Review – DC SuperHeroes Azrael
Before the DC Universe Classics* toy series Mattel built up a line of DC action figures under the DC SuperHeroes title. And it is in that line that we find this DC SuperHeroes Azrael* action figure, an excellent companion to the Azrael Batman that I reviewed last month (review here).
Now it’s important to note that I didn’t rush out and buy this action figure after this post at Toyriffic was pointed out to me. No, what happened was that Matt Doughty (Onell Design) tossed Azrael here into the box when he shipped me the latest Rig (review here). So thanks, Matt, for sending over a toy so that I could get a closer look at it and share my impressions with everyone.
First Impressions
Very nice! Looking at Azrael in the package I was impressed with how much the figure looked like Joe Quesada’s design as it appeared in Sword of Azrael (reading post here). From the paint to the sculpt everything about the figure is extremely impressive when you’re staring at it through clear plastic . . . fortunately, when I first got him into my hands and started playing with him the toy still felt surprisingly cool. The plastic’s nice, the sculpt looks incredible, and just posing and playing with Azrael and standing him next to the Azrael Batman I was quite happy with the toy.
Don’t Look too Closely!
If I had simply dropped Azrael on the shelf next to Azrael Batman this review would be ending on a high note. But as I posed him, and as I snapped pics, I started noticing the little things that were kinda bugging me about the toy. Not that I’m saying that this is a disaster of a design, but the devil really is in the details. So let’s do the right thing and explore those details, because anyone looking to drop $40+ on an action figure (collector prices; this toy is five years old and not at all in stores) deserves to know what they’re getting themselves into.
Sculpt of Azrael
Our “Avenging Angel” here has a wicked sculpt for an angel (or a demon, for that matter). The soft plastic cape — two separate pieces that appear to be glued to the basic figure — looks truly remarkable, and I love how it drapes over Azrael’s back. The hood, another soft plastic piece that is wrapped tight around the head, also adds to the overall look. The last piece of the sculpt puzzle that’s worth mentioning are the gauntlets; soft plastic flames and rigid gauntlets look great with lots of tiny details. (In fact, I thought the gauntlets were so nice that I snapped tight shots of them; see the photos, down below.)
Articulated Angel
Azrael has hinged knees, ankles, and elbows, those unusual hinged/swivel hips, swivels at the thighs and base of the gauntlets, ball-hinge shoulders, and has a ball-jointed neck. But that neck joint is effectively worthless, because that cool cowl piece restricts Azrael’s movement and prevents him from even looking straight ahead. Yep, the toy is forever staring down at a point on the floor somewhere ahead of him. The first really dramatic error that keeps the toy from being one that every Batman fan should have in their collection.
Azrael Needs Corrective Shoes
In the OAFE review, yo go re points out that Azrael’s right leg is about one-quarter of an inch longer than his left leg. What? But it’s true. When the toy was designed it was obviously meant from him to be set into one specific pose so there’s something just off with the toy when you try and stand him in any way except with left leg forward and right leg back. This is the second (and biggest) problem with the toy, and this is a big one. I know toy companies want to release dramatically-posed action figures, but there’s ways to do that without resorting to warping the toy’s design to fit a pose.
Great Paint
A dark red wash across parts of the body, gold details and coppery highlights, tight paint on the mask (especially the eyes), and a metallic gold on the chest and shoulder armor all come together to make one strong paint job. I’ve got no complaints at all about the paint, and I wanna point at the flames on the gauntlet; the translucent orange plastic has darker highlights that add to the fire effect. A very nice touch!
Closing Thoughts
Azrael has two problems that prevent him from being an awesome action figure, but if you can look beyond those two flaws then you should grab this guy (if you get lucky and find him cheap). He looks good displayed next to the various DC Universe Classics* action figures in my collection, but not so good that I would have been happy with my purchase if I had spent $40 or $50 for the toy.
Azrael stands out as a cool sculpt, and in the photo above you can see that he looks nice beside the Azrael Batman action figure. That long right leg and inability to look up are really annoying problems, but I’m sure that over time I’ll be able to look beyond those problems and just be happy with Azrael on my shelf.
For another opinion on the toy see this review at Action Toy Review which says:
Overall, Azrael is a really cool looking action figure even though there are no extra accessories and the issue with his neck joint. If you collect the DCUC toys and you don’t have Azrael, you’re missing out on a wicked toy . . .
Philip Reed will now take Azrael back to Austin and stand him next to the Batman army on his shelf . . . Matt included a variety of different Batman figures in the box with Azrael and the group looks great together.
I regret not picking this guy up four years ago when I saw him at Walmart. I was new to collecting and was unfamiliar with the distribution problems that came with Mattel products. The main aspect I love about this figure is his huge gloves.
I like reading reviews of older figures, especially if they’re new to the author.
Y’know I always thought my Azrael just had a warped leg, I never realized one was longer than the other. Huh. Still, a pretty fantastic review. I wonder if DC Superheroes hadn’t be canned for DCUC if it would still have this level of sculpted detail and paintwork today. Figures like this and Steel just blow me away.
I remember playing with old 90’s spider man action figures and the warped leg syndrome happened back then too here and there. I doubt I’d care too much though, as this action figure is so awesome looking! The flame blades are great, and I can never resist gauntlets.