If you’ve been a DC toy collector for longer than fifteen years, then you know how crucial DC Direct was when it started. While Toy Biz pumped out mountains of Marvel figures throughout the 90s, Kenner/Hasbro mainly stuck to Batman, the various movies and animated series. Superman occasionally got a figural nod. Wonder Woman was tied up, unused, at Mattel. And… everybody else? Ha!
If you asked a DC collector in 1999 where to pick up the deepest roster of DC figures, they would have to point you to Super Powers, a fifteen year old toy line. Other than a non-Batman guy getting an occasional guest spot in a Batman line, or a couple 6-12 figure attempts by Kenner/Hasbro over the years, that was it. The idea that Mattel would come along and rock our collecting DC world for the last decade wasn’t even something to hope for. It was dark times.
But in 1999, DC Comics took matters into their own hands. They formed DC Direct to… well, to sell directly to their customers through comic shops. Looking back, the first offerings weren’t the best – soft sculpts, not the best articulation – but it didn’t matter. The Sandman! Wonder Woman! Swamp Thing!* It was amazing enough that they existed! And talk about drinking the sand because you don’t know the difference? Those figures still hold a special place in my new52-blackened heart.
DC Direct went on for years making characters DC fans had only dreamed of (& some we didn’t) thanks largely to their inability to make any Superman & Batman figures. Thinking back, the sculpts were probably always the highlight. The articulation improved over time, but wonkiness would often crop up. Stil, it was awesome. Dr. Fate & the Spectre. Heck, almost the whole JSA. Flash Rogues. The Legion. Sgt. Rock! The Crime Syndicate. Were they all great figures? With what we see & expect today? Maybe not. But it was a hell of a ride! For the first five years, I bought every DCD figure (except MAD Magazine figs). Looking through Joe Acevedo’s awesome DCD checklist, I see page after page of good memories.
In 2005-6, the artist-inspired figures started. Miller figures. Jim Lee figures. And they could make Batman & Superman figures by that point too, so the depth chart dried up more than a littel. They still produced some killer figures, but I found myself buying less. That was probably spurred on by the regime change at DC too. Hal was back. The absolutely awful Identity Crisis was published. And Mattel would soon grab my attention with the better articulated, Four Horsemen sculpted, Super-Powersesque S3/DCUC line. I’d still buy an occasional DCD figure if it was really well done or from a story I enjoyed. That came to an end in 2011 – the Blue Lantern Warth was my last DCD figure – when DC Direct made the switch to the New 52 figures.
In the last three years, they’ve also switched to being called DC Collectibles instead of DC Direct. Over that time, various friends would tell me that the figures were getting better and better. Honestly, I wasn’t interested. The sculpts did look better. Added articulation could be more fun. But everything was from New 52 or the Arkham games*. Solicit after solict, I didn’t see anything I needed. And then I quit looking at solicits altogether.
* – The Arkham stuff is well and good, but the life of a 90s DC Collector including buying countless versions of Bat-villains. An updated figure of the classic designs? I’m game for that, but another new version of those guys. I’m just too old for that.
This year finally broke that trend and DCC got me to notice. The new, six-inch, better articulated, Animated figures look snazzy. A handful of New 52 figures – mostly ones where I like the redesigned costumes, if not the books – look sharp. And, finally, a legitimate “New 52” character, one that does not exist in my preferred DCU, but I enjoyed all the same seemed to have gotten a cool figure. Remember, this is a Talon Review after all.
I should’ve just had my local shop order me one of this guy. I knew I wanted him, but I was maybe okay if I didn’t run across him? It’s odd to figure out. When I did find him, he was $25 and I still wasn’t convinced. The funny thing is that the MSRP on a DC Collectibles figure is $25. I pay $25 pretty routinely for figures, but there are a couple guys at this particular store that price their DCCs at $18. It figures the first figure I finally kinda want had to come in while the smarter guy was working. I snagged my $25 Talon while leaving the $22 Crime Syndicate figures and $18 Bizarro nearby. Pains me.
Now that we’re finally talking about the figure, I should point out the packaging really wasn’t notable other than it says this is a “Greg Capullo Action Figure”. Maybe it’s him under that Talon mask? The figure did look sharp in the package too. Riddler was also at the store, but those mutton chops of his offend me. Plus, another Riddler. Ugh. Batman & Nightwing had already been picked up before I got there, so I didn’t see ’em. Now, I never need another Batman, but the promise that Talon seemed to have in the package made me kinda wish I’d at least been given the chance to see the Batman. Continue to Page 2…
I as in the deep en on day one with DCD, but when they got the B/S licenses back, I started passing on a LOT of offerings. I don’t even remember what the last DC-D/C figure I bought was, but likely the Blackest Night era, where they were white hot at the time of ordering, but cold by the time they hit the shelves a few month later. You couldn’t give them away aside from a few figures, and those were mostly Black Lanterns. To this day, I don’t know why DC and Mattel started copying each other, but it seemed to kill interest in both lines.
As for Talon, it’s a decent design, but that solid torso to head piece is a major stumbling block for me. It is cool that the bandolier daggers are separate, but the damaged in package blades and shoddy ankle QC is just another reason I don’t have any interest in DCC. It seems to be a 50/50 shot at good QC or consistently bad QC, these days.
btw, I probably would buy that Riddler, but only f I saw him in person, first.
I do really wish the head could move independently, even in a limited fashion.
