Punisher
Punisher’s not a bad figure. If he had the bicep and waist swivel joints (thigh articulation is back for Punisher and Daredevil – as well as double knee joints), he’d be an awesome figure to have. He has great sculpted and painted details on his ribbed shirt and cargo pants. Plenty of details for the belt, pockets, and boots. He even features two guns, the rifle he’s packaged holding and a small holster on his right leg has a removable pistol.
My only real nitpick for him is the lack of painted skintones. The molded thing just doesn’t look good with today’s toy standards and I hope Hasbro learns that sometime soon. I’m not a big Bradstreet Punisher fan, but if I were, I think I’d be pleasantly surprised by this figure.
Daredevil
Daredevil is another figure where he did good until he got to the paint stage. He features all the articulation I want. His sculpt is solid – even a raised symbol and boot treads. He has a specific and appropriate accessory. The paint work that is done is done well – all three colors. DD is molded in one shade of red with his boots, straps, belt, and gloves painted a different shade of red. There’s a couple silver buckles here and there and the the chin is painted skintone of course, but that’s it. He just needed some type of wash or something to give the figure some depth – but they all could have used that.
Daredevil is up there with Punisher for the best two in the wave, but Nemesis is where my money really went.
Nemesis
This is a great BAF. His articulation is great (only the waist missing). He features embedded ball joints for the elbows, knees, etc – but he still has the cuts for the thighs and biceps too. His canopy opens to reveal his skeleton, more on that in a moment, and it sports a ball-jointed head to boot. Can’t get much better than that. Painted details are good. The spots are consistent through out and the yellow eyesockets on the skull are a nice touch.
Probably overstated at this point, but I’m a sucker for translucent plastics. I wanted Nemesis anyway, but that’s the icing on the cake. The little skeleton inside makes me happy, even if he should have a collar bone and shoulders – he’s a little cylinder in there with just his skull and ribs. I’ve been having a ton of fun with him for the last couple days and that’s not likely to change. While most of this Nemesis wave will end up in a box, he’s going to stay out and and grace the shelf. Was he worth the full price of six figures? I don’t know. Was he worth the $30? Asbsolutely!
Overall, my feelings on these are hard to sort out. On the one hand, I think they’re inferior to Toy Biz MLs, but I look at them and realize that some of the new sculpted pieces (like Beast’s fur) are well done. But others are terrible (like Beast’s head). The articulation on figures like Punisher and Daredevil are better than the ones on most MLs (and Nova), but other than Daredevil they all need more. The joints are all solid. Not a stuck or loose one in the bunch. The paint work, though it could use MORE, is done well on all the figures. Despite all that, the figures, aside from Nemesis, just don’t seem that great – if I’d not found them for $5 each (a little under half-price), I wouldn’t even have them.
After some thought, I don’t think it’s that HMLs fail in comparison to older MLs. I think they’re sub-par to DC Classics and that is where I’m not satified with them. Mattel’s hips are better than the ball joints used here – generally, the articulation is hidden better on a DCUC. Pieces like Beast’s head would never come out of NJ looking like that. The bar was put up by Toy Biz, and despite some missteps, they kept raising it until Mattel took over for DCUC – now they’re raising the bar and Hasbro’s offerings are lacking. But even if the comparison is not fair, there’s something else to be said about these figures too.
My mixed feelings on this wave could be attributed to when the figures went wrong. Often times, we are treated to an amazing showing at ToyFair or SDCC, a well-planned figure or two, and then we get them and things have gone wrong in production. The paint is sloppy. The joints are an issue. The execution didn’t live up to the plan. But the opposite seems to have happened here. The execution on the figures is great. No paint slop or loose and broken joints here. Other, than Beast’s head, there’s no real sculpting issues. No, the problem for Hasbro here is the planning stage. Planning to use limited articulation bodies. Planning to reduce paint apps or mold the figures in the wrong colors. It’s awkward because that rarely happens. Instead of getting wonderfully conceived, poorly executed figures, I’ve picked up six poorly planned, but well done figures.
Ultimately, if you can find these on clearance like I did, it’s worth it for the Nemesis. I love that figure, in conception and exectuion. $5 each is probably worth it for a couple of the figures too. If they’re still at full price where you live, maybe you can wait for clearance on the more common figures – but you might want to grab Nova and Tigra since they don’t seem to last as long as the others – but only if you really, really want them despite the flaws. If you can’t handle a few warts, this wave isn’t for you.
That’s a really substandard wave, but you’re right that Toy Biz and Mattel spoil us.
At least in terms of the actual figures.
I WANT A 30 NEMESIS!!!! dangit…
Frikkin’ $30???? That is NOT fair!
These aren’t that terrible. They’re on par with the rest of the HMLs.
“You’re fat”
“I thought you were blind”
“Not that blind”
— best ever
See? I can do comedy.
