{"id":14314,"date":"2011-09-05T02:06:25","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T07:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14314"},"modified":"2011-09-05T02:08:14","modified_gmt":"2011-09-05T07:08:14","slug":"young-justice-6-aqualad-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14314","title":{"rendered":"Young Justice
6″ Aqualad Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>I\u2019m wavering on being a Young Justice collector. I like the show and enjoy the characters. I like that the line is relatively DCUC-compatible, but I really hate the price. The bases and accessories just don\u2019t make me feel like I\u2019m getting my money\u2019s worth. And yet, I continue to buy…<\/p>\n

When Young Justice was announced, the early artwork showed some things familiar and others things changed. Among the biggest differences was the character of Aqualad would forego any comic influence and instead craft a new character from scratch. This naturally set off a firestorm of angry comments and refusals to watch the show – all of which drew me to the character instantly. I waited for the premiere and was happy to find that Aqualad rather rocked. I wasn’t happy with everything the show tried to do (Why is M’gann such a ditz? Why is Superboy so angsty?), but I did love Aqualad. And that meant, much to my wife’s chagrin, I had to have a figure. <\/p>\n

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Even if it cost me $21.88, you ask? Well… yeah, but just barely. I picked up both Artemis and Robin at the slightly more palatable $19.99 at Target with mild unease, but somehow that extra $2 bugs me a bit more than the previous $5 between DCUCs and YJ figures. It might just be because that price is at Walmart – I’m just not used to prices being cheaper at Target. I can’t say for certain if I’ll be buying all the upcoming Young Justice 6″ figures (only one more (properly attired) team member, Kid Flash, is currently on the schedule), but if I do end up buying figures like Red Arrow or Sportsmaster, I really hope they can be found at Target. <\/p>\n

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Once I got over the excitement of finding Aqualad, the crushing $22 price-point, and the trip home, I was dismayed to find some of the worst warped limbs I’d ever seen on a 6″ Mattel figure. There’s all that room in the box and they still managed to mangle Aqualad in there pretty badly. So a quick pic for the Quality Control Spotlight and a run to the faucet was in order before we could start the review proper… <\/p>\n

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About two years before the Young Justice<\/em> cartoon begins, Aqualad was a young boy serving in Atlantis’ military when he (& his friend Garth) aided Aquaman in a battle against Ocean Master. For their bravery, Aquaman asked offered them a place at his side. Garth, the Aqualad of the comics, declined while Kaldur’Ahm accepted the offer to be the King’s sidekick. Once the show begins, he’s a charter member of Young Justice and, ultimately, the team leader. The character is written to be older and more mature than the others and that’s probably a large part of his appeal to me. He’s the center of the team and strikes a great balance as leader. <\/p>\n

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This version of Aqualad has since been convoluted<\/em> into DC history by Geoff Johns. In the comics, Aqualad’s parents were kidnapped by Mera’s people (while exploring the Bermuda triangle in an inflatable raft). He was born shortly afterwards and experimented on; somehow gaining basic Xebelian powers and the ability to open and close the Bermuda Triangle. Mera betrayed her people and rescued him as an infant (I’m not sure if that was before or after she betrayed her people and didn’t assassinate Aquaman) and gave him to foster parents who raised him with no knowledge of his origin. Oh, and his Dad turned out to be Black Manta, but his being kidnapped and experimented was more or less glossed over during these revelations.<\/p>\n

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In terms of sculpt, it’s hard to identify what’s new and reused on some of the common areas because I haven’t seen the Legion figures in person yet. From what I can tell though, he appears to be built on the Legion buck with only new feet, calves, belt, a right hand, his waterpack, and his head. I love all the new pieces, though the head sculpt gives me some pause. The finned calves and bare feet give the character a unique look on the shelf and the waterpack is nicely detailed. I really appreciate that the waterbearer accessories can stow on his waterpack just like in the show. <\/p>\n

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I both enjoy and dislike the head sculpt. I know that this figure is based on a cartoon and the head should reflect that. I’m not going to knock this figure any points for having a cartoon accurate head sculpt. In fact, it’s a great piece and if the eyes on mine had been painted better, I’d even call it perfect. It’s just that the body isn’t really on-model to the animation and it makes me wish that the heads didn’t have to be either<\/em>. I don’t know how it would affect their sales (maybe they’d tank if they were less on-model?), but I still wish the heads were morphed just a bit to be a little more realistic. Still, it’s a great head sculpt, best in the line so far. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Since Kaldur is built using a basic DCUC buck, articulation is what we’re used to: ball-joints at the neck and shoulders, swivels at the biceps, waist, wrists, and thighs, hinges at the elbows, knees, and ankles, the ab crunch, and the 4H hips. I still miss the insert-molded ankles (and playing with my new Thundercats figures all weekend has me hating swivel wrists with a passion), but everything else is here including some good neck articulation. The only thing that gives me pause is the conflict between the torso and the biceps – it prevents the arms from being able to put down to his sides. I worry that all the Legion figures may suffer similarly. <\/p>\n

