Hal Jordan (Maximum Charge)
In some of my other Green Lantern reviews, I commented on how glad I was that Mattel had developed unique sculptures for each of the characters made into 4-inch action figures for their Green Lantern movie line. However, there is one instance where this statement does not apply.
Right from the start, Mattel introduced this Hal Jordan (GL02) figure, which uses the exact same molds that they used for the first figure in the line. Of course, this version is the “Construct” or “Maximum Charge” version (although no subtitle is visible on the packaging), and thus, it is almost entirely made from translucent green plastic.
And I emphasize “almost”, because the three joint pieces at shoulders and neck could not be cast in a similarly translucent material and maintain the same structural integrity that the other characters have. Or probably, Mattel just didn’t feel like spending some extra bucks in casting clear pin joints for just one figure.
The sculpture is good and very intricate, but most of the detail gets lost due to the single color approach. In fact, the only painted bits on this Green Lantern figure are the Green Lantern Corps logo on the chest and the white pupils.
Articulation remains the same as in the opaque version of Green Lantern, consisting of: these basic six joints:
• Swivel neck.
• Pegged hinges at the shoulders.
• Swivel waist.
• Swivel hips.
This version of Hal Jordan ships with an translucent green energy construct shaped like some sort of composite bow that goes over his right fist, and once again, the weight of the accessory prevents the figure from standing unassisted while using it. Of course, also included in the package is a child-sized Green Lantern Ring made of gray rubber and with a translucent green plastic face.
Now, as much as I like gimmicky figures, I must say that Mattel had done better than this before. In fact, given how much they were charging for these initially, they should have come up with a way to have the translucency effect and still add some more color variations on this figure, or at least applied some shading wash to it.
As it stands, it makes for a very cheap-looking toy and you should not consider getting one unless you find it for up to $2.00 USD, mint in package.
Errex Score: 60/100
Category: Featured, Other Film, Toy Reviews
Gotta love the glut of GL stuff on clearance, this is one of the reasons good stuff doesn’t make it to market, bad movie with overblown toy line equals stacks of crap that clog shelves and make purchasers second guess themselves. That said it’s an “ok” figure but yeah not worth more then 2 bones…
I almost picked up some GL figures at Kroger the other day but found a 2nd Zombie Viper instead.
Yeesh! I know Mattel loves their translucent green figures but… eww.
Though I do wish the Action League line got accessories that cool.