@FunkoDCLegion Review: January 2017

Legion's DC LEGACY box pushes the boundaries of Funko cool.

Review by Matt Cummings

With a November BATMAN VILLAINS that exposed Funko's long-term problem with all of their lines (that is, a serious amount of fatigue), January 2017's sub box is a startling lesson that perhaps the company has actually listened to fans, taken the heartbeat of the sub box genre, and arrived at a terrific solution.

The Promise

Before we begin, let's look at the deal again: promising a value of $50, the sub continues the tradition of Funko partnering each time to deliver an exclusive figure and t-shirt without the fluff or filter (their words). Joining at the VIGILANTE MEMBERSHIP, members receive 6 boxes every year, with the promise of an exclusive themed collectible gift on the one-year anniversary of your annual membership pf $150 p sh/h. You can also subscribe at the SIDEKICK LEVEL at $25 with $6.95 shipping. That's literally the same deal as Marvel Collector Corps. DC/Funko promises a similar one-year anniversary item with VIGILANTE, but with the spectacular failure behind Marvel Collector Corps' Golden Cap figure, I'm not hopeful for a cool reveal.

The Delivery
We use QUALITY and TIMING to base our reviews, so let's see how this box stands up. As always, we'll end our review with some additional thoughts after the unboxing:

The Guts
We weren't too happy to see a more standard box arrive, sometimes predicting an omen. Fortunately, what's inside amazed even us, and that started with the pin/patch set. Usually the first thing you see upon opening the box, we get a terrific Green Arrow patch and a surprising Swamp Thing pin. As you can see in the images above, it details a very solid and unique box to come. This won't be your standard Batman or Superman set, not by a long shot. WIN and WIN.

The Comic
An Aquaman comic? Yes! An Aquaman comic with Black Manta on the cover as well? Terrific! That's the kind of comic we can get behind, because it highlights characters that some collectors might not know as well. Sure, a Funko Batman comic would have been fine, but this selection by itself tells me that DC isn't content to live off Bats alone. Highlighting two figures who might play significant roles in the upcoming Justice League movie sends a strong message: come for Bats and Supes, but stay for our other many, many characters. WIN.

A Fantastic Pop!
To be honest, I know very little about Plastic Man or his history; but his inclusion here as this month's Pop! once again tells us just how much DC wants us to know its other characters. This Pop! looks fantastic and reminds me of the 70's Stretch I owned as a kid. They could have put anyone here, but the choice of Plastic Man is ballsy and a definite WIN.

Salt and Pepper Shakers Done Right?
This isn't a slame against Funko, and yet it kinda is: why include items other than wearables that people might not want? I don't know anyone who is using their Jabba, Starlord, or C3PO mugs, and even fewer people wearing the various hats we've gotten. But at least with this month's salt/pepper shakers, Funko choice two classic characters to include. You might not ever pour anything from the television Batman and Robin, but at least these look like collectors items. The colors are terrific and their molds look spot on. I've made my disdain for non-wearables on this site many times, because what we got neither looked very good or seemed 'collector' in nature. These salt/pepper shakers are not only unique, but they look far better than those mugs and hats. That's the sort of uniqueness I want from my boxes, and a solid WIN on my scale.

A Fabulous Shirt
The idea of a ringer shirt is something we hadn't received from Legion before, and its inclusion here gets only better when you see who they put on the front. Subscribers received either Krypto the Superdog or Ace The Bat-Hound; I think I got the better of the two, but I would have been just as happy with Superdog, yet another hero from my youth. Once again, this is a bold move by Legion to expand the brand, and I think both shirts are WIN-ners for sure.

The Bottom Line

DC's Legion of Collectors DC LEGACY box is a grandslam homerun. Filled with a spectacular mix of unique heroes, this box sets a new standard for Legion and reminds us that the DC universe is larger than Batman & Superman. If that was the intent, then mission totally accomplished. Granted, a salt/pepper set isn't something I'll be using but I have to give them high marks on the quality of the molds. That wasn't the case with the mugs or hats, so it's something I can more than live with.

And that gets to the bigger question of whether or not these boxes can survive. In my opinion, should Funko continue to deliver unique sets like these, mixed with guaranteed winners that all fans can love, we can take this kind of mix until the sun burns out. Perhaps this is a sign that DC is listening to its customers, and are aware of our love for their products but worried about quality. To come out swinging like this tells me that perhaps our message was delivered loud and clear. And there's plenty of potential lessons coming with March's SUPERMAN, which hopefully reveals as rewarding a box as LEGACY. Imagine the possibilities, which Funko seems ready to achieve. Do that, and you can have my money now and forever. This box comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Want to read our other sub box reviews? We've got them all listed below:
MARVEL COLLECTOR CORPS
May
June
August
October
December
February
April
June
August
October
December

DC LEGION REVIEWS
May
July
September
November


SMUGGLER'S BOUNTY
January
March
May
July
September
November

Discuss this review with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.