Master license

You likely know that McFarlane Toys currently owns the premier DC Comics toy line. The switch from Mattel took place in early 2020, and has seen some stellar stuff from McFarlane land at retail since. Well, that is to say it did after the first wave or two.

But along with that, came word that DC Direct’s various lines would be picked up by McFarlane as well. So, in other words, McF would be bringing that other company’s designs to life (and retail). In terms of action figures, we’ve seen that already, with a number of action figures hitting pre-order. But there were no statues, dioramas, or anything else.

That’s to say, til now. Today McFarlane announced a trio of pieces, each one carrying on with one of DC Direct’s biggest and best loved lines. Those include the “Court of Owls” Batmonster in the Batman Black & White line, Harley Quinn from Bombshells, and Poison Ivy from DC Covergirls.

The Batmonster stands in at 7″ tall, features the art of Greg Capullo, and is priced in at $99.99 USD. Starring the art of Frank Cho, Poison Ivy is the same price point, but stands a little bigger at 10″. Harley on the other hand, well she’s a little bit pricier, at $249.99. Then again though, she’s also 13 & 1/2″ in height.

All three are set to ship out in August of this year, and are up for pre-order via various online shops (and presumably your local comics shop). If you’d like to order up from our sponsors at Entertainment Earth, you can do so through the links below.

• DC Cover Girls Poison Ivy by Frank Cho Statue
• DC Bombshells Harley Quinn Deluxe Version 2 Statue
• Batman Black and White Batmonster by Greg Capullo Statue

Orders placed via the links on this page will result in a commission for BG

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Big in ’22

It was only last year that McFarlane Toys made a splash with DC Comics-branded toys. The DC Multiverse line debuted around Toy Fair time in 2020, and would go on to expand into a terrific lineup of figures, encompassing multiple levels of DC history.

And now that it’s well-established, there’s much more on the horizon. Warner Bros was apparently as happy as fans have been with the line, as they’ve expanded their agreement with McFarlane.

McFarlane Toys have entered into a global licensing agreement with WBCP to unleash a new line of McFarlane Toys designed statues, busts, and figures based on DC’s expansive roster of iconic characters.  Fans and collectors can look forward to an array of McFarlane Toys created DC Direct collectibles under legendary artist Todd McFarlane’s creative direction coming in 2022.

McFarlane Toys

But it’s not stopping there, as things are about to get pretty darn interesting. McFarlane will also be taking over management of DC Direct’s offerings, and that doesn’t mean managing it into oblivion. According to the press release, DC Direct will “continue to produce high-quality collectibles” under McFarlane.

That translates into meaning that stuff like DC Designer Series, Batman Black & White, and Harley Quinn Red, White & Black will all continue. So if you have a favorite line of DC Direct stuff, it just might be continuing under the McF banner.

Stay tuned for more on this one, feels like there might be more to come.

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Direct to you

First of all, yes, it’s ‘DC Direct’ now. The collectible wing of DC has once again changed its name back to DC Direct from DC Collectibles. If you don’t remember, they switched it the other way a few years back. In any event, things are back to normal now.

Well, they are with the name anyway. There have been rumors aplenty as of late about DC Comics in general, including its status as a publisher in the longterm. Those started off in a big way with the departure of co-publisher Dan DiDio.

This weekend though, now sole-publisher Jim Lee said that any and all rumors are bunk. He’s the publisher now, according to the artist and DC Comics big, and the company itself is going nowhere.

That’s good to hear as a fan of the medium. And it presumably sets DC Direct back on a fairly straightforward course… if there was ever any question to begin with (we don’t really know).

I did get the sense however, that the offering slate wasn’t as robust as it usually is. At least, when it came to action figures. Direct had a number of new toys on hand, but ‘new’ lines were kind of nonexistent. I suppose you could count the DCeased line as new, but that’s really a part of Essentials, and also just uses a bit of new tooling and paint.

In any event, there was new stuff to see, it was just mainly in the statue space. So without further ado…

Statues

The meat of what DC Direct had on hand come in the form of statues. And man, was Toy Fair 2020 was loaded with them. If you’re a collector of alll things polystone and such, there’s plenty to like.

