Tuesday, November 5, 2019
VS Series 02: DC Essentials Red Hood vs. DC Multiverse Red Hood
I actually didn't think I'd be able to do a new VS Series especially since I've been out of the reviewing scene for like 3 years but here it is!
So for the 2nd issue of VS series, we'll take a look at 2 Red Hood action figures that was released this year and as the title indicates, we'll be pitting the DC Collectibles' Essentials Red Hood and Mattel's DC Multiverse Red Hood and as with the 1st VS series, if you still haven't noticed, there's a full in-depth review of each figure available in the blog so to give you quick access, click on the images below!
| Select Your Figure: | |
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Point 1: Aesthetics
Generally speaking, when it comes to body molds, none of these two actually own an original frame as both generally reuses an already existing body mold which is the general male body for Essentials while the Multiverse uses their recent teen body frame, so it comes to personal preference which proportions are better, should you want a more muscular heroic body, then Essentials is your pick but if you want it less beefy like I do, then Multiverse is the way to go.
As far as the details go in the suit and jacket and whatnot, Multiverse definitely has more things going on with its suit design while the Essentials have plain and simple detailing over the jacket and suit overall.
The biggest breakpoints of this section lies in two things for me, and let's go to the first which would be the Red Hood Mask; this is a no brainer win for Essentials as it definitely captures the ideal mask with the piercing eyes complete with linings and even earpieces topped off with a beautiful metallic red paint meanwhile, the multiverse's mask is just hot garbage; it's too bright, it's too big, the shape is weird and even the eyes aren't menacing enough to look at, it's just a flop and Multiverse is supposed to be the smaller scale here.
Left (Essentials), Right (Multiverse)
A good friend of mine actually says it looks like a Balloon with holes in it and boy, was he right...
The mask is so big that the Essentials head actually works a million times better than the actual multiverse mask, and it's a good thing that it's compatible, like holy crap if a larger scale figure's head fit better than your actual head, then you know you f-ed up big time.
Next major competition which puts Multiverse to shame yet again would be the gun holsters; the Essentials has a working gun holster on both sides and you can easily, insert or remove his pistols from there without any problem at all.
Meanwhile, with multiverse, you have the gun molded in both holsters so in no way can you pull those out, thus, ultimately giving their version of Red Hood no guns to wield without borrowing stuff from your other toylines.
With what's said above, here's a summary of the pros and cons of each figure:
Essentials
|
Multiverse
|
Pros:
- Perfect Mask Design
- Working Holsters
Cons:
- Plain details
Subjective: - More chunky body proportions - 7 inch scale |
Pros:
- More suit details
Cons:
- Terrible Mask Design
- Non-removable guns Subjective: - Less muscular body proportions - 6 inch scale |
Personally speaking the only big appeal of the Multiverse body right now for me is the fact that its scale works better with most of the stuff that I own but objectively speaking, Essentials is the superior figure here so for Aesthetics, Essentials wins this one, like seriously Mattel, of all the things you'll f up with, it really had to be like 2 of Red Hood's definitive traits.
Point 2: Accessories
Left (Essentials), Right (Multiverse)
Probably a lot won't agree with me on this one but while Essentials does provide the bare essentials, should you have enough extra guns and accessories, I'll give this round to Multiverse as his accessory count really makes him way more playable/photo-friendly due to the number of extra hands they gave him and the fact that he's 6-inch or 1/12 scale makes it even easier to find guns for him to use, the normal gripping hands has proven to wield a variety of weapons too such as SHF Joker's Crowbar and Revoltech Raiden's combat knife.
In addition, the Jason Todd head from Multiverse actually fits on the Essentials one so that's a major plus.
Point 3: Articulation
Left (Essentials), Right (Multiverse)
Now at first, I thought this would be another one sided battle mainly because Essentials has the superior frame but when I did side by side comparisons of poses, some flaws of the Essentials became more evident such as people claiming that Essentials generally has gorilla arms and it does show when they're side by side. Below would be a short gallery of both figures doing the same pose and all of which are using 0 accessories to keep the game fair.
While not a lot, you'll probably notice that in some poses, the Multiverse frame actually pulls it off more naturally while the Essentials come off awkward with its proportions being more noticeably flawed and obviously in more dynamic poses such as the cross arms, Essentials wins by a landslide mainly because of its superior frame; though in all honesty, the only advantage Essentials really have over the Multiverse in articulation would be the neck and the elbows, other than those two, they're pretty much pretty identical.
While the fight on this is pretty close, dynamic poses are always a plus so Essentials wins this round just because of that slight advantage.
Point 4: Price
Generally speaking if you bought like the whole Killer Croc wave, Multiverse is supposed to be a bit cheaper a piece but in terms of how each piece is priced here in the Philippines, the Multiverse figures do tend to be more expensive so that said, it's another obvious win for Essentials in this aspect as you pay less (at least locally) for generally a good package of a Red Hood figure.
Speaking objectively, given the statistics on this one, then you already have the winner, if you care not about the scale and just want a satisfying Red Hood action figure then Essentials is definitely your answer as it is plain and simple, complete with the bare essentials and definitely a bang for your buck with the articulation frame you're getting.
On a personal level, I prefer Multiverse because of the scale and its ease to shoot with other lines without forcing perspective too much, while definitely a very bad release with almost 0 saving grace, you can definitely fix them, in addition, if you own both you actually get compliments to each other such as giving Essentials the Jason head or giving the Multiverse the Essentials' head (the latter of which I did lol). So yeah, if you just gotta own one without minding the details and scaling, then I suggest Essentials by all means but if just love Jason Todd's incarnation of Red Hood, it's not a bad thing to get both IMO. Anyway, before I wrap it up, I'll leave you a shot of multiverse Red Hood with the Essentials head alongside his brothers and fellow former Robins!
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