Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na- CATMAN! Catman! Catman! The most grand of all entrances is currently being made as we are finally, after years and years and years of going without, welcoming the first ever figure of Mr. Thomas Blake himself – CATMAN! Four years and over 100 figure slots in the DC Universe Classics line could not possibly contain him so the newly-minted Batman Legacy line really picks up steam with the second assortment and Catman is leading the way. Finally, we got him. I know of a certain Killah of Robos that quite possibly still cannot believe it, but this Fwoosh Top Ten winner can now take his rightful place at the side of his hetero-lifemate, Deadshot, for all of your Secret Six antics. Just in time for DC to kill the book. The Comic Gods giveth and they taketh away. While I am crying over the demise of that AWESOME Gail Simone-penned book, plastic is forever and now that I have Catman in my grubby grip, no comics editor in the world can take him away from me. Woo! But, Catman did not come alone in the Batman Legacy series 2 assortment (though I truly believe he could have supported solid cases), has brought a Golden Age (my new Earth-2 incarnation) of Batman as well as the highly desirable black costume Barbara Gordon Batgirl with him. Oh, and freakin’ Bat-mite too if you pick these up at your K-Mart store. I am officially stoked for the possibilities of the Batman Legacy line.
I must admit though, when I heard that the DC Universe Classics line as we currently know it would not be continuing on at retail past series 20, I was pretty crestfallen. It is currently tied (with MOTU Classics) as my favorite toy line going right now. I know that there will be new executions and direction coming in to take its place with fully compatible figures, but the brand going to a subscription-only format for the future still kind gets me teary. That sub better go through, I think I might be pushed past the brink of retaining what little sanity I have left if it doesn’t. I am kind of scared for it though with only two days left… But, I am very happy that the Batman Legacy line will be continuing on past these first two assortments and there are a ton of Batman-related characters out there to keep us busy for a long, long time.
Before I get started in on series two, you might have caught our First Look at Legacy series one from a few weeks back. The Golden Age Joker is by far my favorite figure from that group but, as I noted, the figure we looked at had a very apparent, almost jarring color change in pants at the thigh cut. Well, I am very pleased to say that that might have been a more isolated incident (perhaps he was from early in the production run) and the new one that arrived last night has matching color pieces – yay! I must give props for that as it was an improvement that looks to be made during production and the series one Joker figure is so much better because of it. I can love that figure pretty much unconditionally now.
Alright then, on to series two and I am going to lead with Catman. Duh. Catman and Deadshot have become two of my all-time favorite DC characters over the past several years and put thanks squarely on Gail Simone because of that. Her tenure on the Secret Six book has made cool characters cooler, new characters welcome (a very rare feat in modern comicdom if you ask me) and oft-overlooked characters meaningful. Catman certainly fits into the latter category while also finding his way into the upper echelon of comic coolness. The misadventures of Catman and Deadshot (along with Scandal, Ragdoll , Jeanette, Knockout, the Parademon (all in need of figures, Mattel) and Bane) make for some of the most enjoyable reads in any media right now and I will always be appreciative for what we have gotten up to this point. I will resist the DCnU concept discussion for now. For now. In short, if you don’t know much about Catman or the Secret Six, I HIGHLY recommend that you pick up some trades. Now. Go on, we can wait until you back. Go ahead.
Are you back? Good! Okay, since you are on your way to learning more about Catman I can pretty much guarantee that knowing about the character is going to make you really want an action figure of him. Don’t worry, Matty has you covered and if you are a newly-minted fan I actually kind of envy you right now as you do not have to wait to get your figure. The wait has been excruciating for a lot of us. At the same time though, it was worth it because the figure is really awesome and just about everything a Catman fan could want in a figure. Unless you prefer is his more “natural” look, and if you do, you will need to seek a good customizer to realize that plastic dream. Ahem.
Since Catman’s costume is really based around Batman’s look (you might have heard of him), especially in the older days, there are several pieces currently in the DCUC parts library that could have been used for this figure. He does have the standard male legs, the belt trunks and the larger upper body and arms in his make-up and they work just fine for him and I really like the attention to detail that went into giving him the bulkier chest – Blake got pretty jacked there for awhile. What I was not expecting was all of the new pieces that were created for this figure. Not that I am at all complaining, in fact I am loving it, but there are a few cases, like with the gloves and feet, that reuse could have been fine. But it was not to be and when the new parts come into play, it really adds to the satisfaction of having an accurate figure. The belt, pointy shoes and cape straps are my favorite in terms of new pieces and I am really glad they did not leave off the latter as I see those straps as a very essential part to Catman’s overall modern look. I also dig the head sculpt and it matches (what I presume to be) the source art for the figure shown on the side of the package. It is rather placid but it gets the job done for sure.
