Your Top 5 of 2023

I don't buy many DC figures but my favorite of 2023 was Fight the Frozen Batman.  It would probably be Captain Carrot if he didn't get delayed until January!

I didn't buy too much DC this year, but what I did get, I really, really like:

Todd's Batman and Robin wave, the Aquaman seahorse, and the Super Powers Invisible Jet were all winners.

I bought Mafex Cybor Superman and Steel this year as well and they did not disappoint.

All McFarlane:

5) 1989 Batman

4) Fight the Frozen Batgirl

3) Hush Batman (black)

2) PP Black Manta

1) Flash Keaton Batman

1) Stealth Suit Aquaman with Topo (haven't seen the movie yet but hope to on New Years Day)

2) Captain Carrot

3) Waverider

4) Atomic Skull

5) Lord Death Man (Batman '66 Line)

6) Condiment King BAF (BTAS)

7) King Tut (Batman '66 Line, this might have been '22, but I got in '23)

8) King Kordax

9) Carapax megafig

10) Abyss

Kingdom Come Batman

Knightfall Batman

Captain Atom

SP: Detective Batman

SP: OP Flash (90s Wally)

Honorable mention: Fight The Frozen Batman

in no particular order:

Knightfall Batman

Alan Scott

Hawkman

Firestorm

Deadman

Knightfall Batman

Alan Scott GL

Jay Garrick Flash

Blue Beetle - Comic version

Flash - Cyborg build-a Fig

Thats about it for me. Selling off just about everything not Batman or JSA related. 

2023 was a bit of a backpedal off McFarlane, but the Spring Spawn wave, not DC I know, was awesome and my favorite of 2023 from any line.  So awesome on that.

For DC, I regret not snagging Flashpoint Flash, he looks great as does Cyborg.  Kalibak is awesome and Knightfall Batman is the best Batman so far I think.  Gladiator Batman is great.  I would still welcome more Metal figures since that's Todd at his best.

Hoping Superman is treated better soon.

Pretty strong year:

1. Raven

2. Gold Label Batmobile 

3. Black Lightning

4. Aqualad

5. Classic Wonder Woman

I didn't grab nearly as many Multiverse figs this year as I planned to, or as in previous years. Most of the ones I picked up were Batman related, no surprise there. Not sure if I can pick a top 5, to be honest, as I felt they were all pretty strong. But my top contenders are:

Nolan Wave- didn't get around to picking up the Jail Cell Joker or Bank Robber Joker, though both are on my list. Still, they're some really solid figures, and I think the future releases will only help. I even quite liked the Jokerized variants, as they still felt totally in-universe with the marketing campaign of TDK. Plus it helped me finally be able to do the display piece I've been wanting since 2005- Scarecrow on a horse. Hot diggity did that make me happy.

Batman & Robin wave- I only have Robin and Ivy so far, but everything I've seen on these just looks stellar. The likenesses are pretty darn great, and since they were literally designed to be toyetic, having larger scale figures after all this time just feels right.

Arkham City Riddler- I adore all the Arkham designs, and he goes really well with the existing figures to help pad out the roster.

New Frontier Scarecrow- I think technically this was a 2022 release, but I didn't pick him up until this year. I know he's a bit of an odd one, and a lot of people hate the design, but there's something so cool and unique about him to me. I'll never not like Scarecrow, and while certainly one of his wackier designs, there's something really cool about this one.

Mr. Freeze- a really solid figure all around. I know there's some nits about the paint, but it doesn't bother me.

Dark Knights of Metal/PP Caveman Batman- they're freaking historic Batman variants. What's not to like!

Raven was also a really nice, welcome addition. Didn't grab the rest of the Titans (still bummed we never got any animated ones beyond Cyborg)

I haven't picked up any of the Lanterns because that's a hole I just can't go down, but they all look amazing too. It was incredibly tempting not to pick up Yellow Lantern Batman when I saw him a while back.

Didn't pick up the Batman 6 pack either, but it's pretty solid from what I've seen, and I'm always down for getting a Bat Signal. Hope we see it re-released down the road somehow.

Same goes with Kordax and the Citadel Pirate from Aquaman 2. I'm a sucker for cool aquatic creatures- Kordax looks like something from a Guillermo Del Toro movie, and they both look like something from Davy Jones' crew from the Pirates movies (my all-time favorite villain/creature designs). Really biting at the bit for these to go on sale so I can snag them.

in 2023 i got 29 out of the 182 that was released, some i still haven't gotten yet like blue hush, B&R wave etc.. i skipped all the exclusive repaints without hesitation don't need them. overall we got a few good non batman figures.

my top five was hard to pick but this is what i chose.

