Action Figure #879: Mattel DC Premier Joker

 Is this a plastical joke?

 And now I've finally got a proper Joker of all things! At first, I was happy owning the modern(at the time) black suit Joker, but eventually I realized I needed a more classic figure. But Mattel's Multiverse and UC figures just didn't do it for me... I don't know, I never much cared for the more square-headed Joker of the 90's... but third time's the charm with their Premier line!

 This Joker is absolutely delightful. The entire body uses a new sculpt, and it is a very classic purple suit/yellow vest ensemble he is usually drawn in, but, what I like the most, is that the head-sculpt is very modern, with slicked back hair and a truly evil smile. This is the kind of Joker I've been waiting to own.

 The accessories are... well, it seems Mattel is not done throwing everything at the wall, looking at what sticks. He has... green land-mines, for some reason, a weird Clown mini Ax, which is hollow on one side... but, he also comes with a giant rifle that ends on an articulated denture, which, arguably, is something he would wield, and it comes with four proyectiles you can shoot, and this gun can be equipped on the Batmobile as well. Keep in mind the gun is rather... heavy, so it makes balancing him a bit harder. You could use the round peg, meant for the Batmobile, as a secondary grip for it.

 And he also comes with Jokerized faces for the standard Batman, Robin and Flash figures! These snap onto the heads of said characters, and they are pretty cool accessories!

 He has the same articulation as the rest of the line: Single jointed elbows, double jointed knees, swivels on his waist and thighs. No ab crunch, but it's alright.

 Here he is compared to the InJustice Joker I was using as a stand-in for the kind of Joker I wanted in my collection. It's night and day, this one looks so vibrant, the headsculpt is so nightmarishly devious in comparison to the flat smile the other one had, and the articulation is better in every single way. He is slightly taller than Bucky Cap. 

 Much like John Stewart, this figure is absolutely brilliant. Of course, being part of the kid's line, the articulation isn't exceptional which is what holds back the figure, but while he has a lot of filler accessories, the gun works well for Joker, and the Jokerized masks are perfect. And, yeah, this is how I wanted the Joker in my collection to look like.

8.0

Action Figure #878: Overwatch Ultimates Reinhardt

 Hammer Time just turned serious. Deadly serious.

 Sometimes, all a boy wants is a giant toy to play with. Which is why getting Reinhardt was a no brainer. Tall, huge and helluva expensive, I managed to find him at a decent price, albeit missing a couple of accessories.

 Reinhardt is the first figure from this line that I  would call 100% spectacular. The figure is cast in dark greys and lighter, metallic greys, and it all helps make him look like a Knight. The energy nodes are, much like Genji, painted with dull yellows, but since the rest of the figure looks so imposing, and all the sculpted details are so large... they don't look half as bad as Genji's.

 He comes with his huge hammer, which is too heavy for cool single-handed poses and, had I gotten him complete, a shield and a deployed shield.

 He gets double jointed elbows and knees, but the armored limbs are so thick they might as well be single jointed for all the range they get. He has bicep swivels and thigh swivels, but the thigh armor is so thick that you can't turn the legs very well, nor do they allow for a decent leg split. The ab crunch is ball jointed, but it doesn't get much of a crunch mind you, and he has no waist articulation whatsoever. The huge shoulder pads can move up and down, thus allowing him to raise his arms without much issue. He is quite a tall boy, towering over Bucky Cap, being closer to Hulk's height than anything.

 Soldier: 76 was the first Overwatch figure I thought was really good. Well, Reinhardt is the first one I think is a must have. The articulation isn't amazing, but it's serviceable, and the sculpt is just SO good, he is such a fun figure to own.

8.5

Action Figure #877: Star Wars The Black Series Hunter (The Bad Batch)

 The hunter becomes the hunted... but in Season 2.

 No, I have not watched the Bad Batch yet, but that won't stop me from getting Hunter into my collection. I mean, he is starting to get a bit pricey and I found a good deal on him...

 Hunter looks pretty spiffy in his grey and black armor, and he is the closest to a traditional clone... for he uses the same buck as the Republic Commandos! Finally an explanation to for the hole on their gauntlets! Aside from that, yeah, he looks pretty cool, both with and without his helmet.

 His accessories are a backpack, which sadly uses the T shaped peg the Republic Commandos use, a blaster gun, a blaster pistol and a vibro knife. That said, as per usual, he only has a single trigger finger.

 Here he is next to a Republic Commando. Same buck, different paint job and accesories.

