DCClassics.Com:
Raven & Jemm Review

Somebody pinch me, there’s a Jemm figure! When the list of this wave first leaked, I imagine the majority of DCUC collectors either rolled their eyes or had to hit their DC Encyclopedias. Not me. I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. I’ve been a fan of Jemm since I was in grade school. I tried to make a custom Jemm Super Powers figure when I was little. I did make a custom Jemm out of a Total Justice Martian Manhunter. I always figured my chances at owning a Jemm figure were slim to none. DC Direct’s track record isn’t the greatest and I figured he was too obscure for even Mattel. I’m happy to find out that I was wrong.

Jemm first appeared in his own maxi-series back in 1984. Originally conceived as a cousin to the Martian Manhunter, those plans were changed when J’Onn was brought back in the Justice League of America comic and Jemm was made Saturnian. When we meet Jemm, he’s a very… gentle character. He was searching for his lost love, he befriended an orphan, and he really just wants to go back home and ignore the repercussions of a Saturnian Civil War. I don’t always like those pacifistic traits in J’Onn and I think they can work better in Jemm. It helps them juxtapose each other despite their very similar backgrounds. Sadly, Jemm went unused for nearly a decade after his series and when he’s brought back, it’s not the greatest. I was happy to see him in Morrison’s JLA and Ostrander’s Martian Manhunter, but in both those appearances his gentleness was construed into him being a weak and easily victimized character. I was glad to have him back, but sad to see that he hadn’t come into his own. He’s recently appeared in the New Krypton storyline, but, uh… I won’t touch new James Robinson books with a 10ft pole. Frankly, I’m surprised Jemm, a relatively modern character, appeared in a Robinson title and lived to tell the tale…

I don’t really have a single complaint about how Mattel intended to make Jemm. I like that he’s built on the brawnier bulk. His new head is spot-on and combined with the elongated calves and hands, Jemm looks sufficiently alien (& true to the character) on the shelf. He also sports new forearms and a cape to get his costume details correct. Had there not been a QC issue, he might have just been perfect…

But there is a QC issue and a rather maddening one at that. Some readers might remember me picking on Mattel a bit because of the bad QC in DCUC15 a few weeks back. In that picture, you saw Jemm with a jagged/damaged belt buckle. BBTS was able to help me out with that issue, but both Jemm’s still had a second flaw – the biceps. Martian Manhunter and Jemm are both supposed to feature heavier (and veiny) shoulders and biceps, but many collectors are reporting getting figures with a smaller bicep on one or both sides. My two J’Onns were spared this defect, but Jemm wasn’t. His right arm features the smaller bicep piece (standard to many DCUCs) while his left is the bulkier and proper one. It’s frustrating not only visually, but functionally as well. The larger piece is sculpted to be compatible with the brawny chest and still be able to be posed straight down. The smaller one isn’t, leaving Jemm’s right arm angling away from his body in a neutral pose. I’ll prolly replace him again, but since IAT is K-Martless, it’ll have to wait until we find him at other stores.

Despite the QC issues in the assembly department, Jemm is painted decently. The only area where I was a little disappointed was his face, like J’Onn, it’s a bit too shiny, particularly in contrast with the more satin finish on his arms and chest. The blue costume details are a nice mix of flats, airbrushed highlights, and metallics that can almost get me to not worry about his shiny head.

Articulation for Jemm is standard. The softer cape doesn’t really get in the way of articulation and the figure moves as it should with some decent head range. There is the issue with the incompatibility of his wrong arm and the torso.

Overall, Mattel had a good plan in place to capture his likeness with the new pieces and pairing him with J’Onn was appropriate. The paints and new parts blend together to make a great figure had the factory been able to execute it properly. Hopefully, the bicep issue isn’t on all or the majority of figures and as it rolls out to other retailers maybe we’ll get lucky and find more corrected Jemms (and J’Onns) on the shelves. Truthfully, I’m still just a bit in awe over having a Jemm. I still have plenty of favorites out there waiting for the Classics treatment, but this line is ridiculously good at character selection. It gives me hope for other lower tier favorites.

For more DCUC reviews, check out our DC Classics Collector’s Guide.

