DC Collectibles We can be Heroes Justice League Box Set review

DC Collectibles Justice League Box Set 

Something changed last year in the DC Universe. My DC Universe has been discarded in favor of a new, younger universe, that is out to reintroduce the DC Universe to a more darker audience. DC calls it The New 52 (as in 52 brand new titles restarting the issue's numberings at no. 1). I'm not really happy about DC's move. Partly because the continuity that I faithfully followed (most especially Superman's) was easily wiped out. And using Flashpoint as the vehicle, it is as if a whole DC Universe was conveniently wiped out via a Flash-centric storyline. But what enraged me is that DC never even gave "my" Superman a fitting and epic ending. We get an ending thru the Grounded and Reign of Doomsday storyline that felt so rushed. They could have at least followed the Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths formula by giving the Pre-Crisis Superman a fitting closure to his adventures. Whatever others think or whatever DC is thinking, I am not satisfied with Flashpoint, Grounded, and Reign of Doomsday. They could have just ended the Pre-New 52 DC Universe with Final Crisis. Now "My" Superman continuity ended with no definite conclusion. No final adventures, no earth shattering conclusions, nothing. I guess I'll just have to pick a DC Elseworld story and make it as the definitive conclusion to "My" Superman (I'm looking at Superman at Earth's End, The Adventures of Superman Annual 6 and Superboy Annual 1, Son of Superman, or something else). But enough of the rant. I'm here to review the DC Collectibles (formerly DC Direct) We can be Heroes Justice League Box Set. A 7 figure box set composed of DC's New 52 Justice League. Below is the press release from DC Collectibles.

From the Manufacturer:

"The most powerful heroes in the universe, together in one box set. It’s the worst hunger crisis in 60 years. More than 9 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya are in need of immediate assistance. They need our help. We Can Be Heroes is a giving campaign designed to increase awareness and raise funds to provide relief for the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Using the iconic Justice League characters from DC Entertainment – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg – We Can Be Heroes helps our nonprofit partner organizations Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps provide on-the-ground support where it is needed most. One small act can make you a hero. Your purchase of this very special set featuring DC Comics–The New 52 action gures will benefit We Can Be Heroes. 10% of the purchase price will go directly to saving lives."

The New 52 Justice League

This is actually a sweet deal for those who want to start a DC New 52 Justice League Action Figure Collection. The box set already includes figures of the JL members that are yet to be released as singles. I did not hesitate to buy the box set because as the press release stated, a portion of the sales from this box set will be donated to support the alleviation of the hunger crisis. I also bought this set because I wanted to own a DC New 52 Superman (despite not really a big fan of the rebooted character) after missing out on Mattel's DC New 52 Superman. I sold the rest to my fellow group members in the DC-MOTU Facebook group. In the rebooted DC New 52 Universe, each of the character's first appearance has been pegged to have appeared in Justice League no. 1 which was written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jim Lee. I surmise that these action figures are based on the art of Jim Lee. In their first adventure together, the Justice League faces against the invasion of Darkseid and his Parademons. Six members from the JLA big seven of the past DC Universe is intact with Martian Manhunter being replaced by Cyborg. I'm going to do a brief figure review as well as a back grounder on these New 52 characters below.

Superman

DC New 52 Superman: So what changed as far as my favorite Superhero is concerned? For one, this Superman is alone more than ever. In this universe, both of his adoptive parents are dead. He does not have any semblance of a good familial relationship with any human being, and he is aged a bit younger than the Superman of my universe. He is also brash, erratic, and less polished with the way he handles his fights. He is also too "emo" for his own good. Though I'm sure the story of this Superman is still developing but personally he is not the Superman that I know. I tried staying away from buying any comics that pertains to this Superman, but I was surprised when Dan Jurgens went on board for a 6 issue run. And since he is my favorite Superman writer/artist, I bought copies of his entire run. I'll be closely watching this Superman though, if he would ever shape up to become someone similar to the Superman of my generation.

