The Good:
Now before I get into the bad stuff, Mattel isn't horrible. They do make some fantastic figures, and they aren't afraid to make some pretty obscure characters to modern day fans (i.e the entire 19th wave of DC Universe Classics save for Hawkman and Stargirl). The figures can be pretty detailed when they want them to be. Articulation is decent on figures....DECENT....When I first got into them I thought it was amazing, now, eh I'm starting to get sick of seeing the SAME JOINTS every time.
The Bad:
Quality Control. The reason this isn't in the "Downright Ugly" category is because it has admittedly gotten better with time, but every now and then, it slips. Take the All Star Waves New52 Superman and Batman, I have never seen a figure with so many loose joints. Then you get the DC Comics Unlimited Superman, and the Batman Unlimited Batman, and they are perfect. It's like a giant toss up.
The Downright Ugly:
Mattel has been cranking out DC figures for about...I want to say 7 years now? Maybe more? and in the course of those years only once has articulation been added, and only to a select few figures. I mean look, if money is a concern, why not make smaller waves and put the budget for a wave of 7 figures, into a wave of 3 figures, to make them have better articulation, and accessories! I mean let's look at Batman for example. He is an agile, acrobatic dude. He should be able to crouch, balance on one foot, all that stuff. The problem in toy form is, like most DCUC figures, he has a single hinge knee, that bends maybe a bit over 90 degrees. I thought to myself If you want him in a menacing crouching pose, the best you'll ever get is a pose of him that looks like he's hovering over a toilet waiting to drop a deuce! I mean come on, to make matters worse, the New 52 Batman, and Superman, can't even bend their knees over 90 degrees anymore, at least with the others, even with a single hinge, they could get close to or even a bit over! I mean if you can afford to add a double hinge to the elbows and knees of other DCUC figures, when they were 7 per wave, why cant you manage to add it to all of them now that they are like 3 to 4 per wave in the DC Comics Unlimited line? Another issue that bothers me, and I think alot of collector's is the lack of accessories. Let's take two prime examples here. Superman. Now normally he uses his fists, so he doesn't particularly need an accessory. So why not take the money that would have been used on him for accessories and give him a stand, or a flight stand? For Batman, that's a whole 'nother story. Batman has no powers and therefor relies on gadgets, a simple way to solve the crisis of budget is to put him in a wave of characters that do not require accessories (Superman, and The Flash if we are talking 3 per wave) Take the budget that would go to their accessories, and apply it to Batman to give him stuff like a grappling hook, Batarang, etc. etc. Now getting to Injustice Joker, the reason I did this post, a thought dawned on me. I thought, maybe that's an alternate costume in the game. I felt a bit bad, but then I realized, why am I feeling bad, why the hell would Mattel, a company well known for their DC figures, do a secondary costume that enables the figure to pass for any creepy clown, as opposed to his signature all purple duds? I have to wonder, why. Now for my final problem with Mattel. Distribution. Oh lawdy does their distribution suck the big one. In my area, from the DCUC line, waves 16- 18, Wave 20, Wave 21 (the All Star wave), never showed up once, meanwhile wave 19 was cluttering the pegs for a full year........
And on that note, I've said my peace. I hope you've enjoyed reading this little rant. And now I leave you with a picture of what should have been for Injustice Joker.
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