Masterless: The Killing Joke

I finally hit the wall and when I crashed, the wreckage of my vehicle told me a joke. 

It showed me all the times I've played the fool's part. It gave me a punchline of just how mocked I was and how much I allowed it all to happen. It conveyed to me every single angle of my asinine way of thinking. 

What defined that sense of ideal? That honor? That need to make things right and to hold things together? Why was it so important to me that I kept ignoring the killing joke that was being told? 

I saw that wall, you know? I saw it coming a mile freaking away, but I didn't do anything to try and swerve out of the way. I guess I got used to being the one to make the move, the one to try, the one to always hold it all together... the person who was willing to reach out and try... all the time with everything and everyone. I guess there was a point that I didn't want to try and I just said... FUCK IT. 

The joke was on me and it really killed a part of me. And after I crawled out of that wreckage, battered, beaten, and thinking I'm a ghost... I realized that I'm still alive. When I came to the realization that if I go around these walls it would be the same people all over again... I laughed. I laughed so hard....

I haven't done this before..... and it's new. 

I gave up. Ha. I give up. Ha. And the funniest thing is... this feels right. 

DC Green Lantern figures (Series 5): Soranik Natu

I'm not going to recite the Green Lantern's creed! I barely remember it since all the Lantern Corps' creeds are all mixed in! So with that said, here I am with a figure I have had in my collection for a long time! I decided to open her to give my DC shelf some ...  Light. Anyways, let's get on with the review.

It's a very classic packing. Cardboard and plastic, very reminiscent of the toy biz days. Well, nothing much to say about this box. Though there was a time where I was a big time War of Light fan. I was enamored with all the different Lantern Corps; I especially loved the Red, Sapphire, and the Blue.

Right off the get-go, this figure is awkward. Sculpt wise, it looks decent. It is a female figure and she has a pretty good and curvy frame. But it stands very awkwardly vanilla pose. Heck, it's even hard to get her on a good dynamic pose, but I digress. As I was saying she's made into a good looking figure, aesthetically. She has a decent and not ugly face.

And while this is not my favorite color combo, it's a good paint job on Soranik. The combination of pearlescent white, metallic green, and black really compliments each other, with the latter really making the brighter colors pop. I also like her skin color, definitely adds depth to the color scheme. Her Green Lantern insignia isn't as prominent as say, Hal Jordan's, but it's there. While this juxtapose is common in the Green Lantern mythos, the fact that is well done in plastic form definitely gives this figure a saving grace for me.

The only thing I'm going to say is... cool base. That's about the only noteworthy thing to say about the accessory department.

If you expect in-depth articulation from this gal, don't. It's an awkward sculpt and unfortunately that level of awkwardness carries over to her range of movements... or lack of. I know it's an older figure, but her articulation dates back to the days of 5-point of joint movements(okay, she has a little more, but the sculpt is once again a hinderance to make any of the swiveling useful)... that's 90s! Back when Toybiz was just crawling! Not really much to say about this.

"In brightest day, in blackest night

No Evil shall escape my sight

Let those who worship evil's might

Beware my power, GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!"

Okay, I did it. Since I only opened her to add some variation on my DC shelf, I think she serves her purpose. I didn't plan on having her in some dynamic pose so it works. I can't really say she's a bad figure when I had an idea of how she was going to be. But the sculpt threw me off; luckily her aesthetics stayed true outside her packaging! Anyways, happy collecting! 

Mafex: Suicide Squad Harley Quinn (club dress)

Oh, lookie! Another Harley Quinn! This is the last, for a little bit, and this one is definitely something different than what I have.

My second Mafex figure. It's pretty much going on the same theme as the Suicide Harley Quinn. The consistency is something I can give some praise to.

The strange thing I noticed this time around is how big these boxes are compared to the figure. I suppose Figma and Mafex have that in common; Figuarts and Revoltech try to be a bit conservative.

Now this is a nice new addition to the Harley shrine, simply because it's another sexy Harley from the infamous Suicide Squad movie. It has nice sculpturing all around, her jewelries, her shoes, her figure, nicely done. My only complaint is her dress not as tapered as it should be. It makes her look a bit wider, and that's not the case with most takes on Harley. In fact, this dress does not hug her body well; definitely one of the main downfall of the figure. But the dress itself, along with the tassles on her skirt, the back, are all well done.

They did a fantastic job with the coloring. It's pretty accurate from what I remember! Though I'm not sure when she got the chance to put her leg tattoos between this time and when she was assigned to Taskforce-X... regardless, it's a good job on the coloring. The skin tone is pale, the black and gold are clean, her hair is nicely painted, and the face is pretty. I can't complain too much about the paint art department.

Compared to her regular Mafex version, Harley does not come with a whole lot of accessories at her disposal. She comes with a few hands, that's it. Obviously, one head is for a Mafex Batman and the other is for the other Harley Quinn. So she's pretty short-handed in this department.

She does come with the stand that comes with the Mafex series, which I love.

You will get what you expect from an import in regards to articulation. Though with the fact that she doesn't come with any aesthetically pleasing effects with her flimsy dress and hair, one won't be able to get her into dynamic looking poses without looking too... unconvincing.