The effectiveness of the head sculpt is really brought out and the Horsemen (I am assuming this is a Horsemen piece, the base is at the very least) really showed their attention to detail by giving the figure painted on stubble. Yes! I think Robokillah’s bad ass custom is at least partly to thank for that as he nailed the look, but again, the five o’clock shadow is another essential that makes Catman Catman. The figure itself also has a lot of nice paint applications to note – the body has a lot of subtle airbrushing, the gold accent lines are all pretty clean and his awesome chest symbol is super crisp. Love that last one the most and I need to get me Catman t-shirt so I can be a scratchy-chested poseur. Hmmm…
You know, sometimes when you get a figure of a character that you adore it makes it easier to overlook some of the foibles and imperfections that the figure might have. I thought I might have accept the slightly off color palette used for him, but the final figure matches the source pretty spot-on. I can honestly say though that even though we have already gotten a ton of DCUC figures this year, Catman joins Owlman (two plays on the Bat!) at the top of my favorites. I LOVE the fact that he came with his claws and they look really nice as he holds them but if I was going to say one teeny tiny thing about them is that I wish they fit a little more flush to his knuckles. That is getting really picky though and I think most people will not even bat an eye at it. Catman. Freakin’ Catman. Can you believe it? So happy. I would not be a fickle toy collector though without demanding that Mattel get to work on a Ragdoll figure now. Go ahead guys, get crackin’. Sigh, some people can be so demanding.
So, you may have noticed that this is not just a Catman First Look. In fact, along with him comes one of my most-wanted Batman variant figures to date – the Golden Age Batman. Ah, a simpler time of comics naturally spawned many of the best characters and ideas in the medium, even to this day. But I am not going to get into a long (and probably boring) discussion about comic eras here, all I know is that I finally have a frikkin’ Batman that I can put with my JSA display. Even though this Golden Age/Earth-2 Batman is a perfectly viable comic-based variant, you have to know that the current (and excellent) Batman: The Brave and Bold cartoon probably helped with this figure getting ultimately produced. It has been great exposure for kids and a hoot for comic fans alike so anyway I was going to get a E-2 Batman is fine with me.
As you might expect, most of this figure is made of parts you have seen before. In fact, I think all but the head is reuse from previous offerings but they are utilized well. Listen, I am a fan of getting new stuff on all of my figures, but I am also a supporter of reuse when it works and this is certainly one of those instances. The colors are all correct for the figure and I really like the size and shape of the chest symbol – it is a big wall of Bat just as it should be. The big seller though is obviously the head sculpt and Golden Age aficionados and Brave and Bold fans alike can find lots to love about it. I think the round face and smile is completely appropriate and to be completely honest, it is a breath of fresh air. Yes, I like my Batman dark and gritty too, but there are times in recent history that the concept has gone WAY over the top. I don’t understand the resistance in making Batman fun sometimes, but really, this figure is a lot of fun. I wish he would have included some “exclamation” bubbles so he can have sound effects as he bops the baddest that Gotham Can offer. Pow! Thwack! Fwoosh! Deary my, I want a graying-temple E-2 Superman to go with this figure. Superman Legacy, please!
But Batman brought (willingly or no) a pack-in figure exclusive to K-Mart stores: Bat-Mite! Yes, that pesky impish bat-o-phile is the first companion figure in the Legacy line. I am very happy about this as there are several smaller characters throughout the DCU that I would like to see get the same treatment. This version is a little more humanoid than some of his more classic renditions, but he is unmistakable in his realization. I like his costume and how one of the ears on the cowl is askew, that little detail adds a lot of personality. His face sculpt reminds me a bit of Charlie McCarthy for some reason and I think this figure would have given me bad dreams as a kid (I am still slightly freaked out by ventriloquist dummies) as his expression is a little unsettling. That probably just me though and I may have just let more of inner-psyche out than is likely safe… Moving on.
The final figure in this assortment of three is a slick and shiny repaint of the original Barbara Gordon Bargirl figure from the DC Superheroes line. This chick has some major staying power. When I think back on all of the things that have happened in my life since I picked up the original two-pack with her (in her gray scheme) and Batman, she has outlasted a lot of things. However, the original gray girl will now go onto the variant shelf as I have finally gotten the version of Babs that I have wanted for a long time. Yes, this figure is just a repaint, but the she wears black very well and the patent leather effect achieved by the glossy paint really makes her stand out on the shelf. I would have loved it if they would have included her little red purse (or any accessory at all past the figure stand) but that is something that most collectors would probably toss to the side anyhow. It looks like they are setting a trend for at least one repaint in each series with what we have seen so far, so it might be a way for some people to get their most preferred versions of a given character here and there. Fortunately, there is not a collect and connect execution in this line so you don’t have to buy repaints to get parts for a different figure.
I liked Legacy series one fine, especially Joker, but I like series two much better. Getting Catman and a JSA-ready Batman sealed that deal but since I am a fan of the black costume, I am happy to add this Batgirl to my shelf as well. I know a lot of people want to move away from a repaint concept and most of the time I am with that assertion, but when it works, I will take it. I like Batgirl better than the modern Batman at any rate. Repaints or not though, I hope to see the Legacy line continue and continue to grow in terms of character selection. With DCUC moving away from retail and the Infinite Earths sub still in doubt (it is not looking good right now, I am afraid) this could be a great outlet to get characters like Catman that have not made it to the Mattel six-inch DC Universe. Heck, make Legacy a brand and apply to Superman, the Flash, etc and there could be a lot of potential there. This series is starting to hit retail now, but if you want Bat-Mite, make your way to K-Mart.
*Thanks for reading and thanks to Derick at Mattel for making this First Look possible, we really appreciate it. We will have the Legacy two-packs for your consideration up soon!
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