Funko’s New Action Figure Line Spices Up the Legion of Collectors Suicide Squad Box [Review]

The DC Legion of Collectors subscription box pushed things into overdrive this month with the Suicide Squad-themed box. Though Funko has yet to put any attention on the comic book side of the DC brand (the upcoming Women of DC box should fix that), the offerings tied to the cinematic side of things haven't been a disappointment. If anything, the Legion of Collectors has been on an upward path since inception, improving upon each release with new goods and more variation than the other two sub boxes Funko currently offers. That's doubly true here as the Suicide Squad Legion of Collectors box introduced an entirely new and exclusive action figure line.

Of course, the standard fare is also still included, so don't worry about missing out on that patch, pin, t-shirt and Pop. Before covering all the good inside though, it's worth mentioning that this month our box was absent the exclusive variant comic of the original Suicide Squad #1. A small oversight that in no way ruined the rest of the contents, especially given the lack of mistakes we've experienced across the rest of the company's sub boxes. Still, it would have been nice to enjoy the earliest adventures of DC's most reluctant heroes.

For the first time ever, Funko is including an all-new 3.75" action figure line in the Legion of Collectors boxes. These figures will only ever be offered in the subscription boxes, and are more detailed and articulated than the company's existing 3.75" fare. That articulation detail might change in the future with new lines coming from Funko, but the figures are immediately an improvement over the ReAction line.

Originally, four figures were planned to be randomly inserted, but after deliberations Funko went with Harley Quinn and Joker for every single box. The packaging is simple, smart and small, so those of you who are "mint on card" collectors won't have to worry too much about the necessary display space. I like to crack things open, and obviously I would have had to anyway for the purposes of this review, but there's a lot to like about this new line.

Granted, these figures aren't quite on par with what you'll see in larger formats from other mass market manufacturers, but Funko's offerings do give Mattel and Hasbro a run for the money in the 3.75" category. And since they're included in boxes that only cost $25, you're a little bit ahead on the value factor as well.

Harley Quinn has a lot going on with her costuming, and even at this scale, Funko managed to capture almost all of the ornate detail. I have not been a fan of the ReAction line, but with this figure alone, Funko has shown its more than capable of doing so much more at this size. It's an impressive step up from what we've seen from Funko, and though there isn't any likeness (which is a challenge at this size), the figure is still immediately recognizable and moderately more poseable.

The same can be said for the Joker included, though his articulation is a tiny bit more limited due to the sculpting of his jacket. Otherwise the body is fine, and even though he doesn't come with any accessories (Harley comes with her bat), it's a solid effort. The head leaves much to be desired, however. Even though there aren't any likenesses, the Joker's head here is a bit too large and lumpy. He looks more like future apocalypse Biff Tannen than he does the Jared Leto Joker, even with the gigantic tattoos on his face. I understand those can't be proportioned correctly to make them clear to read at 3.75", but perhaps it would have been better to abandon them like they did for Harley. Still, for what the figure is, it's a decent first effort and I'm interested to see where Funko takes this line in the upcoming boxes.

I'm a little bummed out about the shirt this time around, but only after seeing the abandoned ideas. That seems to be a running theme across Funko's subscriptions, with the drawing table being home to some more interesting designs than the final approvals. The Pop-ified Suicide Squad on the shirt comes in a decent design, but there was a black t-shirt with the Joker looming in the background while Katana, Deadshot, Rick Flagg, El Diablo and Harley Quinn menacingly approached that just had a more interesting vibe.

Plus it put the Joker in the background where he belongs considering he's not a star of the film. This is a small problem I have with the marketing of Suicide Squad, so it's not entirely Funko's fault, but the criminal isn't part of the team, and is taking up valuable real estate from the people the movie is actually about. I know that's how marketing for this is working, but it's still frustrating the Joker gets so much of the spotlight given how much of it he already hogs elsewhere.

The Pop included in this shipment is the only character to not get a retail figure, Enchantress. She's definitely got a unique build, and that hampered the figure a tiny bit in execution. The hair on the figure we got is about an eight of an inch longer than her body, making it almost impossible to get her situated on the display stand so she's balanced. With enough finagling I was able to finally make it work, but she eventually popped loose just a few minutes later. The sculpt recreates her on-screen costume well enough, and displays the arcane tattoos/markings clear enough. It's hard to say for certain whether or not Enchantress is actually a worthwhile character since the movie isn't out yet, but at least Funko opted for a niche character here rather than a variant of a character with a number of releases already.

Funko's been on a bit of a roll as of late with it's subscription boxes, and the introduction of an entirely new and exclusive figure collection makes this Suicide Squad box easily one of the most desirable to date. Whether or not these 3.75" figures will find their way to the Marvel Collector Corps and the Star Wars Smugglers Bounty boxes remains to be seen (and a bit unlikely but cross those fingers anyway). Even if they don't, knowing that there's a solid chance they'll be in the Legion of Collectors makes future boxes that much more enticing. Now if only we could get some boxes based on some of the Rebirth comics, we'd be talking.

This box was provided by Funko for review. The Legion of Collectors subscriptions run $25 a box, and you can sign up on the official site if you wish to join.

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