I haven’t had as much time to keep up with news here at IAT lately, but we got a double dose of Matty news today with some leaked pictures of figures from the “unconfirmed” DC Unlimited Wave 3 line-up and our first look at MOTU Classics Jitsu’s bio thanks to new in-package shots.
Jitsu is the Club Eternia Figure for February 2013…
Jitsu – Evil Master of Martial Arts, Real Name: Chopper
An intergalactic bandit, Jitsu was broken out of Prison Starr by Keldor during the Great Unrest. In gratitude, he agreed to serve the Evil Lord of Destruction and stayed with him even after Keldor’s transformation into Skeletor. As a master of several forms of martial arts, Jitsu was often on the frontline in battle against Randor and his Masters. During the Battle for Gretori Bridge, he was wounded by his archenemy Fisto and had his hand replaced with a golden robotic implant by Tri-Klops. After Skeletor left Eternia for the stars, Jitsu took over Snake Mountain, ruling it with an iron fist. As deadly as he is silent, Jitsu uses his chopping power to get his evil way!
I laughed out loud that his real name is “Chopper”. It’s a cute homage to his original working name, but that doesn’t make it any less funny. I can just see Chopper’s erstwhile parents hoping to see their boy grow up to be an evil despot with a robotic hand as they named him. And then the guy goes and throws all that back in his parent’s face and takes a code name. What gives, Chopper? I guess at least your code name wasn’t John or Tom or something. Anyway, the whole bio is saved in the end – Jitsu takes over for Skeletor? Okay, the iron fist comment is a little on the nose, but that’s a pretty sweet development (he should count his lucky stars that Evil-Lyn was depowered and futurebound). No way Fisto can keep up with that!
In DC news, a leaked line-up for DC Unlimited Wave 3 made its way to the internet last week and it looks like some photography has come along to back up those lists (you can check out full-size images at TNI). Personally, I’m still at odds about what to do with DC “Classics” at retail. Some folks have noticed the lack of a Superboy Prime or Red Robin review here at IAT. I do want those, but I’ve yet to find them anywhere. Super Powers Penguin, DKR Batman, & Zur-en-arrh Batman are also locks for my collection when I find them, but beyond those I’m having trouble.
Despite my ever-growing dislike of the comics, the early New 52 figures looked sharp. Superman & Batman look like nice figures in both regular and metallic versions. Wonder Woman looks great. The 4H seem to have done exemplary work on Hawkman… and Flash was okay. I had given in and, after the annoying difficulty finding DCUC21, pre-ordered all of them. Aquaman & Darkseid have given me pause though. Aquaman is there with Flash (that younger Jim Lee look would’ve made for a more exciting figure). Darkseid is mildly tempting thanks to those MOTU/DKR parts, but Jim Lee’s design looks worse in in three dimensions than it did on paper. Man, I just don’t know… a smart man would probably just stick to Penguin and those two Batmen versions and then pray for the sub to go through year after year.
Oh, and there’s Injustice: Gods Among Us figures too. They do one thing well and that’s make the New 52 figures look better, but I’m pretty sure that’s not why Mattel is making them. No pictures of Joker yet, but after that Superman, I may not want to see it…
Anyway, updates to the checklist pages will be up in a few days. Lots to decide as a DCUC collector.
Those new 52 figures look AWFUL. Trust your instincts, Noisy. SP Penguin, two Batmen and maybe Red Robin and Superboy Prime
You can pick up Superboy Prime on Mattel’s website for $14.99. No idea where to get Red Robin. He was on Matty for about 3 seconds and sold out.
Thanks for the tip! I tend to rely on Matty and completely forget about Mattel’s other site.
My local comic shop got in the entire wave EXCEPT Red Robin. They don’t even usually stock DCUC, but they’ve dipped their toe into it in the last six months or so. The first got in Superboy Prime and DCnU Superman. About a week later they got in Batman, but I asked the guys there about it and they said they’re never gotten Red Robin. They’d actually received extra Superboy Primes, and he still sold through faster than DCnU Superman. They said they’d put aside a Red Robin if they ever get one, but so far they haven’t, and it’s been long enough (a couple of months now) that I doubt they ever will.
yeah, Matty had the first four All-Stars up with last months sale and they sold out in the first day. I wasn’t aware the Mattel.com site had them? maybe the next daily email I get from them I should check? already deleted this morning’s. I hear the main problem with Superboy Prime is he should really be SuperMAN Prime, as they used the full sized buck, not the teen buck for him, so he stands taller than nu52 Superman (aka Kal’El). :/
other than that, try Amazon or the ‘bay?
