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DC Collectibles- DC Icons: The Joker.
In a move that shouldn’t surprise any of the 5 people that read these reviews, I have decided to rank some DC based media for each one of the DC figures review. Yes I am running out of things to write about and I’m not sure that you want to hear the back story on how I got Joker from the AMAZING Toy Traders action figure mecha located in Vancouver. I’m not even kidding when I say that it was possibly the coolest thing that I have ever seen as a toy collector and it is well worth the trip if you are every in or around the area. Hell, I could have easily got this at my local comic store in Calgary for cheaper and without the tax, but I could not leave empty handed. At any rate, given that the DC cinematic universe is not really a thing and that Ranking all the Batman movies would mean that I would have to watch “Batman and Robin” I thought I would instead focus on something I actually really like- the DC direct to DVD movies. Given that there are so many different ones with a wide variety of styles and stories I decided not to rank them rather opting to review them in release order using three easy metrics: animation style, voice acting and overall story. There are also a few outliers that are sill DC but released by different studios that I’ll get to eventually, but for now just the ones listed on the DC Animated wiki.
Pros: I’m not certain which specific comic this Joker is based on, but I really like the sculpt and overall look. It’s a bit of a unique take given the past iterations have not included a purple hat and trench coat and while it’s not my preferred Joker look, it works fairly well. He comes with a decent selection of Joker specific accessories and a decent enough articulation scheme. Outside of that feel I should mention again that this Icons line was something really special and if I’m being honest I understand how it was not sustainable. Consider that every figure was unique and did not share a body type; could you imagine if Marvel Legends did this?
Cons: This Joker figure is 60% great and 40% disappointing, so while there is a lot to love, it still falls short of being great. For example, he comes with 2 weapons and only left hands to hold them with; like why not include something else to hold the crowbar with. Also, while the hat looks cool it somewhat limits the view of the great head sculpt and a “hatless’ head sculpt should have been included. Lastly, and this is NO surprise, taking a note from Hasbro, the long trench coat limits a lot of the lower body articulation.
