DC DIRECT NEW 52 BATMAN

Last year DC comics started The New 52. Basically they rebooted all 52 titles that they were publishing. This event made me return to reading and collecting comic books simple because every title would restart at its first issue. It is rare for existing comic titles to do this and now DC did it in all of their titles. So to all new comic book readers and guys like me who would like to reenter the comic book world this is it, it’s the perfect time.  

Among DC’s many titles I like Batman the most so I started with him. Getting Batman #1, Batman the Dark Knight #1 and of course Detective Comic Batman #1. But the thing that caught my eye right away was the Justice League title drawn by the famous Jim Lee. Lee’s take on the league was stunning. He even designed new looks for each of the characters. And when Dc Direct released Batman in his new Jim Lee costume I immediately pre ordered him. Later to be a bit disappointed. Let’s take a closer look at the figure.

The New 52 Justice League

Batman in his new Jim Lee costume. The figure is well made and highly detailed. Although limited in articulation, this figure is pretty good. I would rather have a figure with limited movement than to sacrifice detail and his appearance. So this figure is a nice compromise between articulation and detail.

Closer look of Batman. The costume has detail all over him. He has recessed lines all over his suit, a nicely sculpted belt and the bat symbol on his chest is sculpted to be embossed and not just paint on.

Batman’s head sculpt. The only thing that I disapprove in the figure is the glossy paint in his cowl, gloves and boots. Batman needs to be stealthy and uses surprise as his advantage. Being glossy defeats the purpose of being able to hide in the dark and stuff like that.

Nice detailed glove.

Back side showing his cape. Batman won’t be complete without his cape.

The New 52 Batman #1

The New 52 Batman Detective Comics #1

The New 52 Batman Dark Knight #1

The figure is well made and is the first figure made using Jim Lee’s new 52 costume. So he is highly recommended to Batman fans and Justice League collectors. As for the glossy part, you can either use matt varnish or even repaint it if you really want. Dc would also release the other characters of the New 52 JL let’s hope they won’t gloss them up so stay tuned. Now to the cinemas Batman fans The Dark Knight Rises is now showing!!!

MASTER SERGEANT GARY GORDON BY DAM FIGURES

It’s been a while since I posted about 1/6 scale military figure but here is a very interesting figure from the company Dam. He is a part of the Blackhawk down set that the company will be releasing.

Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon was an elite sniper and a member of the 1^st special forces operational detachment delta. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action during the battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. In the 2001 movie Blackhawk down actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had the honor of portraying him. Aside from the Medal of Honor Master sergeant Gordon received the following awards and decoration: Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, two Joint Service Achievement Medal, four Good Conduct Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, The Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, French Army Mountaineering Badge, Royal Danish Parachutist Badge and Joint Meritorious Unit Award.

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon

Unlike the Rangers, several delta troopers carry extra ammo using vest or chest rigs such as the one that master sergeant Gordon carries. The chest rig contains 4 additional 30 round M16 mag and 2 grenades.

Closer look at his drop down holster with m1911 side arm and an extra pistol mag. On his equipment belt he has an additional 2 pistol mags and ammo pouch with grenade.

On the other side he carries the usual ammo pouch and a radio.

Back side of the figure showing his butt pack or dump pouch and 2 canteens.

Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Master sergeant Gary Gordon.

Since this is a non license product the head sculpt is a bit off. But is still good and may even represent a generic soldier.

Additional photos of his load out.

A fully kitted Master Sergeant Gordon.

Close up of his Car-15 with suppressor a scope and improvised light system. During their time weapons are not yet that customizable and most special force’s operators would duct tape their light and other improvised attachments to their rifle.

Other side of the rifle showing the duct taped light. The pistol is also well made with several movable parts.

Master sergeant Gordon with his car-15.

Master sergeant Gordon with fellow delta operator sergeant first class sanderson. Click here to view sfc sanderson’s review.

I have skipped several details on the equipment for this figure. To get a more detailed view of the sergeant’s equipment do check my review on ssgt. Eversmann also by dam figures. Click here.

Although the ssgt. Eversmann figure of dam was very well made which lead me to get this figure. There are several things in this figure that disappointed me. One of them is his dropdown holster, it’s not bad but they could improve it. Secondly his knee pads, I preferred the one that came with ssgt. Eversmann. Lastly his boots which looks a bit odd.

Despite several minor setback. The figure is worth getting and for its price range I highly recommend this figure and will be looking forward to completing my Blackhawk down movie crew.