Almost all of DC Direct’s main statue lines received new pieces, including Batman Black & White, Bombshells, and more.

The Animated Series continues

That’s an impressive array of statuary, no? Well, you won’t find an equal amount of action figures from DC Direct here. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some cool looking figures.

Chiefly, those include the new extension of the Batman: The Animated Series lineup. If you’ve somehow missed it, DC is bringing the classic show back as a comic book mini-series and a toy line. Both are looking great, and both play right off of the classic B:TAS Aesthetic.

New figures include Deathstroke, Azreal as Batman, Jason Todd’s Red Hood, Red Rain Batman, The Batman Who Laughs and more. There are also a few re-releases, including the fan favorite “Christmas” Joker figure, Batman and Robin themselves, and a classic Catwoman with a Selena Kyle alternate head.

All of these look great in person, and I hope it means that we’ll be getting more. We kind of need a new Lex Luthor, and since he is in the new comic there’s at least hope.

Also I feel like I have to add that these figures are head and shoulders above the McFarlane ‘animated’ DC stuff. I like McFarlane’s work as of late quite a bit, but their animated figures lack a certain something that these have in spades.

DCeased

Also showing at Toy Fair was a line of DCeased ‘zombie’ DC heroes and villains. I didn’t follow the DCeased series at all in the comics, though I think it was essentially an Elseworlds story. What I do know is that Darkseid’s unleashing of the Anti-Life Equation basically resulted in a universe of vicious, super-powered zombies. Yes, you’ve seen it before, I know.

Nevertheless, horror fans might get a kick out of these figures, some of which are out now. You’ll spot a few unpainted figures in there too, those are Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Deathstroke.

And the rest…

A smattering of additional figures were in the booth at DC, including a new box set of Justice Leaguers and some cool looking variants. That’s really it though, as again, the booth wasn’t chucked with toys.

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Designed to mirror the movie designs of these characters, some of the biggest baddies in the DCU, this new series from DC Direct sports some excellent likenesses. Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and all the rest look terrific- right down to Jared Leto’s Joker.

Sculpted in the 12″ scale, the first wave of these bad boys is scheduled to land at retail in July, to be followed up with wave 2 in August. And that second wave is timed to arrive just in time to finish off the set for the launch of the movie itself, which opens up on August 5th.

Each statue will run you $150.00 USD, so completing that collection wouldn’t be cheap. They’d look pretty damn good on the old shelf though. Here’s how the waves break down:

On Sale July 2016

• DEADSHOT – SCULPTED BY ADAM ROSS
• HARLEY QUINN – SCULPTED BY JAMES MARSANO
• KILLER CROC – SCULPTED BY ALTERON
• THE JOKER – SCULPTED BY JAMES MARSONO

On Sale August 2016

• KATANA – SCULPTED BY SAM GREENWELL
• BOOMERANG – SCULPTED BY ADAM ROSS

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Busy cranking out some of the coolest stuff you’re likely to find in the comic and/or specialty store near you as of late, DC Direct is on a roll. But while the action figures it’s been crafting are getting the lion’s share of the attention (I’m looking at you Icons and Arkham Knight), the company isn’t just about plastic, articulated heroes and villains.

Statues starring some of the members of the Suicide Squad will arrive this coming July, which is about a month ahead of the August 5th launch for the movie. these will be the movie versions of the characters, and as you can see in the gallery below no shots of the team have been released as of yet. We do know that each statue will measure up to 12″ tall and will cost you $150 USD though- that and that Headshot, Harley Quinn, Joker, and Killer Croc will make up the first wave.

Past that, there’s also a new Bombshells statue in the works for mid-Summer. Power Girl and Superman will team up for this retro-reimagining, which will stand in at 13.86″ tall, be limited to 5,200 pieces, and retail for $250 USD.

Staying on the feminine side of the DCU, the Teen Titans’ Raven will be joining the DC Comics Covergirls line, whom you’ll see to the right. Designed by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, she’ll be 9.5″ tall, be limited to 5,200 pieces and run you a cool $100 USD, which is a pretty nice price for something like this.