Riddler? But dem muttonchops? Ugh!
body looks slightly better than the DCUC version, and heads can be swapped.
The Batman from this series is really good too, he’s replaced DCUC new52 Batman on my shelf!
He looked snazzy on the packaging. I don’t need a New 52 Bats, but if I did…
I glanced at one in the comic store, but the face looked really flat. Like, highly noticeable at first glance flat. Worse than a DCUC girl’s face flat.
Ba-Dum Cha!
how many hours did it take to turn all them heads?
lol It wasn’t that bad! It’s turning them all back after that stinks. 🙂
I really don’t like artist-specific figures, but this one is obviously a new character so that works out.
Nice review great pics as always. 🙂
Thanks! And, yeah, I agree. Talon doesn’t seem like an artistic-specific fig even if he is.
So glad you reviewed this figure, Noisy! I was never that into DC Direct’s offerings (for all the reasons you mentioned), and with a few exceptions I’m not a fan of line-mixing, but with the demise of DCUC and what appears to be a HUGE leap in quality, I’ve been considering dipping my toes into the DC Collectibles pond. And this is the figure I was thinking of starting with. Yeah, it’s new 52, but Batman really wasn’t effected THAT much by the new direction, was he? So to me Talon fits in just fine. The sculpt looks fantastic, the articulation is right in line with what we came to expect from Matty, and the amount of accessories is just amazing (No idea those throwing blades were removable!) Including all the various weapons makes displaying multiples more fun, as well. Smart. The owl-mask was a nice touch, too. That seems like one of those little details ol’ Matty would have chintzed-out on. So, yeah, I think I’ll grab this guy today (and maybe a few more over time) to fight what looks to be a SICK Thrasher-armor Batman.
Again, thanks for the review, and for continuing to give the people what they want! I’m looking forward to more from this line.
Batman wasn’t, yeah. I would’ve liked more time with Dick & Damian, but he was already back before New 52 anyway. Definitely easier to follow him and the GL books though, to be sure.
And thanks! I hope you find some nicely painted figs!
Picked up this guy last week, and your review is spot-on. Mine had the “white gunk” as well(I don’t want to know), but it wiped off easily. And the swords and knives do have sort of a “brittle” feel to them. So much so that I’m a little afraid to do the tried-and-true Boiling Water Dip on the knives to try and straighten them out a little. Just not sure how this material will react.
I also found the scabbards that hold Talon’s swords on his back don’t have a very snug fit. So if you’re goofing around with him at your desk (Or inside your blanket fort. Whichever.) making him do flips and stuff, the swords tend to slide right out. Did you run into this?
In any case, this is a solid toy, and it looks like i just found my “gateway” figure to the DC Collectibles line.
Hmm. Interesting. I think I may finally buy a DCD figure if they ever get to Super Powers Kalibak (maybe the cartoon version?). Not really interested in mixing lines, but the DCUC SP Kalibak just doesn’t get it done.
I really would’ve liked a new head on that Kalibak. It’s just not snively enough. I’d love to see that figure get a proper update.
I bought Talon and the Riddler(Don’t have the DCUC version) as soon as I heard they were in @ my LCS. Yeah, the lack of articulation in the neck area for Talon sucks, and takes a little bit away from the figure, but still overall, he rocks. Glad he has packed with so many accessories to help make up for that. Also, same Qc problems with his swords too on my end:(
Overall, I’m liking what I see from these new waves of figures. Glad they’re stepping up on the articulation front since DCUC is RIP.
Overall, the legs and arms give some great range (if the ankles were a little tighter, I’d be so happy though).
What’d you think of the Riddler? I couldn’t figure out how much articulation he had in the package. I just saw all mutton chops…
I HATE NEW 52
I’m softening to my dislike, but still not buying.
I gave it a chance. I read probably half the books the first month. By the second, I was down to probably a quarter. By month six, I was reading less than half a dozen. Now, I’m only reading Batgirl, and that’s mostly because Gail Simone is one of the most consistently awesome writers in comics today. Even that’s bittersweet, because, while Batgirl is a pretty great book on its own merits, Oracle was one of my favorite pre-52 characters, and this book entirely undoes all her accomplishments and character growth.
I’m reading Azzarello/Chiang on WW & Kyle’s book. That’s it.
I hadn’t been aware that the popularity of reviews was even a factor. If it hadn’t been for the various Japanese import figure reviews over the past few years, I never would’ve discovered the S.H. Figuarts, misc_Chogokin, and Figma lines, the Persona video games, or tokusatsu.
It isn’t too much, but I do like to beat last year’s traffic and I’ll look for more popular stuff when I want to beat a strong day. There’s good stuff at every interest level to be sure, though.
When I move one leg at the hip on my Talon figure, the other leg moves with it. Is that normal?
haven’t snagged him up yet, and given the motuc sub renewal hits a few days, i likely won’t get to for a bit… BUT he’s definitely coming home w/ papi. given the jumps forward DCC has taken in recent months, i’m very glad to get some needed dc figs in my collection, and talon, while lacking in history, not only enjoys a bad assed visual design, but also leapt to the fore in one of the best executions of a retcon i can think of.
Wasn’t looking to pick this up, but now you convinced me sir.
Loved the Riddler, and picked him up at the same time as Talon. Some people don’t like ’em, but I don’t mind ’em. Give Nigma more personality I think.
Plus I needed a Riddler in his suit, so…..
Very nice collectibles. A great a addition to your collection if you are a DC fan.
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