LEGO vs FLEGO – Joker Edition

I’m back with the fourth installment of my LEGO vs fLEGO Suicide Squad review. So far, I have had a look at Katana (click here to read), Deadshot (click here), and Captain Boomerang (click here). When I ordered my FLEGO Suicide Squad a while back, it also came with not one, but two Joker variants. Let me begin by saying that I found this to be a poor choice. One key figure missing from the set was Harley Quinn, arguably the most popular member of the squad. I think that one Joker variant could have been sacrificed for a Harley Quinn, but I digress…

Again, the Jokers in this set were based on the Suicide Squad film versions. There have been many actual LEGO Joker Minifigures, some based on comic books, others on film or television. The Suicide Squad Joker did not get the official LEGO treatment. So, for the purposes of this review, I will base my comparison on my favorite LEGO Joker variant, the one from the Joker Balloon Escape (LEGO Batman Movie set #70900 – click here for my review).

The two FLEGO Joker figurines that you get are the shirtless, tattooed version, and one in a grey blazer with a red, unbuttoned shirt, and black pants. The later figurine is rather uninteresting in my opinion, and is the one I would have happily given up for Harley Quinn. Both of the FLEGO Jokers come with slicked back, matte green hair. My first impression on actually holding one of these figurines was that the hair was not vibrant enough green. In the movie, Joker has a neon, toxic looking green color. These fall a little short. The skin tone of both figurines is also rather porcelain in quality. In my LEGO vs FLEGO Harley Quinn review (click here to read it), I noted the same issue. It really makes the plastic look cheap and brittle next to a real LEGO Minifigure.

The grey blazered Joker is just boring as a figure. I know whom ever designed him was trying to recreate a look from the movie, but it failed. His clothing looks remarkably in-Joker-like. His face is also poorly designed. For starters, there are too many lines on it. Deadshot also suffered from an attempt to cram in too much detail. LEGO always manages to pull off expressive faces and true-to-character looks with an elegant simplicity. FLEGO tries too hard. The end result here is that this Joker looks like his face is permanently pressed against glass. They also tried to give him the golden teeth from the movie, but he just looks like a deranged teenager with braces. He comes with a hand gun and knife. The knife is a direct LEGO knock-off, and the gun is cheap looking. This Joker also does not connect perfectly to LEGO, or the base he came with (a problem also seen with Katana and Captain Boomerang).

Tattooed Joker, I like a little bit more. This Joker has a double-sided face. His face is a little less distorted-looking when you have him on his open-mouth option. The closed mouth version looks like a woman. I do like that they tried to stay true to the tattoos from the movie, and the they are printed on both sides of the torso, and arms. This Joker also comes with a little trench coat similar to Captain Boomerang’s, only it is a purple, velvety texture. He comes with a crowbar. Sadly, he suffers from the same cheap plastic look as his counterpart. And, while this Joker does connect with LEGO, there is something wrong with his hip joint. The central portion is recessed a little between the legs, and not flush like in a real LEGO Minifigure.

All in all, I think the realism the FLEGO Jokers aspire to really falls flat. It ends up making the figurines look off. The cheap quality plastic is very evident in these white colours as well. Of the two, I like the tattooed Joker more. But, with Joker being available in the inexpensive Joker Balloon Chase, as well as in the Batman Movie Minifigure series, these FLEGO versions are really just not worth it, even at $0.99 a pop. FLEGO fail? I would say yes. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below.

Until next time,

-Tom