McFarlane Toys DC Digital Monarch review (2025)

Monarch was the big bad for one of DC’s wildest crossovers — Armageddon. That event isn’t exactly as revered as Crisis on Infinite Earths or Zero Hour, but it did have some fun intrigue with the identity of the hero underneath the cool armor of Monarch.

He hasn’t gone on to lead a very memorable villain career since his debut and has largely been a symbol of underwhelming 90s characters that had a splashy arrival before fading into obscurity. But he did have a cool design and that was enough for McFarlane Toys to add him to the DC Digital line.

Let’s see if Monarch gets a royal figure treatment or if it’s time for a new seat in the throne.

Packaging: The DC Direct setup features a wider window with a more colorful turquoise and dark blue color scheme. It stands out compared to the black and white setup used for the standard Multiverse line.

For some reason, Monarch gets the classic Justice League of America logo even though that iteration of the team was long disbanded.

Over on the back, is a cool bit of artwork from Ed Benes.

Likeness: Monarch definitely seemed to be inspired by The Anti-Monitor with his large gauntlets and layered shoulder pads and shin armor.

McFarlane Toys sculptors did a nice job of translating the comic book look right down to the studded belt.

The armor has plenty of angles and his crown piece has intricate detail along with the slightly recessed eyes from his mask. Monarch has a three-point skirt piece that doesn’t make for easy sitting but is accurate to the design.

Scale: Monarch doesn’t get the massive event scaling for the big boss and is just an armored version of his alter-ego, who I won’t spoil if you don’t already know. That puts him about even with Superman and slightly taller than Batman and Green Lantern.

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Paint: Monarch actually gets a wash, which helps to dirty up his light grey armor and makes the yellow on his armored crown, belt and kneepad have a good-like appearance.

The blues are vibrant with the two-tone greys contrasting nicely against each other. Monarch has a clean paint job with little or no slop or fuzzy line work.

Articulation: Monarch had no problem going against the major DC heroes including Superman, Captain Atom, Power Girl, Metamorpho and The Flash.

His armor limits his movement to a significant degree, but he can throw some punches and channel his energy blasts to aid his attacks.

Monarch has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee
• ankle
• toe

Accessories: McFarlane Toys doesn’t splurge on accessories for figures, but they do tend to throw something useful for each character.

That’s not the case with Monarch, who gets absolutely nothing. A power burst effect repurposed from another character would have been better than nothing.

Like other DC Digital figures, Monarch  gets the usual trading card, digital redemption card and the DC Digital stand with the distinct labeling.

Worth it? McFarlane Toys has raised the prices on figures so the originally higher priced Digital figures are now $27.99. Considering the lack of accessories, his value isn’t great.

I got him for $20, which makes for a fairer price.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Monarch isn’t the most exciting figure in the line, but he’s surprisingly good. Now McFarlane just needs to release more Armageddon era figures.

Where to get it? I grabbed Monarch from GameStop, but he’s available at Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.