Package Description
Ted Kord, friend and protégé to the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, assumed the hero’s mantle when Garrett was fatally injured in combat with robots commanded by Ted’s Uncle, Jarvis. Unfortunately Ted did not inherit any of Dan’s superpowers and instead studied a variety of martial arts skills, and invented a multitude of non-lethal weapons, none greater than the “Bug,” his solar-powered, stealthy, crime fighting vehicle.
Appearance 9/10
Mattel’s effort to boost quality control really shine on this figure. All the lines on Beetle’s chest and legs are sharp. The goggles are clear and his eyes visible underneath, although distorted. The distortion is probably because the goggles are solid, which is understandable at this scale, but they’re still a step up from Black Lightning and Eradicator in wave 5. The body is a generic DCUC body, but it still has all the muscle detail that makes this line great. The gun holster snaps in place too, and the gun has a lot of sculpt detail to make it stand out when Beetle holds it. The only place I thought the sculpt was lacking a little was the face. Whereas the mask is perfect, the face is a little flat and lacks detail when next to figures with better expressions like Booster Gold. However it’s the goggles that really draw the attention on the face, so it’s not really a problem as much as something that could be improved a little.
The proportions are good, and stylistically he fits in with all the DCUC figures. He looks great with Booster Gold or with other DC heroes. On the shelf the shape of the head helps him stand out. Overall Blue Beetle made an excellent transition to plastic. The colors match the comic art and the style suits the character, making him an excellent figure to display.
Articulation 9/10
The articulation points are standard for this line. The head can look up some but not a lot The range of motion in the right leg is slightly limited by the gun holster, but the holster swivels to allow most movement. The torso has its full range of motion. The only thing that was a problem at all was the holster sometimes getting in the way.
Poseability 10/10
The costume lends itself well to action poses. The limiting of the costume to shades of blue makes his poses seem more fluid and puts the emphasis on the body outline. He goes great on display by himself or with other figures. Posing him with Booster Gold is especially satisfying, although the metallic paints on Booster clash a little with the flat paints on Blue Beetle. Overall Blue Beetle is one of the easiest figures to pose in the line.
Final Judgment: 28/30
Beetle is as good as I could have ever hoped. In addition to the figure being well executed, the style fits the figure’s comic appearance very well. Even for people who aren’t fans of Beetle, this is one of the better figures in the line. Beetle is a great buy for any DC collector.
