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McFarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: Nightwing
Continuing my quest to re-watch all the DC Animated features to date and give some thoughts regarding 3 key touchpoints: Animation Style, Voice Acting & Story. These are really just rough notes as I watched the movie and might not make a whole lot of sense unless you have recently watched it. See 290-2, 303-2, 318-2, 331-2, 344-2, 358-2, 369-2, 371-2, 385-2, 399-2, 414-2, 426-2, 441-2, 453-2, 462-2, 468-2 & 481-2 for my previous instalments
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox- 2013
Animation Style- Generally speaking I like most of the animation designs for the various heroes and villains, but really dislike 2 in particular: Non-flashpoint Superman and Aquaman as their neck/traps look exceptionally ridiculous which is odd considering how great everyone else looks. 2 notable designs that I really like is the reverse Flash himself, Thawne, who obviously has a similar look to The Flash, but with a constant shit eating facial expression that really gets under your skin and the ultra-gritty flashpoint Batman, who incidentally will be released by McFarlane in a future wave.
Voice Acting: Two words: Simply Fantastic. Interestingly enough, most of the main characters are played by non-VO artists and have not been associated with many DC projects after. Justin Chamber (Dr Alex Karev from Grey’s Anatomy) does a great job as the Flash, C. Thomas Howell (working actor who has really only done Thawne in voice over) is perfect as Zoom, Michael B. Jordan (yes that one) was great as Cyborg and probably luck to have gotten him at this point and Kevin McKidd (known many things, but most hilariously Tommy from Trainspotting) as the gruff Thomas Wanye / flashpoint Batman. There are also some old favorites including Kevin Conroy (Batman), Steve Blum (Lex Luthor) and Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern) to round out this cast.
Story: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is the movie adaptation of the DC comic storyline by the same name, created for the sole intention to reset the convoluted DC universe timeline and get every character on to the same page. If you are not familiar with comics, they do this all the time and provides the creators the flexibility to try something new with characters that have been around for decades, while simultaneously creating buzz and new sales for the brand. And while some people become tired of this cash grab, I actually love it given that it often breathes new life into a franchise. The basic premise is that Flash (Barry Allen) uses his speed superpower to travel back in time to when his mother was killed and effectively save her life. This causes a rift in the space time continuum (think Back to the Future 2) and when he returns to the present day everything has changed including the fact that he no longer has powers. Over the course of the movie Barry figures out his mistake and works to fix the timeline with help from some familiar faces, but also a new hero that fans of the 90’s Image comics might recognize. Ultimately the Flash is able to save the day, but there are still some reverberations in the continuity that culminate in to what was eventually called “The New 52” which denoted the new 52 comic titles that DC was launching at number 0. These changes were not fully sussed out at the end of this movie, but most of the DC movies that follow this are directly related to the New 52 series. Now outside the change of continuity there is a very touching scene in which Flash, who remembers the original universe and his time spent in the Flashpoint universe, delivers Bruce (Batman) and a letter from Thomas (Flashpoint Batman and his Dad) that likely would provide some solace for the Dark Knight Detective.
Pros: Nightwing is yet another great figure in a DC Multiverse line that continues to impress. He has a solid sculpt with a lot of detail throughout the uniform, a great head sculpt with nice molded hair and comes with his signature batons that fit into molded clasps on his back. Articulation is McFarlane standard and works well for a number of decent poses. I also really appreciate the stand; even though it is simple, it really helps with display
Cons: Two minor things: the articulation cut on the waist is a bit too high up making him look like he is wearing wrestling trunks from the 70s and while I am accepting of the articulation scheme, a thigh swivel would be even better on these figures.
