{"id":13890,"date":"2011-08-08T07:10:20","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T12:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13890"},"modified":"2011-08-08T07:17:17","modified_gmt":"2011-08-08T12:17:17","slug":"young-justice-review-6-artemis-robin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13890","title":{"rendered":"Young Justice Review:
6″ Artemis & Robin"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Remember Young Justice? That cartoon on Cartoon Network some months ago that showed nine of its ten episodes and then abruptly disappeared in a typical CN vanishing act? Robin? Superboy? Kid Flash? Ringing a bell? Maybe? Well, that cartoon\u2019s tie-in merchandise has finally reached store shelves and that means review time… <\/p>\n

I’ve been wracking my brain over whether or not to pick up the Young Justice figures. I really enjoyed the first nine episodes (despite the show’s lack of true Young Justy-ness) and, as you might imagine, that greatly increases my proclivity towards buying the toys. I was initially interested in the 4″ line solely for the HoJ concept, but the reality of packaging caused unfortunate cut lines in the finished piece and it just wasn’t going to be big enough for my mainly 6″ collection (for some 4″ reviews, hit up the always reliable Michael Crawford<\/a>). Maybe some completed pics will make me regret that decision, but for now I’m looking to only focus on the 6″ line.<\/p>\n

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The six-inch line just sounds more promising – DCUC bucks for compatibility with the Four Horsemen finishing out the necessary new pieces to get the looks just right. Still, when I saw preview pictures, some doubt started to form. The teenage figures have been some of the more problematic in the DCU comic line and it looked like some of those problems translated over to this line as well. When I saw them at Target a couple weeks back, I decided to grab the Artemis because she looked like she would fit in with my figures, but I left Robin. This weekend, Robin was still sitting there and for various reasons, I decided to give him a shot too, so you guys get a double review today. <\/p>\n

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I bought Artemis first, so I’ll start with her. She’s an interesting character on the show because she appears to be representative of a lot of different characters, but really isn’t. Her name evokes a Wonder Woman heritage while her introduction to the show definitely had many of us thinking about GA’s modern sidekick, Mia Dearden. But the funny thing is that she’s really just Artemis, an 80s villain from Infinity, Inc. (better known later as Tigress) repurposed for the show. I could kick myself for not figuring that one out ahead of time. <\/p>\n

I’m not sure how much of Artemis’ sculpt is reused. Unlike the men, the DCU comic line doesn’t have a regular teenage girl buck. That may change with the upcoming Saturn Girl or Stargirl, but from the pictures I don’t believe any of those parts are being used on this figure. A trained eye might better catch some details I’m missing, but the figure appears to be the standard female body for the most part with a few new pieces thrown in where needed like the head, the belt\/lower torso, below the knees, and possibly the hands. <\/p>\n

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I was happy with Artemis’ sculpt for the most part. I wish the budget would’ve allowed for a few more sculpted pieces so we could get the arm details more right (and a little bulkier wouldn’t hurt – I feel like I have to turn them in a bit to get a better aesthetic). We do get the add-on pieces like the quiver (it’s removable), the belt, and the leg pouch which all combine with the new lower leg pieces to give Artemis some good show-accurate details. Atop all that sits a great head sculpt. I feel it does what the line producers promised – and can look good with the YJ figures, but also not be out of place chilling with Green Arrow or Red Arrow from DCUC. <\/p>\n

The nice thing about the figure though is the construction. There’s no gumminess in the hip joints or warped limbs. She actually makes me jealous that we didn’t get as nice a Donna Troy or Starfire figures. I almost wonder if we might get better figures in the cartoon\/line if it lives long enough for those characters to appear (and if the designs aren’t too crazy). <\/p>\n

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The paint work was really solid on Artemis too. I had one blemish on her mask line, but the lips and eyes were painted well and the painted edges of the costume were clean even though the sculpt wasn’t there to act as a guide line. The main issue I had with the paint was that I think the skin tone is a little too light\/pale for the character and that the hair could’ve used a slight wash to bring out the details or give it some depth. <\/p>\n

The only other quibble I had, and it’s partially sculpt & paint, was the figure did end up slightly inaccurate. I think that’s more about a late change to the show than the figure being wrong though. Early pics of Artemis showed the single strap quiver like the figure has, but if you watch the show, she finally appeared with the quiver simply being on her back with black outlines around her shoulders. It’s a minor quibble, but it is a shame they couldn’t get the changes fixed in time. <\/p>\n

