Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
JLA (DC Direct)I was delighted when I heard about the coming of the DC Direct and Marvel Legends figures. I thought they would all be in scale with each other so I could mix and match teams. If they make them all in 6-inch scale with each other then everyone will want to buy all of them because they would be perfect no matter how you displayed them, or who you displayed them with, but sadly this doesn't seem to be the mentality behind toy-making. Seems like DC and Marvel wanted you to stick with only one of them. The scale went screwy somewhere along the way and now you have 7 inch DC characters standing next to 6 inch Marvel figures. Some of them are in scale, some of them aren't, and I'd love to review them all to tell you which they are, but I don't have the money for that! Both companies make beautiful art, but it is extremely annoying to have to bring a tape-measure with you into the store to decide whether to buy the toy or make a custom one yourself (so you'll have to buy more figures to make the custom, money money money...). I looked around at the couple of Hal Jordans made and decided that this one from Alex Ross's Justice League line had the best likeness to him. I don't like what Ross did to Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman, (they look too old and fat, lol) but Hal is just right. I always wanted a 6 inch Hal, but...
Hal stands 7 1/4 inches tall, way too tall to fit into Marvel's line. I just can't get over the likeness! This looks exactly like Hal did in the old comic books! (when he wasn't drifting across the country with his grizzly beard, heh). He wears his original suit, not the new one with the green part ending in a point at the waist. He has a soft matte finish everywhere except for the gloss on his white gloves and lips. His eyes are nicely painted and they have that confident, determined look all Green Lanterns must have. But some of the parts on his suit (where the green meets the black) are a little sloppy, which is extremely annoying on a figure that looks like a finely sculpted statue. The Green Lantern symbol on his chest is well painted, but it is a little lop-sided on the bottom. This was done on purpose so when you look at him from a higher angle the symbol looks perfect. Great, but when you look at him straight-on (as 90% of the time you do) the symbol looks lop-sided on the bottom! (you'll get used to it, ha). There are some wrinkles on his ankles and gloves for detail.
As with all DC Direct figures, Hal has limited articulation. As the package says, he is a "Collector Action Figure", meaning he's meant to be kept on a dusty shelf forever, not played with, not EVER. His neck swivels, shoulders are ball-socket joints, elbows are hinged, hips are hinged, knees are hinged, and his boots swivel. It would have been nice if at least his right hand could turn so he could be posed like he's actually using the damn ring instead of staring at you, mocking you, laughing at how you'll never be a Green Lantern. Another thing, the ring looks nothing like a GL ring! It doesn't have a miniature lantern on it, it looks more like the letter "U". Why would they make such a nice figure and then space-out on the important details!? And I really hate those hip-joints. They're ugly and should have been left out. You can't pose him any other way than standing upright (or he'll topple over) so what was the point of adding those ugly joints? Sure, he comes with a great-looking stone/metal base, with pegs on it so you can stabilize him, but if you deviate from the standard upright position he still falls. At least he comes with his nifty Power Battery, which by the way, can't be held in any reasonable position or be posed to look like he's charging the ring. I hate him. No, wait, I love Hal! 5 stars!...well, 4 and a half...
  4.5 stars by Henchmen4Hire Please wait... |
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