Here's one more of my much belated DC Universe Classics Series 4 Reviews. This time it's Ares, eternal foe to Wonder Woman and god of war to boot. This is a nice figure that is really hampered by a few quality control issues and that's it. He another especially strong entry into Mattel's lineup and I think just about anybody would enjoy this figure.

Sculpt

  Ares' sculpt is one of the best, if not the best sculpt seen in the DC Universe Classics line yet. First off, he's big, almost build-a-figure size, but just a standard priced figure, which is great. His costume is just full of details like, sculpted lacing on the back of his boots being clasped by miniature skulls where no one would ever even see them, skull motif knee pads, dimbled texture on breastplate complete with nice looking battle scars, super fine spikes and tooling on his helmet, and even his weapons have nice little touch on the grips and blades. This guy is loaded down with tiny details everywhere you look and really shows off what the Four Horsemen can do. It accurately captures the character and looks fantastic too.  

Sculpt Score: 10 / 10 - This sculpt is really just everything you'd hope for, big, detailed, and accurate. It's really very good.

Paint

While not as good as his sculpt, Ares' doesn't suffer on the paint side either. He's mostly just two colors, black and blue but the applications are done well enough that he retains a cool visual look. The blue is matte where it needs to be (like his skirt) while shiny on "metal" areas of his costume like his breastplate. The black is nice and flat and makes him look like a void within his costume, it's a nice effect. The details are very well done, just look at the sculpted lacing on his calves or forearms and you'll see nicely applied blue lines that look like they were given a lot of care. There is a little bit of slop on his shoulder and helmet, but nothing too terrible. The only thing I wish was that there was a bit more color variation. 

Paint Score: 9 / 10 - Really well done applications, good variation between shiny and matte where necessary, could use at least one more distinct color. 

Articulation

This figure's articulation follows the basic DCUC standard like most every other figure in the line but his sculpt limits some of his possible movement ranges. For instance, his hip movement is almost completely challenged by his skirt, with very little option moving front/back or side to side. This can be remedied by cutting slits in his skirt (Sexy Ares Variant) but it doesn't bother me enough to go to the trouble. His shoulder movement is limited by his shoulder pads and my figure's neck range of motion is limited by his helmet, but my figure's helmet is applied a little lower than I think is normal, so that may not be an issue on yours. Another problem is that Ares' legs are as loose as can be, knee and ankle joints just flimsy and floppy, meaning that he can pretty much only stand straight up. You can use his cape to hold him up in some positions, but it would just be nice to have tight articulation.

Articulation Score: 6 / 10 - Good articulation model with lots of different points, but most of them are limited in movement. Loose legs make it hard for him to stand.  

Fun

This is a pretty fun character, even if you've never heard of DC Comics or Ares, he just looks like an ancient warrior ready to tear through some poor good guys. I think kids will enjoy him in any play scenario, maybe even against Wonder Woman and people who know the comics character will appreciate him in a display. He's big and comes with two pretty nice looking weapons which never hurts in the fun department, plus has decent articulation to make some interesting things happen. Of course there's no action features when you squeeze his legs but he stands in this department quite well despite that.

Fun Score: 9 / 10 - Fun character design whether you know the character or not. Big with accessories and decent articulation. 

Value

Ares would be well worth $12 considering his size, inclusion of accessories, and included build-a-figure piece but some problematic quality control concerns limit his value a little. I already mentioned the loose articulation in the legs which is a minor annoyance, but my Ares suffers from another problem similar to a lot of other people's which is that his arms, from bicep to wrist are switched. His right arm is his left arm and they look a little wonky. Some people may not notice, but I heard warnings beforehand, so I knew to look. The figure still works fine, but you can tell from my pictures that he's a little crazy looking in certain poses. Overall, Ares is a well made figure that's probably worth $15, so $12 still feels like a steal to me, especially if you can find one without problems. 

Summary

10
9

6
9
  8

Overall Score: 84 / 100 - This is a Great Toy

Ares only real limitation originates in quality control issues like switched up arms and loose articulation in his lower half. He's a perfectly sculpted figure with great paint that's a ton of fun and is deserving of anyone's purchase as a DC fan or someone just looking for a good toy to play with.

-The Articulated One