Lobo

Feetal's gizz! It's the Main Man! The last survivor of the planet Czarnia, Lobo is an intergalactic bounty hunter that plays by his own rules to get the job done. Though he's fought on the side of the good guys, his crude tactics often put him in direct opposition with the Super Heroes of the Justice League and the DC universe. Lobo has super-strength, speed, and heightened senses, which help him track his prey across the galaxy. He's also a brutal fighter with regenerative abilities that make him virtually indestructible. DC's "New 52" Lobo drew a ton of angry criticism because it wasn't what the fans were expecting: derisively dubbed "Twilight Lobo" (because Twilight was a thing people cared enough about to bother hating back in 2013), he was a sleek, polished killer rather than a dirty space-biker. The original version was eventually brought back, though, so that's the version McFarlane Toys has made. This is as vintage Lobo as it gets: big black boots, blue jeans, a ribbed shirt, and a sleeveless leather vest. THE '90S!!!!! He's like if Lemmy and Rob Zombie made sweet, tender love and had a baby together. The details in the sculpt here are outstanding. There are little steel caps on the toes of his boots, angular armored shin guards with spiked skull kneepads, a skull belt buckle, small rips in his shirt, a sculpted "BITE ME, FANBOY" logo on the back... just terrific work from sole to scalp. The figure is 7⅞" tall, so they had plenty of room to work. But not everything is perfect. Although the figure is about an inch taller than the average McToys DC Multiverse toy, his head still looks sized for a smaller body. Even under his long hair (which, frankly, should be bulkier), it's apparent the head is too small for his frame. Not by a lot, just 10% or so, but it's enough to catch your eye... especially once we take the paint into consideration. Traditionally, Lobo's skin is white; that's true of all the Czarnians. Blank white doesn't look great on a toy, though, so figures tend to give him a little bit of shade. So like, you look at his arms, and they're actually a light gray, not white at all, but it still looks right and it still looks good. The face, however? Actual white. Like that girl you went to school with who wore concealer like it was foundation, there is a distinct split between the color of his face and the color of his neck, and it's distracting. Plus, none of the holes in his shirt that should be showing skin are painted anything other than green, and the back of his legs are entirely unpainted. Like, parts that are clearly sculpted to be boot are blue. Parts that are sculpted to be metal are blue. Parts that are sculpted to be straps holding his armor on are blue. Ninja Spawn was bad, but this is worse. The articulation is what we always get from McFarlane these days: balljointed head, balljoint/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/​hinge/swivel wrists, a balljointed chest, balljointed waist, swivel/hinge hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel/​hinge/swivel ankles, and hinged toes. His only accessory is his big hook and chain. Unfortunately, rather than using a real chain like a sane company would do, McToys has molded them both from a single piece of PVC, so it fits around his forearm and hangs down from his hand, but will never do anything else. It does look really nice when he's holding it, but it's not fun to play with. In all honesty, the change from old biker Lobo to new skinny Lobo could have worked - he was still deadly and efficient - but a couple things would have had to be different. First, don't let Rob Liefeld introduce a typical Lobo in his New 52 Deathstroke comic, and second, don't announce that's who the new character was: just put him in stories, let him be a dangerous badass with a codename, give the readers time to appreciate him, then drop the reveal. As it is, he was sunk because he looked different than expected. This Lobo has an amazing sculpt (below the neck), but the corners cut on the paint are really annoying. He's better than the SDCC exclusive, but the best version remains the BAF. -- 11/23/22

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