McFarlane DC Multiverse IN-HAND Mega Gallery – Part 2 - The Toyark

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse figures are out in the wild, hitting retail and online shops. Wave 1 consists of 12 figures, a variant, and a vehicle. We took a look at the first half of the wave on Friday, you can check that out here. Today we are going to look at the rest, with the key focus being the Animated figures – Animated Batman, Animated Superman, Animated Green Lantern, Harley Quinn (kinda Animated), and then TV Green Arrow along with the Bat-Raptor vehicle.

We shot the rest and have over 100 new pics (in addition to the 115 from part 1), after the break courtesy of McFarlane Toys. Read on to check it all out!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse 7 Inch Scale Action Figures Wave 1 Part 2 (see here for part 1)

OK, part two. I’ve had the weekend to absorb these guys a bit more. I’m still in the same place I was for the line overall as I was on Friday. While I don’t have an issue with the bigger scale personally, one thing that became clearer is the scale among these new figures. There doesn’t seem to be a focus on it right now. Harley is a tad big. She works with the Animated figures better, and even then she is a tad tall for that scale. If comic Batman’s head was a bit larger overall, it would be taller and probably gel well with Batgirl and Nightwing. That makes Batman a bit taller than Superman though, which I don’t recall being the case, though I am not 100 on that. Batgirl would then be a tall lady, standing close with Nightwing. None of this right now is a huge deal, but it would be better overall if figures stay in scale, respecting heights and proportions across the line, over time.

Now, that brings us to the Animated figures. These are a tad bigger than the standard 7 Inch figures height wise, and due to their design, they are big. Heavy, chunky bricks of figures. The extra height over DC Collectibles is there, but that adds width and depth too, so they just feel massive. They’ve opted to include additional articulation and break up the streamlined looks of the show, which is a good change from what DC Collectibles have done. Both styles have their place.

One note that folks have been mentioning – the sculpt for Batman is more in line with his later The New Batman Adventures look, yet he has coloring and a chest symbol matching his Batman the Animated Series look. So this is kind of a hybrid. I personally don’t mind it, but I can see how folks really into the Animated Universe would be irked by this. These guys can actually stand without the base, easier time than I had with the DC Collectibles ones. But, they are very top heavy, so they can tip easily. Just use the base for these guys. :). Harley Quinn is labeled as “Classic”, which we assume is comic based. But, the look and facial sculpt screams Animated, and when you toss her in there with the other 3 she fits. So bottom line, that Harley is pretty much Animated. I think they just didn’t want TV Green Arrow chilling by himself in the listings.

The plastic and paint are a tad more bright on these, primary colors, you get more glossy shine from lights. They feel a tad more “kids toy” style, even though they are not. Overall, I had a fun time with these guys more than I thought I would. They are well executed and you can pose them up easier and in more ways than with the DCC ones. It’s not my first choice of focus from the vast DC Universe line up, but if more come down the line I’ll take em.

Arrow – not my favorite. Torso is a tad long. Face is not photo realistic to the actor. Beard paint a little generic. Bow has an arrow molded into it. Arrows are a single piece you place in quiver on back. If I had a magic wand, a better execution of all the weapons would be – Bow without arrow – peg for a single arrow to push onto, and then keep the single molded arrow pile like it is. That way we can have him standing with the bow without it loaded up. I’m fine not having the strings or 40 arrows that dump out on the floor every time you move him. The sculpt on the body is well done, and paint executed well throughout, neck down. The entire torso is a semi-hollow rubber piece, so you can bend him back and forth via a joint under it. This gives him movement range without a torso cut or ab-crunch, keeps the jacket streamlined. Bottom line – my least favorite of wave 1, just doesn’t get me hype. I’m curious to see how close actor likenesses will be moving forward. This is “inspired by” rather than a face scan. Not sure I want that, if it’s not gonna be a full representation of the actor, then I’d rather just have modern comic stuff since that’s basically the same thing. Photo realness in movie/tv figures has really exploded the last couple years, so expectations are way higher now.

Now for the vehicle – The Bat Raptor. This is a modern comic vehicle, seen in the The Batman Who Laughs mini series for a couple panels. It’s pretty faithful to that. It is 7 inch scale, and extends forward twice to give it some length in the front. I am ok with it, and it’s about as big as I would want a vehicle. I just don’t have the room for these things personally. I think it’s cool that the line is getting something like this so soon, as it’s taken Legends a while to get into this, and Mattel didn’t do many for the collector line at all. So, well executed, Batman rides always cool, but it’s not something I am itching for a wide line up of. Motorcycles and that size, easier to work into actual figure display shelves. This takes up a ton of real estate.

To wrap up – Animated – well done, but it’s own thing, a sub-theme within the line. If it’s your bag, go for it! Harley – that’s Animated. Doesn’t work scale wise with other comic figures. Arrow, proportion and face execution issues. Bat-Raptor – executed well, but who has space for multiples of these things, and assuming bigger later on? If you do, more power to you, you’ll dig this.

Overall wrap up – Wave 1 of McFarlane DC was fun, and gave me hope for collecting DC again. There are some technical issues across the range, but these are things they can work out over time. Look back at wave 1 from various long term lines and they won’t hold up compared to what’s going on now, and I think similar things are in play here. As the team gets their footing, and reads some feedback, it will only get better!

Check out our shots of the figures below, make sure to let us know what you think on the forums in the ongoing discussion thread!

Thanks to McFarlane Toys for sending through these figures for review purposes!