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If you’ve been buying DC Classics, then you’re familiar with the articulation here right down to the lack of rocker ankles – ball-joints at the head (limited) & shoulders, swivels at the biceps, wrists, and thighs, single hinges at the elbows, knees, and ankles, an ab crunch, and the ‘4H’ hips. All of the joints work great except the ball-joint on the head which has very limited up-and-down movement. The ponytail does have a swivel cut in it though to help out. The hair on mine pops on and off easily, it’s actually handy if you want to remove the quiver without popping its clasp.<\/p>\n

One of the big selling points for these figures is the accessories. The packaging gets a special starburst that says “Includes Diorama and 7 Weapons”. For Artemis, her accessories are her bow, quiver (kinda cheating), and five trick arrows. I’m not well versed enough in the show to know which arrows are which, but they are five unique designs which is cool. The arrows are a little thin, so be careful while handling them. I tried to be delicate, but I did end up with some white stress lines nonetheless.<\/p>\n

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The bow is her primary weapon and I’m glad to see that it’s show accurate. The early promo shots of Artemis featured a different bow much like the quiver, but the figure has the final, accurate version of the bow. It’s a cool accessory and has a spot for the arrows to clip-on, but there is one huge drawback. As you’ve surely noticed in the pictures, the figure can’t hold it right! She has hands designed to hold the arrows and can’t aim her bow straight. That was a major disappointment on an otherwise enjoyable figure.<\/p>\n

Finally, there’s the base. It’s got some cool features: a bin to hold the extra arrows, cracks\/holes in the target for the arrows to plug into, and there’s also two little holders coming up that I guess are to hold extra arrows, but they just seem odd sitting there. This base doesn’t have the same appeal as Robin’s rooftop or the upcoming Kid Flash’s torn-up street, but it works for Artemis just fine. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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In the Young Justice cartoon, Robin is disappointingly Dick Grayson (as Flash is disappointingly not Bart). I was just talking to another fan the other day about how the concept of a legacy character is about dead in the comics when I realized it was already dead in a lot of the other media. Being the third Robin is apparently too much baggage for a cartoon, so they went with Dick. The sad larger truth might be that if legacy characters are too complicated for television and film then what purpose might they serve in a comic world that’s been relegated to spring board status? (Exhibit A: Wally West). Anyway, I’m digressing. In the YJ universe, the first round of sidekicks is now and the sidekicks of the 60s are in their youth alongside newer characters.<\/p>\n

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Unlike Artemis, Robin’s new pieces are easier for me to spot. He features a lot of new show accurate pieces including a new belt, new lower legs and arms, a new (but very similar) torso, a new cape, and that giant noggin’ on top of his neck. The sad reuse award goes to the figure’s arms though. This poor “young teen” buck has been sporting serious guns since day one, but somehow they look even bigger on this figure – it’s freaky! The upside of this buck is that while the scale didn’t work for the original late teens Drake featured in the pics, it does a much better job getting the scale for YJ Robin right as he’s the runt of the group.<\/p>\n

Where Artemis’ head helped bridge the gap between YJ & DCUC, Robin’s head only pulls the figure farther away from the group. It just doesn’t blend with the body the same and thus can’t blend in with the mother line the same either. I don’t know if it’s too big in general or just too wide, but it just doesn’t work well for me. I like the figure overall and I can overlook the gun arms the same as I did for Kid Flash & Beast Boy (I’m trained…), but I just don’t like the head sculpt much at all.<\/p>\n

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Robin was painted well with all the little details being covered top notch from head to toe. The only thing unfortunate about the paint is that head is done in a very glossy paint (it’s molded black underneath) and Robin always looks like he’s sweating. I had a heck of a time limiting the glare from even basic light getting the pics for this review.<\/p>\n

Articulation is the same as Artemis: ball-joints at the head & shoulders, swivels at the biceps, wrists, & thighs, single hinges at the elbows, knees, & ankles, an ab crunch, and the ‘4H’ hips. All the joints have good range, even the neck despite the cape bunching up in that general area. He’s a fun figure to play with, especially if you get bored and try a head swap. <\/p>\n

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Robin had much cooler accessories than Artemis. He comes with a bow, a bat-grapple, two batarangs, two flash grenades (concussion grenades? my show memory is fuzzy), and his 3D wrist computer. The 3D computer was a favorite of mine and it came out cool despite the big clip for his arm. Of the other accessories, I enjoyed the bow and the batgrapple most. The two yellow discs (which I’m calling flash grenades until a sharp reader corrects me) and the batarangs aren’t as hand friendly, but he can hold them in various poses. <\/p>\n

