SPF: [Part 2] and now for something completely different...
Three radically unexpected D-tier superheroes and silly vehicular fun
Peacemaker, Judomaster, and Vigilante 3-pack
Whirlybat (Batman’s Aerial Pursuit Copter)
- Super Powers Wave 5 - 2023, DC Direct/McFarlane Toys
What an unexpected treat. Even with rumours swirling months in advance, it seems so unimaginable, this three-pack of characters, that I didn’t believe it until it went up for pre-orders with photos.
It’s a weird trio of figures, two Charlton heroes and DC’s riff on The Punisher in the 1980s. I watched —and enjoyed tremendously— Peacemaker, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad tv spinoff, so I know that this trio is represented within the show, but it’s still such a niche trio when we haven’t gotten, say, Harley Quinn, or Batgirl, or Supergirl or any of the Teen Titans save Robin/Nightwing, or or Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, or most of Batman or Flash or Superman'’s Rogues Gallery…or hell, if we’re picking up Charlton heroes, their Watchmen analogs… I could go on.
I mean, I’m tremendously happy to receive these figures. Overjoyed? Giddy even? When McFarlane rebooted/legasequeled the Super Powers line, this was what I was hoping for. In fact, this is better than I was hoping for, in terms of delivering deep cut DC characters and in classic costumes.
While I enjoy the novelty of an extra-sized blister card, but as someone who likes to keep their cardbacks, I wish the three-pack was instead three individually cardbacked figures within the mailer box. Speaking of, I’m curious how many people have received theirs in the “mailer box”?
The cardback is fun though. Two of these images was taken from the original 1985-86 Who’s Who. That Peacemaker is an image by the late, great Keith Giffen, while Judomaster is a Frank McLaughlan illustration. The Vigilante is for sure one of Tod Smith’s illustrations, whether directly from the 80’s comics or promotional material (the original image had Vigilante with a rifle, but DC’s “no guns with toys” policy means the rifle was removed and replaced with nunchaku).
Peacemaker, if we’re going off the John Cena model, is appropriately beefy, on the first wave Batman/Superman buck, with custom arms and legs (I thought they might have been reuse from Deathstroke, but he had chainmail sculpting that isn’t present here).
Vigilante is such an amazing, classic, elegant 80’s design he would have been perfect for the original 80’s Super Powers line…well, maybe not “perfect” given that he was a violent anti-hero who wound up committing suicide at the end of his series (erm, spoiler). Even still he was potentially in the books for a later wave of the original line He’s on the Flash body, which is just the right size.
Peacemaker I get. He’s rocketed from the D-list to second-string. Vigilante has been seen now twice in live action (he also appeared in Arrow) and he has a stellar design. Judomaster, even in the Peacemaker show, was a third-string character at best. Even among the Charlton heroes he was low-tier… Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Question even Peter Cannon Thunderbolt have all held their old title. But that’s what’s so exciting about him getting a Super Powers figure. He is what the line should be for. I’m impressed that they invested in new legs and head sculpt for freaking Judomaster. If I’m to quibble, I think Judomaster should be on the same body as Flash and Vigilante, but otherwise, fantastic. More like this please.
The Whirlybat was also one of the proposed vehicles from the pitch for the later waves of the original line so, along with the Supermobile, McFarlane is slowly making the dreams of the past reality today.
While the figures may not have action features, McFarlane Toys has done a pretty great job with toyetic vehicles. Here if you press the turbo vent at the back of the base, it spins the blades, quite well in fact.
The console decal is pretty nice, and while there’s a joystick, there’s no figure that can actually hold onto it.
It’s a pretty simple design, compared to the concept art for the vintage wave which was loaded with weaponry, but this feels more Batman ‘66/Adam West, and kind of more Batman appropriate. All those guns and missiles never really seemed all that “Batman” to me.
If these three figures and the vehicle were a wave on their own, I would be completely pumped for what’s to come in this iteration of Super Powers. With the repaint wave (as discussed in Part 1) accompanying them, it does temper that excitement a bit.
I’ve spoken of the rumours of the next wave(s) and I’m so freaking excited to see them but tempering my expectations a bit. I don’t think Blue Beetle’s bug ship or Brainiac’s skull ship will be as grand as I want them to be but I’ve been pretty delighted by every one of this line’s vehicles so far, so I’m hoping that they keep that trend way way up.
The Toy Kollector Problem isn’t that we’re not getting the cool stuff, but where to put it when it gets here.