{"id":23652,"date":"2013-06-10T00:01:49","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T05:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23652"},"modified":"2013-07-03T00:55:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T05:55:41","slug":"watchmen-club-black-freighter-silk-spectre-ii-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=23652","title":{"rendered":"Watchmen: Club Black Freighter
Silk Spectre II Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>After Dr. Manhattan, my enthusiasm for the Watchmen line took a hit. I\u2019m still looking forward to future figures (some of the best figures will be the ones rolling out towards the end of the subscription), but I\u2019ve still got one more so-so one to weather: Silk Spectre. <\/p>\n

Silk Spectre isn\u2019t as bad as the intro makes her sound. There\u2019s a lot to like, but a few keys thing hold her back from being a sharp figure like Rorschach is or like some of the later figures appear to be. And she is better than Dr. Oblong-Head. <\/p>\n

Silk Spectre II, Laurie Juspeczyk, is the daughter of the original in the Watchmen universe. Unlike many of the Watchmen characters, Silk Spectre doesn\u2019t draw on a particular Charlton character. Some may say she\u2019s a stand-in for Nightshade, but Silk Spectre has no real similarity other her relationship with Dr. Manhattan. She\u2019s more of an amalgam of many female leads and is a pivotal character to the story, tying many characters together; a legacy hero for her mother, a wife to Dr. Manhanttan, love interest of the second Nite-Owl, and her connection to the Comedian. <\/p>\n

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Silk Spectre features the same fun packaging as previous figures with the book-style inner carton and the full-color mailer. The mailer in particular amused me this go round because Spectre doesn\u2019t really have a logo or iconography for Mattel to use on the side of the box. They seemingly just through things together on the side of the box \u2013 her mole, lips, necklace, and a hint of the plunging neckline on her costume. It works, I guess. <\/p>\n

Inside, the \u201ccoaster\u201d art features another take on Silk Spectre with no eyes. I like that Mattel included these for \u201cvalue\u201d, but I have yet to be motivated to take any of them out of the packaging. <\/p>\n

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Liberated from the packaging, the figure itself is pretty nice. Very few parts were needed for Silk Spectre, a new head, new arms, new upper torso maybe new fists, and the dress. The dress is both a saving grace and a possible annoyance on the figure. I applaud Mattel for going the route they did with it. Painting the black areas underneath and then using the clear-yellow \u201csleeve\u201d over the figure gets really close to capturing the costume\u2019s look on a figure. It\u2019s sharp even if it does bunch up around the shoulders a bit. My only real concern about it is the longevity of the material used. Mattel scares me when they get into different materials. I\u2019ve got that weird \u201ccornstarch\u201d rot on a few of my early DC figures and I worry for how long this will hold up. It could be fine though. I\u2019ll just cross my figures and hope so. <\/p>\n

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Mattel couldn\u2019t do the arms the same as the dress unfortunately and that does cause a bit of a mismatch on the figure. Mattel did a good job trying to combat the limitation with flesh-tone highlights in key places on the arms where the \u2018fabric\u2019 should be more see-through. It is capable of blending altogether and looking okay to me, but I have a feeling that will vary from one collector to the next. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The other main new piece is the head. I wasn\u2019t sold on it at first, but it\u2019s grown on me. The expression is a little placid\u2026 distant, but the sculpt is still sharp overall. It\u2019s probably one of the best looking female head sculpts in the DC line, but that\u2019s not exactly high praise considering the competition. Still, I have come around to liking it and it\u2019s helped me better enjoy the figure overall. <\/p>\n

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Articulation is really the one area where the figure does disappoint. The usual Mattel junk is here \u2013 the lack of rocker ankles, the hair making the neck articulation virtually useless, but there are a couple other specific unfavorables too. First, the hips are those gummy Wonder Girl \/ Star Sapphire hips that don\u2019t quite line up and look funny in anything but a vanilla pose. Second is the articulation that has been removed to cut down on piece count, not able the torso\/ab crunch and bicep swivels. I hate not having bicep swivels in particular, but the missing ab crunch is particularly noticeable on female figures that can\u2019t move their heads. If you want Silk Spectre to look up or forward, you have to figure out a balanced posed at her hips or knees. That\u2019s awfully far down to start when you\u2019re trying to get a figure to be looking at something in particular in a display. <\/p>\n

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Unlike the articulation, the paint work was a highlight on my figure. The face in particular was sharply done. As was the black details on the costume like the belt, cuffs, and shoes. Most notable though is the aforementioned fleshtone highlights on the arms to help give the illusion of the see-thru dress. It almost works which is saying something for a costume that is difficult for a figure to pull off. <\/p>\n

Silk Spectre included no accessories beyond her Watchmen stand. This is really one of the major drawbacks to this $25 a pop line (plus shipping). There are so many great little props in Watchmen that would make fantastic accessories. It\u2019s a crime Mattel couldn\u2019t find a way to get them in there. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Silk Spectre isn\u2019t a bad figure. Watchmen, as a line, is not the classic the book was. We\u2019re halfway through and only one figure has really impressed me. I\u2019m going to put Silk Spectre right in the middle of the range. Mattel really tried some cool stuff with the dress and how the arms were painted and the head sculpt really sell the figure, but Mattel also shot themselves in the foot by cutting some key articulation and not really being able to make the figure feel like it was worth what I paid for it with some accessories (or top-shelf articulation, yes I\u2019m going to keep harping on it). <\/p>\n

Still, I\u2019m excited for the rest of the line. The next three figures should be great and hopefully I can look back on this line fondly after I have that second half. <\/p>\n

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More DC Universe Classics Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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