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Feeling like he wasn’t getting Batman’s respect as a man, Dick Grayson ditched the speedo and booties of his Robin persona and put on some big boy pants.  He set out on his own to make a new name for himself and earn respect as Nightwing!

This year, DC Comics is celebrating its 75th anniversary.  To help celebrate, Mattel has put out the adult collector series of action figures called, DC Universe Classics: DC Comics 75 Years of Super Power.

Product Line: DC Universe Classics: DC Comics 75 Years of Super Power
Character: All-Star Nightwing (Re-release of the Wave 3 Nightwing)
Company: Mattel
Release Date: Late 2009/Early 2010 (??) At the writing of this review, I haven’t been able to find a solid release date in my research.  Everything I have found, points to this series coming out in late March or Early April of 2010.  Perhaps I should have put this puppy on eBay instead of busting it open for you guys?  Nah!  Where’s the fun in that?
Packaging: Blister Card Packaging (In this case, a GINORMOUS plastic casing glued to cardboard!)
Where to Buy: I’ve only been able to find this particular series at Wal-Mart, although it bears no “exclusive” labels.
Price: US $14.97
Points of Articulation: 23
Height: 6″
Paint Job: Handsomely painted with a flat finish for the most part.  The blue on the arms and hands, and the boots are glossy.  I’m not quite sure why it is done both ways.  Nightwing has blue streaks throughout his hair to give it kind of a “shadowing” effect.  I’ve always been a fan of the way his gloves each had two blue fingers.  The paint job on this action figure accurately portrays that.  It’s pretty sweet.  The skin tone is good and his mask is perfectly painted on and doesn’t bleed or streak onto the skin.

Sculpt: Nightwing’s muscles, like most super hero action figures, are part of the sculpt but they are not really accented by the paint job.  He has two clips on his back for holstering his escrima sticks.  This is quite accurate.  I like this feature.  Very cool!  This cat also has some cool hair.  It is sculpted to detailed perfection.  Splash some Brut on this guy and you won’t be able to keep your Teela and April O’Neil action figures off of him!  You’ll have to fight them off with an escrima stick!
Durability: Nightwing’s construction is solid.  It features no hollow pieces.  There is a peg hole in the center of each boot sole.  He also flexes at all points of articulation very well (he’s an acrobat. Duh!) but his right leg sometimes swings loose at the groin.  This figure is also more lightweight than what he appears.

Poseability: Mr. Grayson can stand up straight, although he is standing right next to my laptop as I type this and he is swaying back and forth.  That can be one of two things; either he does not balance very well or he is agreeing with everything I am typing and is enthusiastic about his nods of approval.  I would say that this figure only has okay balance.  He topples over if he is not positioned just right.  Because of these balance issues, he is limited to the poses you can put him in.  Both of his hands are sculpted in the same “open-clinched” fist, making it possible for him to hold his weapons.  The bad thing is that his grip is wider than the escrima sticks, so you have to position his hands and weapons just right so the weapons don’t flop around.  In the package, however, he holds onto them rather nicely.

Accessories: Like I have already been discussing, Nightwing comes with two escrima sticks.  They are painted in a silver-gray and have textured, diamond-pattern grips.  Both sticks fit in the holsters on his back for when it comes time to do a little rooftop hopping.

 Also provided, is a clear blue DC Universe display stand.  Mattel must have known about the poor balance issues and decided to include this.  Even when on the stand, the balance isn’t really corrected because there is a slight bow in the plastic.  If you use the stand, Nightwing looks a little dorky in a statuesque sort of way.

For this next keen bauble, you’re going to have to dig deep into your closet, basement, storage unit, or your mom’s attic and get out your jean jacket!  Yep!  That’s right, folks!  This 75th anniversary edition of Nightwing comes complete with a collector button!  This collector button features artwork by Jim Lee from the DC All-Star: Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder!  On the back of the button is a snazzy little “DC 75th Anniversary” logo.  By the way, if you’re too young to know what a jean jacket is…Google it at your own risk!
 

What’s Awesome: This Nightwing action figure looks great!  Hands down, it is probably the best Nightwing action figure that I have ever seen.  It doesn’t take a spider to weave “Some Pig” for everyone to pay attention to its awesomeness.  The detailed costume and the holsters on the back, give us everything we’ve ever wanted in a Nightwing action figure.  I’m happy that Mattel saw fit to re-release  this action figure because I have heard that the original release is pretty hard to find these days.  Lastly, since this is an anniversary release, I’m glad that Mattel didn’t decide to go old-school with this one and put Dick in his funky, open-chest costume.  Yeesh!

What Sucks: It is rather disappointing that an action figure looking this good, has to have such poor balance and limited poseability; especially when he even has twenty-three points of articulation.  I suppose he could actually hold a fairly awesome pose…if you don’t breathe!  Also, I think the $14.97 price tag is a little steep.  But, you’ll be spending more if you get it at a speciality online store.

Overall (Part One): 3 out of 5.  I give Nightwing three thumbs up as a loose figure.  He’s getting a three on his good looks alone.  This dude is a stumble bum!  You can’t pose him anywhere and leave him for a decoration or trophy of your geekness.  The collector button helps get to a three, as well.  It is a pretty sweet button after all.  Mine is going on my fanny pack!

Overall (Part Two): 5 out of 5.  I give Nightwing five thumbs up if he is left in his package.  If you were to leave him frozen in carbonite, like he is, you get all of the visual awesomeness without any of the balance or poseability issues because the packaging is very attractive too.  I guess the front of the package says “Adult Collector” for a reason.  Besides, this series DOES NOT come with a “Build-A-Figure” piece so there isn’t an absolute need to open it.  Gotta have it?  Uh huh!  Just remember to leave him in the package, m’kay?

Aron White
aron@comicattack.net