Alright, for my first review on this new blog I'll take a look at
the whole 17th wave of Mattel's DC Universe Classics. This wave's focus is the
Blackest Night event that shook the DC universe about a year ago in the pages of Green Lantern. All of these figures are well known heroes or villains who have been "deputized" by the various colored rings of the emotional spectrum to be able to use their respective abilities for 24 hours to combat the undead Black Lanterns. Also, as with every other wave in this series, each figure comes with a piece for the wave's "Collect and Connect" figure; the Anti-Monitor. So let's begin (this review is a little image heavy, mostly in size, but also in quantity).
And yes, I will ditch this improv light tent for a better one in due time.
Blue Lantern Flash
This is the recently ressurected Barry Allen Flash who is given the Blue ring of Hope from Saint Walker.
This figure is a repaint of the older Flash figure, in blue and black colors. It uses the standard DCUC buck body with the addition of sculpted boots and power ring, which is pretty well done for how small it is. With the Flash not being the first figure you think of when wanting for accessories, it was pretty good of Mattel to give most figures in this wave their respective Lanterns, even if they are just repaints for the most part.
Being the standard buck, it also has all of the standard articulation that make these pretty damn poseable. These figures like to have a few stuck joints, however, commonly in the swivel thighs or T-crotch. Luckily, the only figure to suffer was Flash here, who only had a stuck ab-crunch, which was a first for me to see. Easy fix though, just stick it in the freezer for ten minutes and then you can easily crack it free with some movement.
The Flash here has some very good sculpting, which I said, has been taken from the previous Flash figure. But it's still good. The Flash fins on his head and boots are both made of soft rubber plastic which I think is pretty cool because they're not hard plastic protrusions. The paint apps are also pretty good and clean. There are a few scrapes here and there, but very little smudges or bleeds. However, where the two pieces of his ab-crunch meet, the blue in his costume fades into the black and while the lower piece is birght blue and it just kinda looks odd.
The Bottom Line
Over the waves I have grown much more fond of the standard buck figures. This Flash is a very slick looking figure, and even better if you've got a Green Lantern collection going. Otherwise, if a Blue Lantern Flash looks good to you, go for it. This is a very good figure.
Star Sapphire Wonder Woman
Here is Wonder Woman, given the violet ring of Love by Star Sapphire Carol Farris.
This figure uses the newer female mold. The main difference is the lack of ab-crunch joint and instead we have an oddly cut torso that rarely moves more than a few degrees without being forced. For some reason I've never cared for the female articulation as much as the male buck, even though they are nearly the same. Just the narrow legs and small feet don't seem to work for me when I try to stand them up in any decent pose. Like the rest of the wave, she comes with her violet lantern, but this one is a unique design, which is cool. But, like the previous WW figure, we don't get a seperate lasso for her to hold; only to be permanently attatched to her waist.
So this Wonder Woman is a little shorter than the previous one. But whatever, not the first time we've had incosistant sizes *cough* Sinestro *cough*. But the sculpt makes up for it. She has a unique chest sculpt, along with new shiny bracers on each arm. Again, a good sculpted ring (which is more than DC Direct figures can claim most of the time), and the head sculpt is very nice. The paint on this one is good also, but the gold apps on any part besides the mask seem a little off. Like another layer would have sealed it nicely.
The paint is also noticeably a different shade than the previous Star Sapphire figure. Which is kinda annoying if you display them together or something, but it still works. But this is mostly because Carol Farris back there was
molded in violet/pink whereas WW was
painted a violet/pink. It makes sense because she shows considerably more skin than Carol's mold does.
The Bottom Line
Despite the praise to the sculpt, this isn't one of my favorite figures in the wave. I only got it for GL completionism, and for the Anti-Monitor piece. Your mileage may vary, though. It's not outright bad, I just have a very "meh" attitude towards it.
Indigo Tribe Atom
One of my favorites from the wave, is Ray Palmer "Atom" when given the Indigo light of Compassion by the Indigo Tribe leader Indigo-1.
Atom uses a heavily modified buck, with added sculpted clothes like his boots, sash/belt, and collar/vest/thingie. Really, the whole costume is pretty amazingly done. the Four Horsemen pulled out a lot of stops for this one (not as much as they would for their Exclusive line, of course). The hair is even fantastic. And that face definetly radiates a calm compassion.
This outfit doesn't hinder his movement, which is awesome. He is able to hold his Indigo staff one-handed or two-handed in multiple ways.
