When you were growing up, do you remember those old insults about people winning ugly contests? Back then I imagine that we all naively believed that ugly contests didn't actually exist but it appears that they might be very real if Mattel and DC Collectibles' Injustice: Gods Among Us figures are of any indication. And DC Collectibles seems to be in it to win it.

Kotaku recently posted photos of Green Arrow and Deathstroke from the first of DC Collectibles' 3.75-inch scale Injustice two-packs and they're pretty bad. Possibly even worse than some of Mattel's DC Unlimited ones although, in DC Collectibles' defense, these are 3.75-inch figures while Mattel's are 6-inch (then again, these are official promotional photos while the Mattel photos were presumably leaked). Green Arrow's general design (overlooking an excellent head-sculpt) is highly reminiscent of Jazwares' Mortal Kombat line (specifically the ninjas' upper torso, arms, and shins). Deathstroke is considerably more passable despite the odd-looking proportions. While I'd be tempted to pick up the decently-articulated Deathstroke (especially considering the scale), it would entail buying a moderately bad Green Arrow.

The biggest issue besides quality is the US$30 list price, which once again is vastly over that of comparable lines. Hasbro's Marvel Universe line and other 3.75-inch lines seem to be around US$10 these days with two-packs falling around a US$18. No matter how you look at it, DC Collectibles is charging at least 33% more for their items. Of course, given that DC Collectibles is currently the only maker of 3.75-inch DC Comics figures (ignoring Mattel's movie lines), some fans will be more than willing to pay this higher rate.

Green Arrow and Deathstroke are slated to release in April. The next pack will include Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy, which should prove to be a more exciting set. Is anybody wowed by these two or looking forward to any characters?

[ Kotaku ]