Friday, November 8, 2024

Action Figure Review: Sergeant Rock (DC Classic) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   Interestingly, I actually had a couple of Remco's vintage Sgt. Rock figures as a kid. I'm not sure where I got them, though. Maybe from yard sales or from a neighbor giving stuff away? DC Direct released a Sgt. Rock figure in 1999 and Hasbro made some 12 inch Sgt. Rock figures back in  the early 2000s, so this isn't the first time there has been a toy of the Rock of Easy Company, but this one definitely is the first that's in scale with a wide range of other DC characters (DC Direct began changing their scale and style pretty quickly after those first couple years of product), so that's definitely a plus. I like some of the more unusual DC characters and I was pretty excited for Sgt. Rock, who was released as one of the McFarlane Collector Edition a few months back. Sgt. Rock was a staple of DC's World War 2 era comics and has continued to appear in the DC Universe from time to time, even though he is widely reported to have died in 1945, killed by the last enemy bullet fired on the last day of the war. Ready to check out Sgt. Rock? Then join me after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 7 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ ballsockets, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/ hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.
 
Accessories: Collector card, display stand, card stand, backpack, entrenching tool, knife, and helmet.
 
Non-Scalper Price: $30 dollars






The Positives:

* Is this recognizable as Sgt. Rock? Pretty much. Sgt. Rock has been around since 1959, appearing in DC's war comics Our Army at War and G.I. Combat, and he's nearly always depicted as a tough looking soldier clad in green fatigues with ripped and tattered sleeves. There are a couple things missing here, though. Usually Sgt. Rock has his shirt torn open pretty far or it's jus completely open, leaving him bare chested. He also almost always has a belt of .50 caliber ammo machine gun ammo, which is missing. I'll get to that in a minute but, for now, let me say that I do really like this figure and the design. Sgt. Rock has his dog tags sculpted as part of his shirt, which is a separate piece over his torso. He's also sporting a pretty nice belt around his waist with lots of pouches for gear. 


* Sgt. Rock has been drawn by multiple artists and this portrait just kind of offers up a DC Multiverse/ Mcfarlane take on the character. He's a tough guy, sure, but a regular looking guy who looks like a grizzled old soldier; a stubbly beard, arced eyebrows, gritted teeth with a bit of a sneer, and splashes of mud and muck on his face. His hair is shaved on the sides and a bit longer on top, kind of like a high and tight grown out a bit. It's a pretty solid portrait. He reminds me of "B.J." Blazkowicz from Wolfenstein, another famous guy known for killing Nazis. 







* Mcfarlane Toys did a nice job of making Sgt. Rock's outfit look really worn and weathered. Besides being nicely sculpted with lots of wrinkles and creases it's covered with a drybrush effect that makes it really look impressive. His pants and boots are a bit cleaner, oddly enough, and look more modern with built-in-kneepads, but I think the overall effect is fine. I like the presence of a canteen on the back of his pistol belt, too. It's not removable but it looks neat back there.




* Sgt. Rock has a watch! How neat. It's actually a removable, rubbery piece. Just pop off his hand and you can take it off if you want to. He seems to be a right, so you might want to move it to his left hand since you typically wear a watch on your non-dominant hand.  








* Sarge's helmet is removable and has his Master Sergeant's chevron on the top. It fits on his head very well and stays in place.







*  Sgt. Rock has pretty solid articulation. His shirt overlay does impede most of the torso, waist, and ballsocket shoulder movement, but I didn't actually have any problems getting home to hold weapons with two hands. He's got a pretty good range of motion everywhere else and if you're familiar with the DC Multiverse line, you probably know what to expect. He's a thick, durable figure. You'll definitely need to gear him up with some weapons from one of the McFarlane weapons packs for optimal fun. The rifle I've give him doesn't come with the figure, but it seems tailor made for him. 





* While McFarlane Toys seems to be working with Warner Bros. (the parent company of DC Comics) to get some figures out with firearms, Sgt. Rock is a mass market release and doesn't come with any. He does have a cool dagger, though. It looks like the kind of tool he'd need when he gets up and close to take down some Nazi fascists. The metallic color it's molded in is a good choice. 




* There's a loop on Sgt. Rock's belt where the knife can slip inside, always at the ready. 







* This backpack is pretty cool, too. It's olive green, has a bunch of detail, and the straps are nice and rubbery. You can easily get this on the figure to really gear him up for Easy Company's next mission.










