With Wave 7 out of the way, it's time to dive into Mattel's DC Universe Classics 8th Wave, starting with Gentleman Ghost. He's a ghoulish DC Comics villain and now he has been immortalized in plastic. The question is whether this distinguished fellow is going to haunt your toy collecting dreams, or did Mattel turn out a figure of the friendly variety? Forgive me for all the puns and read on to see how he scores.
Name: Gentleman Ghost
Line: DC Universe Classics, Wave 8, Figure 6
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: 2nd Quarter 2009
Price: Retail: $11.99-$13.99, Online: $12.99-$15.99
Scale: 6.00 in. (figure is 7.00 in. tall to top of hat)
Accessories: Cane, and old fashioned pistol
Collect & Connect Piece: Giganta's head, and lower torso, as well as a mini Atom
I'm unusually excited by this brand new mold being utilized for Gentleman Ghost. DC Universe Classics is becoming known for its rampant reuse of parts, but this fellow breaks that tradition by being totally unique. Of course these parts will be used again soon (The Joker), and I'm glad they will, because this is a mighty fine sculpt. It's just full of beautiful layers of plastic, all coming together to make one nice looking toy. His pants are cut well, looking appropriately wrinkled and saggy where necessary, but still straight legged and perfectly formal. There are nice details with the pleats and even the crease on his crotch-piece, a much needed addition to avoid the bare-crotch syndrome. It only gets better from there on up, because his chest is full of splendid clothing details carved right in, from seems to wrinkles, and everything inbetween. I love that the little flower on the lapel, the string up to his eyepiece, the coat itself, and even the fluffy neck-piece are all separate pieces from the actual body, so this guy can be customized to the max. The long, flowing coattails look perfect, and the details even carry over to the back of the figure that's invisible without strict inspection. His arms and gloves just continue the highly detailed and super stylish appearance of the rest of his body. The real masterpiece here is the cape and top hat. The two-tiered cape hangs nicely and looks right on par for the character. The top hat is equally fitting and rests perfectly on the cape, bringing out the "headless" effect really well. This was a great design choice and I think it turned out almost perfect; it's just a little crooked on his shoulders, giving him this perpetually head-cocked look. The hat could stand to rest a little lower too.
Aside from those awesome details, GG also features really accurate proportions that don't look superheroic or even unrealistic. There is no face sculpt to speak of, but the lack of a head is just such a great visual hook that it deserves to be mentioned again. His accessories are a little more hit or miss to me. The firearm looks stunning, every detail is there and it fits the character perfectly. The cane, on the other hand, just doesn't stand out, falling into mediocrity instead. Despite those few problems, the overall style of visual appeal of this figure is enough to earn him high marks anyway.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
Um, what can I say here? Gentleman Ghost is 95% solid white. This is of course to bring out his apparition-like qualities and it admittedly works well, even if it is outrageously simple. The white came out a great shade that isn't too yellow or too blue, and that can be difficult to achieve, so well done Mattel. The color is consistent across most body parts, just a little more blue on the inside of his cape where the clear plastic is actually showing through. There is a cool effect towards the bottom of the figure where he moves from painted white into clear plastic, and although it does look great, I'm not really sure it makes any sense to me. He's white because he's a ghost, or maybe his clothes are white (since his head is invisible), but he's also clear because he's a ghost (even his clothes are clear too?). It doesn't all reason out, but the important thing is that it looks good and matches his general comic depictions. Sadly there are some stray black marks on his shoulder and some paint has noticeably started to chip away at some articulation points, and those problems do limit the scoring potential here.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
Gentleman Ghost is actually the most movement restricted DCUC figure that's coming to mind [Penguin is worse]. He has a hefty number of points (see picture above), it's just that some of them are really limited. For instance, while his shoulders are the standard DCUC ball-style, because of his cape, there isn't much you can do with them; his arms only go up so far before colliding with the stiff cape. You could force them, but then his hat doesn't sit right and everything's messed up. Having some way to effectively angle the hat would be great for adding personality to a lot of poses, but I'm not sure how they could have managed that, so I won't complain. There appears to be some sort of waist swivel, but I wouldn't risk it, because mine only moves about 10 degrees either way and it's precarious feeling as is. Every other joint gets its intended range of motion, and most of them turned out problem-free right out of the package. Frozen hips are just a distant memory to me anymore when opening a DCUC figure, but Gentleman Ghost brought that terror rushing back in a hurry, because his left hip is totally stuck. I managed to wiggle it free with a lot of patience, but it's clear there is too much plastic in there and it's being held up; I can see the peg stressing as I move the leg, so forcing it would definitely make that sucker tear. One other problem I have is that none of his articulation is very well hidden. The cuts at his thighs and biceps look so much more obvious with this tuxedo costume than on a standard muscle-bound figure. His hips are also laden with huge gaps and alignment issues, bringing down the overall appearance.
