It’s the long weekend, and AFB is being a good husband by sending Mrs AFB away for some R&R and looking after the kids. I happen to like my kids, so there are worse ways so spend a weekend.
One of the jobs Mrs AFB left me with was buying presents for upcoming birthday parties, which means time in the toy aisles, but the pink ones (“No, darling, Mummy doesn’t like Bratz or Barbie. Choose something else.”). Naturally, I’m not going to put myself under that kind of sufferance without going to the boys toys aisles for a bit of comfort.
Ben 10, Ben 10, Ben 10, Go Go Crazybones (a plague on the house of whoever invented that craze….), Transformers, Ben 10…. my local Toys R Us has condensed the superhero aisle into half an aisle to make room for all this other goofiness, so there’s not even much to trawl through anymore. I notice they have some Infinite Heroes, which isn’t new, because our TRU has had the Black Lightning / Dr Fate / Spectre wave for awhile, but then I notice there is a whole swag of new figures there, and the little fanboy in me gets VERY excited!
In all, I scored, Jay Garrick Flash, The Qwardian Weaponer, Alex Luthor, Wildcat. Question, Manhunter, Scarecrow and “Superman Prime”. This was quite an unexpected haul, and as excited as I was TRU nearly didn’t get my dollars due to one of the most unhelpful salespeople I have ever encountered (way too busy blowing up balloons to be of any actual assistance, etc.), but I persevered.
So here they are as a group with Supes and Bats, and also here’s a glimpse of the collection to date.
After eBaying the first few figures from Wave 1, I knew I could get addicted to this line but decided not to pursue it, because of the costs, exchange rate at the time, the doubt they’d ever reach Oz and also seeing that Marvel Universe was clearly going to overtake these in terms of detail and articulation. Then I found a few at retail here and couldn’t resist buying them, which got me on (off perhaps) the wagon again, and I ordered a whole swag from Mike of Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff. The ones I found this weekend fill a number of the holes of what Mike was out of stock of, so I am on the verge of being up to date with the collection so far. (I know I am missing Nightwing, Lex Luthor, Mary Marvel and a few others).
Articulation and detail wise, these aren’t Marvel Universe, but the character selection and the rate they’re being pumped out means you can amass a pretty impressive collection quickly which is fun. Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Zatanna are glaring holes in the line-up, but hopefully this speaks to the depth of the line. We’re covering lots of bases in terms of JLA, JSA, Titans and the Batman, Superman and Flash villains. Some Legion would be great in this line, hint hint! I’ve yet to see any real signs of the “new articulation” that Mattel have spoken about, however when I look at them next to the Marvel Universe figures I have to say they are easier to pose and take up less space on the display shelf, so I guess there are pluses and minuses. The one thing Mattel needs to work on is the balance for the caped characters, as Superman and Batman have to be posed in rather awkward (shall we say compromising?) positions to stand unassisted. Still, these are much easier to pose that JLU, as the only two figures in my entire display that won’t stand on their own are Starfire and Raven. Wildcat is a bit wobbly for some reason, but it’s the MA version, so hey, the guy’s like 100, right? Gotta cut some slack there.
So, mark Infinite Heroes down to another line I swore off and am now collecting. Why we’re getting these here at retail in Oz and not DCUC is a bit beyond me, but if they keep showing up then I guess I’m along for the ride!
There are more pictures at Facebook, you can discuss this post in the Infinite Heroes thread at the AFB Forum and don’t forget that by commenting on this post you’ll be entering the June AFB Comment of the Month Contest!
Until next time!
9 comments:
I see them here and there but compared to the Marcel Universe line and they just don't rate at all. It's a shame because I would have supported this line if only they had better sculpts and decent articulation.
The JLU line is far superior compared to the DCIH.
Such a shame.
Not a fan of the little guys, but the full display looks pretty good. Didn't know they were making a Superman Prime. I still look through the pegs hoping for a Ray Palmer Atom so I do a proper full size-to-mini diplay with DCUC wave 5, IH, and the mini one that was part of DCUC 8.
I'd collect this line more actively if they become easily available at retail here in Canada (we're at the Dr.Fate/Spectre/Lightning glut here in my province). Both I and my toddler have several. I'm just not willing to pay eBay prices plus shipping for them to keep current.
Glad you found them in Oz, though!
Love that they did Jay Garrick. As I mentioned on the MESS, not a fan of the sculpt style, but I do respond to the fact they're really trying to show the breadth of the DC Universe in this line. Damn those ham hands! Nice pics, Andy.
These sure look terrible on their own, but when posed in a group, they really start to shine.
Congrats on your nice big haul!
I have to admit that your display looks nicer than I thought it will be.
Ever since the beginning I was impressed by the range of characters they were planning, but the playmobil hands really turn me off.
On the other hand (sorry) perhaps I could feel different about them if they were easier to find here.
Don't be too confident, as we speak the creators of Ben 10 are planting moles in the toy store hierarchy and your short burst of retail confidence will soon erode as they continue to ensure that all superhero toys disappear by 2010.
Hm. The more I look at this the more I think I want a more complete display like yours. Curse you, Andy!
Looks like I'll be talking to MikeS...
Everytime I come back to this post I just see poor looking characters with such limited articulation and big, clumsy hands.
At least with the Super Powers they were cool back in the DAY.
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