Mattel’s DC Multiverse Aquaman Collection Makes a Splash

Mattel has stepped up their game with the Aquaman DC Multiverse collection.

Over the past year, Mattel’s DC Multiverse toy line has made some impressive strides forward. The newly engineered parts incorporated into the DC Universe Classics tooling has increased the range of motion and the amount of articulation of the figures, and the entirely new sculpts have been remarkably detailed and source accurate, whether it’s the Amanda Conner-inspired portrait on the new Harley Quinn or– as in the case of the Aquaman series– fealty to an on-screen appearance.

The lineup here is concise, a four-figure wave featuring the core cast of heroes and villains from the movie (Aquaman, Mera, Orm, and Black Manta) with a Collect-N-Connect Trench Warrior, a Target exclusive gladiator two-pack with Aquaman and Orm, and an Amazon exclusive figure of Aquaman’s mentor Vulko.

Each figure features an all new sculpt, and the lovely details of their scale-patterned costumes and armor are enhanced by some crisp, clean paint work and a great range of tones, from matte to high gloss to metallic. One thing that we already know about James Wan’s Aquaman is, it will feature a lot more color than most DC movies have in the past, and that’s reflected in the brilliance of Aquaman’s orange and green costume, Orm’s purple and silver armor, and Mera’s metallic teal outfit.

Both Aquaman and Mera get portraits, and while both look good, it seems most of the attention was poured into Aquaman, because the Jason Momoa sculpt is very close to perfect, enhanced due to the real scan paint apps that solidify the likeness. Mera’s paint is equally realistic and well done, but there’s something off in the sculpt… she doesn’t really look like Amber Heard.

Black Manta and Orm both feature heads with the helmets molded in place, which makes sense for the former and less sense for the latter… Orm seems likely to feature Patrick Wilson’s face for a considerable amount of screen time, yet he doesn’t get a non-masked head in toy form (weirdly, even the Target two-pack doesn’t seem to be based on Wilson’s face, while the basis Orm with limited articulation does invest in sculpting the actor’s likeness).

All four core figures feature the new model of DC Multiverse articulation, with the newly designed swivel hinge hips and double knee joints on all but Mera. Their range of motion is strong, allowing for a multitude of good standing, fighting, swimming, and other action poses. Everyone sports at least one accessory, mostly staffs and various weaponry, with an alternate set of water controlling hands for Mera, as well.

They also all include a piece of the Trench Warrior, a great looking monster whose grotesque appearance harkens back to James Wan’s horror movie bona fides, while looking semi-believable based on real life creatures of the abyss. I do, however, have two tentative beefs with the Trench Warrior. Despite looking great, he seems sort of small, standing a bit shorter than the average human figures… and it’s always super annoying to get a troop builder as a Build-A-Figure, which makes them difficult to amass an army of. Both of these complaints could be answered by the movie itself– the Trench creatures could be smaller than humans, and it’s possible this guy is something other than a standard generic soldier.

I’m really impressed by the Aquaman Multiverse figures. They look awesome, the sculpted textures make them very tactile, and articulation makes them fun to pose, and the bright, metallic colors really make them pop. For $20 at general retail, these figures are well worth the price tag. Look for the DC Multiverse Aquaman collection at Wal-Mart stores now, as well as other retailers.