Captain Boomerang is one of those strange characters that really shouldn’t be popular. He’s the essence of a stereotypical villain with a lame costume, yet he’s able to persevere where other lame characters like Angle Man couldn’t. Even I have to admit I wanted a figure of this crazy Aussie.
I was pretty happy with the announcement that Captain Boomerang was going to be in wave eighteen. I was itching to get more of Flash’s Rogues into my collection. Plus, he’d also start filling out the Suicide Squad with Bronze Tiger and Deadshot. But somewhere along the line Mattel chose to go with the modern version of the character instead of his classic Silver Age look.
I don’t really mind getting Modern Age characters. In fact, I’m usually all for the diversity that the DC Classics line brings. But in the case of Captain Boomerang it just seemed a little wrong. This wave was made up of nostalgic characters and Digger here stood out like a sore thumb. He doesn’t even fit in with Bronze Tiger, since this version of the character was created in Brightest Day and never served on the Suicide Squad.
But even with my disappointment in the character’s look, that doesn’t mean the Four Horsemen haven’t worked their magic. His body is mostly a plain thin buck with new shins, but it’s his extra sculpted bits that really make him shine. If you look closely at his long coat you’ll notice stitched seams that run along the edges on both the outside and inside. His bandolier of boomerangs is actually sculpted to his coat. His scarf has been sculpted twisting in an imaginary wind, and since it’s loose you can move it around his neck for a different effect.
But the best part of this figure’s sculpt is his head. I may not care for Boomerang’s new look, but this guy has one of the most expressive faces I’ve seen in the DC Classics line. His cap is full of sculpted lines to make it look knitting, and the boomerang symbol on front is even raised. His hair in back is a little messed up, and he even has little hash marks along his face for the beard stubble he hasn’t shaved. But nothing can top the self-assured look on his face. You just want to smack that cocky smile right off. Continue to page 2…
“…sad reminder that the comics and toy line I love are changing forever.”
This is how I felt around the time that the Marvel license transferred from Toy Biz to Hasbro, and I’ve never recovered. Since then I’ve never felt the sheer joy and excitement I felt collecting Marvel Legends under Toy Biz. Sure, we got “Marvel Legends” from Hasbro, but the quality was lessened and the spirit was taken out of them. I hope that’s not what’s coming for DCUC fans: a new, soul-sucked version of your favorite toy line and a remembrance of what was. I can sympathize and I hope for the best for all you DCUC fans.
I can’t tell you how glad I am this is not the Silver Age version, so, to each their own. As it is, this is one of the only figures from the wave I’ll bother with (something I wouldn’t be able to say if he were wearing his old smock), and that’s if anything past wave 16 ever shows up in my neck of the woods.
The face sculpt reminds me of actor Chris “The Shermanator” Owens…
I thought it was supposed to be Seth Green.
And I’m annoyed that he stole Bronze Tiger’s extra articulation.
(Also, I’m totally in the “should’ve been Silver Age” camp. Suicide Squad is Suicide Duo.)
Both good likeness comparisons, and I agree with both. But the first thing that sprung to my mind was Jackie Earle Haley as Walter “Rorschach” Kovacs. Only smiling.
Hey, all I can say is, a few waves earlier and we could have been stuck with an Owen Mercer Boomerang –shudder. As much as I’m obsessed with the old SUICIDE SQUAD comic, I have to admit that the new costume makes a lot more sense for an espionage team: the sock cap replacing the beanie; the coat replacing the billowy, garishly patterned sleeve; and, the generally darker hue of it. You’re right though. It is a lot more fitting as fodder for the new line though. (Pretty much tells us how ‘mainstream’ the new line is about to get, huh?”)
I agree with James Lynch: glad to get THIS version of the good Cap’n, not the “costume made from fabric found at Joanne’s closeout with a flight attendant hat” version. He looks AWESOME with Bronze Tiger and Deadshot!
i prefer this version, as well, but he is just waaay too tall.