The Action Figure: One thing I noticed with DC Collectibles (formerly DC Direct) is that they really made an effort to make their action figures more like action figures and less statue like. DC Collectibles has been well known to produce highly detailed action figures but less in articulation. I actually prefer DC Collectibles when compared to Mattel's DCUC. The only thing that keeps DC Collectibles from being perfect is in the articulation department. But the figures here in this box set sports better articulation than the past DC Direct offerings (though for the past 2 or 3 years, DC Collectibles has been maintaining this number of articulation).  This Superman features a ball jointed head, ball jointed shoulder, swivel biceps, pivot elbows, and pivot hips. The figure is composed of a bit rubbery plastic (almost Mattel like). I think this makes the figures sturdier and flexible compared to the hard solid plastic of the past releases that tends to break off once there are tight joints due to the paint's sticking with the joints. I also love how the figure is painted and the blue plastic used on the body. There are no visible overlapping paint washes. The sculpts of the figure also looks great, though I don't quite dig the face. I don't know, there's just something off with the face sculpt. I'll also admit that I'm not a fan of this Superman's new costume and look, because I've always preferred the classic/iconic costume (the one with the red trunks). But presented in Action Figure form, the costume looks great in this figure. I'm actually loving the look of this figure more than the art done on the comic books. This figure is a definite keeper

Batman

DC New 52 Batman: Now this Batman is messed up. Being DC's bread and butter, The New 52 Batman is vaguely explained as the same Batman of the Pre New 52 Universe. Meaning, all of the important events of the past universe happened. So I wonder, how do you fit in his dealings with the Pre New 52 Superman with this Batman's New 52 Universe? Well DC is making it quite confusing. But there are a lot of things to be excited with this Batman, starting off with the return of the Joker in an upcoming storyline Death of the Family. I have a couple of New 52 Batman comics, namely the issue where Superman fought the venom drugged Batman.

The Action Figure: Batman shares the same plastic material and articulation with Superman. The figure looks great with it's minimalist paint usage. Majority of the figure is composed of grey plastic (for the body) with a glossy black paint used on the chest emblem, cowl, gloves, and boots. The cape also looks great as it drops all the way to the ground.

Wonder Woman

DC New 52 Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman's long known origin has been drastically changed in this universe. Instead of being birthed out of clay by the magic of the gods, she is now an illegitimate daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. It was revealed that the previous origin was only a ruse created by Hippolyta to hide Wonder Woman from those who seek to kill the illegitimate children of Zeus. In this universe, Wonder Woman is also the current romantic flame of Superman. This caused major uproar from the fans of the Lois and Clark/Superman romantic relationship. Though DC has remained firm that in the end Superman will end up with Lois, this phase in Superman's life and his relationship with Wonder Woman will be worth watching.

The Action Figure: I actually find it weird that DC Collectibles utilized a skin colored plastic for this figure. Though it is understandable that they are maximizing costs, I'm just not a big fan of skin colored plastics. But the figure is really good. I could say that this is possibly the second best Wonder Woman figure that DC Collectibles has ever made (the Terry Dodson Wonder Woman is still the best Wonder Woman figure to date). Her costume now also looks less american compared to the Pre DC New 52 one. Wonder Woman shares the same plastic material and articulation with Superman and Batman.

Green Lantern

The New 52 Green Lantern: Green Lantern is also similar to how DC explained the Batman of the New 52. His stories also remained intact. I guess DC made this so because prior to the relaunch, Green Lantern has been one of the busiest characters that DC has been writing. Starting off with Green Lantern Rebirth, major Green Lantern events (which also were DC Universe spanning) came one after the another. He is made to be more reckless in this universe which led to his resignation from the league on their second adventure. Hal is currently lost in a realm of darkness along with Sinestro when the Guardians decided to disband the Green Lantern Corps in favor of a new army. Hal and Sinestro also are currently without their power rings. Both of their Power Rings were fused together and found it's way to a new Green Lantern, Simon Baz.

The Action Figure: I think not much has changed with this figure when compared to the past Pre New 52 Green Lantern. Yes he does feature a new sculpt, but the costume kind of remained the same. I do love the metallic green look of the costume though. The figure is also well painted as the metallic green and black seamlessly complement each other. The figure also shares the same plastic material and articulation with the ones on the above.