The paint and detailing is just superb. Almost no bleeding or smudges on mine. The markings on his body are remarkably clean and the atom symbol on his belt is perfect. BUT! I do have one gripe. His staff is just solid molded plastic, obviously. But it looks like it was
just cut from the mold because you can see strained white nub marks around the head of the staff, visible in these photos. They could have given it a once over in blue paint or something.
The Bottom Line
I didn't have much to say on Ray here as I did Wonder Woman, because there's not much to say besides how cool he is. He has a very fantasy look about him and could even be one of Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics figures. Besides the rough-cut staff, he's a pretty great figure that is pretty much a must buy from this wave.
Orange Lantern Lex Luthor
Out of eveyone, Lex Luthor is one of the last people to have a ring powered by imagination and brain power. But then again, when the Orange light of Avarice is reluctantly allowed by its owner Larfleeze to find another user, nobody is more greedy than Luthor.
Lex uses a mold reserved for characters with power suits of some variety, such as a previous power suit Luthor, and the old Mister Freeze from the DC Superheroes line. The chest piece is a different design, however, and if you look very closely, he still has a sculpted ring. However, nearly the whole figure is molded in orange translucent plastic (this is to represent that his armor is just his ring's construct). This kind of plasic is notoriously more brittle than solid plastic. Case in point, his ankle joint snapped right out of the package. It's not a huge deal, it still moves thanks to the other side of the foot still being plugged in, and it's an annoying fix that I won't bother with yet.
The power suit mold uses roughly the same articulation as the male buck, but the torso sits on a ball joint above the abs. My Lex happens to have a very loose one, so he wobbles around a lot. Otherwise, he has good movement, though the suit molds tend to be a tad more restrictive, but I still like the mold in general. Both hands are open, yet the included Orange lantern
has no handle. It totally has one in the comics, but is rarely seen because Larfleeze holds it tight to his chest with his abnormally long arms.
Lex is able to hold his lantern close to his chest, clearly acting out the Orange Lantern creed of "MINE!". However, what bugs me the most is that his face doesn't show that
at all. He seems to be saying something more like "This particular lantern is in my possesion at this current juncture in time and I will not allow that position to change readily". Also, for some reason, his right arm has no swivel joint. It's just not there.
The Bottom Line
I would pass on this figure, sadly. If you feel like risking the joints with that clear plastic, go for it, just break him in gently. But the real lack of paint and some articulation just don't jive with me.
I think that's a phrase.
Sinestro Corps Scarecrow
Jonathan Crane had terrorized Batman and Gotham City with his fear gas for decades. But he could no longer feel fear, and with Batman "dead" he needed a new high. Well, thankfully for him ,the Yellow Light of Fear found him from Sinestro's yellow ring. Perfect.
Scarecrow uses a thinner mold of the male body. He uses lankier legs and arms that haven't been used too often. He has open-sculpted hands as sinister claws that can still, a little awkwardly, hold his yellow lantern. Both his legs and arms use double joints that definetly work, but at least his knees were very stiff and rarely need to be moved to that degree. This is because he has that soft plastic trenchcoat. While it is more flexible than capes and coats that used to be used in DCUC, it still covers a lot of his torso. This hinders his ab-crunch, his upper legs, and to a degree his shoulders. This isn't a huge deal since he can still be posed adequately.
Like Atom, Scarecrow's sculpt is top-notch. Especially his mask/hat and noose that runs down his neck and is sculpted perfectly over his Sinestro Corps emblem. The paint on his head and torso is also amazingly detailed. But his jacket is a tad runny and a little thin in some places.
The Bottom Line
Scarecrow has just a very cool design, so that alone should convince you if you want to grab him. He is a good figure that, with a better though-out and painted jacket, could have been perfect. One of my favorites though, for sure.
White Lantern Hal Jordan
With the help of the rest of the emotional spectrum, Hal Jordan, along with other ressurected heroes, taps into the White light of Life to defeat the Black light of Death.
Hal is the most basic figure of the wave, using the whole of the standard buck to full effect. The only new sculpt is his head, with clenched teeth and determination. He sports a sculpted ring on one hand and a useless open hand (Hal is the only figure without a lantern, unless you count Atom).
