Both Halloween and Nerdoween have come to a close, and today, I’m kicking the Toy Chest into newish old-school territory. DC‘s iconic trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman have been on my mind a fair bit lately, owing both to the upcoming Batman v Superman film, as well as CBS‘s brand new Supergirl television series. The three have remained so popular since their respective debuts more than 70 years ago that each can regularly be found on bestselling Halloween costume lists year after year.

With DC’s New 52 initiative a few years back that saw their entire line of comics relaunched, some new design tweaks were introduced to Clark, Diana, and Bruce’s popular costumes. Diana’s remained largely unchanged, save for swapping out her gold armor accents for a motif of all-silver. Both Superman and Batman lost the brief/speedo/underoos component to their costumes, with each opting for solid-colored pants. Artist and DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee oversaw the New 52 redesigns for the Justice League and the following figures are based on those designs.

Released by DC Collectibles, the Trinity War three-pack (named after a New 52 arc that saw crossovers between Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark) contains slightly variant versions of existing New 52 figures. The Superman figure has 11 points of articulation (just like the other two) and is painted with a more metallic glossy blue than his prior matte blue version. The cape is attached at two points, just above the iconic “S” symbol, and is made of a more rubberized malleable plastic which allows for some dynamic poses. Both of Clark’s fists are closed, and the articulation in each bicep makes the classic hands-on-the-hips namesake “Superman pose” possible. There’s not as much forward range of motion in the hip joints as there is in the reverse angle, due largely to the mold of the torso and belt.

Wonder Woman’s articulation follows the same layout as Clark’s and Bruce’s. Two knee joints, two hip joints, two elbow joints, two bicep joints, two shoulder joints, and a neck joint. Diana’s hair mold makes her range of motion slightly more difficult than Clark’s. Where Superman’s arm articulation allowed for his namesake pose, Wonder Woman’s articulation allows her arms to fall into her recognizable gauntlet bullet deflecting pose. She has a non-detachable Lasso of Truth molded onto her right hip, and that Lasso marks the only “weapon” included in the set. Her left hand is molded with a closed grasp that would allow for a sword from another set to be inserted.

Batman’s cape is made from the same material as Superman’s, but the length of it makes the Batman figure the easiest of the three to stand upright. Each of the three are very well balanced, and have no issues with top-heavy weight, but Batman’s cape allows the figure to withstand very minor knock-backs and remain standing. Batman does not have an iconic pose in the same way the other two do, as his iconography has been more tied to his night sky silhouettes, but his articulation follows the same eleven points as the other two. Batman’s head has the lowest range of motion of the three, but then, Batman’s cowl has never been a paragon of flexibility. The mold of his right hand is closed into a fist, while the left is open with each finger individually extended. The most impressive molding of the three is on the Batman figure, with the fingers and the three blades on each glove. The plastic used for the blades is flexible rather than rigid, so as to deter any unwanted breaking, but I still wouldn’t recommend too much pressure, as each has a very small base and DIY reattachment would be a pain if you don’t have a hobby sculpting repair kit handy.

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Toy News Round-Up

Here are the best bits of collectible news from the last week!

• Got $8K? Spend it on an RC R2-D2 Refrigerator.
• Shape-shifting clothing sounds like a Mystique-inspired Tim Gunn challenge.
• Karen O recorded a song for the forthcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider.
• Fallout 4 soda is coming, and it’s exclusive to Target.
• Nerdist unboxes the Pip Boy!