The Spectre's sculpt is dangerously simple. He has a very basic costume design that does nothing to add to the visual appeal of his form. There are cuffs around the wrists and ankles that break up his profile a little, but the "shorts" are just painted on. His actual body is quite basic too, with very subtle musculature in the legs and arm, with more pronounced abs and pecs. He's relatively slim looking, although not like a Marvel Universe figure that's as skinny as a board. Proportions are natural enough for an angel of vengeance which is to say everything looks normal except for his giant hands, much like his DCIH brethren. They're also sculpted in an open position for an undetectable reason, because he doesn't include any usable accessories, nor does it seem realistic that he could use other figures' (if any others in the line actually included accessories, which they never do). His cape is actually a separate piece that rests on his head and shoulders. It doesn't fit all that snugly, but it works and you can remove it if you like. It's also one of the more detailed aspects of this toy, with wrinkles that hang just right. I do wish it was a bit more wild, billowing, and enveloping like it's often depicted in the comics. His boots and gloves also have very minor clothing wrinkles details that add just a little bit more life into an otherwise lifeless sculpt. Most of the edges here look a little soft, and crisper shapes would have been nice, but I think it was a deliberate choice to make the toy fit a child's eye and keep the line consistently simple in appearance, much the same reason that cape is less "alive", because it matches the style of the line. The style of the line just doesn't suit this character. The face work is commendable, with strong angles and clean features that matches the look of the current Spectre in the comics. Overall, there's nothing terrible about this sculpt, and there's also nothing that great about it either.   

Sculpt Score: 6 / 10

The Spectre's paint is alarming simple. The only actual applications he features are his green boots, gloves, underwear and bear/eyeliner. There aren't any intricate patterns or costume details to let the paint shine, but I have a feeling that's a good thing anyway, because I doubt it would have been well delivered. The lines for his costume details aren't even straight when they're this simple. They're jagged and often the green doesn't extend far enough on to the white, leaving the tops of his boots and gloves the color of skin. The detail on his face is done well enough with eyes that are brought out by gray eyeliner as well as a clean cut goatee that's dusted on to look sort of like hair, especially for a figure this size. It captures the look of the current Spectre and that's what they were going for. The colors themselves are great choices. The white is subtle and just grayed enough to avoid looking bad, while the green is a bold shade that will work well for kids' eyes. I would have preferred a darker forest green here, although I understand why they selected this one: it matches up with the line, so I can respect that. The color of his cape doesn't match perfectly with the green on his body. It's still not a bad enough difference to bother anyone.My last gripe is the actual design of his "shorts", which extend 1/8th of an inch above his waist articulation. Why not just cut the paint off at the waist, so that you don't highlight that waist joint? Also, the way the shorts are painted within the hip joints, making a clear letter "T" is hideous. No one has shorts or underwear that fits that way, but I guess as an omnipotent angel of god, he can do whatever he likes.   

Paint Score: 5 / 10

Another DCIH toy with abysmal articulation. In this day and age, it's hardly acceptable for a toy to only have 10 points. He has hinged knees and elbows, swivels at the hips, waist, and neck, and finally ball style shoulders. This doesn't allow for a lot of cool poses, if any cool poses. The Spectre will be exacting vengeance while standing straight up. A kid playing with him might be just fine with these limited options, but for a collector trying to pose him on a shelf, he makes it quite difficult. The articulation does all work well enough with no frozen or loose joints. It's important to note that when wearing his cape, the shoulder and neck articulation are restricted to almost being useless. None of the joints look particularly ugly, though nothing is hidden well either. As mentioned previously, the paint at his waist brings out the swivel cut, and it looks distracting, so some better communication there would have been helpful. 

Articulation Score: 4 / 10

   

The Spectre is a really fun character if you like him, which isn't exactly saying a lot. I don't think this toy is fun even if you do like him a lot. To start, there's so little articulation that actually doing anything with this figure is instantly difficult. Playing or displaying are both limited and limit the amount of entertainment you can get out of this guy. He doesn't include any accessories (technically his cape is removable), and there's nothing about the toy himself to make him fun such as size or interesting design. To anyone who doesn't know better, he's mainly just a half-naked man who's never seen the sun and wants to dress up in his underwear and a cape, and as much fun as that is to do, it's not much fun to play with a toy representing it. The packaging is okay, with a short biography and some statistics on the back, which can give you a little something to work with in regards to characterization, but he's still really lacking there, making it hard to engage him in meaningful play. His design might be kid friendly, although that just means he doesn't look cool or have any dynamic style, another punch to the gut in the fun department. 

Fun Score: 3 / 10

I know that the toy market is experiencing an increase in prices pretty much every day that passes, but I think Mattel pushed the price on these figures a little too far ahead a lot too soon. I purchased this toy for $7 at Wal-Mart, although you can find them a little cheaper at Target (If you can find any past the first wave, or any at all at Target). At that price this toy is a horrendous deal. There are no included accessories, it's a small figure, and the packaging isn't stellar or anything either. GI Joes are at a similar scale and the same price point, but they come with a veritable cornucopia of accessories compared to the average DCIH toy, and Spectre's story is no different. On the physical side of things, he feels somewhat sturdy and ready for rough play, although he's definitely not a tank either. There aren't any problems or production errors, so that helps the perception of value, but when it comes down to it, what are you really getting for your money? The answer is not much, and what's there isn't any fun. 

Value Score: 3 / 10 

Summary

 6 - Proportions are okay except for big (and open?) hands, head looks good, cape is a letdown, some detail work, natural muscle groups, simple design for kids that may flounder with adults.

 5 - Really basic paint job that's still messed up, wonky costume detail applications, face looks clean and clear, colors work mostly, "shorts" design is ugly. 

4 - Not much articulation offered, joints work well, some are limited in range of motion, look okay except for waist cut. 

3 - Nothing about his design or style is fun, little articulation to mess around with, no accessories, character isn't well known, packaging is okay with added info. 

 3 - Costs way too much, no accessories or pack-ins, is a small figure, not much fun for the long haul, sturdy and well made, packaging is okay though not amazing. 

Overall Score: 43 / 100 - This is a Poor Toy

The Spectre doesn't have much to offer, and it's offered a much too high a price. 

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).