Always playing second fiddle to Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold has a lot of reasons to be be angry. As a cooler (har har) villain with a better design, longer history, and actual super-powered adversary, Cold is a fantastic character that deserves more attention than he receives. Thankfully this action figure is an almost ideal rendition that may turn more fans to favor the Captain. Mattel has made another really successful figure in this 7th wave of the DC Universe Classics line.
Name: Captain Cold
Line: DC Universe Classics, Wave 7, Figure 6
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: Early 2009
Price: Retail: $11.50-$13.99, Online: $12.99-$17.99
Scale: 6.25 in.
Accessories: Gun
Collect & Connect Piece: Atom Smasher's Head and Lower Torso
The great thing
about this figure is its unique sculpting across the board. Most DCUC
figures rely on the same basic body parts that are used over and over
again across the line. Cold, on the other hand, has totally new pieces
everywhere you look. Even the gloves which could have been skimped on
include stitching that matches up with his forearms. He's loaded down
with details in his costume, including numerous wrinkles on every piece
of clothing; this fits the looser style of his costume, instead of the
more generic skin-tight spandex looking sculpting we see on most hero
toys. The clothes' bunches are all in natural places and give him a
nice silhouette and style. The puffs of fur at the edge of his boots
and gloves really add to this attractive appearance as well, and
feature individually sculpted hairs with some nicely approximated
disheveled-ness. Other great details are the deep treads on the bottom
of his boot and horizontal grooves on his belt and finally, someone decided to add some work to the T-crotch piece at his hips, with a zipper/fold and wrinkles that vastly improve this piece.
The captain's proportions come across very well, avoiding the super-hero muscle groups that are often exaggerated, instead relying on more realistic sizes that fit the character's non-physical qualities well. Hands, feet, and his head all seem about the right size, and neither leg or arm length is a problem. Some complaints about his slightly smaller scale have been heard, but I like that he's a hair shorter than the flash; it adds much needed variety to the otherwise identical characters in the line. The accessory has a good retro feel to fit the "classic" title, and it slides into the holster perfectly. The holster itself is sculpted with some sort of "ice look" at the bottom and on the flap, which kind of just results in something that looks like it's been chewed on by Gorilla Grodd (see comic below). It's also extremely difficult to actually close the flap because of a peg that's a lot larger than the hole for which it's intended. I'm torn on the quality of this head sculpt. Technically there isn't a single problem, with crisp edges and tight details. All of his facial features are distinguishable and fit well within the confines of his parka which looks good too. The reason I can't quite decide on this one, is because the expression might just come across too strong. Sure Captain Cold is an angry and frustrated fellow, but is he regularly constipated? It's definitely high quality, just questionable in regards to characterization.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
Mattel did a great job with color selection for this figure. The blue used is a shade that's neither too bright or too "cold" as there might have been a tendency to do. It has a classic feel and offers a great contrast to Cold's greatest enemy, the Flash. It would have been easy to go with a clean white for the costume accessory areas, but I'm relieved they instead chose a soft gray with white frosting in the furry areas on his gloves, boots, and parka. It all comes together nicely around the yellow of his belt, and this ends up a very nice looking figure with all things brought together. The wash/brush effects on his costume are really subtle, though they do add some much needed visual diversity to the abundant blue. His holster fades from yellow to orange on the corners, and though it's a nice effect, I don't think it fits here. There is also a color matching issue across types of plastic, particularly noticeable at the thigh cuts like a host of other DCUC figures.
Applications on Cold are unusually poor compared to the average in this line. There's a lot of color runoff on the boots, parka, and glove edges, and the frosting on the fur itself just looks slopped on, like nothing in particular was trying to be achieved, and let me tell you, nothing was. The glasses on his face are reasonably clean, so I don't know how they could have absolutely butchered his teeth. It looks like he has a bloody grill because there is a lot of pink between each very small, almost silver tooth. It might look a little worse in photos, but it's still ugly in person too.
