The big bad Black Manta is Aquaman's nemesis and another figure seeing release in Mattel's first wave of the Batman: Brave and the Bold figures based on the television show of the same name. This is one of the best figures in the line so far and more toys like this will help to keep this line on people' minds.
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Black Manta actually escapes the big problem with the sculpting in this line better than the rest. Although he has huge hexagonal holes all over his body, they don't look nearly as bad from the front, and almost seem to look okay from the side too. Because he's so dark and technological looking the holes aren't as jarringly ugly on him as other figures. On the hero toys, you can see the shape of the hole from the front and it's much less visible here; his arms and legs look very naturally curved. His sculpt is also considerably more detailed than the heroes with a lot of sculpted extras like his boot tops, belt pouches, backpack, and decorated collar. He also has lines carved into his thighs, chest, and back that make it obvious he's wearing some kind of high tech suit. This extra detail gives him a much better look without pulling him ou of the style of the cartoon. The villains in this line sure seemed to get more attention than the heroes. His head sculpt is super thin, proving there's no way a head could fit inside that helmet but it's a nice evil style very reminiscent of the animal he draws his name from. The cables running from his head to his backpack also add a cool visual element without restricting movement too much. The manta accessory is a little silly as expected but its sculpt is simple and efficient. Overall, Black Manta has a great cartoony profile and will stand out in your display of B:BatB figures.
Sculpt Score: 8 / 10 - Good details while staying show-accurate, nice profile, holes aren't pretty but they don't look as bad as on other figures, accessory is simple but effective.
This
figure is done in almost entirely two colors, black and dark purple,
with only a little red and yellow for highlights. The color scheme
works relatively well, as I like how the purple is dark enough to make
it hard to distinguish from the black in anything other than optimal
lighting. The difference is quite clear in these photos, but in an
average room, the colors are much more similar. This respects Black
Manta's usual all black color scheme but still shows a little
light-heartedness with the purple. The applications are actually pretty good, especially considering the mass-market nature of this figure. The color shifts are straight and slop-free, and even the small details like the circle belt buckle is very cleanly applied. The yellow eyes have a little bit of black coming through, so thicker coverage would nice and one of my red neck cables scraped or smeared with a line of black running along it. The color consistency from chest to arms looks good here too unlike on the previously reviewed figures.
Paint Score: 9 / 10 - Good colors that match the show and the character, nice applications in most areas, a few small problems, all the colors match across plastics.
Black Manta shares the same basic articulation model as other figures in the series. This means swivles at the hips, a swivel waist and neck, shoulder swivels, and hinged elbows. This isn't awful for a cartoon based toy at this scale, but Mattel really needs to up the leg articulation here. I'll again recommend some DCUC style hips and knee hinges if not ankle movement as well. Wrist cuts and ball shoulders would be nice too. The good news is that every joint there is worked very well and holds its position, should you ever manage to find a reasonable position that isn't just standing straight up. His neck is limited a little at the far left and right angles by the cables running to his backpack, but it still has a decent range of movement. In the end, it's just hard to pose or play with this guy thanks to this weak articulation model.
Articulation Score: 4 / 10 - There is some articulation, just not enough, everything worked well, neck is slightly limited, no fun for posing or play.
Everyone needs a villain, especially Aquaman and although Black Manta may not be a super famous character, he gets the villain job done well enough. He's got a cool style that's evil without being scary and since he's based on an animal, people can base their fun around that. The actual toy is built in a way for kids to have an easy time playing with but it leaves something to be desired for the average collector with such drastically limited posing options. He does include a big accessory that looks cool and should prove fun for fight scenes but the way in which it's supposed to interact with the hexagonal holes seems contrived to me. Maybe when more accessories hit, or possibly with the deluxe figures, these holes will make up for their ugliness with fun, but they haven't for any of the figures I've reviewed thus far, including Black Manta. More articulation and even an action feature of some sort would be reasonable at this price range and would really up the ante on the enjoyment side of things.
Fun Score: 4 / 10 - Recognizable villain with an interesting design, includes a big accessory, no posing due to weak articulation, no action feature which would help, holes for accessory seem silly and wasted.
This 5 inch figure is around $8 and available at most retailers. That's an okay price for an action figure of this size that may not be tall but is in fact pretty wide and feels solid in your hands. It's licensed for a popular show and they've done a good job replicating that style so it's good to know that attention has been paid to the figure. Not everyone may know this character or feel particularly attached to him so having the figure isn't going to be as rewarding. There's a fairly big accessory to help this package feel a little more worth it. On that note, packaging itself is pretty weak with no character bios or even figure specific images on the back. Every figure has the exact same card and a little more effort on that front would've been nice. The real measure of value is how much fun you're going to have with a toy over the course of time, and with this figure that just depends on your love of the character or the show. I personally don't think I'll be enjoying this guy for the rest of time, but having him on my shelf won't be a bad thing either.
Value Score: 6 / 10 - Durable and tough toy, decent sized figure for the price, lazy packaging, comes with a big accessory, may not be that fun for long, may not be attached to character.
Summary
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9
4
4
6
Overall Score: 62 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy
Black Manta impresses with great and show accurate sculpting and paint, but falters when it comes to articulation, fun, and value.
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).
-The Articulated One