As for the gentlemen (using that term loosely here), we’ve got both Deathstroke and Lex Luthor who’ll be a part of the DC Comics Icons statue line. Not to be confused with the aforementioned action figures, these bad boys were sculpted by David Giraud (Slade) and Erick Sosa (Lex) and will stand 10″ and 10.75″ respectively. Like Raven, they’ll also cost $100 USD each.

And finally, July 2016 will also see the release of two new plush DC Comics Super-Pets! Both Ace the Bat-Hound and Jumpa (of Wonder Woman fame) will be traveling all the way from the Silver Age to be new additions for the line.

Ace will be 9″ tall, while Jumpa will tower over all others at a whopping 14″ high. The best part here is the price, with the cuddly heroes costing just $15 USD each.

All in all, that’s a pretty big July for DC Direct, with more than likely additions to come. Stay tuned, we’ll have pics of those Suicide Squad statues as they’re released. In the meantime though, scroll down and check out what was unveiled in the gallery below.

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Well, right away, that Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile is a can’t miss for fans of the original show. We profiled that piece around Toy Fair this past Winter and it’s a flat-out winner. First, it’s enormous; second, it fits two figures in the cockpit (finally); and third, it has light-up features. It’s a tad expensive at $84.00 USD, but if you’re a big Bat-fan, I gotta believe it’s worth every bit of that.

Okay, so I went off on a bit of a jag there; I love the thing, what can I say. I’d like to see more vehicles too, and I had it hinted to me that there’d be more if this one sells well.

Past the Batmobile though, there’s still plenty to like on this list, like those wicked statues that range the DC gamut from Bombshells, to comics, to the Arkham Knight video game. Then there are props like the badges from the Gotham TV series… and those plushes. I have to say, I have a little bit of a soft-spot for Dex-Starr from the Red Lanters comic, and this little plush representation is kind of home run.

And if you’re not crazy about what’s on this little guide, there’s plenty more. Basically, I don’t think you can go wrong with the entire Batman: The Animated Series line from DC Direct, or the new Icons line for that matter. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a true 6″ line of DC superheroes and villains that just kicked off with Batman, Green Arrow, Mister Miracle, and Deadman. Great sculpts and excellent poseability almost across the boards on those.

So there you have it, make your picks and finish that list, the season is officially here as of this Friday.

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Easily one of the most hotly anticipated games heading to retail shelves and download services this Spring/Summer, Batman: Arkham Knight caps off the amazing trilogy of games from developer Rocksteady and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. Following up on the events of Arkham City, Arkham Knight finds Batman’s Gotham under siege by the mysterious title character, and bedeviled by a cadre of his greatest foes who are looking for one thing- his complete destruction.

Fortunately, The Dark Knight has his usual assortment of gadgets and weaponry at his side, along with the newest addition to the series, a drivable Batmobile. While you won’t find the famed car included in this new series of action figures from DC Collectibles, you will find a few of the Batman’s signature ‘toys’ and one very impressive figure.

The figure is incredibly faithful to the game, at least what we’ve seen of it thus far, which features a new and improved set of armor for Batman. It’s a different suit than was featured in either of the previous Arkham titles and has a streamlined look that still manages to look fortified against attack. As you can see from the image above too, the character also still maintains that classic yellow utility belt and the black bat-symbol on his chest. Both elements are iconically Batman and look great on the toy.

Black and grey are the tones used throughout this figure, which is right in line with the game (and comics as well), and there’s some excellent detailing and paint application happening. Starting with the sculpt though, it’s terrific and you can plainly see all the little fixtures and attach points for the individual armor plates.

Gentle Giant has done a flat-out great job with adding texture to elements of the suit that you normally might not associate with the most interesting of features . This version of the costume has armored shoulder and neck plating that has a really cool spotted effect to it. Likewise, the washes across the grey portions of the suit add some excellent dimension and realism to something that easily could have been flat and lifeless. I particularly like the belt too, in the way that the pouches actually look like they’re usable, like they could hold equipment.