Tough decisions. I’ve ordered, cancelled, and re-ordered the latest offerings several times over the last month. New 52, Injustice, and a couple of repaints? Blah. Aquaman looks…off. Darkseid looks like a bad custom. I know I’ll end up getting the N52 Justice League because I’m a sucker. Here’s praying the sub stays alive.
Mattel has just cured me of completism. That Darkseid… yecch.
nUquaman and Injustice Supes are only interesting to me for possible custom use for their heads– I’m certainly not interested in them on their own merits.
I feel like Mattel is taking cues from Kenner, circa 1995, and trying to justify weird and nonsensical costume variants as full-fledged ‘characters’ now.
Noisy, I agree with you on which ones really stand out. I’m sure I’ll end up picking up the Nu52 figures because at least some of them look pretty cool, and having a couple different looks on the shelf will be nice. I mean, I could fill a shelf with only Batman and Hal, so it will be nice to have multiples of some of the other characters.
I’m undecided on the Injustice characters. I’m not opposed to getting an armored-up Batman, but that one just looks a little off. I would probably cave in for an Injustice Wonder Woman. Her design actually looks pretty good.
Good call on WW. Injustice bothers me simply because we’re getting this one-off line of figures from a game that will likely be a minor blip on the radar (sort of likethe Public Enemies line) while I’m still waiting for Granny Goodness (or any other long requested character)
That’s true. I’m almost always more excited about getting a new character than a variation of a character I already have. And if they want to do the big characters again, why not do them in more iconic designs that we don’t have, like Aquaman with a beard, Green Arrow without one, or a golden age WW.
That said, I’m not against one-off designs – they just should pick the right ones. I’m very excited for DKR Batman, and would be up for getting other short-lasting, but significant, versions of characters. I’m having trouble thinking of good examples right now, maybe Red Son Superman? The hammer and sickle might not sell to well in stores though.
Again, great calls. A bearded and/or hook-handed Aquaman would be…dare I say…outrageous. You’re right – if it’s based on the right source (Red Son, Kingdom Come, DKR), I’m all for the one-offs. DKR Batman is all kinds of cool.
put me down for PADiator Aquaman or even barefoot YJ Aquaman. I’m surprised the didn’t do Tempest as a variant with the Aqua-camo since it’s the same paint pattern or close enough.
On Superman, I’m still waiting for Gladiator WarWorld Kal and Last Son of Earth GL Kal.
I really do have to thank Mattel. I’m moving to a new apartment this weekend, with noticeably higher rent than what I’ve been paying, and Mattel was gracious enough to really cut down on the number of releases that are in nay way appealing to me.
I actually want that Aquaman, so that I can put the variant Aquaman’s head from DCUC2 on him, and make a decent custom of the Sword of Atlantis version from a few years back.
Jitsu’s bio is unsurprisingly awful.
But at least I have Chopper to thank for Scott unequivocally proving his own theory on the “need” for real names 100% wrong.
I dunno about the bio itself; that doesn’t seem too bad. But “Chopper”?!! Now I can’t help but think of a cartoon bulldog and his little duckling friend. If they had that as one of his underworld aliases, I’d be fine with it. But as his real name? Laughable, especially given what that word can mean here in Britain.
I’m gonna call him Tetsuo Waruida or something similar.
Chopper. Sheesh!
Oh good God, they’ve changed Superman’s costume EVEN MORE? So the lines and detailing that was all about “check out my GROIN!!” was deemed too subtle or something?
I really want to say some very un-PeeCee things but I’ll be cool about it.
DC collectibles is getting better and better. I don’t dig Mattel’s New 52 figures so far. Thought I’m not much of a fan of New 52 Superman but DC Collectibles managed to blow me away with the New 52 Superman figure. He looks better in action figure form than in the comic books. Got hold of the DC Collectibles we can be heroes Justice League box set at a local hobby shop
http://www.actionfigureplanet.blogspot.com/2012/11/dc-collectibles-we-can-be-heroes.html
Geez, why do Darkseid’s shoulder pads have cracks in them too? I thought that was just his skin!