1. '89 batman/batmobile (gold label amazon)

2. flash keaton batman

3. deadman

4. jim gordon batman

5. justice buster mega fig

looking forward to what's coming in 2024

Took me a while but here's mine (some might be 2022 releases but these are all ones I purchased in 2023)

1. Mezco Superman – great figure, amazing accessories – its pricey but I think it’s the best 6-inch Superman figure ever made (only slightly ahead of the Mafex Hush version)
2. Mafex Nightwing – again this IMO is the best 6-inch scale Nightwing figure ever!
3. Tie: Mafex Steel & Mafex Cyborg Superman – more great Mafex offerings – can’t wait for the rest of the Death of Superman cast
4. Lego 1989 Batmobile (Batman vs the Joker chase) set – a really fun set – Lego has done a great job of these mini Batmobiles and hope the Batman TAS one will be next
5. McFarlane Knightfall Batman – the best Batman figure McFarlane has done IMO
6. Tie: McFarlane Catman & Riddler – great seeing McFarlane tackle more classic characters
7. Batman: TAS Condiment King – definitely the figure I was most surprised about in 2023 – I would never have thought we would ever get a Condiment King but he looks great!
8. Tie: Batman ‘66 Two-Face/King Tut/Batgirl/Bat Robot – more great ’66 figures, I know they are basic in design but are a lot of fun – Bat Robot is probably my fave due to his awesome retro design
9. Santa Batman – just a fun figure
10. Batman ’66 Wayne Manor playset – as someone who grew up on reruns of the Batman ’66 show having a playset with the hidden door leading to the bat poles is amazing – now if only Todd would do Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson/Alfred figures!
11. Batman & Robin 50^th anniversary Mego’s – never had these as a kid but they are nice classic figures for my collection
12. McFarlane Gold Label Batman 1989 Batmobile & Batman – a really nice set! It would have been higher but the whole debacle with the first Batmobile/this one meant I can’t rank it above the others

2023 was a weird year for me. I scaled WAY back on McFarlane, only picking up a small percentage of what I had been buying previously...I suppose after SDCC, I sort of slowed way down on 1/12 stuff. I went heavy into Hot Toys and 3rd Party 1/6 this year, but since those are such a different thing I won't list them here since it's a bit of an unfair comparison in some cases.

Here are my top 5 of 2023 (at least, I'm pretty sure these all released in '23...the years blend together once you hit your 40's lol)

5. Mafex Steel (Return of Superman)  This is just a fun figure to mess around with. Being around 10yrs old when the Death of Superman hit, I've always wanted great and accurate toys from that story. Kenner did some fun stuff in the 90's with their Man of Steel line, but Mafex truly delivered what I've always wanted there. Can't wait for Eradicator and Superboy

4. Felix Toys The Clown (Dark Knight Joker)   This is like a mini Hot Toy. The soft goods are impeccably good, and he comes with an overwhelming amount of accessories. I have him permanently posed with 1 finger on the string to his jacket grenades, and he is one of the more impressive figures on my shelf. I love this one. 

3. McFarlane DC Multiverse Batman & Robin Wave - this one is a cheat, since it's an entire wave, but it's my list and I'll cheat if I wanna.  Batman & Robin is a film I didn't appreciate until I had kids, and when they were 6 & 3 they used to watch this damn thing on repeat and they loved it. I went from an avid hater of this film to a fan, just that quickly. The film aside, I'm always down for good film representation on my shelf and these figures deliver...Clooney has never looked better in the suit, Silverstone's Batgirl has perhaps the most impressive molded cape I've ever seen on a figure, and everyone is just so fun to mess around with. Like Schumacher or hate him, his films certainly translated well to merchandise. With Beast Kingdom taking on Batman Forever, it's an amazing time to be a fan of 90's Bat. 

2. Beast Kingdom DAH Joker '89 - I saw Batman '89 in the theater, and ever since I've wanted Nicholson's Joker. Even when Kenner sort of made him in the Dark Knight Collection, I somehow never found him in-store as a kid. Fast forward to now, and I have the movie Step Brothers playing in my head:

"<Jack Nicholson Joker!> Could you imagine if we had this when we were 10?!?"

"Even better - we have him when we're 40!"

The soft goods are excellent on this guy, he poses well, and he has a good likeness. After the poorly done Batman from the same film, Beast Kingdom completely redeemed themselves with their Joker release. Again, just a fun FUN toy. 

1. Mafex Cyborg Superman - my favorite villain in all of comics gets my favorite figure of the year. I'm not crying, you're crying. My one and only quibble - the 'S' on his chest isn't painted correctly, Jurgens and company in the 90's had him with the S as nearly half black in color. Mafex has put the Jim Lee S on every Superman figure they've made (except for TDKR), so it's fine on Cyborg Supes. A small quibble on an outstanding figure. 

Here's to 2024. Love seeing everyone's lists, keep them up!