DC Multiverse Wally West figure review – Collect and Connect Ninja Batman wave

Wally West’s return to the DC Universe signaled a Rebirth from the New 52 era. For a few years DC was easily putting out the best comics in the industry until executive decisions to start destroying the Titans once again started creeping up. In a reflection of better times for DC, Mattel released the Rebirth era of Wally West. Time to see if this figure puts me on the run.

Packaging:  It’s too bad Mattel didn’t use this cool multiple shade of blue packaging for their lines earlier as it looks great for the Multiverse series.

I also like the extra touch of using the artwork from the artist most associated with this look. In this case it’s Brett Booth from the Titans series.

Likeness:  What immediately stands out is the size of Wally’s noggin. It’s not that the head is so oversized for the body, but more that Wally is more of a slender guy and this wide round head doesn’t fit with his slim appearance. Size aside, the head looks good with sharp sculpted elements of Wally’s flowing hair and his mask.

That’s about it in terms of the sculpted work as the rest of his attire is defined via paintwork.

Scale:  Like most of the Multiverse figures, Wally is a little too tall to blend in with the DC Classics line, but fits in perfectly with the DC Essentials figures — including The Flash. I love that likely unintentional scale cohesion between Mattel and DC Collectibles/Direct.

Paint:  Wally’s Rebirth attire blended his classic Kid Flash and tenure as The Flash with a splash of silver to distinguish him from Barry Allen. The outfit isn’t just red and silver though as the lower half is a darker shade of red with the boots the same lighter shade as the torso.

The silver elements came out smoothly although the points of some of the lightning bolts could have been sharper. I was impressed with the work on Wally’s eyes and the wash on his hair.

Articulation:  Mattel had started to make some long overdue improvements to its articulation scheme with the Multiverse figures, but it still wasn’t quite up to the standards of other 6” lines.

Wally can hit a few reasonable running poses, but his head doesn’t move up enough for the ideal running stance. He’s a figure that would certainly benefit from the shin articulation and deeper range in the knees and elbows.

Wally West has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• biceps
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories:  Wally comes with alternate “running” hands and silver lightning running effects to convey his Rebirth colors.

Finally, he comes with right arm for the Collect and Connect Ninja Batman figure.

Worth it?  I got Wally West for $20. That’s a solid price for a figure at this scale with a Collect and Connect piece.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

I was thrilled with Wally’s return to the DCU. This figure comes close to capturing that same excitement, but is held back somewhat by the oversized head and restricted articulation.

Where to get it?  I grabbed Wally West from Entertainment Earth since this wave never seemed to appear at retail. You can also get him from Amazon.