 On the articulation end, he does have butterfly joints, but they don't offer much extra range. He has single jointed elbows and knees, with good range on them, a ball jointed waist, and swivels on his thighs. Overall, it's really good for the poses you'll probably have him in. He is a hair shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Hunter is a fine figure. As with the other Bad Batch members, the black and grey color scheme is lovely and makes these guys stand out. And I'm starting to love how badass they look together! As soon as I finish the Republic Commandos I'm coming after these!

7.0

Action Figure #876: Marvel Legends Nova (Groot BAF Wave)

 And now, my Nova corps are made up of Richard and Richard.

 When it came to picking up a Nova for my collection I picked the Classic Richard Rider that had come out not so long ago. Mainly because he had a lot of gold, whereas this Nova, as Nova Prime, was mostly clad in blue. Big Mistake! This is the look I was introduced to the character, when he ripped Annihilus's guts right out of his throat, plus, it's his Marvel VS Capcom 3 look! This is how I like Nova, this is the figure I should've bought.

 So, Nova Prime... I really like this look for thee character, an it looks particularly nice with the metallic deep blue and ochre yellow color scheme they cast and painted him in. While it's definitely not gold, the contrast with the blue makes all the yellow pop. While he is clearly based on the Bucky mold, a lot of unique sculpting went into him, which is just lovely.

 He comes with no accessories at all, which is a bit disappointing.

 Articulation covers all the basics with double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on his waist, thighs and biceps as well a hinged ab crunch with not a whole lot of range, but it is there. Butterfly joints would've been nice, but what is here is good enough.

 The shoulder pads lie on these tendrils of sorts that can be lifted to allow for more arm movement. I haven't seen the ML team use this before, and while it's a decent compromise, they've done more elegant solutions for the shoulder pads.

 Compared to the Classic Nova... he does look a bit smaller, eh! Even the head is much smaller. As such, he is shorter than Bucky Cap.

 This Nova is a fine figure. Nice sculpt, very eye catching color scheme, a pretty decent range of articulation... If anything, he is missing some energy affects and maybe proportions that fit better with Bucky Cap, but other than that? He is just the Nova I didn't know I wanted.

7.5

Action Figure #875: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Zeo Green Ranger

 There's only so many times I can do the Green with Envy joke.

 And with the Zeo Green Ranger now I'm officially picking the Zeo Rangers as the next Ranger team I want to complete. And I picked the Green Ranger in particular because he just looked so cool with his twin axes, but I'm getting ahead of myself!

 Adam is a really good looking Ranger. While not the most vibrant of greens, it meshes well with the gold and white. In my mind, I remembered the Zeo designs being kinda meh, but I gotta say, they look really good in plastic. The paint apps are all really good, and even his axes look amazing. In short, he is a brilliant looking ranger.

 He comes with two fists, two gripping hands, a blaster, a blaster effect, a sword and his two access. The grip on the axes isn't the best because they will warp the hands, making him unable to hold the sword or blaster. So I just have him holding the swords closer to the heads of the axe.

 The butterfly joints aren't the best, the sculpt work ends very close to the edge of the arm. Kinda lazy.

 No gold on the back of the butterfly-joints, which... well, I guess they covered 95% of the clavicle ring on the back anyways.

 Articulation follows everything this line has, with double jointed elbows and knees, butterfly joints, swivels on his biceps, thighs and boots, with a hinged waist a ball jointed diaphragm. Luckily, no drop-down hips. All of his joints were silky smooth. He is a bit shorter than Bucky Cap.

 Well, thanks to his axes and his color scheme, this might be one of the coolest looking Ranger figures. I really, really like how this guy came out, and I'm excited to get the rest of the Team!

8.5

Action Figure #874: Mattel DC Premier Green Lantern (John Stewart)

 Moving on to greener pastures.

 With a new show coming out, it's no surprise that Green Lantern (John Stewart) was released so early. Not that I mind, probably the only Lantern that is as popular as Hal, and depending on when you were born, the one you like the most.

 As far as I can tell, John has a different buck from Batman, Flash and Robin, so props there! It is a simple figure, however, as the details are all paint apps and not sculpt work. The metallic green and deep black look really good on this guy, the face sculpt is fantastic too. It's a really good John Stewart representation.

 The accessories I'm a bit miffed about. He comes with a rifle of sorts, a gauntlet, chest armor... and a piece that can be slotted on either the fist or the rifle that I'm not sure what it's meant to be. A turbine? I don't know! Regardless, while the accessories are nice, I don't like that the armor and fist have to be taken a part in order to be equipped. I would've liked them to be single pieces that just went over the arm or over the head.

