Sadly, neither glows in the dark, so I still have only two Swamp Thing figures that do so.
So with the arrival of the new Swamp Thing action figure this week (the “DC Essential” or, apparently, the “Justice League Dark” figure), I decided to finally open my New 52 Deluxe Swamp Thing action figure box and do a little comparison:
…since they’re essentially the same sculpt. Well, you know, aside from one having wings embedded in its back:
…and different head sculpts:
The coloring is different, too…Winged Swamp Thing has a lot more dark browns than his wingless counterpart. Both have the pretty flower on their right calves, however:
The big ol’ feet are jointed as well, allowing for a little extra finessing when you’re trying to get the darned things to stand:
Annoyingly, one of the branches came off the arm of Winged Swampy:
…and I thought it had snapped off, but thankfully it looks like that bright green bit at the end snaps into a slot on Swampy’s forearm. Maybe whatever glue (if any) gave out, or if it just snaps in, perhaps it just came loose during shipping. Either way, an easy fix.
Anyway, these are nice looking figures, for the most part…the ball joints on the legs are a little distracting, and Swamp Thing’s “armored” look still seems a little odd to these Wrightson-trained eyes, but otherwise not bad. The extra branches sticking out of the arms are a good touch, assuming they don’t accidentally fall off. The figures stand about 9 to 9 1/2 inches tall, depending on whether or not there are horns, which puts ’em in scale with other DC action figures…Swamp Thing should tower over them, after all.
Deluxe Swamp Thing comes with a shield and a sword. Regular Swamp Thing comics with nothing but love in his heart. Neither come with a Cranius, so points off for that. And with a new Swampy series coming from cocreator Len Wein and artist Kelley Jones, maybe we’ll get a figure of that version, too. Because boy, I sure could use more Swamp Thing toys.
I too ak confused by the armored look. It makes about as much sense as armored Plastic Man
Isn’t the armor just Swampy’s body? What protective purpose does an armor looking shoulder serve that’s just a shoulder?
I know what you mean, Mike. My Swampy display case is starting to look pretty cramped. So many products coming out in the last couple of years. It would be a hard sell if we had to beg our parents to buy them for us. Did you get a hold of the Kidrobot figure yet? It looks pretty weird standing with the others. You’re right, a Kelley Jones style figure would look cool but how about a Classic Swampy in Wrightson-style. Still waiting for that one.
Sorry, one more thing. I wonder how many Swampy fans out there buy every “toy” that comes out. I figure that if they do, they must visit this site. So c’mon everyone, send in a comment if you do. I hope it doesn’t crash your computer. ha ha
But are either of them chalk? Because that is my measure of a good Swamp Thing figure.
I do know what philip is talking about, but it made me think that an old timey carnival chalk-ware Swampy figurine would be pretty darn cool.
well I guess I got my answer. it’s just the two of us, Mike.
Mark,
When you have a moment and looking for Swampy collectibles, I try to get em all.
John
Forgot to mention, website link is in my name above
John,
What a site! What a collection! Going to take me hours to go through it all. Thanx for all the hard work that went into it.
Oh sure, Swamp Thing may have more figures than Man-Thing, but what man-thing lacks in quantity, he makes up in qual… Oh who an I kidding?
This one goes to YOU, Swamp Thing.
“Isn’t the armor just Swampy’s body? What protective purpose does an armor looking shoulder serve that’s just a shoulder?”
Yeah, THIS.
They look cool n’ all, but they’re not Wrightson-eque enough, in my opinion!