Anyway, I thoroughly adore Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis. Besides being one of the first complete series that I read on my tablet via that new-fangled digital media witchcraft, I found it to be everything a landmark comic event should be and yet seldom is. It had plenty of “oh shit!” moments, an ending that left me surprised and satisfied, but most of all, it really took some favorite old characters in new direction. Plus, Batman gets screwed over by his peers, and he’s a dick, so that’s ok by me. I’ll be the first to concede that some of the motivations in the series didn’t make any sense, and the whole rape reveal seemed to glom on a bit to similar themes in The Watchmen, but I don’t let any of that ruin my enjoyment of the experience. Today’s figure, Dr. Light, was one of the key players of the piece. Holy, hell, what a shitbag! Identity Crisis not only raised (or is that lowered?) Light’s status as a villain to that of serial rapist scum, but managed to retcon a justification for his past portrayals as a bumbler. It seems only fair we start with him.

The last time we looked at DC Direct packaging, it was from the Crisis on Infinite Earths series, and that packaging was downright bland and boring. That’s certainly not the case here. The card features some excellent character art of the Justice League, all looking rather shamed and guilty, with a shattered glass motif that carries on to the bubble and tray. Very nice! This package eschews DC Direct’s clever and occasional use of the figure stand to make up the series title for the package. This time the stand is partially hidden behind the legs of the figure. In fact, truth be told, Identity Crisis only appears in a small logo in the upper left corner. The back of the card is generic for all of Series 1, with photos of all five figures and little blurbs about their role in the series. I don’t often have qualms about tearing open DC Direct figures, but the presentation here is nice enough that it gave me pause. Nonetheless, I want a loose Dr. Light for my DCUC shelves, so tear it open, I shall!

Wow, the boys at DC Direct really did a great job sculpting Dr. Light! First off, look at the face! To quote the Young Ones, “Oi, he is a bastard!” From the patented arch-villain-arching-eyebrows to the demonic pointy goatee, this guy has “lethal injection candidate” written all over his face. The whole, “I’m gonna rape you” sneer isn’t helping things either. Just one look and you can’t help but hate him.

The rest of the figure is just as much a slam dunk, derived from a perfect mix of serviceable sculpt and excellent paintwork. Light sports a fairly neutral stance with his rubbery cape favoring one shoulder and his hands permanently clutching in fiendishly diabolical spasms. The deco that makes up his chest emblem and belt are sculpted as well as painted, and likewise, his hood features a sculpted and painted band and a fin protruding from the top. I just love Light’s retro character design, as he looks like he would be right at home menacing Flash Gordon. My experience with DC Direct paintwork has been hit or miss in the past, but the paint on this figure is a neigh perfect application of matte black, bright and clean white, and grey.

We should all know by now not to expect much articulation from DC Direct, but Dr. Light is far from a semi-poseable statue. You get ball joints in the neck and shoulders, with hinges in the elbows. The legs rotate at the hips, have hinged knees, and swivels at the boots. There is no articulation in the torso at all. Again, not a lot, but what’s here is perfectly serviceable.

The only accessory that comes with Light is his ginormous figure stand. It’s a simple oval with “Identity Crisis” printed onto it. I’m usually a big fan of the DC Direct figure stands, but I don’t use them for the figures I display with my DCUC collection, and Light can actually stand just fine on his own.

So, I’m happy to say that DC Direct delivered in spades with Dr. Light. Not only is he a great looking figure in his own right, but his proportions and scale make him a perfect complement to my DCUC shelf. The articulation may not be all there, but he’s a good enough match, that I’m perfectly fine with crossing him off my DCUC Want List.

Tomorrow, we’ll check out Zatanna.