The Good: Great sculpt, Amazing coloring detail, Fair upper body articulation, Great balance, Wonderful collectible value! Very cool accessory.
The Bad: Could use more lower-body articulation!
The Basics: The Justice The Joker action figure recreates the Alex Ross version of The Joker in a (mostly) awesome action figure!
It’s official! I’m moving to Michigan later this month, where I will be reunited with my wife! The last few months apart have been excruciating in so many ways on the day to day level. It’s been real weird not seeing her facial expression as she opens gifts from me for our anniversaries and, truth be told, I have missed being able to share my enthusiasm with her for the gifts she left behind for me to open on preordained days! The last one (as it now turns out) is the Joker figure from Justice for our fortieth month anniversary that recently passed! And this is a righteously cool figure, despite its few flaws.
For those unfamiliar with it, in Justice (reviewed here!), The Joker breaks out of Arkham, upset at how he has been excluded from the Lex Luthor-driven criminal conspiracy which has recast the villains as the heroes willing to save the world in ways the traditional heroes never have. The Joker becomes a random element willing to destroy anything, despite how such destruction might inadvertently help the heroes!
It is The Joker in his tuxedo with his cane, that is the subject of the Justice The Joker action figure.
Basics
The The Joker figure is well-detailed, especially considering he comes from a comic book with painted panels. The artwork of Alex Ross translates well into the The Joker figure as this version of The Joker has clean lines and an appropriately maniacal look to him! The crazed villain stands 7" tall to the top of the figure's bright green hair. His costume is black and white and very clean. DC Direct appropriately cheats the figure’s skin tones by having the villain wearing gloves. So, the only portion of The Joker’s flesh that is visible is his face! The Joker is from DC Direct.
This toy is an impressive sculpt; for a character that has only had two-dimensional references, The Joker looks amazing in all three dimensions. DC Direct sculpted him to have an intense look to his eyes and the character’s usual disturbing smile. The figure features molded details that include the lines around his eyes and veins on his forehead that stand out some! The flower on his tuxedo’s lapel is molded nicely there and his hair has detailing that makes it clear it is hair and not some weird helmet. This version of The Joker includes immaculately detailed ears and every button, shoelaces, and well-molded pleats. The figure’s tuxedo tails are molded on in a softer plastic . . . it was only in reviewing the figure I discovered the figure’s whole jacket is made of the soft, rubbery plastic! That allows the figure to have more posing and flexing options, though it cannot be removed and look right (given that the black sleeves are molded on the figure). Details like the bowtie and collar are quite incredibly rendered, as is each and every tooth.
The coloring for the The Joker figure is equally exceptional. His teeth are yellowed and horrific and DC Direct did such fine work that his pink gums are even painted on. His hair is not only green, but has yellow highlights for realism and he looks awesome as a result! All of the coloring for this figure is incredible.
Accessories
The Joker, insane villain that he is, comes with his stand and his cane. The stand is a black and silver square that looks like a piece of flooring. It is 6" by 4.5” and 1/2” tall and it has a pair of peg holes spaced 2” apart. The pegs come with the figure and plug into the base and then into the hole in The Joker’s right foot. He is perfectly stable on his base.
The Joker’s cane is a 3 15/16” plastic cylinder that is brown and features a headpiece that looks like The Joker. Meant to look like ivory, the headpiece is immaculately detailed both in terms of coloring and sculpting. The cane’s tip actually is colored gray, to make it appear like it is a metal protector on the bottom piece. The cane fits nicely in the Joker’s left hand and he can actually lean on it with both of his hands, which is a surprisingly neat posing option.
Playability
The DC Direct figures were designed more for display than play. Unfortunately, The Joker is a bit of a wash on the play front, though it makes for a very cool display piece. He has the most upper body articulation of any of the Wave 3 Justice figures, but below the waist, there is no articulation. He also has good balance, even off his stand! Because of his sculpt with the feet far apart and no articulation, there is only one way to get The Joker to stand. On his stand with one foot plugged into the base, he is perfectly stable.
On the plus side, The Joker has some great upper-body articulation, especially in the wrists and shoulders. The Joker comes with eight points of articulation, most of which are actually ball and socket joints! The Joker has joints at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist and head. The elbows are hinge joints and the head is on a ball joint, offering slightly more articulation than if it were just a swivel joint.
Collectibility
The Joker is part of the DC Direct Justice Series 3 line which was fairly uncommon, because it was mostly distributed through comic book shops. The Joker was one of two villains in the line and he remains exceptionally hard to find, especially now. As a result, he has not increased quite a bit in value. Originally available in the $15 - $20 range, his price is now well over $50. That makes it tough to find the figure as a value, but it is a great figure, even at the collectible prices!
Overview
The Joker looks amazing and even with its articulation issues, it is well worth picking up, no matter the price!
For other Justice action figures, please check out my reviews of:
Wave 5 Brainiac
Wave 4 Zatanna
Wave 3 Wonder Woman
Wave 3 Poison Ivy figure
Wave 3 Plastic Man
Wave 3 Hal Jordan Green Lantern
Wave 1 Cheetah figure
8.5/10
For other toy reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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