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The paint work was pretty sharp on most of the figure. The costume details are nice throughout except for a little gold bleed on the belt and that aforementioned left eye. The left eye is actually my greatest source of irritation with the figure. The iris\/pupil is painted a little larger than the other and the white of the eye doesn’t entirely fill the allotted spot on the sculpt. What results is a face that looks a bit lop-sided. It’s not as noticeable in person or in most poses, but the close-up pictures exaggerate it. <\/p>\n

Kaldur’s powered up armbands (tattoos?) are a little rough around the edges, but are mostly sharp. The paint doesn’t extend to the waterpack like in the show because of the ball-jointed shoulder, but that doesn’t bother me. It’s a cool look and I’d rather have them blue than black.<\/p>\n

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One of the selling points for the $20<\/del> $22 price-point is that each figure includes seven accessories. Aqualad’s two waterbearers get things started, but he also includes five water constructs: two swords, a mallet, a mace, and an axe. These are all pretty cool, but Mattel strangely chose to not have them plug into the waterbearers like they should. Each accessory has an unpainted waterbearer molded to it. It’s not a deal-breaker, just odd. <\/p>\n

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The waterbearers do plug into one thing however! The handy-dandy base, or more specifically, the spout of water erupting from the tank. It’s kinda neat, but it’s also the only way that the figure plugs in the base so it\u2019s also kinda weird. Why no foot pegs?<\/p>\n

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The base itself is fun enough. My only specific complaint with it is that the wheel isn’t sized appropriately for a figure to be able to hold it. That said, I find myself wishing there was a larger plan here – that the bases could be combined into some sort of training room or… something. As individual pieces, there isn’t too much fun or novel about them. As a collector, they’re too big and bulky, so with no special reason to keep them out, they all find their way to storage. I find it folly for a collector to speak of what may or may not interest a modern child, but I don’t know how fun they are for them either. If the base is going to remain a large selling point for the high price, something should be done to make them more worthwhile to everyone.<\/p>\n

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Overall, yeah, I’ve got a few specific complaints – the exaggerated left eye, the warped limbs – and some nitpicks that ultimately don’t matter much, but I’m still happy I bought this figure. I love the source material and he’s a great rendition (see, I can<\/em> appreciate that cartoon head) of it. He’s a sharp addition to my shelf. It’s also great to have half the team in the first three releases! Of course, that is somewhat tempered by the knowledge that only one of the next four will help finish the team and there’s not even one version of Miss Martian in the first eight figures. Didn’t we just get finished with Mattel screwing us over by holding out on Martians? <\/p>\n

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

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

I\u2019m wavering on being a Young Justice collector. I like the show and enjoy the characters. I like that the line is relatively DCUC-compatible, but I really hate the price. The bases and accessories just don\u2019t make me feel like I\u2019m getting my money\u2019s worth. And yet, I continue to buy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14315,"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":[6,34,10],"tags":[1161,665,20,909],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/aqlTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-3IS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15675,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15675","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"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":3730,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=3730","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"position":1},"title":"ItsAllTrueReview: DC Classics – A Question and Two Deadmen","date":"February 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15651,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15651","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"position":2},"title":"Ask Matty December 1st Edition","date":"December 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - December 1st Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: We're ecstatic about Starman's alternate noggin', but now we have to ask what about Jay Garrick... y'know, ol Flash 1? Will his value be kicked up a notch like Thom Kallor with old and young heads? Although Jay Garrick will not include\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16352,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16352","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"position":3},"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":24337,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=24337","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"position":4},"title":"DCClassics.Com Club Infinite Earths Wally West Flash Review","date":"July 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12450,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12450","url_meta":{"origin":14314,"position":5},"title":"SDCC 2011 Exclusives: Official Images from Mattel","date":"April 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Since Attack of the Show's strangly decided not to focus on the He-Man items last night, it fell back to Mattel to give us our first good look at the 2011 exclusives. They've come to our aid early this morning with images and information on the upcoming San Diego Exclusives\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14314"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14334,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314\/revisions\/14334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}