Mattel DC Premier Wave 1 (Batman, Robin, The Flash, The Joker) Review and Images

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: ToyFarce review!

This week, we're having a look at the first wave of new DC Comics figures from Mattel, the Premier line (wasn't it Core before?) which is their more basic, cheaper line, similar to their WWE Basic line vs the Elite / Ultimate Edition figures. I was going to wait for the collector line to come out next year before getting into those, but those were $12. Twelve dollars! That made the decision relatively easy. And for twelve bucks, these are pretty great!

Unless you've been leaving under a rock the last couple of years, you might have heard that McFarlane Toys will no longer have the DC Comics franchise after this year, and that Mattel picked it back up. The old Mattel DC Universe figures were usually pretty great, despite having their fair share of issues, but the today's Mattel is not the same as back then. Starting mid-2026, Mattel is releasing their "kid's line", the Premier line, with the more premium, collector figures scheduled for 2027. The first couple of waves of DC Premier are already available, along with a few multipacks and vehicles. This first wave had Batman (oH No, NoT aNoThEr bAtMan!), Robin, the Flash and the Joker.




Batman comes with a sprue full of accessories (batarangs, grapple gun, smoke canisters, landmines?) and a display stand for the accessories. The figure itself has a soft goods cape and a pretty decent sculpt! It seems to take inspiration from several eras, blue and grey with the Rebirth symbol (with the thin yellow border around the logo). The accessories can be attached on the display stand for a makeshift Batcave display, or in the back of his utility belt, which is pretty neat. Once again, $12. It's a great figure for that price. They have a decent amount of articulation (22 points, including biceps swivels, single jointed elbows, thigh swivels, double knees,...). The 6-inch scale is smaller than the McFarlane Toys figures or DC essentials figures, but slightly taller than Marvel Legends or DC Icons. They do fit pretty well with most Mattel figures.














Comparison pics with McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batman, and DC Direct DC Essentials Batman


Comparison pics with DC Direct DC Icons Batman and Hasbro Marvel Legends The Hood


Robin also comes with accessories on a sprue (throwing stars, handcuffs, bo staff with blades, a knife) and a display stand, which can be connected to Batman's. It's a pretty good Robin figure, which looks like a Tim Drake rather than a Dick Grayson. His suit also takes from different eras, mostly from Dan Mora's Robin (with similar green legs and shoes). One of the best parts is that he scales well with the other figures of that line, which had been a long running curse with Robin figures, who were either too tall or too small.












Comparison pics with MAFEX Batman: Hush Robin


The Flash (Oh my god, a non-Batman character!) is a very decent figure too. He comes with lots of lightning effects and accessories on his sprue, which are transparent yellow. You can attach them on his back and legs, with others that he can just...carry by hand? He also has a spinning thunder wheel. The suit seems like your average Flash, which could be either Barry Allen or Wally West. He can't really get into deep running poses, but I imagine that's where the collector line will be better.










Comparison pics with DC Direct DC Essentials Flash

And finally, the Joker. A very good looking one, might I add! He comes with a Joker Blaster, a neon green sprue of accessories (missiles for the Joker blaster, a clown face thingy, landmines... Why do they have landmines?), along with Jokerized masks for Batman, Robin and Flash. That's pretty cool, the Jokerized trend lives on! This Joker has a rather classic look, which always works. I like his head sculpt. His Joker Blaster reminds me of the weapon that came with an old Kenner figure (Legends of Batman one), with the big smile and teeth on the gun.














Comparison pics with McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Joker and DC Direct DC Essentials Joker


All in all, it's a great "first" offering, and pretty amazing to grab an entire wave for around $50. If you're curious about what the future holds for DC figures, I'd grab that $12 Batman, which should make you look forward for the premium line next year. I know I am!



You can grab those DC Premier figures from Mattel from places like our sponsors BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth or Nerdzoic.

More news at 11:00... Super Heroes & Super-Villains!