McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Martian Manhunter Gold Label review

Martian Manhunter has been one of the hallmark members of the Justice League since its formation. One of the big issues McFarlane Toys faced early on was the heavy Batman focus. Collectors were clamoring for greater diversity in the line and to its credit, they’ve made some significant strides to cover other areas of the DC Universe.

J’onn J’onzz is a nice step in that direction as regular in the Detroit era, JLI era and of course the Morrison/Porter. There’s not a lot of Justice League lineups that don’t have Martian Manhunter in it so it’s nice to get him in the line. Of course, McFarlane knocked out the modern version of Manhunter first, but thankfully it didn’t take long to get him in his classic style. Let’s see if I’ve found my alien with this take on Martian Manhunter.

Packaging: Outside of the special foil sticker on the left side indicating this is a Gold Label release, McFarlane Toys didn’t change anything else with the packaging. It’s still the black with blue and white accents color scheme and a wide window to check out the figure.

I appreciate the open window as McFarlane Toys aren’t always the best with paintjobs. This helps tremendously in picking out the best version. I’d love for a packaging refresh. This time it’s just a basic picture of the figure. If nothing else there should be a bio and basic information on the characters.

Likeness: Martian Manhunter has a great alien head sculpt. His brow is appropriately pronounced and he’s got the typical stoic expression. J’onn’s signature cross hatch harness and high collar cape was executed well. I like the flare of the cape, which is ideal for flying poses.

There’s also some nice detail work on the clasps and the belt buckle. His boots have the buccaneer style with high cuffs. Maybe overall he could stand to be a bit wider and thicker, but that’s more of how he measures up to his teammates compared to him standing alone.

Scale: Scale has been an Achilles heel for McFarlane Toys. Manhunter is too short — Kyle Rayner looks down on him — and he needed to be wider and thicker to look similar to Superman. That’s frustrating and something McF needs to make a priority.

Paint:  I’m not going to slam McFarlane for the stray bad paintjob. That’s the cost of keeping the figures under $20. There’s some fuzziness around the buckle, but that’s it.

The shade of green for Manhunter seems spot on from comic portrayals and other companies’ take on J’onn. His boots have a strong vibrant shade of blue while the red is slightly muted.

MORE:

• G.I. Joe Classified Series figure reviews
• WWE Ultimate Edition Doink the Clown review
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – Ribbit and Rip It review S1 E8
• Werewolf by Night review

Articulation: Martian Manhunter is adept at fighting from long-rang distances as well as close up in a melee battle. His neck could use better range for straight ahead flying poses. The collar was a cleverly engineering separate piece and doesn’t impact his movement at all.

Martian Manhunter has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders [with pop up/down point]
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee
• ankle
• toe

Accessories: McFarlane Toys tends to skimp on accessories so I wasn’t shocked that J’onn didn’t have much beyond the basic black stand and trading card. It would have been nice to get an alternate head and maybe an example of his powers in action with an alien hand/arm attachment.

Another very useful accessory would have been swappable flying hands. That’s not something McFarlane has done in the past, but that’s really something they’d need to do with certain characters.

Worth it? McFarlane Toys is sticking with the $20 price tag for standard figures. It’s helpful that the price point isn’t going to dramatically shift anytime soon, which is appreciated.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Manhunter’s scale is the biggest problem. While I’d love to see flying hands I wish he were just a touch wider and taller.

Where to get it?  I’m pretty sure J’onn is exclusive to Target, which is the exclusive home for this figure. You can also grab him now from Target.com.