13 thoughts on “DCClassics.Com:
Raven & Jemm Review

  1. You have got to read New Teen Titans! I thought you were a DC fan! Tell me you’ve at least read Judas Contract?? I feel strangely betrayed! LOL

    j/k You should pick up some of those Titans stories though, lots of great stories in those pages. The Titans books have sucked for a long while, but they were good back in Wolfman/Perez days.

  2. Classic last picture.

    But . . . with the lack of accessories in DCUC anyway, I’m not too bothered.

    That, and I always love the 4H’s hand sculpts.

    1. The lack of accessories is one of the few things I don’t like about the line. Every time I see that adult collector label and wonder where’s Kandor, the bell, wheel, and jar, a HERO dial, a phantom zone projector, the spear of destiny, etc. Plus just tons of swords and guns for the characters that’ll use em. Such a waste.

      1. Agreed.

        When one thinks of great “collector” oriented lines, tons of awesome accessories comes to mind, such as with Palisades’ Muppets.

        But considering Mattel will never give us lots of cool accessories, I don’t see the point in having “accessory-holding” hand sculpts that look ridiculous when empty.

        1. I hold out some hope for cool accessories, so I do hope to get a few less two fisted figures. I swiped a Phantom Zone Projector from JLU for my DCUC display and I’m glad that someone can hold it even though no Superman figure can.

  3. I still need thest two and Starman to complete Validus. Kmart suckered me into buying the whole wave. If it hadn’t been for the sale I would only have bouth SC Bats & MM. But it’s been pretty cool. Golden Pharaoh was a surprise and OMAC is too crazy not to have!

  4. I also was stoked to get a Jemm figure.

    The opposite biceps are switched on my Jemm…Great job Matty!

    Starfire is one of my favorite characters…Mattel could not have phoned that figure in more. My biggest disappointment of the line. 2 for 2 Matty!

  5. I got mine from Amazon (got JACK instead of Ted! YES!) and the only QC issue I have is the “dent” in Jemm’s belt buckle, which seems to be fairly common.

    Raven – I tried to get her to raise her arms into the cape, but it doesn’t quite work. Maybe they should have given her a wired cloth cape like her father? It’s usually portrayed as a sort of shroud, anyway. Like you said, it looks great on the page, but doesn’t quite translate to plastic. One thing I wanted her (and Negative Man) to have was a “soul self” from a vinyl sheet, so it would be flexible.
    eh, I think I’ve got enough plastic flats from action figures to make my own, but still…

    Jemm – I still say he should have been the J’onn variant (whose alt.head/hand should have been accessories!). He’s barely known in the DCU to begin with, and we’re already getting the semi-obscure Kirby OMAC in this wave, so Jemm wasn’t even a priority. Even his cardback shows him in different black costume!
    meh, I’ll probably custom him into a Lantern or something….Blue Lantern 2814???? Now THERE’S a good idea! I can just see him saying, “All will be well.”

  6. Both my Jemm and Raven came out of a shipment of figures that one of our local comic vendors hooks us up with – and were mostly free of any QC defects. Both suffer, however, from package-warping of their elbows. I’m usually reserved about most Mattel gripes, but I really don’t get why they insist on force-posing these into the trays when they easily don’t have to. I’d almost blame the warping for Raven’s crazy cape.

    When you refer to the “bulky” buck with Jemm, do you mean that they finally complied with your brilliant idea of them reusing the Public Enemies buck? Also, I’m shocked to see that there are no “TRULY OUTRAGEOUS” jokes in poor Jemm’s review.

  7. Okay, so does that mean that this wave is being sold out in stores, and not just online? If so, were is everyone getting them?

  8. I almost bought Jemm during the recent K-Mart sale. With no variant Starman or non-variant MM available, I only had the rest of the wave to choose from, none of whom I planned on getting. I couldn’t skip the sale entirely (especially not when I had a coupon), so it came down to Jemm and Raven. Jemm looked like the better figure, but I know nothing about the character and don’t much care to find out. Still, I wouldn’t have minded getting him.

    Raven was a pleasant surprise. I expected her movement to be restricted, but Mattel really came through with the softer plastic parts. She has a worse version of the slightly-detached-right-leg problem that Power Girl has, but it’s hidden from view. If not for the sucky cape and limited ab crunch, she’d be excellent.

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