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REVIEW: DC Collectibles The New 52 Super Villains SUICIDE SQUAD
Harley Quinn, Deadshot, And Captain Boomerang Out For Mischief...
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DC Collectibles’ line of action figures from the New 52 has come a long way since its debut with the core members of the Justice League. Branching out into other popular heroes and villains from the current world of DC Comics, they’ve provided fans with everyone from Black Adam to Vibe. A major expansion has been the Super Villains lineup that’s packed with awesome characters we love to hate, and that’s where you’ll find the dastardly anti-heroes of Suicide Squad: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang! Relaunched along with the rest of the DC Universe in the New 52, Suicide Squad brought back Amanda Waller and her secret team of killers, criminals, and crazies being forced to work on the side of good... or die trying. Thanks to DC Collectibles, fans of the series and its over the top characters can now take home three of the most famous members, which we’ll take a look at here today.
The Suicide Squad figures come in packaging that looks very similar to the other New 52 figures, with a twist. Each is packed in a tall window box with J-hook top where you’ll find the series name and crosshairs logo. The boxes are black like the other Super Villains, immediately differentiated from the white of the heroes. The window to see the figure is provided by the DC “peel” logo, which provides a swath of red on the right side of the front panel with bullet holes and the figure’s name. One side of the package has a black on red silhouette of the character while the other features a photo of the figure along with the name of its sculptor.
The back of each Suicide Squad member’s box has a tiny thumbnail image of the figure along with an “Also Available” section showing off the other two; in between is a very brief accounting of the character and the Squad. As with all of the New 52 packaging these are sleek and sophisticated, if a little more “down and dirty” thanks to the crosshairs and bullet holes!
While we may still have to wait for a character as large as King Shark, DC’s trio offers three solid choices with respect both to their importance in comics and their appearance as figures. Harley Quinn is the most famous of course, and she’s never been more popular than right now with her appearances in the Arkham games, her own comic book, etc. The deranged clown appears in the New 52 with a distinctive red and blue outfit with alternating colors and matching hair. Also rising in fame thanks to the character’s appearance in the TV show Arrow is Deadshot, the marksman and assassin with a cybernetic eye and high tech gadgets. A member of the Suicide Squad since its New 52 relaunch, Floyd Lawton wears a full body armor suit with built in weapons, extra ammunition, and a helmet with advanced optics. And then there’s Captain Boomerang, a character that’s existed in DC Comics since 1960, sometimes as a joke and at others a serious threat. The current version of Digger Harkness is an athletic man wearing a long coat, scarf, cap, and a brace of boomerangs on a bandolier. All three Suicide Squad members stand about 6 ¾ inches tall, the default for DC Collectibles figures in this standard scale.
DC’s in house figures are always well sculpted, and this trio is no different. And thanks to the notes on their packaging, we even know whom to thank (Harley - Jack Mathews, Deadshot - Dave Cortes, Cap - Phil Ramirez)! Each figure looks just like his or her comic book appearance in 3D, with the overall aesthetics of the line. And as I noted above each one really does have something unique to offer in figure form. Harley looks great and has one of the best sculpted female bodies I’ve seen in a while; she’s feminine but not overly sexy, and she’s sturdy on her feet thanks to limbs that aren’t stick thin. Quinn’s costume is appropriately minimal but highly detailed with sculpted strings on her vest, lines in her stockings, individual bullets on her belts, and more. Mathews really nailed her distinctive hair, and her face has that perfect blend of cute and crazy! About as far from the skimpy dressed Harley as you can get is the fully covered Deadshot! Essentially a suit of high tech armor, this figure has awesome layering starting with the textured bodysuit and adding plates, rivets, pads, and more armor segments. With only minimal armor over the undersuit it’s obvious that Deadshot prizes mobility and flexibility as much or more than protection. There are really nice details on this figure like the extra ammo mounted on his chest, the gauntlets with built in guns, and of course the sleek monocular helmet. Last but not least is Captain Boomerang, a figure with tremendous attitude. Starting with a very skinny torso and lower body, Ramirez was able to build up the shoulder area and arms with the coat without having to get too bulky. This figure is all about the clothing, and what he’s wearing is covered in realistic details like seams, creases, the flowing movement of his coat, and more. On his chest Harkness wears a solid brace of non-removable boomerangs, and a long soft plastic scarf covers his long neck. Best of all is the superb headsculpt with one of the most striking faces I’ve seen in a while.
