Review: JLU Question 3 Pack
Justice League Unlimitted, or JLU for short, was the last of the animated series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini that was based on DC comics characters and stories. Oh, they're both still working: Bruce Timm is making direct-to-DVD features (including the phenomenal Justice League: New Frontier) and Paul Dini's been writing for DC comics for a few years now (at the very least, every Batman fan on earth owes it to themselves to check out the first two trades from his Detective Comics run).
But there's something particularly noteworthy about the cartoons they made. These changed the rules for animated television and for comics. They raised expectations, taking some of the world's most iconic characters in directions we never imagined.
Enough gushing about the shows, though: we're here to take a look at some of the toys. Mattel has been churning these out for years now, and they don't seem to be stopping.
Today, I'm looking at the most recent pack I purchased, containing The Flash, Wonder Woman, and a new figure fans have been waiting for: The Question. It's important to note that The Flash and Wonder Woman have been released before. Again and again. And again and again and again and.... yeah. But, hey: new Question.
Appearance: 8
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The figures vary a bit overall in their appearance. If it were Wonder Woman alone, she'd be lucky to receive a 7, but The Question raises the overall score (he'd get a nine, if not a perfect 10 here). The Flash deserves about an 8, and that's the average we'll be working with.
The figures are nice, and most match their appearance on screen nicely. Wonder Woman deviates a bit - they've sculpted her a bit shorter than she seems on the show, and her face is a bit rounder here.
Flash and The Question, on the other hand, are great. The translation from two dimensions works, and the figures, while not quite perfect, are remarkably close.
Extras: -1
The packaging is fine for my purposes. I don't know if it sells the product, but that's Mattel's problem, not mine.
As for bonus goodies, well, you get a base. Singular. One base. Now, it's been a while since I took Calculus, but I think that this is in fact NOT ENOUGH FOR THREE FIGURES.
I could, of course, be mistaken. More on this later.
In addition, you get no accessories. Not one. If you buy JLU figures individually, you always get something. Sometimes it's something cool: I've seen pictures of an upcoming Batman who comes with "Wonder Pig" (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you need to watch more JLU). Other times, you get something that wasn't in the show and makes absolutely no sense. But you get SOMETHING.
When you buy the three packs, you get nothing. Does this seem right to you?
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To be fair, there isn't that much we need with these. I'd like to have a lasso with Wonder Woman and maybe a data disk or magazine article for The Question. For Flash... well, I'd love a DJ Rubber Ducky, but that's asking a lot. These are pretty much complete on their own, so I won't complain TOO much. |
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Play and Display: -1
These aren't really intended for play, but they are meant to be displayed. While they do look good, getting them to stand is highly problematic since, as I mentioned before, you only get one base for three figures.
There are some mitigating factors. First off, these will stand on their own. Sometimes. For a while. Maybe. Just make sure you don't walk by too quickly. And you might want to give up breathing.
Or you could get creative. They don't stand well on their own, but you can lean them against a wall, stand them against other characters, build some sort of base, or do what I do. If you can find some sort of "grid" they can grab hold of, you can do something like this:
After all, most of these have hands built for gripping, and it isn't like you have to worry about accessories getting in the way.
Ahem.
I'm only peeling off one point in this category. Even with all the problems and the annoyance, they still look good. Isn't that what really counts?
Price Tag and Final Analysis: 6/10
A three pack will probably cost you twelve or thirteen bucks. I'm going to be honest: I don't know if they're worth it. Oh, I'm glad I bought mine: I really like The Question, and it just so happens I was out of "normal" Wonder Women and Flashes (and with good reason - but I'll have more to say on my wife's work at a later date).
Likewise, I suspect a lot of collectors who've followed the line will do what they have to get their hands on a Question. Still, this is a lot of money to spend of three tiny figures with no accessories and only one base between them. It's a worse deal if two of the figures go straight into a box, never to be seen again.
Okay, that last picture is just me showing off. Check out the Bat-suit in the lit case, though: pretty sweet, eh? Check out my blog if you want to leave me a comment. Oh, and you can visit my wife's blog to see some better pictures of that Bat-suit.
