Review:5002126 Martian Manhunter/Berrybrick
Berrybrick
Country: America the Beautiful Gender: Male
Joined: February 2010 
№ of Reviews: 46 
№ of Featured reviews: 1
Building Experience: Enough is enough
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I'll be trying out a new format for reviewing minifigures. Bear with me. Please? There are balloons and honey pots involved.
- Set: 5002126 Martian Manhunter
- Theme: DC Universe Super Heroes
- Pieces: 4
- Minifigures: 1
- Price: Free when you spend an arm and a leg
- 5002126 Martian Manhunter / Brickset
Despite being a fan favorite and a founding member of the Justice League (even if Cyborg is trying to cut and paste himself into J'onn's spot), the Manhunter from Mars is sort of the green-headed stepchild of the DC Universe. He's one of my favorites, nonetheless: He provides a nice contrast with both Superman and Batman, has some really unique stories to tell, and when teamed with Wonder Woman (which is rare and more of a pipe dream) I find that they portray something even better than the contrasts between Superman and Batman. Something less at war with itself. But alas, even though I may place J'onn on the podium right next to the trinity, DC does not. I don't blame them though, and as a wise man thing once said, "It's not easy being green."
Easily the least iconic of the Justice League's founders (and even then, some later additions like Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Cyborg, and maybe even Plastic Man are probably more recognizeable) and since the DC line has been ridiculously slow at bringing us new characters and Green Lantern hasn't even been put into circulation yet, most of us were surprised to see the Manhunter from Mars this early. I could say I feel for the Marvel fans who aren't getting Winter Soldier this year because DC got the exclusive for whatever reason, but I'll be happy with J'onn, Flash, and Batgirl while they can go enjoy Falcon, MODOK, Red Skull, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Electro, Storm, and Taskmaster. Okay? Okay.
I really like the art on the polybag as J'onn walks away from a platform overseeing the Earth, likely on the Watchtower. It's gorgeous how well the black, white, and different shades of blue used on the Earth and black sky around it mix with the deep blue banner used to signify DC sets and even parts of J'onn's costume, though his green skin and red highlights keep him distinct from the background and render him quite striking. I would love to see this art reused for a Watchtower kit or some other Justice League set, but alas, unless the theme really branches out next year, I sort of doubt it. Though it does appear we will be getting more Leaguers alongside the ineveitable Batman next year, and he will be in a spacesuit....
On the back of the poly bag is a heck of a lot of text and a small "actual size" image of Martian Manhunter,. I tried to take an image of it, but I realized too late that it came out blurry. All of the text probably made me dizzy. I did manage this shot of the "actual size" though, which is at the left. He doesn't look as good against a bright green background as he did the blue and black, and the computer generated image seems off to me.
The polybag is the only component of packaging. All of the pieces, including the cape, are lose. My pieces arrived pristine, but I wouldn't trust the packaging, no matter how pretty it is, to protect it perfectly. There are no instructions.
Anyway, as has been the source material recently, Martian Manhunter is based on his The New 52 appearance. I haven't read much stuff from the reboot (having given up comics a few years ago so my limbs could be spent elsewhere) but I'm not too fond of what I know about the reboot version of J'onn; he seems to lack his characteristic empathy which is what I love about the character. Rather than looking for the potential in mankind and seeking to protect them so that they can become utopian as the Martians once did, but guiding them so that they don't make the mistakes his people did, he looks down on humans and only protects them because he is a warrior who is stuck there as he looks for the being who killed his people. That's too much Batman and not enough Superman or Wonder Woman for me.
Nonetheless, I do like the new costume and the J'onn Katar John Carter vibe it has. I can separate my feelings from a bad reinterpretation and a new costume, and I hope that this one sticks for a while. The LEGO rendition is a little off, but we'll get there in 5...4...3...2...
