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Batman v Superman Toys in the Wild: Wonder Woman and Aquaman [SPOILERS]

I finally came across Wonder Woman and Aquaman last week…so they DO exist in the first wave, and are not just pictured to entice one into buying toys now when some that are most wanted won’t be out until later!

batman_v_superman_toys_wonderwoman_front

I do like the design for this figure. She’s quite recognizeable, and yet (though the skirt is a bit on the short side) overall she doesn’t appear to me to be particularly sexualized. We have her sword and shield which look fairly generic, but ought to look better once the figure’s out of the package and displayed somewhere.

batman_v_superman_toys_wonderwoman_back

…as the back does show. I do wish they’d opted to show Aquaman on the card back, to really emphasize that there are more than just variants of Superman and Batman (and this Wonder Woman) out there.

batman_v_superman_toys_aquaman_front

I think I’m going to like this version of Aquaman. It’s definitely a depature from the typical design I think of, and yet the character still looks like an Aquaman to me. The trident looks like a worthy accessory as these things go…

batman_v_superman_toys_aquaman_back

Yet again, instead of Batman variants, I would think it’d make more sense to show Wonder Woman on the card as well.

I’ve pretty much decided that as these toys go, I’ll probably end up purchasing these two–Wonder Woman and Aquaman–individually, and then the three-pack with Superman, Battle Armor Batman, and the Luthor battlesuit. I would also hope there’d be an oversized Doomsday figure later…but time will tell, of course!

More Batman v Superman in the Wild [SPOILERS]

Following up on my post from last week, I found a couple more neat-looking additions to the Batman v Superman toys over the weekend.

While the other post was what I found at a Walmart, I found these at a Toys R Us.

Do not read on if you’re attempting to avoid any/all spoilers for the film.

The variant costumes/versions of Superman don’t seem overly likely to spoil anything.

However, the back of the card–and something that grabbed my attention–very well could be deemed a spoiler.

So again…do not read further into this post or look at the photos, as there’s stuff that could definitely come off as spoilers!

Continuing on, now…

epic_battle_superman_front

I’m actually sort of surprised at this Epic Battle Superman. I’d half-hoped that maybe there would not be a bunch of Superman variants, at least, but here’s another.

Some sort of fancy armor with ridiculous-looking markings (the gold) that seem totally out of place to me on a Superman costume; and certainly to this one. And while I have no problem with the idea of Superman picking up/using a tool at hand in a fight as needed (especially if/while facing a clearly superior opponent), to me, a Superman action figure with weapon accessories just doesn’t work for me offhand.

epic_battle_superman_back

More of note to me, though, was that the figure’s card is well-suited to showing off the line, as it shows–instead of other Superman variants or multiple Batman variants–three other non-Superman characters. And for me–reveals the apparent existence of an Aquaman figure.

I’ve yet to see the Wonder Woman figure in person, but the fact she appears on a couple of the cards suggests quite heavily that she’ll be find-able in coming weeks.

I’d previously figured the figures in this line/scale would be $8.99-$9.99. At Toys R Us, these were on pegs marked as $9.99, so I’m assuming they might be had for as low as the $8.99 at the likes of Walmart and/or Target (unless these follow the 3.75" adult-collector Multiverse figures that are $9.99 at TRU and $13.99ish at Target).

aquaman_will_exist

If I do buy into this line, I’d be likely to want to get this Aquaman. If I’m not truly gonna have a selection of villains, at least I can have an assortment of unique hero characters instead of nothing but variants of one or two.

batman_superman_lex_luthor_front

Then there’s this 3-pack that seems to give us our first "villain" of the line. We get an Armored Batman, a Superman, and a green-and-purple-Luthor-Power-Suit. I believe the price I saw for this was $24.99…which is actually cheaper than buying Superman and Batman individually with a third $9.99 Luthor; save $5 and get all three!

batman_superman_lex_luthor_back

In some ways, I’d much prefer "just" a "basic" version of all the characters…but in a world with these super-powered "gods," I have no problem with Batman in a clearly armored state; and certainly appreciate the look of this version of the figure.

This 3-pack’s figures seem to be the same size as the other "regular" figures, so if I had to guess right now about purchases I’ll make, I imagine I’d go for this 3-pack, and then the single-pack Wonder Woman and Aquaman and call it a day with the line.

I also saw some sort of new Batmobile, but I don’t have much interest there, particularly for assuming the price would be rather ridiculous or it would look way too small for these figures. I did not note the price.

The 3-pack above would also nicely match with the Total Heroes 3-pack I bought last year, featuring comic-style versions of the three characters.