Giving her the other Harley's bat and gun adds some fun factor to this figure. So how fun would this figure be without the other Harley is the real question.

Speaking of the other Harley, right?

I think the majority of this figure's appeal comes from how sexy this actress is wearing this dress. I would say that that mindset translates well into this figure, but the fact that the dress adds some 'size' to the character takes some of that idea away. She comes with the gimmick of 'extra' accessories for the other figures, but she doesn't do anything for her own set. Still, if one is a Harley fan and loves this version of her and don't want the cheap Mattel (and ugly) version or want to pay for the Hot Toy, this is the route to go. 

Mafex: Harley Quinn Suicide Squad

ANOTHER Harley Quinn figure! I warned you guys (one more after this). This time around, it's the long-awaited Mafex Harley Quinn! I've been waiting for a time when I had the proper time to review her and I did. I was also waiting for her 'pair'; something I'll talk about as well in this review and go on a full-blown review a little after this one. SO, let's get right into this figure's review.

This is my first Mafex figure, mind you, but the layout of the box is all too familiar to me. Imports have the same idea and it's not a bad thing at all.

Text that pays homage to the material, product shots of possible poses, and in general, just an awesome vibe. Yep! Mafex's boxing lives up to the standards.

Now as far as the figure itself, it's a beauty indeed. Regardless of anyone's opinion on Harley's costume in the movie, Mafex did a pretty accurate job. The sculpture did a lot to ensure that she is given that lithe figure, but still curvy at all the right places. The shoes are sculpted well and probably one of the areas that really impressed me since it was such a unique shoes and they got it right. Face/s and hair is also legit, and of course, the jacket version really completes the whole figure.

Now the coloring is gorgeous! I can't see any of the paintwork miss a beat; they're clean and accurate. The vibrant paint on her jacket really captures what it should look like as it did it in the movie. The mesh-like 'material' is made to look like that through the sculpting of the lines and by a light coat of black. Every fine detail is there and I believe all her tattoos are accurate to the film. I do know that they got one that they didn't need to (or most companies won't bother with and that's the tattoo on her back... side.... err.

Accessories department is pretty good. I won't complain and can't really have a reference since this is my first Mafex figure. How she stands up to something like Figuarts or Figma? Well, it feels like the same thing, honestly. So let's get into the accessories then; first the alternate faces.

The first face she comes with is the 'smiling' face. It doesn't necessarily remind me of Margot Robbie, but it does look like a pretty Harley Quinn. Then again, if one looks hard enough, one might see some resemblance, but that's just makeup and 'in-character' charm talking.

The next face variant became a popular promotional picture of Margot in Harley Quinn. Wide open mouth, playful and a bit... insanely teasing. Still does not accurately get Margot's looks, but it does resemble her a little bit.

The angry face and the bubble gum face is the exact same face. Her lips have a small opening, enough to let the bubblegum accessory to fit in there. A bit different, but it works. What doesn't quite work (or does it?) is that this alternate head comes with the club dress Harley! If you want this face, you have to get that one! I like it though.

The mallet is probably my most prized accessory of this figure because it is the less used weapon in her action figure lineups(believe me, she has a ton right now!). Makes sense since she only held it for maybe 20 seconds before she just stuck with her bat and gun. It's a nice addition, with nice coloring. The dead happy face is awesome too.

What's a Harley Quinn figure without her 'good night' bat, right? It's a good accessory. It has some good paint jobs that hold to the image of the movie counterpart. She can hold it with both or either hands so it works.

Then, of course, her gun! There are actually 'two' versions of this for the figure. The 'real' gun version, and the 'holstered' version. The one I'm showing is the one that is probably more important since you could do some serious posing shots with this one. It's painted nice with the whole 'love and hate' lettering on the weapon.

Lastly, she also comes with a stand! And this is my first Mafex stand and I have to admit, I like it a lot better than Figuarts and Figma! The joints are tight and the base itself is wide! May not be the best for space on the shelf, but good for posing some action shots since it's more stable.

Articulation department is pretty solid since I was able to get some good pictures. This is probably the only dynamic picture I tried, but as you can see, I was able to get her on some signature poses, as well as some sexy shots. If I was to make a comparison, Mafex, at least this figure, reminds me a lot of Figuarts. It's an import for sure, and it does the job well. Changing the heads and hands wasn't too difficult and the joints are all tight but giving. I was trying to get just a few more provocative shots, but I wasn't able to get them in without it look too weird. Still, it was generally a fun photoshoot. The number of faces supplied enough for some dynamic shots and the various hands gave enough layers to really pull off some nice pictures.

Shame that this variant head had to be a little over half the price of this gal to attain it. But the gimmick work for me, didn't it?

And yes! My Harley Quinn shrine continues to grow like there's an infestation!

I personally enjoyed my first run-in with Mafex. I chose this particular piece for a number of reasons and my gamble paid off. The 'extra' purchase for a variant head may be off-putting for some, but for me, it's not too bad. With that said, would I recommend it? Yes. I don't have the Figuarts to compare, but I do say that I am not missing that one since this one delivered on what I expected.
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