This classic Parademon is another DCUC  figure with a lot of unique tooling.  Almost every single piece of this figure is a mold we’ve never seen before, and that’s wonderful, because he’s visually diverse and made to look exactly like he should. They thankfully didn’t cut any corners, and it really pays off.  I can’t possibly go through every part of this costume and describe how detailed it is because there is just so much to see.  Raised lines, spikes, carved shapes, rivets, bands, buttons, grooves, layers; there are so many little touches, and they always come out in the plastic, not just in the paint. The Four Horsemen really captured the Kirby-tech look with his costume. It’s obvious he’s a part of the 4th world next to characters like Big Barda, Mr. Miracle, and Kalibak. I particularly love the shapes utilized across his body, they just make him look really good, like someone spent their every last second making sure things were perfect. I will admit that his arms do come across a bit barren, but it matches the character design they were striving for, and with details galore everywhere else anyway, it’s hard to complain.
     His proportions are pretty much perfect as well, hunched, a little short, and only slightly dangerous looking. The muscles that are visible look appropriate, while his hands, feet, and head all seem about the right size too.  His head sculpt is full of wrinkles, ugly crooked teeth,  and a clearly defined mask with goggles and “ear muffs” that all pull together well into a cool expression. The accessories match the design of the character really well, and the two handed weapon looks great when posed in both hands as intended. The smaller yellow laser blaster isn't my favorite design ever, but the thing fits, it was just obviously designed with this guy's red cousin in mind. I could talk about this all day, although all I really need to say is that this figure looks great no matter how you pose him or which spot you're looking at. This is as close to a perfect sculpt as I've seen in this line yet, and that's saying a lot.  

Sculpt Score: 10 / 10

      As awesome as Parademon's sculpt is, his paint is actually pretty close to being as good, but not quite there yet. First off, the colors are just perfect to my eyes. The green and yellow complement one another so well and he just pops when you look at him alone or in a crowd of figures. The yellow is bright enough while avoiding any orange or green shades sneaking their way in. I think the yellow could have come across "toyish", but the orange/red airbrushing added to various parts really helps give it that more realistic feel. The same effect was too heavy on past figures (Flash), and yet it looks great here. The green is actually a few different shades, very subtly different, but intermixed to great effect. There are also little hints of gold here are there, banded across certain parts of the costume, and they look great. They add the technological flair and tie the costume into his accessory as well. His skin is a deep gray with flecks of brown. It gives him an insect-like look and matches old Darkseid pretty well too. Even the applications here seem much better than the DCUC standard as of late. All of the color shifts in his costume meet up with the sculpt lines quite nicely and even circles and complex patterns came out straight. There are a few spots where the yellow is distorted by the color of the plastic underneath and the occasional speck of misplaced paint, but both cases are rare compared to normal. The applications around his face are mostly crisp and bring out the facial expression well. When using his ab crunch articulation, the inside of the joint is visible and just a mess of green/yellow, so don't plan on posing him that way and retaining his "handsomeness". Both accessories feature some sort of technological detailing with a second paint color, and they look great in both cases. This is really the best painted DCUC figure I've seen in a while with just a few small problems, so I'm exceedingly pleased. 

Paint Score: 9 / 10 

      Parademon benefits from a mostly standard DCUC style articulation model (see above). There are a couple differences that do augment an otherwise very functional set of joints. For instance, his biceps may be swivels, but they're somewhat limited due to the shoulder cup. You can't turn them a full 360 degrees around like you could a normal biceps swivel. Of course there's virtually no reason to need to turn an arm that far, so I don't see it as a problem. Another main difference is the placement of more standard style ball joints at the hips and shoulders. These actually offer a great range of movement than the DC standard, and don't compromise the appearance of the figure either, because steps are taken to cover them up. They really might look okay even if they were clearly visible, just because this character is kind of insect-like anyway. One last thing is that this Parademon only has a swivel at his neck instead of a full ball joint. This means it's hard to get the right head pose out of him, and actually impossible to get him to look to the side without moving his entire body. The rest of his joints all have full ranges of motion and enable you to place him into some dynamic poses, whether in a horde of his brethren or just solo. The ability to effectively hold his two-handed weapon is a great touch, and shows the considerations that were made to complement sculpt and articulation. On a more sour note, his leg joints are really loose. You can get him to stand with some fiddling, but it's not always easy. This is particularly bad with his ankles, and seems to be a consistent problem anytime Mattel uses these hip joints (MotUC, at least for me). Nothing was stuck, broken, or missing, and that's always a good way to keep some points on the board.

Articulation Score: 8 / 10

 

Fun Score: 8 / 10

     Here's another DCUC figure at around $12, and much like the others, Parademon is a pretty good deal. I think he's worth even more considering the number of unique parts you're getting here. While some past figures just feel like something you already owned, Parademon is so different and will add a ton of spice to any DCUC display. That alone is a huge boost to his value, but there is a lot in the package for your money too. He includes two brand new accessories (sort of three depending on how you look at it), as well as the collect & connect Giganta's arm. That's like getting 1/6th of a figure totally free, although obviously not as useful if you aren't buying the entire wave. Parademon isn't a big figure, and yet he feels heavy in your hands and there is still a lot of actual plastic here, with his wings and thick torso and all. he feels quite sturdy without any broken joints, but his legs were loose, and may only get worse, so that could be a problem down the road. The packaging is nice enough to keep around, and no New Gods display is going to be complete without this figure. He could stand to be a dollar or two cheaper, especially if you have to buy him online (which is likely), and that's his only problem, because he's an otherwise fantastic deal. 

Value Score: 9 / 10  

Summary

10 - Amazing looking figure everytime you see him; tons of unique molds to add flavor; face sculpt is enjoyable; accessories look great; nice Parademon-like proportions. 

9 - Lots of colors that work well together; mostly perfect applications; some nice airbrushing effects here and there; accessories aren't skimped out on; face has all the details right; some slop here and there. 

8 - A lot of points offer posing/play options galore; some loose leg issues; where's my ball joint?; looks good with sculpt.

8 - Sometimes frustrating to stand him up; not a super well known character; hard to army build at this price; does look amazing on your shelf; has cool accessories; articulation is great to add life to figure; interesting info on package.

9 - Includes two brand new accessories; comes with a Collect & Connect piece, lots of brand new molds being used; will add diversity to displays; leg looseness might decrease lasting value; price is just a hair too high. 

 

 

Parademon is a surprisingly great figure that offers everything technically and is a charmer too!

P.S. This could be the figure I'm giving away this month, just leave a comment for a chance to win (if it's the one).