By Will Romine, Age 32
I get a lot of things in the mail. As a professional geek, it comes with the territory. When I get something that really charges me up, I write about it.
Today, was a fun trip to the mail box. I had a package waiting for me from my good friends at Entertainment Earth. I want you to let that concept sink in. Entertainment. Earth. This company has given themselves a pretty hefty mandate. They’re not just entertaining me, they’re not just entertaining you, they’ve tasked themselves with entertaining the WHOLE EARTH! Chew on that for a bit.
I wager that what I pulled from that box would indeed entertain the world. Inside was a Batman figure. But wait, it wasn’t just any Batman figure, it was a 19 inch Batman figure. Still not excited? It was the Batman v. Superman Jokers Wild 2016 SDCC Exclusive! Brought to us by Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific.
I love variant action figures, the more non-canonical, the better. I consider them the “Elseworlds” of the plastic/vinyl world. Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific give us a fun backstory for the “Joker’s Wild” figure. On the way from the factory, the Joker “defaced” a shipment of standard Batman figures. I guess the Joker that lurks around toy factories is less Greg Capullo and more Dick Sprang. The result, dare I say, is a fun improvement on the original! Overall, this piece is a fun addition to any collection. It’s a wonderful companion piece to a Funko Pop! that came in my Loot Crate a year back. If more Jokerized Batman figures are produced, then that makes it a genre!
However, if you’re going to shell out for this piece, you should know what you’re getting into. This is really more of a display figure, and you want to avoid dynamic poses. This piece topples over when the arms face forward and isn’t ideal for action shots. However, with a piece as big as this, balance issues are to be expected. My biggest issue though, isn’t with the figure itself, but with its inclusion into a larger line. Ostensibly, Entertainment Earth and Jakks Pacific released this figure as part of the Batman v. Superman line of Big Figs, but I see broader frontiers.
Take the unpainted Batman base that was used for this figure, give it to a wide spectrum of artists, and let them pour their creativity onto this Bat-Canvas. It’s a formula that’s worked well with KidRobot’s Dunny blind box line, and could be expanded to large scale figures. Could you imagine, a line of 19inch blind boxes? Are you interested in my disposable income Entertainment Earth? If so, you know what you have to do.
Do you want one? Well, you can’t have mine. But, there are some still available on the Entertainment Earth website. Don’t dally!
Look What Came in The Mail: Joker’s Wild!
via http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/08/27/look-came-mail-jokers-wild/
Will Romine
