Points of Articulation

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The movie is still more than a month away, but DC's new Suicide Squad toys have just begun to hit shelves. (Captain America: Civil War could learn a good lesson, here.)

But there's more going on than a cursory glance at the back of the box would reveal. The Suicide Squad line is a tangled mess of series, waves, re-releases, exclusives, and alternate Build-A-Figure parts. So we're going to take a look at what all is available, and what you get with it.

Above is the cardback for the mass market releases. Like the Batman v Superman figures, this series will ship in two waves. Wave 1 includes Harley, Deadshot and Batman, while Wave 2 will include Joker, Boomerang and Katana. Here is a list of each figure and which BAF part they have:

1. Joker (purple coat, shirtless, barefoot): right leg
2. Harley (baseball bat): left leg
3. Deadshot: right arm
4. Boomerang: left arm
5. Katana: pelvis and head
6. Batman (gas mask head): torso

Normally, this would be where things ended. But this line is not normal. To begin with, notice that Croc's hands are bare in the above image, yet the included BAF pieces have his hands wrapped up.

Now, here's the back of the card for the exclusives:

Collect all those (plus a few of the regular figures), and you can build "the ultimate Croc." Here's the list:

1. Harley (cocktail dress, Amazon.com): bare hands
2. Joker (silver jacket, Toys Я Us): sleeve arms
3. Harley (jacket and mallet, Toys Я Us): hoodie
4. Joker (purple coat, shirtless, barefoot): right leg
5. Katana: pelvis and head
6. Harley (baseball bat): left leg

As you can see, figures 4, 5 and 6 on that list are figures 1, 5 and 2 from the mass market. And though the packaging doesn't show it, you'll also need to buy Batman, because the hoodie that comes with TRU Joker is just a hollow piece that slips over the existing torso.

There are also exclusive figures of Diablo and Rick Flag available at Walmart, but neither of those come with BAF parts.

So to build a plain Killer Croc, you have to buy six figures. To turn him into "the ultimate Croc," you have to buy three more exclusives. The arms appear to be swappable, so you shouldn't have to double-dip on the torso and legs. Still, if you want the whole deal, you're going to end up with a Batman who's pretty much identical to the BvS one who's already pegwarming everywhere, three Harley Quinns, and at least two Jokers (plus a third if you get the SDCC set). That's not a good assortment of characters.