Review – Arby’s Justice League Unlimited Bobbing-Head Heroes Martian Manhunter

Line: DC Universe * Year: 2009

“Eons ago, the Martians were one of the most powerful species in the universe, capable of shapeshifting, intangibility, flight, and a host of other incredible powers. J’onn J’onzz, a philosopher and peacemaker in his private life, worked as a Manhunter to keep the peace on his native planet.”
— from The DC Comics Encyclopedia

I’ve mentioned paper toys a few times before, usually including a reference to the excellent book, Urban Paper, but this is the first paper toy review that I’ve ever written.

To be honest, this is going to be less of a review and more of a “hey, look at this!” sort of post. So now that you’ve read this far you can probably stop reading and head on over to your nearest Arby’s and grab a Justice League Unlimited paper toy or two of your own. This is a neat fast food “toy” and one any DC Universe fan will love to add to his collection.

Designed by paper toy artist Matt Hawkins (he announced this series at his blog), the Martian Manhunter paper toy cost me absolutely nothing. I stopped in at an Austin Arby’s intending to buy one of these toys so that I could see how they look and ended up being given the toy for free. Thank you, random Arby’s employee.

I went to Arby’s after a search for the Taco Bell Bellhedz toys (expect a review of these guys later this week) uncovered this post at Street Level that covered not only the Bellhedz toys but also pointed out Arby’s Justice League Unlimited Bobbing-Head Heroes paper toys. And it’s a good thing I ran that search since I rarely hit Arby’s and I hadn’t yet run across a mention of these paper toys. So not only do I need to thank a random Arby’s employee for giving me the toy, but I also need to thank Street Level for putting both toys in the same post.

Talk about a lucky break for me.

Assemble Paper Bits

Once you rip open the plastic bag you’re left with a small instruction sheet and a large section of diecut cardboard that’s packed with nine pieces that have to be individually assembled and then compiled into the roughly 8-inch tall Martian Manhunter paper toy.

The instructions were clear, very easy to follow, and total construction time was roughly ten minutes. Martian Manhunter didn’t require any tape or glue — he’s all tab and slot construction — and the design is excellent and looks great once finished.

Closing Thoughts

There’s really not a hell of a lot to say. This is an inexpensive kids’ meal toy and probably cost Arby’s almost nothing to produce (dies are fairly cheap these days and I’m sure Arby’s produced so many of these that the per/unit cost had to be pennies apiece). This is a simple, harmless, and cute item that will likely have no value in the future — and will probably be destroyed the next time I move — but it’s fun enough that paper toy fans should grab one or two of the releases in this series.

Philip Reed continues to find paper toys interesting but has yet to attempt designing one of his own.