I suppose time will tell if there are to be other figures in this line, and at what scale–and based on a trailer, I would certainly hope we’d have a large Doomsday figure "in scale" with these, even if it stands at $20-$30-something by itself.

The Flashpoint Paradox

flashpointparadoxbrdI’ve kept up with all of the DC animated features since this line started back in 2007 or so with the Doomsday one, loosely based on the Death of Superman story from 1992. And while I’ve enjoyed certain ones more than others (New Frontier and Under the Red Hood immediately come to mind)…I have to say that after first viewing, Flashpoint Paradox is in that upper level.

While I own all 6 paperbacks collecting the entirety of the Flashpoint ‘event’ from 2011, I’ve only yet actually read the original mini-series and the Batman tie-in mini-series. So while hardly immersive, I’m not unfamiliar with Flashpoint in general. And perhaps it’s partially that I’m not overly steeped in knowledge of the entire event that helped me to enjoy this, as from what I recall of the comics, this is quite a good adaptation.

My primary “issues” with this film are story-wise, and the same I had with the comics–specifically the way things play out with Barry’s powers, and that against “usual” the ending is–we as viewers/readers are aware–not the actual ending. The comics’ ending kicked off the New 52, and I believe this film leads into New 52-era followups, leaving stuff based on the “old” DC Universe behind (at least for awhile?).

For the most part I had no problems with the visuals…as an animated features this worked very well for me. There wasn’t really much of anything jarring or offputting to me about the animation itself. Some of the character designs were a bit “off” from what I’d’ve expected…but in and of themselves, nothing bad.

flashpointstack

As said, I’ve only (as of this typing) read the “core” Flashpoint comics and the Batman mini…so the allusion to that actually made sense to me. Other stuff–particularly the cameos–were fine with me, because I don’t know the comics’ stories, so for me, there’s nothing of concern missing. And for what I recall of the comics (and granted, it’s been a couple years now), there’s more context to things given in this film than was in the core Flashpoint mini-series, making this a better package in a way.

The voice cast was good…I sorta noticed the familiarity to Lois Lane’s voice, somehow missed it in Superman, and while no Kevin Conroy, Kevin McKidd pulled off a very good Batman. I’m not particularly “set” on any particular Flash voice, to say nothing of being pretty sure the voice I’m familiar with from Justice League and Justice League Unlimited was for Wally, not Barry.

Just as Justice League: The New Frontier led me to buy and read the source material, The Flashpoint Paradox has led me to pull the source material from my shelf and finally make the time to actually read it.

flashpointcollection

I bought this for the “promo”/”first week pricing” special at Target…probably the cheapest blu-ray/dvd/digital combo I’ve found for any of these films; and for the $13.99 this was quite worthwhile for the film alone, and I anticipate multiple re-watchings.

The bonus materials are so-so, and rather ‘standard” at this point. Several episodes of past DC animated series, featurette(s) on the focal character/story of the film, a lengthy promo/preview/featurette on an upcoming film, plus the usual stuff–commentary, digital comic that I can’t even read on the tv screen, etc–that I typically ignore.

So all in all…I definitely recommend seeing this…but unless you really care about extras, or the HD (which I’ve never noticed difference between blu-ray/dvd with) you’re probably just as well getting the DVD. And unless you’re in a hurry to see this…it’s not unfathomable to expect that by the time the next animated feature comes out, this one’ll be around the $9.99 price point at your local Target/Walmart type stores. And if this is available in a nearby Redbox kiosk, it seems quite worth an evening’s rental!

Justice League #1 [Review]


Full review posted to cxPulp.com
.

Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5

The NEW DC Universe

With the relaunch of DC’s superhero line in September, things start off with 52 #1 issues. Justice League August 31st, and the other 51 in September. The titles for this initial launch have been reported as follows:

  • ACTION COMICS
  • ALL-STAR WESTERN
  • ANIMAL MAN
  • AQUAMAN
  • BATGIRL
  • BATMAN
  • BATMAN & ROBIN
  • BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT
  • BATWING
  • BATWOMAN
  • BIRDS OF PREY
  • BLACKHAWKS
  • BLUE BEETLE
  • CAPTAIN ATOM
  • CATWOMAN
  • DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
  • DEATHSTROKE
  • DEMON KNIGHTS
  • DETECTIVE COMICS
  • FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF SHADE
  • GREEN ARROW
  • GREEN LANTERN
  • GREEN LANTERN CORPS
  • GREEN LANTERN: THE NEW GUARDIANS
  • GRIFTER
  • HAWK & DOVE

Continue reading

Brightest Day #0 [Review]

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

Blackest Night #8 [Review]

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Blackest Night #2 [Review]

Full review posted to comixtreme.com.

Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5