Going hand in hand with their unique qualities are the colors and designs of these characters, and again that’s conveyed impressively on the figures. Harkness is the darkest of the trio with his primarily black and blue color scheme, but that’s nicely broken up by silver accents on his boots, belt, hat, and weapons. The Captain’s hat is the darkest blue on him with a shade lighter on his shirt and then a very pale blue appearing on his scarf and the trim on his jacket and other clothing. Boomerang’s expressive face is very well painted with the red hair, blue eyes, and thick black eyebrows. He may not be flashy, but this figure is very well done. Floyd’s armor has very little in the way of gradation, with each part of the suit in specific colors. The bodysuit is maroon, which helps to make the silver of the armor layered on it really pop. Meanwhile, Deadshot’s boots and gloves are gold, and brown shows up on the ammo pouches and straps on the thigh pads. Lawton’s helmet has red details on the ocular apertures and even a black reticule. Finally, Quinn shows off plenty of skin with a very pale tone, on top of which the dark red and blue of her costume vie for your eyes’ focus. Except for the forearm guards and cape, all of the figure’s colored clothing is reversed past the centerline and makes for some interesting dichotomies. Gold appears on Harley’s belt buckle, bullets, and buckles on her pistol holsters, and her crucially important face details look great with the black mask, red lipstick, and crazy blue eyes.
If I asked you just a couple of years ago where you thought these figures from DC would lack, I bet your answer would have been “articulation.” Well, I’m happy to report that following the recent and steady trend these Suicide Squad figures are very nicely poseable! Deadshot has a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, ball-jointed hips, knees, calves, ankles, and even hinged shoulder armor. Captain Boomerang rocks a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, forearms, waist, ball-jointed hips, knees, calves, and ankles. Finally, Harley has a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, biceps, elbows, forearms, T-crotch, thighs, knees, and ponytails! With all three you can tell that articulation was included where it made sense and wouldn’t break up the look and feel of the figure, and I particularly like that Harley has good movement without destroying the form and function of her relatively narrower limbs.
The Suicide Squad wouldn’t get very far without their weapons, and so they’re action figures too come with some pretty wicked accessories. We’ve got to start with Captain Boomerang who comes with, you guessed it, a boomerang! Solid, silver, and big, the Australian trademark fits well in Harkness’ grasping right hand, and can be balanced in the open left. There’s also an open slot on the bandolier where you can insert the loose one, but it’s much bigger than the others and looks a bit out of place. Deadshot has guns on his gauntlets, but for the major targets there’s no substitute for a real gun, and the figure comes with a huge one! Some sort of high tech assault rifle, this accessory has a very impressive sculpt with tons of details someone who’s more into guns would be able to identify. I see a forehand grip, multiple optics, and more. Floyd holds the rifle perfectly in his left hand, complete with a trigger finger that fits into the guard; the only slightly disappointing thing is that he can’t hold/use the weapon with both hands, but check out my photos to see all of the cool poses you can put him in anyway. Crazy old Harley Quinn has built in holsters on her thighs, and into those you can place her two included semi-automatic pistols that also fit very well in her open hands. She also comes with a (perfectly) ridiculous sledgehammer that she can be posed with in a variety of ways including single and two handed wielding!
DC Collectibles has done a very good job individually with these figures, really capturing their unique appearances and attributes in plastic both with respect to sculpt and paint applications. And just like on the team, while you wouldn’t necessarily expect them to mesh they work even better together. For fans of the Suicide Squad book (and naturally of the characters themselves), these figures are really must haves for your collections. Harley Quinn is of course a hot property these days, and this is a great figure to represent her no matter how you came to love her. On the other hand, I can see a lot of armor collectors picking up this Deadshot for his great look and articulation. Captain Boomerang may be the most acquired taste of the trio, but one look at his incredibly expressive facial sculpt and you may want to give him a shot at sneering his way to the front of your DC shelf. All three of these Suicide Squad figures are currently available with an MSRP of $24.95, and can be found directly at DC Entertainment.
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin
Review Samples Courtesy of DC Collectibles
Re: REVIEW: DC Collectibles The New 52 Super Villains SUICIDE SQUAD
Grabbed the Harley as soon as I saw her hit the pegs a couple of months ago. But turned out one of her arms has a bit of a problem with the top of the bicep piece not fitting snugly to the shoulder joint piece and creating an ugly gap. It bothers me every time I look at it. :rolleyes:
I want the Captain too but I'm having trouble finding him anywhere.
