Dr. Fate benefits from just a few unique molds, mainly his head and cape. While he's 80% reuse, seeing new parts (also his crotch and right hand) always improves my perception of a sculpt's quality, especially when the new parts are character-accurate. On the other hand, I'm actually a little disappointed with these new pieces. The hand looks like a real gloved hand, instead of the skin-tight gloves we're used to seeing with closed-fists figures throughout each line. While it might technically be more accurate, his swollen fingers and soft edges look strange when compared to the super delineated shapes and wrinkles in his other hand. The positioning of the fingers is nice though, with a cool magic-casting pose that will work with a number of future figures I'm sure (Phantom Stranger please). The folds in his cape are too deep and make standing the figure straight up really awkward, and his helmet just looks soft to me, as well as too low on his neck.
     The rest of the body is all stuff we've seen before, which isn't necessarily bad, as Fate features accurate muscles groups, attractive proportions, and defined costume elements. Only his shorts rely strictly on paint instead of having raised edges, and that's okay, because his sculpted boots and gloves give the appropriate three-dimensional appearance to his costume. There are clothing details in his gloves, at his ankles, and at the top of his thighs; those spots all add a nice touch of realism, as do the cool folds and creases at the top of his cape. The Nabu medallion hanging at his neck has clean lines and the cape "hooks" on his shoulders fit well. The accessory included with Dr. Fate is a magical energy blast element that attaches to his right hand. While the lightning-effect looks great, and the ankh worked into the blast is a neat idea, I just wish it attached parallel to his arm, as if it were a projectile, instead of some weird perpendicular flash. This seems to limit its utility to me, making it hard to pose for fight scenes (see Grundy below).  

Sculpt Score: 7 / 10

      Dr. Fate has a striking visual appeal to me, because his two primary colors are so simple and contrast against one another so well. Plus, they're my town's colors, so I'm attached to them anyway. Both his blue and yellow have a classic comic-book vibrancy about them that just come out so well on this figure. He stands out no matter which figures I place him next to, ,and I love it. The colors also match well across the entire figure, even from cape to body. There is just a little skin-color underneath his helmet, as well as a strong black in the eye-sockets of his helmet, both of which work fine too. What really makes this paintjob work is the wash that has been applied to both the blue and yellow portions of his costume. There's an intermediate red effect worked into the yellow sections, as well as a subtle dark wash in the blue areas. Both of these looks great, bringing out costume details and helping Fate to avoid the dreaded "plastic look". There might be a few spots the red is applied too thickly, but they're rare and on the back of the figure.
     Applications on Dr. Fate went mostly well, most of the lines coming out clean and crisp. Sadly a few spots where yellow is painted over blue plastic weren't done quite thick enough, leaving a slight green tinge to things. Also, there is a relatively large smudge on his right leg that detracts from his appeal. There is not much mess or slop other than that, and his head came out nicely too. The eyes being painted black make them so much more prominent and powerful, while the ears sticking out from his helmet are painted perfectly. The accessory is cast in clear yellow color that captures its magical nature and relevance to Dr. Fate quite well.  

Paint Score: 8 / 10

      As pictured above, Dr. Fate has the exact standard DCUC articulation model. While that means not every pose imaginable is available to him, there is still a lot you can do to add life to your shelf. He's movable enough to make both playing and displaying fun for kid or collector. I happen to think he looks particularly awesome in flight poses, only possible because of his diverse articulation. Conveniently, every single joint on this figure receives its full intended range of movement, making him really easy to manipulate. Nothing is broken, stuck, or too loose, and that's always a relief too. Joints aren't particularly well hidden, but they don't stand out either, meshing well with the sculpt and looking just fine in most every pose. That's really all there is to say, and his score would be perfect with just a few more points to make him a total blast to mess around with.

Articulation Score: 9 / 10

 

Fun Score: 7 / 10

     This is an average sized figure compared to the rest of this line, meaning he's not so big that you feel like you're getting extra, nor is he so small you feel ripped off. There are also a few new molds being used for the figure, so it's like you're getting a new toy instead of just a professional level custom figure, and that's a good feeling. Fate is a well sculpted and well painted figure by mass-market standards, and he comes at a reasonable price at $12-$15. Sure a few bucks off would make him a stellar deal, but he already includes a unique accessory as well as his own C&C piece of Giganta. The packaging is nice whether you want to keep him inside or tear him out, adding a little more bang for your dollar with a bio and interesting statistics. Dr. Fate may not keep you busy for hours to come, but there's a fair amount here that seems worth its cost. 

Value Score: 9 / 10  

Summary

7 - Some new parts; good proportions; gloved right hand and head are too soft; nice details in costume; accessory looks good but not real functional. 

8 - Colors are nice and bright; great wash and brush effects; mostly clean lines; one big ugly smudge, otherwise slop-free; yellow is too thin sometimes. 

9 - Has all the points you need, but maybe not all you want; everything works well; looks good with sculpt.

7 - Lame character to some; boring costume and design; articulation is great for play or display; includes an accessory; C&C piece is a blast; packaging adds fun.

9 - Reasonably priced; well-made figure; nothing is broken; includes accessory and C&C piece; packaging is high quality; average sized; could be a dollar or two less. 

 

 

Dr. Fate barely scoots into greatness thanks to a nice articulation model and a strong value. 

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).