There is one down side to the paint app, and that’s Batman’s face. While the eyes are excellent (nice and piercing) and the skin tone is fittingly pale (which definitely works for nocturnal Bruce Wayne), it looks as though this figures was originally intended to have some stubble on his chin, and that’s completely lacking in the finished product. The back of the box shows a more scruffy appearance for Bats, which would have added a lot I think to the look. Again, the final toy isn’t bad looking at all, but it would have been so much cooler to have had a little five o’clock shadow on him.

As for articulation, I don’t have much in the way of negatives for that. Batman’s elbows and knees are double-jointed and work perfectly, and his shoulders and hips each have ball-joints. The shoulders stuck a little bit fresh from the box, but loosened up right away and gave no signs of being in danger of breaking.

The wrist joints have a nice range of motion on their hinges and swivels, and the waist also swivels, but not all the way to the left or right, thanks to the belt’s sculpt hindering it slightly. The twist is accompanied by an ab crunch though, that stuck in a major way and had to be forced loose. Once it was in motion though, it opened up a whole new range of motion for the figure and worked great with a pretty generous bend.

There’s also a ball joint at the neck, but the range of motion here is somewhat limited. Batman can look back and forth, as well as down pretty easily. Up though, isn’t something that he can really accomplish to all that great of a degree. Not awful, but not great either. Though, just thinking about it now, I can’t actually name too many action figures that have a great ability to look to the heavens. The feet on this guy though, are another story.

With rocker joints that work beautifully, along with a smooth up and down motion, the ankles on this figure are really excellently done. They move easily, but can keep Batman in just about any fighting stance that you’d like to throw him into.

For some stances though, you might need the support of the cape, which is made of a flexible plastic material and bends well while still holding up the figure in some poses. Of course, it probably goes without saying, but I’d have preferred to have seen a cloth cape or maybe even something wired to really make some  poses pop. Even so though, I wouldn’t consider this a minus because, well, this is kind of how capes in general are done with action figures. You don’t really see anything like what I mentioned above outside of deluxe figures, and even then it’s rare.

I would definitely have liked to have seen some bicep and/or forearm swivels here though. It’s true that the sculpting team at Gentle Giant has hit a lot of high notes with the posability on this figure, but having that little extra freedom of movement would have added some even nicer options. As it is though, I can’t complain too much.

Before I close things out, I should also mention the accessories. There aren’t a ton of them, but they do have the bases covered and everything looks great. There’s one extra hand included for holding the line-launcher gun, which fits perfectly in the grip and looks great. There’s also a batarang, which is a basic add-on and one that you’d expect Batman to be packed with. It does look particularly neat though and has some nice detailing from the game.

Final Thoughts

The Batman: Arkham Knight version of the character looks terrific and makes for a really great figure, there’s no way around that. The design is excellent, well adapted to figure form, and pretty easily one of the best looking iterations of the Batman to come to market in the last few years.

Posability is really top notch too, even with the neck issues and the lack of some extra arm articulation. And I have to mention that paint application again because it’s just so great. Bottom line, he looks freaking awesome on the shelf and can be slotted into a bunch of cool poses, battling the series’ villains, which we’ll have reviews throughout this week.

If you’re a Batman fan, don’t miss out on this one when it hits retail on May 1st.

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If I was going to pick something form this past Comic Con that got the most smiles from me, I’d have to say it was the Batman: The Animated Series from DC Direct. This is really turning into a special line with figures based on all the major characters from what’s easily one of the best animated shows of all time, let alone superhero-based shows.

While those were my favorites, there was plenty more to see at the booth including some excellent New 52 figures (that Thrasher Suit is amazing) and some very cool Batman: Arkham figures. And, while I don’t think we’re likely to see it at retail anytime soon, that Anti-Monitor deserves a mention too, seen battling with the blind-boxed Scribblenauts DC figures that are available right now.

Have a look at the gallery below and feast your eyes on what’s in the pipeline for the rest of 2014 and beyond.

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