SUMMARY:
In 2009, Mattel released Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle in 6-inch form for Wave 7 of its DC Universe Classics series. His costume is completely painted on, though his partially transparent plastic yellow goggles are securely attached. The figure’s articulation points are: 1. His head nods and swivels a full 360-degrees. 2. With surprisingly good mobility, his arms bend well, as his wrists can do 360-degree rotations. 3. His torso allows him to bend forward and backwards. He can also spin his upper body or lower body a full 360-degrees at the torso. 4. His nimble legs can spread out and will bend at the knees and ankles. His lower legs swivel a full 360-degrees from a spot between the quads and kneecaps. 5. The bottom of his feet have peg holes for any display stands he might fit on, though none are included with the figure. Also, if properly positioned, this Blue Beetle can indefinitely retain a standing display pose.
Notes: While the Blue Beetle dates back to the early Golden Age, Ted Kord’s Silver Age Beetle was created in 1966 at Charlton Comics by artist Steve Ditko (Spider-Man’s co-creator). Having eventually acquired several of Charlton’s assets, DC Comics re-introduced Kord’s Beetle (along with Captain Atom, Nightshade, and the Question) to modern readers as belonging to its ‘Earth-4’ in the epic 1985-86 series, Crisis on Infinite Earths.
REVIEW:
Considering the complexity of his costume, Mattel does a solid job with this Blue Beetle, down to his trademark yellow goggles. This surprisingly durable Blue Beetle makes a perfect fit for either play time punching out imaginary crooks or for the display case. Almost everything a collector (including a top-caliber paint job) could want with this figure is here. The sole downside is that his generic buff molding doesn’t match Ted Kord’s everyman comic book physique.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Although it’s not shown below, his weapon-of-choice is a sophisticated blaster gun that resembles a glorified blow dryer. For the ‘Build-an Atom Smasher’ figure, Blue Beetle comes with one of its various components.
PACKAGING:
Mattel does a commendable job packaging Blue Beetle.
BRIAN & ROSCOE’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
