DC Essentials Mega Gallery - Wave 2 and All 3 Watchmen Packs! - The Toyark

Time for a bit of catch up and a bit of preview at the same time! Today we are posting up a mega gallery for the latest DC Collectibles DC Essentials figures. The second wave of regular figures featured Superman, Brainiac, Aquaman and Black Manta. This continues the VS. theme of the releases, joining Batman, Deathstroke, Flash and Reverse Flash from wave 1. On top of the DC Essentials line proper, there are also Watchemen Doomsday Clock figures releasing in actual two packs. They aren’t labeled Essentials, but are essentially Essentials (rim shot, eyyy). These include 4 classic characters and two new ones as seen in the ongoing comic series that brings the Watchmen into the DC Universe canon. Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, Rorschach and Mime, and Comedian and Marionette. In a perfect world, Mime and Marionette would have been paired up, but they split them among two classic guys to help movie units (I’m guessing). They are a couple in the books and themed similarly. The Comedian / Marionette pack is actually new and hasn’t fully released yet, so today’s set is a preview of that one.

Read on to check out over 95 HD images and some additional thoughts for these 10 figures after the break courtesy of Entertainment Earth and DC Collectibles!

Related Entertainment Earth links: All DC Essentials, Doomsday Clock 2 Packs, DCE Cyborg Superman, DCE Joker

DC Essentials Wave 2 and Watchmen Doomsday Clock 2 Packs

Overall Thoughts

All of these use the base body type Essentials is known for, with mold alterations as needed for each. Every single part has unique sculpting on it, so even though they are similar they are new cuts every time. Seems like they are just using a base (3d) model to start from. Marionette is the first female Essentials figure, and features soft goods leggings that are pretty well done. Rorschach is the biggest departure from normal sculpt with a jacket and pants, and he is also well done. He comes gloved and ungloved so you can rock him easily as the classic version if you desire.

Personally of this bunch, Brainiac, Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan were the stand outs. All feel good, and have great sculpts with well done paint. They’ve hit the shelf rotation here. As for the rest, they are solid, but the same Essentials issues I had with wave 1 is present. Leg tolerances are weak and ankle posing is a pain. Chests are then too tight. Arms are too long. Getting them to stand or pose in anything other than a basic straight up stance takes too much energy. Couple all that with very similar builds for most figures, to the point they look like repaints of each other on quick glance. Bottom line, the series has great potential, but some running tweaks are greatly needed. Variation in builds, technical fixes, shorter arms. Do that and they’re winners.

That being said, if you are looking for a single figure here and there to fill in your 7 inch scale shelf, and will just be power stancing them anyway, these work great. Check out the full set below and decide for yourselves!

Also of note: Several backdrops featured are from Extreme Sets. They have given us a coupon code for a discount on your orders. Enter code TOYARK at checkout and get 15% off your order!