{"id":16352,"date":"2012-01-23T04:12:22","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T10:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16352"},"modified":"2012-01-23T04:54:44","modified_gmt":"2012-01-23T10:54:44","slug":"dc-classics-com-young-justice-sportsmaster-review-19-pics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16352","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com Young Justice
Sportsmaster Review (19 Pics)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>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 turn.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t appreciate the Young Justice line when I think about dropping it from my collection. The line has its warts, but I enjoy buying DC figures and this particular brand is relatively compatible with the Classics line. There is the price, $20, which deters me in theory, but not in practice. There\u2019s the worry that Mattel will pull up their stakes before they finish the main roster, robbing me of a much coveted DCUC-Compatible Miss Martian. That one bothers me the most and I\u2019d like to think it will deter me from buying the upcoming Batman, but he might just end up being cool like Sportsmaster here. <\/p>\n

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I had every intention of not buying this figure. My DCUC collection is so full of holes (and in some cases that will forever be the case) that I\u2019m well over feeling like I need to keep buying to keep the line going. So figures like Sportsmaster aren\u2019t really on my \u201cmust have\u201d list. Granted, Mattel has failed to get to Sportsmaster in the DC Superheroes\/Classics\/All-Star line proper, but the show design is a pretty radical departure from his traditional look. <\/p>\n

Anyway, my half-thought out premise as to why\u2019d I skip him went out the window when I saw him at Target. The irony is what motivated me to buy him. It was something that I\u2019ve maligned in almost every other Young Justice review: the base. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s modular. I couldn\u2019t resist that. Unlock the other one-piece bases, Sportsmaster\u2019s consists of four individual plates that snap together. More importantly, they can snap together in various configurations. Each plate has three open slots and one connector which allow various setups: a large square, a long strip, an L-shape, T-shape, or an S-shape (think Tetris). <\/p>\n

Each plate is also unique, one has a foot peg, one holds the weapons rack, and the other two have a spot to plug in the target or the wooden dummy, both of which also pop on and off easily on mine so they can be swapped into different positions. <\/p>\n

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I feel like I\u2019m magnifying a minor selling point here (after all the packaging could only be bother to point out \u201cextremely posable\u201d the figure is), but I loved this aspect. I would\u2019ve liked to see the connectors as separate pieces to allow for even more customization, but I don\u2019t really want to nitpick what is a massive improvement Mattel has made here. Imagine if Artemis has an open slot to connect Sportsmaster\u2019s base? Thankfully, they\u2019re like Robin & Red Arrow\u2019s and can sit next to one another, but we still need more connectors on upcoming figures. And for the first time, I\u2019m hopeful we may get it. This is one of those times I want to send a bright signal to Mattel, \u201cmore like this, please\u201d. Heck, if nothing else Mattel should at least put the notches for Sportsmaster\u2019s connectors onto new bases. It will save the money. They love that.<\/p>\n

Anyway, after all that I\u2019m happy to report that I ended up liking the figure too. While my first reaction was the standard \u201cthis isn\u2019t the classic design\u201d, it has since occurred to me that I don\u2019t really care. If I recall correctly, his classic attire was green pants, a quilted purple jacket and a loose cloth mask. While there are assuredly hardcore Sportsmaster fans that want him in his classic look, I\u2019ve discovered that I’m not really one of them. <\/p>\n

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If you’re not familiar with the classic comic character, it’s pretty simple. He’s a former athlete turned villain with a sport-themed gimmick. He hails from the late 40s and primarily fought Green Lantern Alan Scott, Wildcat, and the JSA as part of the Injustice Society. The version represented in Young Justice differs more than just looks though. The YJ version is more of a mercenary, his sport gimmick downplayed with body armor and more of a focus on martial arts rather than creative uses of soccer balls and bowling pins. <\/p>\n

My primary interest in Sportsmaster comes from a classic Strange Sports Stories where the DC Heroes and Villains played against one another in a baseball game to determine if his wife, the Huntress (no, not that one) would turn over a new leaf and become a hero. It was a great read when I was a wee tot and it’s one that I like to revisit when I think about it (I\u2019m still waiting on that Uncle Sam figure to Ump). Anyway, Sportsmaster wore a baseball outfit for that entire story. He\u2019s also been seen in a variety of costumes for different sports too, so I think I\u2019m good with this as my 6\u201d Sportsmaster. And, should by some miracle, Mattel make the Classic version, then I\u2019m going to keep this one out anyway. Maybe it\u2019ll be the original\u2019s grandson, a Legacy villain of some sort. I like the figure that much. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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For his sculpt, Sportsmaster received a good chunk of tooling compared to the rest of the line, so much so that it\u2019s easier to tell you what\u2019s not new: his right arm, his left bicep & hand, and his lower torso. That\u2019s it. The legs are an all-new sculpt depicting his pants (it\u2019s funny to think how rarely the Four Horsemen have to sculpt pants), the torso features Sportsmaster\u2019s unique body armor, and his left arm features some more armor to finish off his details. There\u2019s also the head which is really the only thing I don\u2019t like about the figure. It\u2019s just too small. <\/p>\n

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The paint work on Sportsmaster was good. I would’ve like to see a little better paintwork around his collar and hands, but considering all the little straps and trim here and there and yet there\u2019s surprisingly very little slop. <\/p>\n

Articulation was what we\u2019ve come to expect even with the new sculpt, basically fully articulated except for the rocker ankles. One thing of note is that the thigh cuts are a little lower and blended into the pants. I did get a loose chest joint on my Sportsmaster, but the other joints were tight and nothing was stuck. I don\u2019t know if this qualifies as \u201cExtremely Posable\u201d like the package suggests, but then again this is Mattel. They still invest in 5 POA figures. <\/p>\n

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The other selling point on the package mentions Sportsmaster\u2019s accessories, including a javelin, 2 throwing stars, 2 two knives, nunchuks, a boomerang, and a baseball bat. Sportsmaster can hold all of them and they can also be stored on some racking on the base, two big pluses there. The only downside is that, other than the javelin, the accessories are gummier than I\u2019d like. In some cases, like the nunchuks it actually works, for others like the knives and stars, it doesn\u2019t really hurt anything, but the aluminum baseball bat loses some oomph when it droops. Still, there\u2019s some cool gear here and that helps ease the $20 price point. <\/p>\n

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Overall, I\u2019m here again reviewing another Young Justice figure that I was planning on skipping. But, like Red Arrow, I ended up being glad I made the purchase. Sportsmaster got a pretty cool figure (rocker ankles and a bigger head and he\u2019d be a great figure) with some cool accessories and a great idea for his base. I\u2019m happy to buy him if it means Mattel will make more bases like this one. Now that I have Sportsmaster though, I\u2019m feeling like I need to give a closer look to other figures I was planning on passing on like Guardian and Batman. <\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t judge me too harshly if you see a Solar Suit Superboy review at some point\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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