Friday, June 16, 2023

Action Figure Review: Fulcum Abominus (Dark Knights: Metal) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   Have you ever wanted a giant mech like Voltron or Megazord, but with more Batman? Then Fulcum Abominus is going to be right up your alley! Popping out of the pages of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Knights: Metal,  Fulcum Abominus was created by Hiro Okamura better known as Toyman. The mech is combination of six machines originally designed to combat the members of the Justice League while on Mongol's War Moon. Originally six separate robots intent on destroying the Justice League, Toyman built-in a fail-safe feature that is discovered by Batman, causing all of the robots to join together into a massive mech of justice. McFarlane Toys seems to love Dark Knights: Metal and all of the spin-off titles which allows us to keep getting cool designs like this. Fulcum Abominus is a megafig, so he's definitely larger than your standard figure. Ready to check out this heroic combination of the separate Justice League hunting robots? Then join me after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 9 inches

Articulation: Double swivel hinged ankles, two swivle saw blades arms on right shin, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, barbell shoulder pads, bicep swivels, hinged elbows, 6 balljointed back fins, and a ball jointed head.
 
Accessories: 6 back fins, collector card, and display stand.
 
Non-Scalper Price: $40 dollars







The Positives:

* Fulcum Abominus is just a darn cool looking figure. Even if you haven't read Metal or don't care about the mech's appearance in the story, there's no doubt that this is just a really impressive looking toy. There's a lot of color here and multiple paint applications to make the mech look weathered and battle weary. There are elements of the six members of the Justice League from Dark Knights: Metal visible here, though many of their parts and elements overlap, creating a very unique DC Multiverse figure.


* The Batman part of the mech provides the head, shoulders, and "cape," so you've got a pretty cool looking robotic Batman head here. These bots were built for gladiatorial battles on War Moon so they're not all pretty and stylish; they're rough, rugged, and dinged and dented up. The robotic head and jaw on this guy is excellent and the dry brushed detail to show the scuffed paint looks pretty good, too.




* Flip Fulcum Abominus around and not only is the spine wicked cool looking but there are also six balljointed cape-like spikes that can move around. It reminds me a lot of Azrael's batsuit. You can also see more of how the different elements of the figure are connected. A fulcum was an infantry tactic used by soldiers in the late Roman and Byzantine empires that required soldiers to come together, forming a protective shield wall around ranged infantry units. It was both offensive and defensive, which seems to also stand for what we've got here: A joining together of mechs to provide more protection and to allow for more firepower. 


* The right arm really reminds me of Wonder Woman. It's a rather ornate looking claw, perhaps a play on her Lasso of Truth? There's some Cyborg influence here, too, and it makes this look like a pretty decent weapon for some up-close and personal mech battles. 



* Cyborg's bot also is the source of this arm canon which Fulcum Abominus has as a left arm. It's really cool looking and is shown in Metal to pack some serious punch, even being equipped with a massive flamethrower inside.




* The right leg has some elements of Green Lantern and the Flash, particularly that super cool armored panel with a lightning bolt logo on it. Those armored panels are separate pieces over the thigh, so they look really cool and add to the bulky, plated look of the mech.



* While the Flash can pass through solid objects, Fulcum Abominus' mechanical leg has two buzz saw  blades that can move up and down. He's not getting pulled over by any tripwires! He's cutting right through them. 




* The left leg has a really interestingly shaped thigh panel inspired by Green Lantern (it looks shaped like a skull of some sort) and a yellow lower leg and foot that might be inspired by Wonder Woman's boots. Lots of very angular elements and some blades on the toes. 



* The joints might be a bit different than on your standard DC Multiverse figure but, wow, Fulcum Abominus has some excellent articulation. I mean, sure, he's a giant robot, so there's clearly some stuff he can't do, but so far as giant robots go this fellow can move. Little extra elements like the spines on the back, the shoulder pads, and the little buzz saws on the right leg just make him all the more fun. 




* Fulcum Abominus comes with a collectible card with an image of the mech on the front and some information about it on the back. You know what's on the art that's not on the figure? A machine gun popping out of the left side. I assume they didn't think Warner Bros. would allow that to be included, or maybe it just got rejected. 




* While he doesn't at all need it, McFarlane Toys did include a standard DC disc stand with the figure. Use it for another figure!

* Here's a shot of Fulcum Abominus next to a standard sized DC Multiverse figure. As you can see, he's a fairly large figure. But...

The Negatives:

* In the comic, Fulcum Abominus is really large, so he's definitely under scaled here. Not just too large or too small, but scaled differently. I mean, the Justice League is supposed to be able to ride inside of the mech. I believe this is the first time that McFarlane has done something like this in DC Multiverse. It's kind of a necessary evil as there's no way this could have been in scale, so it doesn't bother me too much, but it seemed worth mentioning. 





* The claw weapon on Fulcum Abominus' right arm is kind of bent up. It's made from a flexible plastic so some heat and cold should fix it, but it is annoying. 

   Fulcum Abominus might be scaled differently, but he's a really cool addition to the DC Multiverse line and a character that I imagine few people were expecting. It's really fun to get these surprises in DC Multiverse and if you're a Batman fan, then they come pretty often. This mech has an excellent sculpt, some very nice paintwork and good color choices, and a sturdy build with great articulation. He's a Great and a 1/2 megafig and definitely a fun piece that stands out from the pack. Now, who could McFarlane make that would make sense to stand alongside of him?





This is the first figure of Fulcum Abominus I've reviewed. For more DC Multiverse reviews check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Impulse (Flash War)
The Joker (Infinite Frontier)
Kalibak (The Darkseid War)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)
Mister Freeze (Victor Fries)
Nekron (Blackest Night)
Nightwing (Titans)
Raven (Titans)
The Riddler (Arkham City)
Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
The Signal Duke Thomas
Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy)






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