 Articulation is same old, same old. Single jointed elbows with an over 90 degree bend, double jointed knees and swivels on his waist, thighs and boots. It's a competent choice that allows him to be played with just fine.

 As for the comparison with the DCUC figure? Well, I loved the old DCUC John, the matte black, but metallic green arm bands was just oozing with style, and the head-sculpt was among the best ones in the line. But... yeah, this one looks much nicer. The new proportions make him look much more powerful, the articulation is better and the paint is better, even if I do miss the matte finish. A cool little detail: The new one has green irises! Just like he did on the Animated Show!

 The old figure does have something the new one doesn't: The ring was properly sculpted. The new one just gets a flat, green circle, while the old one had a tiny Green Lantern Corps logo sculpted on his hand. He is a bit taller than Bucky Cap.

 Probably one of the better releases so far. The sculpt? Fantastic. The paint and color choices? All just perfect. The accessories? While not my first choice for how they work, they all fit him perfectly. A nice rifle, armor, a giant green fist... it's all just perfect. So... Yeah, best Premier figure so far.

8.0

Action Figure #873: Hiya Toys Persona 5 Joker

 What a bunch of jokers!

 Well, I wasn't quite satisfied with Figma's take on Persona 5's Joker so the moment I learned of this figure I decided that, hey! Why not give somebody else a chance? It is a good character design, and if it means getting more Shin Megami Tensei figures... I'm up for it!

 Design wise, it is a nicely sculpted figure, although they took some liberties with him. At first glance, he is Joker, and it's not until you look closer that you'll notice that his pants and boots have sculpted details that the official art and 3D model don't have. What's more, all the buttons on his jacket and pants fly are painted silver... when they went black in the source material. This is not a deal breaker, and while I don't think these details make it better, even as an action figure, they are worth pointing out. Other than that, the proportions are good, maybe the hands are a bit too small, the figure itself looks good.

 He comes with five pairs of hands: Trigger fingers, Fists, Gripping hands, Open hands and Fancy open hands, an alternate hair piece that comes with the mask, an alternate face plate, his pistol, his knife, a really, really tall figure stand and a static Morgana statuette. 

 The paint apps on his face plates is very soft, so both face look nigh identical. One is slightly angrier and has pink lips instead of a line for a mouth. That's it.

 The soft plastic on the jacket seems kinda brittle, I pulled up its coattails and it's already tearing.

 Articulation is acceptable. He gets double jointed elbows and knees, with toe articulation and a ball jointed waist with little range. Sadly, he doesn't have butterfly joints, or swivels anywhere! At least, the ball joints on his hips and shoulders allow you to rotate the limbs slotted there, which while not as generous as thigh and bicep swivels, allow you some extra poseability. He has drop down hips too.

 And now, the Figma comparison. Figma is much less detailed, which also makes it much sleeker... and closer to the source material. The paint apps on the face are much sharper too. Figma has a matte finish, which Hiya Toys' doesn't. But, the reason I bought this one, is that articulation on the Figma was very lackluster... and this one suffers from the same pitfalls! No swivels, no butterfly joints, a pelvis designed as to hurt the hip articulation... I do think Hiya Toys' articulation is marginally better, but that's not good enough.

 So why get Hiya Toys' Joker over Figma? It's taller so it mixes better with a six inch collection. It's slightly cheaper. He is easier to balance without a stand. And, best of all, while the soft plastic jacket quality seems to be suspect, I like it much better than the jointed-coattails of the Figma. It makes Hiya Toys' version better to play with, while Figma's nicer to look at.

 And the Morganas. This one is a bit larger than Figma's. Figma Morgana can turn their head, this one is completely static. Figma has a more dynamic pose... but it needs a stand to, well, stand. Both are really good, but, hey, you don't need a stand with this one so it looks better on a display. 

 So, is this a good action figure? Yeah, I'd say so. It's not super accurate to the Source Material, but the design choices they made don't detract from the original design. But, is it better than Figma? No. It's not worse either, it's just different. They share many of the same shortcomings, which is kinda funny, but it also has its own. That said, this one is a better fit for my collection. It's a scale I prefer, the engineering is better suited to playing with, which is perfect for me since I love fidgeting with my figures! So, yeah, both figure are decent, albeit not great, and which one is better depends on what kind of figures you prefer.

7.5