sport it. I was pleased to see the wider spacing for the t-hip articulation on Gaslight Batman. However that same Batman could have stood to have had some sort of weapon – his right hand looks to be sculpted to hold one. Old man McCay doesn’t even have any kind of leg articulation so no wonder why he drives so slow!
Where to Buy
Our sponsor, Legends Action Figures, has the single figures in the $12.99-16.99 range and $64.95 for the set of five. Please remember the prices are in Canadian dollars.