McFarlane Toys Digital DC Direct Aquaman review
McFarlane Toys’ Digital DC Direct Aquaman is a welcome addition to the line. Goofy digitally building a figure aside I appreciated getting a pretty vintage versions of a founding Justice League member.
In this same wave, we already got a fantastic figure of Green Lantern, so I’ve got high hopes for the DC Direct Aquaman.
Let’s see if he delivers for the true king of Atlantis or if this figure is constantly fighting upstream.
Packaging: McFarlane decided to change things up from the DC Multiverse line. The DC Direct window is wider with a turquoise and dark blue color scheme. It’s stands out better and makes for a flashier presentation for MOC collectors.
Predictably because I was looking for it, I couldn’t track down the cover used for the comic artwork.
Likeness: I like the head sculpt. It’s sporting a serious stern expression befitting Atlantis’ king. I like the modern take that Aquaman had more fun with his Justice League teammates and largely was bored ruling.
This looks like the bored king waiting on some world-shattering emergency so he can hang with his friends. I can almost see Aquaman star Patrick Wilson in the sculpt.
One area that’s not my favorite is the water swept hair. It’s positioned wider and airy making his hair look far too thick and high. The intent makes sense unless Aquaman isn’t in the water…
Save the new head the figure is a reuse of the Endless Winter Aquaman. That base was fine and besides the painted side eyes that was a quality Aquaman.
A staple of all the great Aquaman figures is included here with the sculpted scale shirt. It looks fantastic. His belt also looks great with paneling and the A logo is prominently centered. His lower half isn’t as exciting, but the ankle fins look solid.
Scale: Aquaman is a tad too wide. He’s bulkier than the rest of his Justice League allies including Martian Manhunter. Ideally, he should be somewhere in between his torso size and The Flash. The hair is giving him some extra height that’s making him taller as well.
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Paint: I haven’t had much trouble with sloppy paint work with McFarlane figures. Of course, my announcer jinx was going to have to come in sooner or later. My Aquaman had a little yellow overspray in the inner portion of his belt.
Aquaman’s bright orange stands in nice contrast to his fellow Justice League members. The sculpt on the chainmail has either a white or silver wash to give the scales some depth and avoid making them look too flat.
His hair gets a darker wash with a hint of brown. It does the desired effect of showcasing the strands without looking too dirty.
Articulation: DC Direct Aquaman has the expected articulation from the line meaning he moves pretty well in hitting all the requisite swimming and brawling poses.
DC Direct Aquaman has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders [with pop up/down point]
- butterfly shoulders
- elbow
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee
- ankle
- toe
Accessories: For the Digital DCD figures, McFarlane has become more generous with the accessories.
DC Direct Aquaman has an alternate smiling head sculpt. The idea was good, but the execution was a little off. The expression makes him look a little too happy like he’s forcing a smile instead of just being happy.
He’s got swappable hands with flat palms for swimming poses.
As always, he’s got the circular figure stand. This time it’s got DC Direct on it, which will lead to that getting hit with some black paint. There’s also the card with the code for the Digital BAF.
Additionally, he’s got his trident. None of them have been particularly too detailed. There are sculpted elements to it but the bright yellow makes it harder to spot unless you’re looking very closely.
Finally, he comes with his imp, Qwsp. Unlike Superman’s problematic imp from the Fifth Dimension, Mister Mxyzptlk, Qwsp actually helped Aquaman on his adventures debuting way back in Aquaman #1. Qwsp is nicely done with terrific sculpting that matches up well with the Who’s Who artwork (check it out on Amazon) by Xum Yukinori.
He’s not articulated beyond the shoulders, but this is the kind of fun inclusion that is starting to make the McFarlane DC Multiverse line a contender for best DC line.
Worth it? The DC Direct figures have a higher-than-normal price tag of $24.99. This is the usual McFarlane Toys price for a Build-A-Figure wave. The digital figure doesn’t make up for the extra cost, but Qwsp provides something more to justify the price.
Rating: 8 out of 10
DC Direct Aquaman gets us close to another member of the classic Justice League of America lineup from McFarlane. He’s got a few things holding him back namely the head sculpt and bulk, but he’s a very solid entry in the DC Multiverse line.
Where to get it? DC Direct Aquaman is available on Amazon.
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