As most people who know me here know, I like to use LDD and MS Paint to create minifigures. Martian Manhunter has been the subject of a few of them, so I know how difficult it is to design his face due to its unique shape, especially with the The New 52 design. I even speculated a while ago that whenever LEGO did get around to making him (with the current rate we get JL characters, I would have guessed 2017 at the earliest) that they would have made him a molded face. In retrospect, that was a pretty bad idea that would have looked jarring next to his comrades. They did an admirable job here with the beetle-brow being depicted creatively and not going overboard with lines on his face. It looks distinctly alien and disparate from other minifigures while still using the regular head. My only complaint with it might be that the eyes have no pupils, which isn't inaccurate, but it makes them look sort of flat. It's certainly better than the face used in LEGO Batman 2 (pictured right), at any rate.
The torso is where we get into the one big issue I have with the figure: J'onn's classic color scheme was a red and blue costume, but The New 52 replaces the blue with a shade of purple which I think looks a lot cooler and is one of the ways his costume has been improved with the reboot, but it is blue here. I can't really come up with a reason for this myself, other than they might be planning to rerelease basically the same thing either in a set or SDCC exclusive with better colors, which would be a waste in my opinion, and TT did make the same coloring error in LEGO Batman 2, so I'm not convinced. While we are on the subject of colors, I also think that the shade of green (Dark Green) which they have chosen is a bit too dark for J'onn's skin and that Bright Green would have been a better option. Aside from that, the torso's print quality is top notch and a nice and vivid design. That praise extends to the back printing.
The only thing about the legs I could wish for are a pair of lines to signify where his pants end and his boots begin, but since they are the same color, I suppose it isn't as huge of an issue as it is with The Flash. Despite the loin cloth printing spilling in over onto the legs, when he stands straight the design is clean and nearly seamless (though that can't be helped). LEGO seems to have fixed the problem, but a few years ago the parts on the legs would have probably been a bit higher up than they should be. It's good that that has not happened here.
Also included is a bright blue cape, and this is the first time it has appeared in this color in quite a while, if at all. If you will allow me to continue with my nitpicking, I would say that the slimmer cape (compare this to this) used for characters like SpongeBob who would tarnish a regular cape would be more accurate, but since you will not allow me to, I will not. I do regret not picking up 3815 when it was out now, though....
J'onn has no accessories included. I can't really think of any he should have, though if LEGO could figure out a convincing way to make a sandwich cookie, I would be both impressed and ecstatic if it could be included here. However, since I can't think of a feasible way to do that without making it the size of his head or a waste of a new mold, he'll just enjoy a chocolate chip cookie he purcahsed at Mia's lemonade stand.
So, all-in-all, Martian Manhunter was a fine promo figure and one I was especially excited to see released, especially since this year's line up on the DC front has been even more pitiful in the last two years. You probably will not find too much reuse with the torso, but the cape, legs, and head are certainly versatile. Since this sold out pretty quickly and that was months ago, I am sorry if you missed out on this minifigure, since the JL is ridiculously small with only five members in three years and J'onn is a great character who I would like more people to get exposed to (go watch the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series), but if you did, I am pretty confidant that we will see him next year in his more classic costume, based on images from LEGO Batman 3. Now if we could just get some other DC characters; we may be on our way to having all seven founders, but they are not the only heroes who should be seeing release....
Packaging - This won't count towards the final score because that would be stupid, but I want to praise it again.
5 / 5Accuracy - It's pretty close. It only loses a point for coloring, unfortunately.
4 / 5Design - Accuracy isn't the only thing it takes when designing a minifigure; it also takes creativity, especially when designing a character like J'onn who looks a little different. The designers were more innovative with this minifigure than I have been in my own renditions, but their design still is not quite perfection.
4½ / 5Quality - The plastic is probably Chinese, but the printing is sharp and clean.
5 / 5I want this character factor - Okay, this is my review, and even if he is obscure, J'onn is one of my favorites. People gawking over The Winter Soldier might disagree (I haven't seen the movie yet), but for me...
5 / 5Overall -
4½ / 5
The two comic book panels are owned by DC Comics and the action figure was produced by DC Direct. I actually took my own images of the minifigures and packaging for this one.
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