If you don’t want some of the figures out of that pile in front of Nemesis…
Man, that Holocaust or “Dark Nemesis” is an awesome looking figure. Could care less for most of the others though….
I gotta say, your reviews are great! Always nice pictures and the captions are hilarious.
Thank you!
I haven’t seen these in stores yet and they’re already clearanced. Great.
Just at that one store and that manager seems to like to get rid of stuff. I just wish it were closer to the house.
They sold pretty briskly in my neck of the woods, and I only got Tigra and Nova. I am green with envy (and food poisoning) at a $30 Nemesis.
The whole wave was announced what seems like a decade ago, and they didn’t age well between the announcement and when they finally arrived. That and Hasbro seemed like they didn’t want to completely cheap out on an exclusive wave, but kind of did.
Yeah, I wasn’t sure how long it’s been – but it seems like forever.
That’s pretty cool. I’m jealous.
You’re very lucky! Did you buy a lottery ticket that day??
I got a traffic ticket and a lottery ticket that day.
Didn’t work out my way on either. 🙂
for 30 bucks, i’d get them… but truthfully, i’m going out of my to find them, and i’d only buy if i could score everyone at once. as cool as holocaust is, he’s the only thing cool about that series. i haveto say, i think you’re being generous w/ the punisher there… though admitteld,y i am a fan of tim bradstreet. and his drawing have DETAIL and a lethal VITALITY to them that this figure (the only one i’ve laid eyes on so far) severely lacks. it’s sad when a two deminsional drawing pops more than a 3D sculpture.
and i know you’re a DCU fan noisy, but just to state the obvious… DCU hasn’t come close to toybiz’s bar w/ either marvel legends NOR the lotr line. not even close. between gambit and sasquatch and treebeard and frodo in goblin armor, TB was the ultimate fusion of sculpt and articulation… and scale. and did this while keeping the toys affordable and re-using very few parts… by modern logic, that shouldn’t have even been possible. 🙂
sorry, that first sentence should say i’m NOT going out of my way to find them.
MLs were great and all, but the artic is ugly. The 4H and Mattel have put aesthetics on the DC figures that TB only matched a few times. Granted on the price, but I don’t know how cheap MLs would ne nowadays.
some of the artic was ugly. but for example, the ab hinge, that was TBML first, and now, it’s standard operating procedure for a “deluxe” figure. rocker ankles, you can thank toybiz for that too. clicky joints, lateral shoulders (which will MAKE that new UFC line!), individual fingers, all these things are thanks to TBML. then, come LotR, they got much better about covering joints w/ soft rubber “armor” that didn’t inhibit the range of motion. you’re not getting that anywhere else, even on the MOTUCs and other deluxe figs now, the outfit/armor is too hard and inhibits range of motion.
I can’t speak to the LOTRs, DR, but I did have most of the Marvel Legends.
I will admit to bias for Dr. Fate over Dr. Strange, but the DC hips and the embedded shoulder joints just look a ton better than the obscene balls some of the MLs sport.
I still have about 25 “treasured” MLs and they do deserve their place, but I think DCUC is overall better.
For nearly a two year wait, these figures are a disappointment.
DD has small, salmon colored hands?
the superior Punisher Icon was released how long ago and the figures are nearly identical, but you wouldn’t know that at first glance. can we say “custom thug” fodder?
Black Bolt – this is a gimme. It’s a mute guy in black with radio antenna on his head. Yet they still disappoint.
Cookie Beast. Cookie. Beast.
(on the plus side, the lone Quitely pic on the insert is the obvious source for the sculptor and a great rendition…OF THE ONE PICTURE! Yeah, my XMC Beast is staying in the display.)
Tigra – I’m more disappointed with her articulation than anything else. She should be able to crouch down like a cat. She can’t. Paint is good, tho.
Nova – I bought an extra to custom his red costume from early New Warriors, but instead I’m wondering if I still have the old Silver Surfer line figure to custom myself a decent Nova out for that REMOVABLE helmet.
Nemesis – like you said, worth your $30 find, but not really worth his component’s figures.
Hey! Good to see you here.
I agree with your assessments. Ecah figure just kinda disappointed in a different way.
How’re things up in your neck of the woods?
Having finally read through the breadth of this, I have to disagree about Beast’s head. I think it’s cute and I don’t like the old one.
Also, the joints on these are so stiff, not to mention poorly placed, that it made them a chore to play with. I felt like I had to work to make them move the ways I wanted them to and, after a short amount of frustration (I have no patience), I was done with them. Fail figure, away!!!!
The new one is a bad 3D sculpt. It may look okay from some angles, but from others it loses all depth. You’re more aware than I am, are their pug-faced cats?
The Tigra look cool, but short in that picture.
And when did they make a lawyer She-Hulk??
SDCC exclusive… 2007 or 2008. I forget…