Articulation Score: 6 / 10
Gentleman Ghost may not be a DC elite or appeal to every little kid out there, but there's some definite charm coming through this figure. He's inherently striking in his package, clearly a ghost, and an old fashioned one at that. I can't imagine any real comic book or even action figure fan not being at least slightly intrigued by this interesting design. I mean seriously, he doesn't have a head, but he's still wearing a hat. That's an immediate winning combination. That quirky fun can come out in play too, because this guy has just enough articulation to back up any action you can imagine. Sure he's not loaded down with points, but you can get some things done and find cool poses on the shelf too. Gentleman Ghost also includes two nice accessories, a cane that might moonlight as a quarterstaff and a pistol that's classy and deadly all in one. Not to mention that he also includes pieces to the Collect & Connect Giganta figure (ironically enough her head), so he's a necessary component to complete that figure, making him a fun part of the assembly process. Last and least (size-wise) is the pack-in Atom figure. There is a tiny little Ray Palmer Atom pack in that adds a perfect little complement to any display. It isn't articulated, but it's still really well sculpted and looks convincingly in scale. The only thing holding this figure back is the nagging hip problem, which is a real scare and frustration too, because no one wants a broken figure.
Fun Score: 9 / 10
At anywhere around $12, Gentleman Ghost is actually a really strong purchase. Not only are you getting a nice, average sized 6 inch scale figure, but he's comprised of entirely unique pieces and a bunch of plastic to look the way he does. Sure there paint was easy on them, but there are high production values here and even without all the extras, this would be a reasonable deal anyway. Instead, he comes with two brand new accessories and chunks of Giganta, plus the tiny little Atom figure. This all adds up to a huge amount of stuff for a tidy little price tag. The packaging is nice too, with ever-improving quality photos on the back, as well as the standard biography and statistics section. There's always nice art on the front of the card too, so it's worthwhile to keep it around. Gentleman ghost is mostly fully functional (aside from his hip at first) and seems relatively durable. It does feel like the cape could come out of the peg-hole in his back at any moment, but even if it did, it wouldn't be a huge problem. All things considered, there's a lot in this package aside from the figure, but even he is well worth it, so you're getting a great deal.
Value Score: 9 / 10
Summary
9 -
Just looks great from all perspectives; has new unique pieces that are really well done; loads of little details here and there; "head" is a little crooked; accessories are good or okay; proportions are spot-on.
8 -
Is simple, but the one color there is, is done right; cool translucent effect at feet; some stray black marks; some chipping here and there.
6 -
Less points than a standard figure, but still enough; can play or display easily; a few restricted points; joints look pretty bad with sculpt; hip was stuck out of he package.
9 - Great design; lack of a head is cool and grabs attention; striking visuals; neat accessories included; collect & connect piece adds fun; mini Atom is like getting a whole extra toy to pay with; stuck hip is frustrating and frightening.
9 - Includes pieces of a "free" and huge figure; comes with a free Atom toy; includes nice accessories as well; high production values; paint is admittedly simple but accurate; some concerns over articulation breaking; cape may pop out, although that shouldn't hurt too much.
Overall Score: 81 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Although Gentleman Ghost is actually a really strong toy, I'm still a little disappointed, because I was expecting so much. You shouldn't be though, because he's a good figure that managed to escape some minor problems on his lovable charm.
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
