Valdremar with Voidwalker Voyd

In the face of demonic power, most heroes see death. Warlocks see only opportunity. Dominance is their aim, and they have found a path to it in the dark arts. These voracious spellcasters summon demonic minions to fight beside them. At first, they command only the service of imps, but as a warlock's knowledge grows, seductive succubi, loyal voidwalkers, and horrific felhunters join the dark sorcerer's ranks to wreak havoc on anyone who stands in their master's way. Wait, this is a good guy? Valdremar is a gnome warlock, and gnomes are Alliance, so no matter how evil this guy looks, he's technically not a villain. But maybe that makes sense: gnomes are perpetually upbeat and cheerful, so maybe that helps offset the "trifling with demonic forces" thing - if you never have a dark thought in your head, the evil can never really get a hold. Really, the only reason he looks evil at all is because of what he's wearing. This outfit is a pretty creepy looking number, with a horned skull mask, a long purple robe, and wicked-looking shoulder pads. This outfit is a specific set from the game, known as the Malefic Raiment - while all the little bits have their own benefits, if you equip your Warlock with the full set of eight pieces, you get an even bigger bonus. One of the features of the Malefic Raiment is a big pair of see-through wings. They don't actually let you fly, they basically just look cool. Valdremar's got his set, and they're cast from semi-​translucent plastic, then painted at the top to create a nice fade. They plug into his back, which makes him unable to stand on his own - that's why the set includes a black figure stand for him. One of the wings is stretched out, while the other is folded over; they're actually designed that way, it's not some weird error. No matter what it looks like. None of the DC Direct WoW figures are known for their articulation, and Valdremar isn't the one to break that trend. He has swivels in the neck and forearms, and that's it. He's posed with one arm stretched out, pointing the way, but if you want him looking in the direction he's gesturing, you'll have to take off his wing so you can twist his giant horns into place. Like the bio says, warlocks can summon helper minions NPCs to do their fighting for them. They start out with the Imp, but at Level 8, they can start summoning a Voidwalker. Voidwalkers are generally shown as solid black masses with a blue glow around them, which isn't something a toy can do. Instead, it's been molded from translucent indigo plastic, allowing light to shine through it. The only paint on the body is a little bit of a light spray in its eyes, to create a glow. Voyd is wearing big spiked gauntlets, which are painted red and gold. Those are what anchor a summoned Voidwalker to the material plane - if they're removed, he'll just slip back home to his native dimension. The figure is a solid piece with no articulation, and they really did a much better job than McFarlane when it came to deciding on how to hide the assembly seams. He's posed with one arm forward and a twist to his torso, and since real Voidwalkers seem to emerge from a cloud, his "feet" are just a mass of swirling tendrils meant to evoke smoke. Valdremar and Voyd may seem scary, but they're apparently on the side of good. But the important thing is they look really cool, a big frightening genie and his little demonic master. -- 10/16/15

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