Review: DC Infinite Heroes 3 Pack: Green Lantern, Black Canary, and Green Arrow
Funny thing about a substandard line of toys that's overpriced and overproduced: no one really buys them. Okay, that's not fair for about a half dozen reasons, but there's some truth to it.
The DC Infinite Heroes line of 3 3/4 inch figures have been taking up good shelf space for a while now. The Toys R Us near me has started to tick the price down slowly, but they're still having trouble moving these. Honestly, I suspect they'll have to do a lot better than a third - or even half off - if they want to unload some of these.
The problem is simple supply and demand. There's a huge supply and no demand. And, just to put this into perspective, I've seen these marked down just about everywhere. Here in Queens, I see the single packs going for three to four bucks and the three packs selling for eight to ten. In Manhattan, Jack's World has single packs for $1.99 and the three packs are $5.99 at Conway.
The ones I'm looking at today were found in an upstate Walmart for five dollars. The pack comes with three characters I've reviewed in the six inch scale as well: Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, for those of you who like specifics).
I bought these on a whim. Like the FAR superior DC Universe Classics figures linked to above, these are produced by Mattel.
The DC Infinite Heroes line of 3 3/4 inch figures have been taking up good shelf space for a while now. The Toys R Us near me has started to tick the price down slowly, but they're still having trouble moving these. Honestly, I suspect they'll have to do a lot better than a third - or even half off - if they want to unload some of these.
The problem is simple supply and demand. There's a huge supply and no demand. And, just to put this into perspective, I've seen these marked down just about everywhere. Here in Queens, I see the single packs going for three to four bucks and the three packs selling for eight to ten. In Manhattan, Jack's World has single packs for $1.99 and the three packs are $5.99 at Conway.
The ones I'm looking at today were found in an upstate Walmart for five dollars. The pack comes with three characters I've reviewed in the six inch scale as well: Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, for those of you who like specifics).
I bought these on a whim. Like the FAR superior DC Universe Classics figures linked to above, these are produced by Mattel.
Appearance and Construction: 7/10
The serious issues with these toys, fortunately, doesn't really relate to the toys themselves. These are, relatively speaking, sturdy, well-made figures, and they look pretty good.
The best of this batch is Green Arrow, though he still has some serious problems. The high point of Arrow - and the entire pack - is the vest and hood he's wearing. Sculpted in soft plastic, this is a well made piece. The detail, both in sculpt and paint, is well-executed and impressive. The pouches, belts, and buckles are part of this, and they look distinct and and realistic. I particularly like the bronze "G", which stands out.
In addition, Arrow's face sculpt is strong; once again, it's the best of the bunch. The arms are good, but there are some paint issues on right on mine. Also, the green bands on his arms could have been sculpted rather than just painted, but I suppose that's a lot to ask.
Arrow's problem is with his quiver. Or, more specifically, with the soft plastic arrows coming out. These look absolutely ridiculous and cheap. Honestly, I'd have preferred if they'd left the quiver empty rather than sculpting these things coming out. On his own, I might have been able to justify an eight for Green Arrow.
The best of this batch is Green Arrow, though he still has some serious problems. The high point of Arrow - and the entire pack - is the vest and hood he's wearing. Sculpted in soft plastic, this is a well made piece. The detail, both in sculpt and paint, is well-executed and impressive. The pouches, belts, and buckles are part of this, and they look distinct and and realistic. I particularly like the bronze "G", which stands out.
In addition, Arrow's face sculpt is strong; once again, it's the best of the bunch. The arms are good, but there are some paint issues on right on mine. Also, the green bands on his arms could have been sculpted rather than just painted, but I suppose that's a lot to ask.
Arrow's problem is with his quiver. Or, more specifically, with the soft plastic arrows coming out. These look absolutely ridiculous and cheap. Honestly, I'd have preferred if they'd left the quiver empty rather than sculpting these things coming out. On his own, I might have been able to justify an eight for Green Arrow.
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Next up, we've got Green Arrow's longtime love interest and current wife, Black Canary. Once again, the best part of the figure is the soft, plastic coat. It occurs to me as I look at more and more of these that, as a general rule of thumb, the overall quality of these figures is directly proportionate to how much of the body and face is covered by soft plastic clothing. That says something positive about Mattel's use of these garments, but it says something much more negative overall.
Canary has two main issues. The first is endemic to the line: Mattel is simply using an inferior body for female characters in this line. Raven's cape helped conceal this, but Black Canary doesn't get off as easily. The other problem is more specific. Unlike Raven, Canary's head isn't anywhere as good as it could - and should - be. Both the sculpt and paint are lacking here, and it drags the figure down. On her own, she'd probably pull a six, though she might just get by with a seven. |
Green Lantern has pluses and minuses. One of the advantages this character's always had, be it this scale, six inch, or thirteen inch, is simplicity. Without capes, belts, or sashes, there's a little less for Mattel to mess up. Unfortunately, that means it's easier to tell whether they got the rest right.
