I'm willing to bet that once you've thought about it for just a bit, you'll realize that DC Comics' Deadman is actually your greatest nightmare. He's an acrobatic zombie. Imagine a zombie somersaulting towards you, teeth bared. Commence weeping in terror.
Name: Deadman
Line: DC Universe Classics, Wave 11, Figure 3
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: Fall 2009
Price: Retail: $14.00-$16.00, Online: $15.00-$22.00
Scale: 6.00 in. (Figure is 6.75 in. tall)
Accessories: None
Collect & Connect Piece: Kilowog's right arm
Sponsor Listings: Ka-Razy Kings of Toys-$20.99, Mike's Comics N' Stuff-$16.99, Amazon-$16.99
It's so nice when a DC Universe Classics figure gets lots of new tooling, and Deadman gets just that, as he's all new. I'm a little surprised that they devoted so much extra work (and cash) into getting Deadman exactly right, but they did, and it was worth it. The bone-skinny frame and lengthy proportions are very reminiscent of his various comic book appearances, really getting to the core of his most familiar look. He actually looks like a slightly decayed gymnast wearing a skin tight suit, with various taut muscle striations and veiny textures. The basic slim body other figures have utilized doesn't have all these skeletal details, and they make Deadman stand out from the crowd in a very good way. His feet and hands are all new pieces, showcasing tons of clothing wrinkles and seams, along with taking interesting shapes. His hands have a creepy "zombie reach" pose to them, and even though I usually prefer one open and one closed hand, this works perfectly for the character. His back is totally free of any ugly plug lines (not even the newer super subtle ones), although unfortunately the flat crotch is still present and accounted for in all its lack of appeal.
As good as his body sculpt is, I really think things take aim for the skies with his head and upper torso. I showed some non toy people (i.e., they weren't made of plastic) this figure, and they remarked at how amazingly detailed his face was. I certainly can't disagree, because there lots of beautiful bold wrinkles, subtle textures, and quiet facial details worked into his seemingly tight face. This undead, almost rotting facade let the Four Horsemen sculpting team work their magic with lots more potential than just a normal healthy face would provide. And they took advantage of the opportunity to shine, matching his mug to the stretched and tensed neck and ribcage visible just below. And even though his expression is quite dramatic, it still works for lots of emotions or displays. It just wouldn't seem right to make such an animated character with a neutral expression, so I'm glad they avoided that trap. You might notice that his ears don't feature any details, which is odd, but doesn't detract too much. He also has a small piece of excess plastic on the side of his head that grabs the eye in an unfavorable way, though it's an unlikely defect, and a small one at that.
One last thing to discuss is the enormous disco collar. It looks like something you'd put on a sick dog, not anything a human being should wear, but there it is, and honestly, I think they did as well with it as could be expected. The collar itself is a separate piece from the torso, plugged into his back and then also slid into slits on his chest. There are some visible gaps here and there, but actually molding it onto the torso would likely have been impossible (and susceptible to damage), so this works for what it is. It's definitely ugly, though it's also definitely deadman, so they made the best of a bad situation, a win in my book.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
If you're not a fan of the color red, you're probably not going to enjoy looking at this fellow, because he's pretty much covered head to toe in it. A lot of people have criticized the two-tone nature of the red on his costume, but to me it's a welcome respite from monotony, offering that splash of brightness to break up the more muted red that composes most of his costume. The lines separating the two reds at his forearms and feet are crisp and straight, and each shade matches other occurences of the color throughout. Things aren't quite so clean looking around his collar. It's actually painted the brighter shade of red on the inside and the line gets a little sloppy around the outside edges, bleeding onto his gray chest occasionally as well. The "D" insignia on his stomach is perfectly crisp around the edges, but not applied quite thick enough to cover the red underneath, resulting in a less-than-pure white. It's certainly subtle, and not necessarily even a problem, but I thought you should know.
Once again his head is where things excel, because all the applications around his mouth and eyes are stunningly well done. There's a nifty darker gray added around the outside of his piercing white eyes, while crooked teeth are deftly painted onto his blackened mouth. Deadman also features some dark airbrushing here and there to accentuate his muscles and sculpting details, much like every other DCUC figure of late. It's not a distinct or particularly obvious effect, yet the effort is appreciated and it doesn't hurt his appearance at all.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
Although this toy may not be able to move like the trapeze-artist it represents, there's still enough articulation here to find some fun poses. Deadman features the usual set of joints for the line (detailed in the image above), which is a respectable collection of points that all work nicely and look fine in the process. His joints are tight enough without being annoyingly so, and none of them are broken, stuck, or feel weak. His neck suffers from the latest consistent problem in DCUC, a total lack of the range that a ball joint should have, and is instead just a swivel with a very small potential for any side tilt or up and down movement. All his other joints have nice ranges of motion, moving as you'd expect them to, a helpful situation that should be replicated in the neck. I will say that his ankles don't feature the typical "rocker" movement that most DCUC figures do. No past figures actually have rocker joints built in, but their ankles are usually loose enough that their feet remain flat footed in some wider stances. With deadman, they don't rock at all, and I do miss it a little, even though I never give figures credit when they do posses that possibility.
Articulation Score: 9 / 10
It's hard to say that a figure is truly fun when it doesn't include any accessories or have any action features, as is the case with Deadman here. Of course he's got a nice articulation model that makes posing and photography enjoyable (you can see I had fun taking pictures for the review), but that only goes so far when having stuff to do with him would actually be nice. The character isn't particularly famous or noteworthy, so only die hard fans will be jumping for joy just because he's Deadman, while the rest of us will be wondering what to do with him. He's not exactly a fighting character, coming in much too scrawny and without any fists, limiting his play potential to a degree. The packaging adds a few short diversions thanks to nifty cross-sells and an interesting biography, though that won't go far towards entertainment. Deadman does include a large chunk of a Collect & Connect piece, a fun side activity that requires you to buy multiple figures in order to build one giant one. And since Kilowog the Green Lantern is the C&C character for this wave, I suspect a lot of people will enjoy assembling that big poozer. Nothing frustrating or problematic takes away from what fun Deadman is, which is a good thing, because he's not all that much fun to begin with.
Fun Score: 6 / 10
And once again, an otherwise great figure is going to be adversely impacted by a price that's just too high. At the new retail price of approximately $14-$16, DCUC is a line that's quite simply overpriced. Deadman doesn't seem like quite the ripoff compared to other figures that are totally devoid of new tooling (it's expensive, and I realize that when buying a figure). Since he is so unique looking and will definitely stand out in you displays thanks to this tooling, adding much needed visual diversity, it's worth an extra dollar or two. Given that's he's also free of any major quality control issues, the paint is relatively good, and his articulation is all there, he's definitely more reasonably priced than many other figures in the line. But even with all those positives, without any accessories and only one C&C piece, $12 would be a much more feasible price to me and many others.
Value Score: 6 / 10
9 / 10 - New tooling and details make him look amazing.
8 / 10 - Good colors and mostly clean applications.
9 / 10 - Not exactly an acrobat, but close.
6 / 10 - No accessories or interesting design elements to up the ante.
6 / 10 - This price range is too much for an average sized figure without many extras.
78 / 100 - This is a Good Toy
Deadman would be a great purchase if he were a few dollars cheaper, but thanks to his price, he's now reserved for completists or Boston Brand fanatics. Deadman might posess people for a living, but nothing about this figure says you absolutely have to posess him.
-The Articulated One
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