The body sculpt is par for the course with the male buck. Which is perfectly fine with me; it uses all the usual points of articulation. The face is well done, and the teeth are very nicely detailed. But where this figure really shines is the paint job. The figure is molded in a dull off-white and painted silver with black highlights. In person this is a really awesome paint job and the sliver looks great. There were a few smudges here and there, but that's to be expected. The matte plastic mold with the glossy silver really work well together.
The Bottom Line
I really like this figure. I just play with him the most because of his simplicity. As I said, I've grown very fond of the standard buck, and his paint job is just a very creative dichotomy. It does come in a Black Lantern variant, which I may pick up at a later date and review.
Anti-Monitor
This is Anti-Monitor, the build-a-figure for Wave 17, and evil master of the Antimatter Universe. He is included in this Green Lantern-based wave because he has been part of the Sinestro Corps, and plays a small part near the end of Blackest Night.
DCUC has had b.a.f.s that utilize the same articulation as the smaller figures, but has also had some change ups, like Arkillo, Kalibak, etc. Anti-Monitor is the former. He has all the articulation of the smaller sized figures his parts come with.
However, he doesn't have the same poseability. He is able to be posed in some basic poses, but his size, and the heft of his torso, require attention to balance most of the time. The sculpt, though, is really good. The segmentation on his body and his armor are just well done. His chest piece is soft rubber plastic so you can lift it over his torso in order to attatch his head. His loincloth is also soft, but even if it wasn't it wouldn't be much of a hinderance. However, one design choice that bugs me most is his tubing over his arms. It is not soft plastic, as it really should be. It doesn't stop elbow movement
that much, but making it harder plastic was a poor choice I think.
Anti-Monitor comes with a soft-goods cape. Normally I think it would be alright, but because it's wrapped up in the package it's just like a wrinkled tissue more than a cape. It is easily removed though, which is how I prefer it.
But if there's one big complaint I have, it's his height.
The Anti-Monitor, destroyer of universes, should at least be a little taller than Stel or Arkillo, some rather large Corps members. But then again, I guess as size goes up, playability goes down. I don't think I've ever really done much with Galactus here other than display him.
The Botton Line
Anti-Monitor as a character is a worthwhile investment into buying the whole wave. As a toy, a little bit less so, but only
slight. Still a pretty cool figure and display piece. Stel is still my favorite Collect and Connect figure.
The Bottom Line (DCUC Wave 17)
I was surprised that I'd want to get any of these characters. When I saw the prototypes I was very displeased that they had another Green Lantern wave. Since then I've actually gotten into the comics for GL and now I couldn't have a display without them.
They are for the most part very cool figures on par with what DCUC has done. If you like the characters, or the fact that they may be the only DCUC figures in their parts of the emotional spectrum (except the Sinestro Corps), take your pick. Atom, Scarecrow, and Hal are my personal picks, but they all work well together. Be sure to look out for the better paint jobs and least bent limbs, as the DCUC line has been known to have plenty of quality control issues.
Phew. That's it for this grand opening of Warped Joints. My next review will be of figures in a smaller scale, so that'll be fun.
Good night.
From a distance it's not too bad, but just inspecting it up close you see the shoddy paint aps. But enough on that, what about playability and articulation? Well, first off, they gave his shield the two straps instead of a clamp or handle. It's a little difficult opening his hand to get it around the strap, but it holds great and looks natural. But what is really poor design on Hasbro's part is the plastic on most of his body. It is a soft rubber type of plastic that bends way too easily. This is the biggest problem on the legs, because these rubber legs don't lend themselves to easy standing or posing.
Red Skull has some decent poseability, even if they're less "action-y" and more "evil dictator overlooking a doomed world" poses. He has a few less points than Cap, notably in the legs. He has no ankle joints to speak of, and his thighs are near immobile because of his uniforms hard plastic "skirt" (I dunno what it's called). So his legs get very few stances. Otherwise he's got the standard arms and torso, able to raise his hands (or his gun) in anger. He can also hold the cosmic cube very well thanks to the molded holes in the cube to match the placement of his fingers. Figuring out the perfect fit though may be a little tedious, but it works.
But, again, I had to find the best painted one of the lot. Although it is much better than movie Cap, he's still got some slop around the mask. Oh well, because the paint itself makes up for it. The colors on the uniform are all metallic and they look fantastic. The shield is also well painted. Annoyingly, the weapons are just in a molded grey, with the knife having a painted handle. This just makes them look fake with the rest of the figure. But I'll give it a pass because the rest of the figure is so good.