Also, going by the size of the DC Collectibles figure, this Darkseid is woefully under-scale. But it’s not like I expect any less from uncle Matty (*coughcough- Anti monitor- Lead- * coughcough)
Man these look bad. Aquaman’s head looks too small, maybe the Jim lee Art does not translate well to 3d. The Darkseid looks like a bad knockoff and might push me to get the DC Direct one despite its breakage issues. Very weak…
Theres NO WAY those are the finished product for Darkseid and Superman. I have too much faith in the Four Horseman, if not necessarily Mattel.
if you look at teh full pics on TNI, you can see these are only paint protos, as the white is still showing at the joints. still….yuck.
sheesh what terrible looking figures…why does Darkseid look like that?
Jitsu – LOLwhut? “Chopper”?? srsly?
one thing I do wish they would change is putting in an extra “normal hand” with characters like Fisto and Jitsu for those that don’t want to display them with comically over-sized appendages.
DC: yikes. these look like bad quickie rough customs at best.
Aquaman – they barely changed him, why the need for the new body?
Superman – a: he looks like he’s greying now? Super-Reed? b: it almost looks like they repainted the MOS movie mold? whatever, it’s NOT a good look for him.
Darkseid – …yuck. Classic Darkseid had a simple, menacing look to him, not the Image-ified clown mess this thing is.
btw, I saw this posted overnight:
http://dchallofjustice.com/news/?p=13527
I was thinking that “Injustice” looked a LOT like the MOS movie costume, and even HOJ questions the design against the VG version. Maybe it really was based on an unlockable skin or possibly even a prototype skin that didn’t make it?
Saving money here for cons and toy shows to buy figs I missed to finish a few CnCs, MOTUCs, and finish some Marvel Legends as well as gift buying.
If get a nu52 Catwoman with swappable barefeet I’d buy. The only one too.
i am left a little baffled by jitsu’s bio… sure, “chopper” is itself a code name, not somebody’s real name, but then, this is the same crew that gave us the “power sword of power” and “thunder punch power man” so the bar was not exactly leveled at hemmingway… the thing i’m still dealing with (i know, it sounds overly dramatic, but it’s not) is jitsu taking over snake mountain and the crew once skellie leaves… jitsu? really? i’m curious, since he was around for the keldor days… what the hell does this guy do as a fitness regimen? and what is his diet like? how is he still going strong after 3 large scale, world altering battles? duncan only survived two. and who’s left that just accepts him as boss? trap jaw has been through some shiz man, i would think if he survives the 2nd UB, he would be pretty much ready to cannabalize anyone trying to take his spot… and w/ evil lyn gone, the bar for the skelecrew is set MUCH lower. i don’t see how trike or trappie don’t ascend to the top of the pops. and honestly, since we’re on to king he-man and dare (in concept at least) i expect a bunch of new villains… STAT!
one aside… since fisto was the last guy whose outfit has any kind of frog or anything for carrying his weapons, who wants to lay odds that jitsu can actually mount his blades? i don’t think he’ll get squat, but if he does, the sword is the only thing he’ll be able to carry… gone are the days of grizzlor or MAA when a guy was designed to keep his gear on his person… that sucks.
Yeah, “Chopper?” Absolutely insipid. Someone actually got paid to come up with that. Horrible. I think maybe the writers of this bio also missed an opportunity to at least mention something about where Jitsu is from. Is there an Eternian equivalent to feudal Japan? Maybe ol’ Chopper is an exiled emporer (which would explain the regal armor) and he’s promised Skeletor an army, if Skelly helps him regain his throne?
And, no, I can’t see Jitsu taking over Snake Mountain either. If it was empty and abandoned, then sure. No doubt Jitsu is a badass fighter, but guys like tri-clops and Trap-jaw just have too much firepower. With Skeletor running off to the stars, I always kind of thought that would allow the villains to become even more dangerous. I imagine Skeletor recruiting Eternia’s biggest badasses, then using some form of a low-grade mind control to keep his crew in check. I mean, how else can you explain his employment of a guy like, say, Clawful? In the 200X cartoon, that guy was portrayed as borderline retarded (and I mean that literally. In one episode he couldn’t speak his native language.) So how ’bout one of the original right-hand men come into their own and start running the show? Without Skeletor slapping him around all day, I’ll bet Mer-man is a cold-blooded killer.
