Wendy's DC Heroes Set 2 exclusive review

Mini-Figure Mini-Reviews

If Set 1 was Superman, then obviously Set 2 is going to be Batman. The style of these figures is reminiscent of the DC Action League aesthetic (you remember, Mattel's Superhero Squad knockoffs), just not quite as superdeformed as those were. Batman's pose is a bit more dynamic than Superman's was; he still has his arms raised, in that traditional M.U.S.C.L.E. manner, as well as the familiar minor squat pose, but he's got one foot slightly in front of the other. The bat symbol on his chest is a raised element since, in true keshi fashion, none of these figures get any paint. The lower edge of Bats' cape is scalloped, and his little ears poke up cutely.

It can't be easy to pick which character to include in the second slot in a set of Batman figures. Dude's got enough sidekicks and various associates to field a full football team, so how do you narrow that down to just one? Well, Wendy's (or whoever made these figurines for them) has opted for Nightwing. And whoever sculpted this [Joe Allard for Big Shot Toy Works --ed.] really went all-out on the job, not only carving in the edges of the bird pattern on his chest and the details of his mask, but also giving him some hugely muscular shoulders, and even thinking to include the escrima sticks on Nightwing's back. Holy moly! The hair is a bit more "Hal Jordan" than "Dick Grayson," sadly, though maybe that's to remind us he used to be the clean-cut Robin? Amusingly, Nightwing's pose is a mirror of Batman's: left leg held higher than the right, right leg farther forward than the left. Cute!

You may have expected the villain in this set to be Joker, but perhaps that would have been too much for a kid's meal premium. So instead, we get Catwoman, wearing her old "DC style guide" dress. That's an unexpected pull! Yes, it may go back to the same "kid's meal" thing that potentially kept us from getting a Joker: Catwoman's worn a lot of costumes, but most of them are probably a bit too saucy for a toy aimed at wee little kiddos. She's molded with one hand resting on her hip, so she's still at least a bit sultry, and her left arm is raised in a fist. Really, they should have made that hand open, with short claws to play up the "cat" theme. While her dress and cape are sculpted, it also would have been nice if they'd sculpted her whip coiled at her waist, like Indiana Jones.

The Wendy's DC keshi toys came in four colors. I wasn't picky about which ones I got (since the dude working the counter was already being nice enough to find me all six boxes), but the purple really does suit this set pretty well. Would blue have been better? Sure, but better this than red or green.

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