Flash

The New 52 Flash: Well this guy is the culprit as to why we are having this new Universe. His work on Flashpoint altered the Universe that I love. Now we are looking at an extremely different universe. The Flash is no longer married to his wife Iris, but instead has a relationship with a co-worker. He's also a bit younger than the Pre New 52 Flash. I don't know but it seems that Flash always has himself involved in Universe/Reality changing events. In DC's very first reboot (Crisis on Infinite Earths), Flash died as a hero when he sacrificed his life to save the universe that they lived in. In Flashpoint, it seems that he is the only one from the Pre New 52 Universe to make it to the New 52 Universe. But he loses his memory of the old universe while handing Batman a letter from Batman's father who was Batman in the Flashpoint reality (ok ok, I don't know what I'm talking about and my head hurts because of all of the thinking in trying to make this reboot make sense). In the New 52 Universe, Barry Allen remained as the only Flash so far. 

The Action Figure: This Flash figure is one of the best Flash figure that I've ever seen. The pre colored red plastic used on the body is nicely colored. I like how they sculpt the left hand to make it like he is running with an open hand. The shiny metallic look of the yellow boots also reminisces the golden colored boots of the Pre New 52 Flash.  It also shares the same plastic material and articulation with the ones on the above.

Aquaman

The New 52 Aquaman: A lot of people are raving about the New 52 Aquaman's stories. Currently, his comic books are one of the surprising top sellers of the relaunch. DC seems to face all of the lingering misconceptions about Aquaman head on. In the Pre New 52 universe, Aquaman was more or less grounded in Atlantis where the source of his adventures and stories are set. He has lesser involvement in metahuman affairs and was more focused on his kingdom in Atlantis. In New 52, Aquaman decides to leave his throne in Atlantis and takes a more direct involvement in metahuman affairs. It is here where current Aquaman scribe Geoff Johns made Aquaman face head on the misconceptions and ridicule from the public that his character has been enduring since the Super Friends days.  

The Action Figure: In this boxset, Aquaman is definitely one of the best figures. He is also the lone figure that comes with an accessory. The figure comes with his trident which has a golden chain attached to his belt. He also comes with a necklace. I'm not quite sure though if it's removable. The paint was on the body also looks amazing as they utilized several shades of orange to make the figure look cooler and not bland. It also shares the same plastic material and articulation with the ones on the above.

Cyborg

The New 52 Cyborg: The most surprising addition for the New 52 Justice League is the drafting of Cyborg as part of the roster. This move omitted the Martian Manhunter (who was a longtime staple and solid member of the League). Prior to New 52, Cyborg has been a long standing member of the Teen Titans. I personally view him as the Titan's anchor in the same way as what Martian Manhunter was for the League. Cyborg though did have a brief Justice League connection in the past. He was a member of the League in the cartoon show Super Powers: Galactic Guardians (which was the last season of the highly popular Super Friends cartoon series way back in the 70's and 80's). Cyborg was also part of the last Justice League team that did not feature the big 7 before the New 52 reboot happened. Cyborg is currently being groomed as one of the most important characters in the New 52 Justice League. His origin story was featured in the first story arc of the New 52 Justice League. He also played a key role in beating Darksied and the Apokoliptian invasion in the League's first adventure. The retconned origin of the Justice League places Cyborg as one of the founding members of the League.

The Action Figure: The Cyborg figure is the bulkiest among the group. He also stands taller than the others. I like the way they redesigned Cyborg for The New 52. This action figure managed to replicate the Cyborg designs on the comic books. He looks mean with his added bulk. The paint job on the armor look good on the figure as it emits a metallic look. The plastic material used on this figure harkens back to the old DC Direct I guess, or maybe it just feels that way because of the bulk. The figure shares the same articulation with the other figures in this box set.

Overall I've really fallen in love with this box set. Too bad though that putting these guys together on display would render the majority of my DC Collections outdated. I'm torn between getting a box set again and keep it unopened or just forego the entire set. Whatever the decision is, I guess I'll have to find another set first. From what I heard, this box set is disappearing in toys shelves quickly than I have imagined. So for those of you who wants to start a DC Action Figure Collection, I highly recommend this Box Set.