The largest problem we run into here is with contrast between the symbol on his chest and the rest of the figure. The symbol, which I'm assuming was some kind of stamp or rub or something, is crystal clean. It almost looks like a decal. Now, on its own, this isn't really a problem. The problem shows up when you compare this to the rest of the figure. If there's an outline around the symbol, there should be a faint outline around the mask.
Other than that, his face needed some paint, and his boots and gloves should have been sculpted. On his own, he'd deserve a seven, which seems to be where these average.
Packaging and Extras: -2
You want to hear something you probably weren't expecting? I love this packaging! Well, I love the INSIDE of the packaging, anyway. The exterior isn't bad, but the star is the insert with the protruding hand. Take a look at the topmost picture again: that thing's cool, and it has real display value.
The statistics on the back, as I mentioned while reviewing Batman, are absurdly stupid. For some reason, the same company can put out brilliant bios on the backs of DC Universe Classics while providing inane character stats here. I guess it reflects the markets they assume are buying the different lines.
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The green thing sitting on top of the base to the right of this text isn't a twist tie or a plant stem: it's Green Arrow's bow. I bring this up because I don't think it's readily apparent, even when it's in Arrow's hand. This is because the bow is woefully inadequate. The sculpt work is actually fine, but there's no paint whatsoever. In addition, while there is precedence for Green Arrow using a green bow, most modern incarnations resembling the toy here use a normal bow. And I'm unfamiliar with any version of Green Arrow who fights with a green bowstring, particularly one as thick as the bow itself. |
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On top of this, Mattel provides a stand. One stand. For three figures. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised: they've been doing this with Justice League figures for years.
So. One stand when there should be three. An abysmal bow. And NOTHING else. No extra arrows, no emerald constructs, no sonic waves. The only reason I'm letting them off with a two point deduction and not three is the inclusion of that cardboard insert. That thing's just awesome.
Play and Display: ----
Well, they can stand up straight, which is more than I could say for Batman. Actually, all of these have something good about them, but it's nowhere near where we'd start handing out bonuses.
Lets start with Green Arrow again. What Arrow does best is draw back his bowstring, as though he's firing an arrow. Granted, this would be better if he came with an arrow, but we've already discussed that.
Green Arrow and Green Lantern share the same articulation: they've got ball-jointed shoulders, cut necks and waists, pin knees and elbows, and a 'T' style hips connecting the legs. Of course, you're not getting much use out of Arrow's neck with his hood in the way, but that's not a huge loss. Also, like with Batman, the legs don't bend backward. Fortunately, it doesn't create the same issues here.
Lantern's best asset is the shoulder and elbow, which lets him wave his ring around. It's far less than Hasbro's doing with similar Marvel figures, but it's better than Canary gets.
She has pins for shoulders, a cut neck and abdomen, a 'V' waist, and pin knees. The one upshot to this is that she can do a roundhouse if you give her the base. Also, if you've ever wanted a figure capable of doing Chun Li's spinning bird kick, then you're in luck.
All of the figures have decent balance, so I won't dock anything.
Lets start with Green Arrow again. What Arrow does best is draw back his bowstring, as though he's firing an arrow. Granted, this would be better if he came with an arrow, but we've already discussed that.
Green Arrow and Green Lantern share the same articulation: they've got ball-jointed shoulders, cut necks and waists, pin knees and elbows, and a 'T' style hips connecting the legs. Of course, you're not getting much use out of Arrow's neck with his hood in the way, but that's not a huge loss. Also, like with Batman, the legs don't bend backward. Fortunately, it doesn't create the same issues here.
Lantern's best asset is the shoulder and elbow, which lets him wave his ring around. It's far less than Hasbro's doing with similar Marvel figures, but it's better than Canary gets.
She has pins for shoulders, a cut neck and abdomen, a 'V' waist, and pin knees. The one upshot to this is that she can do a roundhouse if you give her the base. Also, if you've ever wanted a figure capable of doing Chun Li's spinning bird kick, then you're in luck.
All of the figures have decent balance, so I won't dock anything.
Price Tag and Final Analysis: 5/10
While these figures certainly aren't spectacular, they should be getting a higher score than this. The problem, as I keep saying, isn't with the figures: it's the lack of accessories. Frankly, there's not enough plastic and paint in these boxes to justify what Mattel originally asked. There's simply no excuse for these to be this light on extras, not when other figures in this scale offer so much more... for a lower SRP, I might add.
In addition, Mattel needs to bring their sculpt and paint up closer to Hasbro's level if they want to compete in this scale. According to the price tag, this three pack started at almost sixteen dollars... at WALMART. I can tell you from experience that other retailers have asked even more.
You know what these are worth? Two or three bucks each. Even then, you don't feel like you're getting a great bargain. Heck, I almost passed them up at five. It astounds me that Mattel can have perfected the six inch scale while getting these so wrong.
In addition, Mattel needs to bring their sculpt and paint up closer to Hasbro's level if they want to compete in this scale. According to the price tag, this three pack started at almost sixteen dollars... at WALMART. I can tell you from experience that other retailers have asked even more.
You know what these are worth? Two or three bucks each. Even then, you don't feel like you're getting a great bargain. Heck, I almost passed them up at five. It astounds me that Mattel can have perfected the six inch scale while getting these so wrong.
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