Lobo is a character that Mattel has often described as "unreleasable" due to the character's often violent and less than noble ways in times past. Thankfully they managed to get around that problem by releasing him as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive that could also be purchased on the Matty Collector website. This is a great figure with high class production values that will look good on any collector's shelf. Some have complained about his physical size in relation to other figures in the DC Universe Classics line, but whether displayed alone or in a DCUC display, he'll look splendid.
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Sculpt
Lobo's sculpt is really just a thing of beauty. He's full of tiny details you'll discover months after you purchase him. Stand out areas are his boots with individual screws (flat not phillips) and leather grain straps. His belt is loaded down with pouches and a holster for his laser pistol. His leather vest has the zipper lines (sans zipper) actually sculpted in. His face is fantastic with a evil grin while his hair is huge and sculpted with small individual strands. Even Lobo's gloves are actually sculpted in, not just painted. Of particular interest is the great leather effect the Four Horsemen have managed to achieve on his vest, which makes it look quite real. His pack in dog even features a great sculpt, and looks just like the real deal with a cute perked ear and a load of wrinkles. This sculpt is just outstanding, and the only thing bringing it down is its size. This figure is a little bigger than he should be considering the scale of other DC Universe Classics figures. It may not bother some people (me) as much as others, but it could be a problem for you.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10 - Just about perfect in every way with great details and a perfect look. He's just a little out of scale or this would be a 10.
Paint
Where Mattel got the sculpt right, they got the paint even better. To start with, the actual paint applications are just flawless. Every area looks exactly as it should, with no slop, no messy lines and no color mismatches. There might be a few small mistakes somewhere, but I can't seem to find them. Even Dawg shares this same trait, with nicely painted facial details and the crossed bandaids. The colors chosen for Lobo are great too. It's not a tough palette to get right, but they didn't mess it up. His white skin looks appropriately pale while the black leather areas look great too. Although the blue of his pants is a little pedestrian, it looks like it should. Again, his canine buddy's colors work great from the color of his fur to the pink in his face. As you can tell, I really like this paintjob, and can't think of a thing to improve.
Paint Score: 10 / 10 - They did everything just right, good colors, good applications.
Articulation
Lobo actually features the standard DC Universe Classics articulation even though he's a big figure. This means there are plenty of points for great posing and play, but he does suffer from some limited ranges of movement in a few of these joints. For instance, his hips are rendered almost useless because of his restrictive belt. You can get some movement in each direction, though you'll never get him in any deep stances. His head is also limited by his enormous hair, but you can still get movement in every direction out of it. The joints are all nice and tight without being stuck. They hold his weight well and all worked great right out of the package. It might've been nice to see his dog with a little more articulation than just the neck swivel, yet I imagine it would've ruined the look of him with more. Lobo's articulation is probably his weakest point and it's still pretty good considering his size and weight.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10 - Has a lot of different points, but some of them are limited. Good tight joints that hold his weight and their position. Dawg could allow for more movement.
Fun
This character is a fun one. He's mean, but sometimes a little good, can take either side in a fight, is big, has a chain and hook, has two guns, and like any man should, has a dog. Lobo is a blast to look at and pose with his real metal chain. I don't know how comfortable I'd be letting a kid play with a $25+ figure, but if they did, they'd enough the heck out of it. Collectors should love posing Lobo for display as well. He doesn't include any of the old action features to speak of, but his chain is the most fun accessory I've seen in a while. You can do so many things with it, and it's long enough to allow for some cool stuff. Similarly, he carries a huge gun as well as a laser pistol that you can store on him. All of these accessories (especially the chain and 3d glasses) add up to a ton of play and posing value. He may not be a character everyone recognizes, but his look is still so monstrous and even iconic in the biker gang sense, that anyone would enjoy him.
Fun Score: 10 / 10 - There's a lot to play with. He's big, will destroy other characters in mock battles, and he even has a pet!
Value
This category is giving me a little trouble. This figure 'retailed' for $25, but if you ordered him online or had to resort to Ebay (like me) then you probably paid something in the range of $30-40. That's a lot for one action figure and he still manages to feel worth it to me. First off, he's a big toy that feels like a lot in your hands. There's just a lot of plastic here. He also has tons of little details and extras on his person that point out how much time they spent on him. Not to mention that he's packed with accessories, including the weapons (big gun, little gun, chain/hook, dog, and 3d glasses), but also the pack ins from the package which include a nice big stand and a pair of 3d goggles. He may not look like $25 worth at first glance, yet when you consider everything he comes with, I think you'll feel like it was worth it.
Value Score: 9 / 10 - He comes with a ton of pack ins and accessories, he's a big figure anyway. He does cost $25+.
Summary
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Overall Score: 92 / 100 - This is an wonderful toy
Lobo is expensive and pretty hard to find, but he pleases in almost every way. His sculpt is magnificent (if a little big) while his paint is dead-on. He's fun and worth the money. If his articulation were just a little freer, then he'd jump even higher. Mattel did a great job on this one, and he's one of my favorite figures of the year so far. Let's hope the following convention exclusives live up to this first one.
-The Articulated One
