I’m going to try to make McFarlane a semi-regular weekly thing going forward, because I’ve barely scratched the surface of showcasing those figures here. So, let’s get things started with a look at one of the Collect-To-Build waves. McFarlane has streamlined this process a lot when compared to Marvel Legends or the old DC Universe Classics line, by requiring the purchase of only four figures to complete a CTB figure. I like that because it not only means less money, but it lowers the chances of having to buy a figure I don’t want in order to get all the CTB parts in a wave. Well, at least statistically. Today I’m going after the Blackest Night themed wave with the parts needed to build Atrocitus, and I’m starting with Kyle Rayner and Deathstorm.

The packaging is a little wider than normal in order to accommodate the extra figure parts, but otherwise it’s the same old DC Multiverse window boxes. These display the figures and extra parts beautifully and would be collector friendly if it weren’t for the figure stand and collector card being sealed against the cardboard backdrop. That used to bother me, but then I realized I didn’t have room for these big boxes so I have initiated the great purge to recycle them all. Kyle comes with Atrocitus’ torso and Deathstorm has his head and shoulder armor. Let’s start with Kyle!

I really like Kyle Rayner, but he’s still pretty far down there on my list of favorite Green Lanterns. Still, I was happy to be getting him on my DC Multiverse shelf and all in all I think this is a pretty solid figure. My first impressions left me not liking the shade of green they went with. It’s more of a lime-olive than the emerald I’m used to seeing on the Green Lantern Corps. It’s grown on me a bit since, I think it looks good, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. There isn’t a whole lot of sculpted detail on this costume apart from the basketball texturing, but you do get sculpted tops of the boots and gauntlets, and his ring is sculpted onto his right fist.

I like this portrait a lot, especially Rayner’s cheesy grin. The mask is sculpted separately from the face, which adds a lot of depth and makes it look like something the figure is actually wearing. The hair sculpt is also separate, allowing for some of the strands from his bangs to dangle over the mask. I dig it!

The figure sports the standard Multiverse articulation. The joints all feel great, but I’m always going to lament the absence of thigh swivels in these figures. There are no extra hands, and the figure comes with the right hand balled into a fist to show off his ring and the left hand sculpted to grip his accessories: The lantern and a sword power construct.

Both the lantern and the sword are cast in some extremely bright lime colored semi-translucent plastic, which makes for a nice glowy energy effect. I do like the sword a lot, but given Kyle’s abilities to come up with some extra creative constructs, it seems a little pedestrian, but that’s OK. Let’s move on to Deathstorm…

Oh wow, is this a departure from the bright and grinning visage of Kyle. Deathstorm has long been a favorite design of mine from the Brightest Day run and this figure does a great job bringing him off the page and into plastic! The costume is fairly simple with a mostly smooth body that gives way to sculpted corruption as it gets closer to the head. You get some sculpted arm bracers and sculpting for the boots. The silver bands that wrap around his thighs and come to a point below his chest are sculpted as well as painted, as is the chest emblem and the lines radiating from it. The shoulder armor flares at the edges, giving him a really cool silhouette.

Oh and that head sculpt is really something special! The rictus grin and piercing eyes are so damn cool. The skull itself has some great sculpted detail brought out by a charcoal black wash, which compliments it beautifully. And the grayish-almost purple semi-translucent flame effect coming off the head just ties it all together so perfectly. Holy crap, this looks so damn good!

The articulation holds no surprises, and you get only the stock pair of hands. The left is sculpted in a sort of grasping motion, while the right is designed to hold his one accessory: His Lantern. The Lantern is simple enough, but it looks good with a matte silver finish.

Seeing as how much I loved collecting the various Lantern Corps in the DC Universe Classics line, I was mighty excited to get this assortment, and so far I think it’s off to a great start. I’m a bit at odds as to whether I like this Kyle better than the DCUC release. I think the detail and portrait are better here, but I like the coloring of the uniform on Mattel’s figure more. On the other hand, we never did get a Deathstorm out of the DCUC line, and even if we did, it’s hard to imagine this one wouldn’t totally trump it, because it is absolutely awesome. I’ll swing back on Friday for the second part of this wave, and we’ll check out the CTB Atrocitus as well!