* Sgt. Rock also comes with an entrenching tool.






* There's a loop on his backpack to easily store this gadget as well.







* He also comes with six swappable hands, which is pretty impressive. There's a right hand with two fingers pointing, a left hand that's lightly cradling a weapon or gesturing, a right hand pistol grip, a loose gripping left hand, and a pair of fists.










* The disc stand is the same as the rest in the line except for the DC logo being stamped in silver. That's a mark of the McFarlane Collector Edition subset.





* Since Sgt. Rock is one of the McFarlane Collector Edition figures which cost more ($29.99) as opposed to the standard figures (usually $22.99), he comes with one of the special cards with a display stand. Some people hate these things. Me? I can take them or leave them depending on the figure. I liked them at first and think that they look kind of sharp accompanying a specific figure in a display. Now, though, I have too many and they're just sitting in a tote with extra accessories and such. The newest McFarlane Collector Edition figures are dropping these in favor of more accessories, which is definitely a win.






The Negatives:



* The master sergeant's insignia on the helmet is crooked. It's not immediately noticeable but it started to stick out at me more and more over time. 




* I mentioned above that I really think Sgt. Rock is an impressive looking figure. Unfortunately, I think McFarlane Toys missed two key elements of the character that appear in nearly every incarnation: The open shirt/ nearly unbuttoned shirt and the .50 caliber ammo belts. If you look at nearly any picture of Sgt. Rock, he has these. The shirt should have been easy: Just a redesign of the shirt overlay to make it lower. For the ammo belts, I would have been A-OK with just some bandoliers or chest straps or something if Warner Bros. wasn't game for full ammo belts. Having those missing just seems to make the figure feel incomplete. 


   I really like this figure. Sgt. Rock is probably one of my favorite DC Multiverse figures of the year. Of course the Batman stuff is typically my favorite but I love this take on Sgt. Rock. He feels strong, gritty, and like he's been through hell but still is giving better than he gets. Add the older model rifles from the McFarlane accessory packs and he just feels pretty complete. Except for the missing ammo belts and possibly his lack of a more open shirt. Hey, it's just part of his distinctive look. Still, dang, this figure is really freaking cool. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure and does come with a few nice extras that help him feel like he's fairly well equipped for battle. 


   This is the first figure of Sgt. Franklin John Rock I've reviewed on the site. For more DC Multiverse reviews check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Impulse (Flash War)
The Joker- Bank Robber (The Dark Knight)
The Joker (The Dark Knight Rises) Jokerized
The Joker (Infinite Frontier)
The Joker- Sonar Vision (The Dark Knight)
Justice Buster (Batman: Endgame)
Kalibak (The Darkseid War)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)
Mister Freeze (Victor Fries)









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5 comments:

  1. GIJigsawNovember 9, 2024 at 8:48 PM

    This is cool. Heard it was coming.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wayward KnaveNovember 11, 2024 at 3:18 PM

    Good thing there's a normal-looking Sgt. Rock figure. The last one I saw at the toy section of the neighborhood mall's department store was all green. It had me thinking, "When did McFarlane get the license for TOY STORY?"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17November 12, 2024 at 8:24 PM

      That one is the Platinum variant, so I think it's 1 per case of 6 figures. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool as it does look like a classic green army man come to life (more like the Army Men 3D games that were so prevalent on Playstation and PS2). I really considered it just because it's such a neat concept but not having any weapons that shade turned me off from it.

      Delete
    2. Wayward KnaveNovember 21, 2024 at 4:06 PM

      Green Sgt. Rock didn't even have a pistol. That was a big disappointment.

      By the way, Barbecue -- I saw a couple of new things at the neighborhood mall last weekend. The first were Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America sculptures from McFarlane (I almost thought that they got the Marvel Legends license) and the second were Infinity Saga Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America figures from some company called Morstorm.

      Delete
    3. Barbecue17November 26, 2024 at 2:26 PM

      Yeah, McFarlane is still having to navigate Warner's weapons ban on action figures and products released at retail. They've been able to work around a few things lately on products that are specifically targeted at adults (they have a 17+ logo on them) and that are only sold online in limited quantities. There's a 2-pack of BvS Knightmare Batman and Armored Batman and the Jonah Hex set that come with weapons. Also, the Joaquin Phoenix Joker set comes with a revolver.

      Everyone else still has to be nunarmed.

      Delete

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