Honestly, I think a lot of these bios are pretty boring and bad, especially when you see some of the cool ideas fans come up with on sites like this.
I would imagine that after getting rid of the Snake Men and the Horde, and with no Skeletor to unite them, the good guys would have offered some form of amnesty to the Evil Warriors who helped them out.
I imagine that as a pragmatic mercenary, Tri-Klops would’ve taken them up on their offer, and replacing Duncan and Mekaneck in one swoop. (His head might look good on a Tech Man-At-Arms body, come to think of it.) I think Mer-Man probably would’ve said “To Hells with it,” and gone back to the ocean to rule as a petty tyrant. Many others, like Beast Man, Whiplash, and Trap-Jaw might have struck out on their own as bandits or gone back to their respective homes / dimensions. Scare Glow might have his curse lifted and be allowed to rest in peace. Draego-Man might gorge himself on flash-cooked Gy-Gor and go back into aestivation to get away from everyone, as would Webstor. Sorceress Teela finally separates Two Bad back into Tuvar and Bhaddra, who go back to bounty hunting, and occasionally team up once in a while. If Jitsu had Ninjor backing him up, I could picture them becoming a pretty potent force for evil and getting another gang together, composed of everyone else who didn’t want to go straight (I could easily picture Trap-Jaw going for this option). Faker, Twistoid, and Blast-Attak would probably be destroyed in controlled explosions. But since Blast-Attak is a walking controlled explosion anyway, they’d have to launch him into the sun. Blade sets up a Bounty Hunters’ Guild to drive up prices a bit; Clawful, Saurod, Tuvar, and Bhaddra join up, Spikor makes their weapons and gear for them, and they make fat coin wiping up all the other villains at large.
That was a fun ten minutes. I’m still not calling Jitsu “Chopper,” though.
I like it!! My only change would be that once Teela seperates Two-Bad, Tuvar and Bhaddra finally admit their love for one another and elope. Other than that, good stuff!
Hah! Thank ‘e!
THIS!
and didn’t Robot Chicken already do that wedding skit? One of the quickie channel surfing shots I want to say?
That’s awesome. I don’t watch Robot Chicken, but it really does make total sense.
Yes. The clip of The Eternian News Network showed Two-Bad marrying “himself.” You can search YouTube for “Eternian News Network” and it comes up, but it ain’t exactly family-friendly.
I’m OK with Jitsu taking over Snake Mountain. Out of all of Skeletor’s minions, he was the only one other than Evil-Lyn to not be depicted as incompetent, although that’s primarily because his appearances were few & far between I suppose. As for him coming with a frog, I doubt it as he’s just re-using Randor’s armor, I highly doubt they’d go through the effort of retooling the piece for that.
He has new armor. It’s a similar design to Randor’s, but much sharper and menacing. Don’t know if it can hold his weapons though.
I believe they did…I remember see a place to hold his other 2 hook like weapons on his back. It’s in the walk through video with pixel Dan and TG from the NYCC that just past.
http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2012/2012_Power-Thundercon/image72.asp
Looks like you can at least store his kamas or sickles on his back. Not sure about his katana.
Can’t Matty have thrown us a bone by now with adding at least one different Batman villain, like the Ventriloquist or Calendar Man, rather than making figures DCC just produced a few months previously? Or one of many DC heroes or villains not seen in plastic yet? Sure I understand that they are trying to play it smart with the Batman Unlimited and DC Unlimited lines making ‘popular’ characters, but the well only runs so deep before we all walk away dissatisfied.
That Darkseid and Injustice Superman just caused me to weep. They look so awful! Who in their right mind would say that Darkseid looks okay to send off to retail and expect people to buy it? Jesus! Use some Kilowog parts or something and make a beefy figure that will look right in the line, not some 11 year olds crappy Photog kit bash.
The Super Powers Penguin is must have for me, other than him, I’m getting Hawkman to do a head swap and hopefully trick out the Golden Age version with a Staton/Perez helmet. I’m growing increasingly worried about the sub, though. John Constantine hasn’t moved since his release date, likely making him the sub’s first great “pegwarmer,” if you will.
As for Jitsu, taking over Snake Mountain only increases his badass status. But “Chopper?” Really? Man, I was expecting something classier for a dude with a golden hand.
The only way Jitsu’s name could have been worse is if his first name was “Get’tu’the”…yikes they really mailed that one in.