DC UNIVERSE CLASSIC WAVE 16 BANE

After collecting DC universe classic wave 16 you’ll have this awesome figure the classic Bane. Bane debuted on Batman: Vengeance of Bane way back 1993. He became popular in the Knightfall series because not only is Bane physically powerful but he is also a master strategist and poses a high level of intellect. He orchestrated the break out in the Arkham asylum and forced Batman to fight the inmates in order to weaken him. In the end Bane was very successful and broke the spine of Bruce Wayne. Thus defeating the great detective Batman.

Bane’s character first appeared on the 1997 movie Batman and Robin. Wrestler Robert Swenson portrayed him. This year 2012, director Christoper Nolan’s third Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” will star Bane as the main villain. Actor Tom Hardy will take on the character of Bane. Now that’s a must watch movie.

Bane certainly is one of Batman’s arch enemy rivaling the prince of crime Joker. And so this DCUC collect and connect figure of Bane in his classic costume is a must have for me. The figure has good articulation and the detail is also good. Without further delay here is the crown jewel of wave 16, Bane.

Vengeance of Bane #1 published 1993.

Bane’s first appearance.

Knightfall, Bane’s stepping stone to fame.

The cover shows Bane breaking Batman’s back.

DCUC Bane in his classic costume.

This is why wave 16 is worth completing for Batman fans.

His arm is well articulated and has excellent detail.

Back of the figure shows good detail on the sculpt of his muscle.

Even the boots are sculpted with details all over

The head sculpt is nice, it captures Bane from the comic books as I remember him.

Bane showing his Mr. Universe body.

Huge bicep to smack the light out of Batman.

Bane ready to face the Bat.

Bane as portrayed by Robert Swenson in Batman & Robin 1997

Arkham City game version of Bane.

Tom Hardy as Bane from the movie “The Dark Knight Rises”

DC UNIVERSE CLASSIC WAVE 16 ROBIN

Finally here is the last figure in the DC Universe Classic Bane wave. I got the variant version of the classic Robin with the Jason Todd head sculpt. I wish I got the regular one as it had Dick Greyson’s head. Grayson later on Nightwing is my favorite among the Robins that the Bat employed as his side kick.

As we know the character of Robin had passed on to several characters they include Dick Grayson the current Nightwing, Jason Todd who became the Red Hood, Tim Drake now the Red Robin and the current one Damian Wayne. That’s a lot of Robins.

Now on to the figure.

Robin out of the box.

The first thing that I notice is that he has trouble standing on his own.

Jason Todd head sculpt. He was the second Robin.

Robin came with two accessories. His batarang and a grapple hook.

Robin using his grappling hook. A common weapon employed by both Batman and Robin. They often use it to swing around and kick some bad guys butt.

Robin with his batarang.

The batarang is the primary weapon of the dynamic duo.

It’s a boomerang in the form of a bat.

I’ll try to look for the Dick Grayson Robin and post a review of it soon.

DC UNIVERSE CLASSIC WAVE 16 CREEPER

Another part of the DC universe classic wave 16. This time it’s the creepy Creeper. He may look like a villain and somehow the twin of the Joker but Creeper is actually one of the good guys. His story started when journalist Jack Ryder met a scientist Dr. Yatz. During an incident with the mob Jack was injured and Dr. Yatz gave him a serum. The serum saved Jack’s life and gave him super natural strength, agility and healing powers. And so the Creeper was born.

Showcase #73 featuring the Creeper.

DCUC's Creeper

Head sculpt of the Creeper.

A little resemblance to the Joker, maybe because of the green hair and the shape of the face plus the evil smile.

Back side showing a very nicely sculpted fur cape. The fur is a bit heavy and often puts the figure out of balance.

A side from good articulation, the Creeper is also well detailed.

Check out the fur on his gloves.

And just like the gloves the boots are also well detailed.

DCUC WAVE 16 MERCURY

This figure is a bit mysterious to me but I still got him mainly because he had a vital piece to complete the CnC Bane. Mercury along with Gold, Iron, Lead, Platinum and Tin are members of the group known as Metal Men. They were created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru. They first appeared in Showcase number 37 published back in 1962. They appeared on several comic books published by DC comics but is still very unfamiliar to me and many others. Let’s see if Matel’s version of Mercury can spark our interest in this character.

Showcase #37 featuring the Metal Men.

 

Mercury of the Metal Men out of the box.

 

Back side of Mercury basically a body in color red

 

Nice and crisp head sculpt.

 

Mercury came with an extra arm in the shape of a giant scissor.

 

Although not a popular character this figure is not bad.

 

He has good articulation and because of his mono tone color there are no paint blots. In addition to the torso of Bane he came with an extra scissor arm. And because he is not a popular character people ignored him. So you can often find him on sale.