Paint Score: 6 / 10
Thankfully Captain Cold is problem free when it comes to articulation, keeping his joints in tip top shape through years of pilates. You can move all of his points without any falling off, which is a nice new trend for this line, and every spot is tight enough to hold poses except for his hips, which are a bit loose and cause him to fall into wider stances than desired. There are a lot of points in total, meaning you can pose him in a lot of fun ways. To be specific, he has ball style shoulders and neck; swivels at the wrists, thighs, waist, and biceps; hinges at the elbow, abs, knees, and ankles, and finally the regular DCUC style hinge/swivel combination hips that have similar range to a ball joint. Most of these joints can achieve their intended full range of motion, but his shoulders are limited by the "shawl" thing he's wearing, while his neck functions as a swivel because there's very little vertical movement due to a thick sculpt up top. This is one of my favorite DCUC sculpts yet in regards to meshing the articulation into the visuals, as most of these points are well hidden and hard to distinguish, even though I already thought the Four Horsemen were doing a good job on other figures. This means he's a well articulated figure without particularly looking like one, and I love that.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10
Captain Cold definitely isn't DC's most famous villain, but he ranks up there as one of my (and a lot of other people's) favorites, so a lot of fans will be pleased that this figure has seen retail shelves. It seems like he's always been around and mildly successful, so getting an action figure based on him is certainly a welcome addition to the line. He has a classic and stylish design that might look somewhat pedestrian at first glance, but when you get down to his evil grimace and goofy weapon, you quickly realize he is a super villain indeed. This costume should be enough to grab the eyes of curious kids and bring back all the adults that loved him before. The toy itself has a lot of articulation that aids both posing and play, while he also includes his own accessory that stores right on his belt. Being able to store weapons is always a big positive feature, and for whatever reason makes toys a lot more fun. A Collect & Connect piece is also included, so collecting them all and building Atom Smasher is a fun diversion that's a "free" bonus. There's nothing particularly frustrating about this toy, and even the packaging has some enjoyable elements like a short biography and great photos/artwork. There aren't any action features to speak of, but then again, that wouldn't exactly fit into the line would it ? I think most people will find exactly what they're expecting with Captain Cold, which is a good thing, because he's an interesting figure that will spice up your shelf or make those battle just a little bit cooler (Just be glad I'm not throwing out more puns).
Fun Score: 9 / 10
You'll notice above that you can find Captain Cold at various online retailers for under $14, which is a reasonable deal, but if you're lucky enough to spot him at retail, then you can get him for around $12 or so, which is an even better deal. Toys are constantly going up in price, and while these aren't cheap, you're getting a nice toy with high production values for your investment. He's a great character with a nice sculpt and decent mass-market paint that comes with an accessory and Collect & Connect piece for about $12. The most important thing is that he's just fun to play with or pose, which makes your money last a little bit longer. Nothing's missing or broken, and he seems to able to
withstand quite a bit of wear and tear over the course of a number of
years. There might eventually be a problem with his hips loosening further, but I would imagine most figures won't have this problem, and in general he'll still be a solid figure a while down the road. If you absolutely hate the character, or are just buying him to complete Atom Smasher, then of course he's not going to feel as worth it, but otherwise I think as far as toys go, this one is a strong deal.
Value Score: 9 / 10
Summary
9 - Great details and costume work, stylish overall appearance, accurate proportions and reasonable muscles, shorter scale adds diversity to line, facial expression is too exaggerated.
6 - Applications are often too messy, slop on random parts, colors are nice shades, wash and brush effects are usually good though sometimes lazy, teeth look terrible, not terrible for mass-market work.
8 - Good articulation model with options for pose/play, most joints are tight but hips are too loose, looks perfect with the sculpt, some points limited in movement.
9 - Classic character with appealing design, comes with accessory, has nice articulation model, Collect & Connect piece makes for fun collecting, packaging adds some entertainment.
9 - Reasonable price in today's market, average sized figure, durable and fault-free, includes accessory and C&C piece, packaging isn't bad, should provide plenty of fun.
Overall Score: 82 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Captain Cold's paint may not be perfect, but the strong offerings in regards to sculpt and articulation prove that this is another great action figure in the DC Universe Classics line.
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
