#79: DC Comics Multiverse - Justice Buster

Batman has a suit of armor designed to fight the Justice League in case they all turn evil or are mind controlled, or whatever. Because of course he does. The Justice Buster is the build a figure, I mean collect & connect figure, for the first DC Comics Multiverse series. It's not as tall as the Hulkbuster build a figure, but it is wider. If not for the big bat logo on the chest, it would look like some sort of alien robot. Thematically, it's mostly tied with the Joker figure in the series, because they're both from the Endgame story line. Otherwise, it's kind of a random choice. The ears are a softer plastic, and as you can see, they aren't quite even due to being bent in the packaging. Hopefully that works itself out with time.

#78: DC Comics Multiverse Batman Endgame - The Joker

Remember when the New 52 started and the Joker inexplicably had his face cut off? Eventually, it got better, thanks to some Lazarus Pit-esque chemicals below ground in Gotham. This Joker is from that storyline, which also resulted in Batman "dying" and James Gordon taking over the role of Batman. It's been a while since we got a figure on the suit body from way back in the days of The Dark Knight, but here it is. This time around, there are some gloved hands and a new head which does a nice job of representing Greg Capullo's art style. It's seriously one of my favorite Joker figure head sculpts. Joker's accessory is his face. Not an alternate head, just straight up the skin of his face that he had cut off. Most gruesome accessory of the year? Probably.

#77: DC Comics Multiverse The Flash TV Series - The Flash

I'm glad I passed on the first Flash figure I saw on the peg, because it was the first season version of the costume with a red background on the chest emblem. Later Mattel released this version, and it took a while for me to find one, but it eventually turned up. Mattel's "realistic" figures tend to have worse articulation than their more fantastic figures, and Barry here is no exception. His shoulders are particularly unfortunate, in that they can't even be raised more than 45 degrees away from his body. I know that the Flash costume on TV is pretty dark, but this seems excessively so. It's not the best figure, but I am glad to have a TV Flash figure at least.

#76: DC Comics Multiverse Suicide Squad - The Joker

Remember when the first image of Heath Ledger's Joker was released? There was a lot of backlash, but when people saw the movie, his performance became iconic. Jared Leto's Joker had the same initial skepticism, but for many never got over that. He certainly hasn't grown on me much, but maybe he'll do better in a Batman movie proper. Of the various Joker figures released for the movie, the standard retail version is the one wearing a costume most resembling a traditional Joker outfit. He's got a purple coat, anyway.

#75: DC Comics Multiverse Suicide Squad - Boomerang

Like Katana, Captain Boomerang was sadly under-utilized in Suicide Squad. What there was turned out to be pretty entertaining, so I hope he shows up in the Flash movie with more to do. Oh, the toy is labelled as just Boomerang, minus the Captain. Not sure if that's how it was in the movie or not, but whatever, Captain is right there on his jacket. Also of note is that Mattel finally gets to reuse Bane's coat from the Dark Knight Rises figure a few years back. For accessories, there are three boomerangs included, and there's a holster on his side to hold one. I've so far found the Suicide Squad figures to be an odd mix of both stiff and loose joints on the same figure, and this one has a pretty loose ankle. So although he can stand, I think he'll be better served long term by leaning against something.

#74: DC Comics Multiverse Suicide Squad - Katana

Katana is from the second wave of Suicide Squad figures, which you may or may not have seen in stores. I, personally, have not. Following her appearances in Beware The Batman and Arrow, Katana has made it to the big screen. She also appears in the DC Super Hero Girls, so this may be as Katana's most prominent time in pop culture. Sadly, Katana was criminally underutilized in Suicide Squad, but at least she gets a figure (sorry, Slipknot!). Katana's accessories are a long sword and a shorter blade, both of which have sheathes they can be stored in.

#73: DC Comics Multiverse The Dark Knight Returns - Robin

Rather than giving The Dark Knight Returns its own dedicated sub-line, Mattel has been doing a few characters at a time under the Multiverse line. Other than Batman and Superman, Carrie Kelley has been my most wanted figure from the story. The first female Robin, she was self trained and wore a mail-order costume, and she managed to win over grumpy old man Bruce. Robin is a pretty standard Mattel figure, and probably the only one from DKR that won't be based on the Masters of the Universe body. Her accessory is the slingshot she carries in the book, which can be held in her hand or tucked into her belt. My only real complaint about the figure is that the glasses are solid green rather than translucent green. Who knows, maybe Mattel will do a re-release sometime down the line that corrects that. For now though, I'm glad to have a figure of one of my favorite Robins.

#72: Transformers Titans Return - Fortress Maximus

Last year we got a supersized version of Metroplex, this year we get a new version of the biggest Transformers toy ever, Fortress Maximus. The main gimmick for this year is the Headmasters, and Fortress Maximus follows suit. So here he is in robot mode. Pretty tall! He is indeed taller than Metroplex, but not by too much. In fact, they share some tooling, mainly in the lower legs and forearms. There is a pretty big sheet of stickers to apply. I both like and don't like dealing with stickers. It's nice because it's nostalgic, reminding me of toys I had when I was a kid. But it's also kind of a pain because my fingers are adult sized now, so applying them isn't always easy.

This is Fortress Maximus's battlestation mode, which is basically just a robot doing yoga. It's not a very complex transformation. Emissary, the head of Cerebros (who is in turn Fortress Maximus's head) can be seen to the left. Cerebros is the vertical bit near the middle.

This is the city mode, which while still basically being a robot doing yoga is the alt mode that I think looks better. There is the ability to connect the leader class Blaster and Optimus Prime toys to make an expanded city, if you also end up buying them as well.

Here's Cerebros is robot mode. He basically just curls up to form the head of Fortress Maximus. There is some sort of light and sound function, and the batteries go in his back. But naturally, batteries are not included, so I haven't checked that out yet.

#71: Transformers Masterpiece - Bumblebee

Probably the biggest draw for Masterpiece Bumblebee is that is a Bumblebee that turns into a VW Beetle. For years, that wasn't the case, supposedly because of VW not wanting to be associated with war-like products (an Alternators Bumblebee would have been awesome). Apparently that hurdle has been cleared, and here we are. Presumably to help add value Spike Witwicky in his transforming exo-suit is included as well.

Bumblebee looks great in both car and robot mode, and since Masterpiece toys are supposed to all be in scale with each other now, he is pretty tiny. It's a cool toy, but not a great value. I would have been happy to pay 20 or 30 dollars less and skip the Spike toy. Bumblebee includes a blaster pistol, an optional spare tire mount, and an alternate face. The instructions show one of the alternate faces as the more robotic looking one of the original toy, but the American version includes two cartoon inspired faces with slightly varying expressions. The one that he was packaged with had some of the paint scratched off, so I'm displaying it with the smiling face. The rearview mirrors are included, attached to sprues in the packaging. They're not mentioned in the instructions, and I didn't figure out what they were until after I had taken these pictures.

#70: DC Comics Multiverse Supergirl TV Series - Supergirl

While the Supergirl TV series isn't perfect, it's a lot more enjoyable than the movies DC has been putting out. Melissa Benoist is fantastic as Supergirl both in costume and in her civilian identity, and is always a joy to watch. So I'm pretty glad that Mattel made a Supergirl figure. The face isn't the best likeness, but overall it's a good representation of the character. The skirt piece on mine was facing the wrong direction in the package, but fortunately it's not glued into place so I was able to adjust it myself. Supergirl doesn't have any accessories unless you count the Doomsday build a figure leg that's included.