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While Artemis’ base was okay, I really liked Robin’s. It’s not that it’s anything super amazing, but let\u2019s face it – rooftop bases are just cool. They’re a big hangout for the bat-family and everything always looks cool with a gargoyle in the picture. I posed Robin in the corner of the base so you could see the size, but there are three specific peg holes so you can get some cool, deeper poses with Robin on the edge of the building too. They’ll work a little better with your DCUC Robins because they have better ankle range, but YJ Robin does okay with them.<\/p>\n

One other thing, unless I’m remembering it wrong – I thought the line managers said the bases could connect at one point, but there are no connectors on these bases. Red Arrow featured a roof top base as well, so you might be able to place that one side by side with this one for display, but it doesn’t appear that they’ll connect outright. I might have just made the idea up outright though. I’ll have to poke around once I’m done writing.<\/p>\n

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Overall, even though I liked most of what I got, I just find myself not as satisfied with these figures as I usually am with DCUCs. I like the Artemis figure quite a bit, and it was really Robin that tempered some of my enthusiasm. I probably should’ve known to keep passing on him after not picking him up initially, but I thought that the first reluctance was because of the price point. These figures, with their accessories and base are $20 apiece. They’re “deluxe” in that sense, but I think I’d be happier if the line had some other price-points\/pack-outs planned besides my just having to pay $20 per “deluxe” figure. I’ve seen collectors come down on both sides of the value of the base in relation to the $20 and DCUCs being $15, so that’s up to each of you – but I do think that I’d be a lot more apt to buy more of the figures single-carded at a lower price point or with different value feature, rather than this just being a “$20 a pop” line to collect. <\/p>\n

Looking ahead, I can’t say I foresee being a completist. I have to have Aqualad, but am unsure on Red Arrow (depends on the version, they’ve shown two). I want Kid Flash and I’m tempted by the white jumpsuit Superboy for some reason and may not resist running across him. I’m mildly interested in Guardian & Sportsmaster, but it’s a challenge to be excited with no Miss Martian on the horizon.<\/em> I know we’ve only seen eight figures in the 6″ line so far, so I can’t complain too much about not seeing all of a six-person team just yet, but a quick scan of the 4″ line also reveals… no Miss Martian. Mattel already made DCUC Collectors wait 15 waves and three years for Martian Manhunter, so maybe Miss Martian isn’t the right character to skip out on in the first year of product? Just sayin’. <\/p>\n

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For more DC reviews, check out our
\n DC Universe Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember Young Justice? That cartoon on Cartoon Network some months ago that showed nine of its ten episodes and then abruptly disappeared in a typical CN vanishing act? Robin? Superboy? Kid Flash? Ringing a bell? Maybe? Well, that cartoon\u2019s tie-in merchandise has finally reached store shelves and that means review time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[34,10],"tags":[526,70,665,283,20,562,909],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-3C2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15675,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15675","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":0},"title":"DC Classics.Com Young Justice Red Arrow Review","date":"December 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you have toylines that you keep buying, but you\u2019re not sure you should? Young Justice six-inch is that way for me. I enjoy the show and I\u2019m always down for some DC Comics figures, but I find myself constantly questioning if this really is a toyline I should be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16352,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16352","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":1},"title":"DC Classics.Com Young Justice Sportsmaster Review (19 Pics)","date":"January 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve gotta be careful what I say about Young Justice. I sometimes get in the mindset that I want to stop collecting the 6\u201d line, but I hesitate to say it aloud because, seemingly inevitably, a new Young Justice Review keeps popping up here at IAT. This time, it\u2019s Sportsmaster\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11932,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11932","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":2},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: Robin & Variant Robin","date":"March 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Bane Week rolls on with what was likely the most anticipated figure from the wave: Robin. Robin was also the variant figure for this wave; getting packaged with either a Bronze or a Golden Age head. I should warn you before we get into the review,, there's been another broken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17905,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17905","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":3},"title":"Truetorial: Mattel Rips off the DC All-Stars Band-Aid (Updated)","date":"April 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"News of the (ideally temporary) demise of DC comic-based figures at retail has been circulating for a few days. With Young Justice canned, the DC Classics line moved almost entirely online, and DC Comics\u2019 basic inability to market their wares, it\u2019s not the best time to be a DC collector\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truetorial"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17559,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17559","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":4},"title":"Ask Mattel March 15th + Link Roundup","date":"March 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - March 15th Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: When are the newest DCUC 2pks (Yellow Hal & Blue Kyle, Red Azrael & Battle Damage Batman) expected to hit TRU shelves? They have already shipped so it is up to Toy R Us at this point! DCClassics.Com Asks: The 6\" Young\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31406,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=31406","url_meta":{"origin":13890,"position":5},"title":"SDCC Armchair Coverage: DC Classics… Not Totally Dead?","date":"July 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13890"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13905,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13890\/revisions\/13905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}