The first figures of the year, and as is pretty often the case, they're clearance markdowns. And a pretty good deal:
gohastings.com had a 25% off sale, and these two figures were marked down before that: DC Direct's Stel and Man of Bats!
I got the Collect-and-Connect
Stel some time ago, and had seen the DC Direct version floating around, so how is he? Before comparing the two, the DCD Stel smelled just awful out of the package--some figures just do, true; but I don't notice it that often. This time, noticeable. It's a nice looking sculpt with good paint, but he does seem to have a bit of a pinhead. He's an alien robot, true; it's not like he needs to have a head in there, but it's a little off. The chest emblem strikes me as a little plain as well.
DCD Stel has twelve points of articulation, maybe: neck, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. And some of those joints were tight. I still haven't been able to budge that left hip! There's not a huge range of movement for him; the shoulders in particular are blocked by his pads. No breakdancing poses for Stel, then. His only accessories are the standard Green Lantern base and lantern; but he can only hold said lantern in his ring hand.
Stel was only $7.50 on sale, $9.99 as of now: of his
Green Lantern series 4 wavemates "Power Glow" Hal Jordan is cheaper; while Arkkis Chummuck (the "vampire werewolf" looking one) and Red Lantern Guy Gardner are a little more expensive, but still cheaper than when they were first released. And the
Batman Incorporated Man of Bats was even less, $4.50 on sale!
I haven't read a lot of comics with Man-of-Bats;
Batman, Inc. #7 is the only one that springs to mind. But he's a sharp looking figure! The sculpting is great: the feathers in the headdress, the armbands, the fringe. Good paint too, and sixteen points of articulation: neck, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and boot-tops. Like Stel, Man of Bats' neck is a balljoint, but not as much range: I thought the headdress might hold it up, but I don't think that did it. He comes with a plain black base and a tomahawk with a distinctive bat-shaped top.
Despite being a distinctive looking figure, you can probably still pick up Man of Bats for a song: Hastings was sold out of the rest of the wave. Per
Amazon, the rest of the DC Direct
Batman Incorporated runs from under twenty for the Knight, up to about seventy bucks for Damian as Robin! If you see a DC Direct figure coming in Previews or online, pre-order it from your local comic shop or favorite online retailer; since I think they're being made more to order and retailers may not be getting as many extras.
I like Man-of-Bats more than Stel, but Stel could be a substitute if you missed the DCUC/Green Lantern Collect-and-Connect. I'm sure we'll see more from them over the course of the year...
3 comments:
Wow! That DC Direct is awful! I think he probably looks about as bad as he smells, so.....yeah pretty awful.
Seriously, this is one case where the DCUC version of a figure is waaaaay better than the DC Direct one. No offense buddy, but I'm glad you got him on the cheap. But hey, you could always hang him from the top mirror in your car the way most taxi drivers hang fuzzy dice, or glue him to the dashboard like a crown;) Or even better, and to further freak your girlfriend out, use him as a giant emblem for the hood of your car. Nothing says geek/loyal comic fan like using an action figure for a hood ornament;)
I will say that Man of Bats figure is fucking sweet though! He needs a bit more articulation, but he definitely rocks the house.
I will not be riding in the car if he glues that THING to the hood! unh uh.
Ha ha, good luck;)That's the price to dating a comic book/action figure fan like the Goo-ster.
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