Collecting the Icons series has been quite the roller-coaster ride. The line swelled pretty quickly and with a slew of releases planned for this Summer, it only seemed to be gaining more and more steam. I was sure we were looking at the next DC Universe Classics. And then DC Collectibles began the cancellations and it seemed as if the writing was on the wall. Right now, we’re getting mixed signals, with some figures still shipping, but I think it’s safe to say this line is on its way out. DCC blames poor retailer support. Either way, I’m not going to let my support for the line falter. Today I’m checking out Figure #21: Deathstroke!

The packaging remains unchanged from the last Icons figures I looked at, and it’s actually very similar to DCC’s Designer Series as well. Hey, why not go with what works! You get a nice clean design with a large wrap-around window to show off the goods. The left panel includes the name of the figure, the number in the series, and the comic that he was pulled from, in this case, The Judas Contract, a real classic, and the subject of a recent DC Animated film. Very good choice! Let’s open up this box and check out Slade Wilson!

As far as costumes go, Deathstroke is about as iconic as they get. I wouldn’t think that orange and metallic blue would go so well together, but I guess it works for The Hobgoblin too. Here we have Deathstroke in all his classic comic book glory. He features some ridiculously exaggerated buccaneer boots and gauntlets, and sculpted scale armor on his legs, arms, and lower chest. The upper chest and shoulders are matte black, which leads into his mask. The use of all original sculpting is a big part of what makes this line shine, and there’s plenty of that on display with this figure. I particularly love all the detail in his belt, right down to the pouches and grenades. He also features a belt of ammunition slung across his chest.

From the back, we can get a good look at Slade’s sword and scabbard. The scabbard pegs into his back and stays on firmly. It’s orange, to match the costume, and it features gold painted fixtures. And a closeup of the holster shows that his revolver fits into it… well sort of. I wish they had put a hole in the bottom to pass the barrel through. As it is, it rides kind of high. That’s probably convenient for those quick draw situations, but not so beneficial when it falls out unexpectedly.

I’ve already mentioned the coloring on this figure, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise both the quality and application of the paint. The metallic blue used for the scale armor is just so damn gorgeous and it contrasts so nicely with the matte orange. You also get some yellow applications on the trim of the gauntlets and various places on the belt. The ammo strap has more of that lovely blue, with each cartridge painted gold on the front and back, and some more gold on his collar. Even the sculpted straps for the holster are neatly painted. This is a beautiful figure!

Slade comes out of the box with his masked head, which is simple but nonetheless excellent. I really dig how the sculpt shows the contours of his face underneath it, and the one eye is superbly painted as is the black outline around it. You also get some metallic paint on the discs over the ears. The mask is rounded out with tie strings coming off the back and running down behind the neck.

And you also get the unmasked head, which is a fantastic piece of work and really presents me with an unsolvable conundrum. Which head to display him with? Which only leads me to other questions: Do I need to pick up another one of these figures so I don’t have to decide? Will it save the line if I buy two of every figure released? Because I’m prepared to do that!

Articulation is standard DC Icons stuff, which is to say it’s pretty damn good, but not quite pretty damn great. The legs have ball joints in the hips, double hinged knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. Nope, still no thigh cuts, and that’s a big part of what keeps the articulation from being all that it could be. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The torso has an ab crunch and a ball joint under the chest, and the neck is ball jointed as well. Make no mistake, this figure is tons of fun, but after playing with the Designer Series Bombshells, I can’t imagine why DCC couldn’t have added those thigh swivels.

No doubt Deathstroke comes with a lot of goodies, which I’ll run through right now, but he also has an extra pair of hands to help hold his killing tools. I’ve already shown off his revolver in the holster, so here’s a shot of it out and ready for action. It’s a good sculpt, but just cast in silver plastic and has no extra paint apps. His right hand is sculpted to hold it perfectly, trigger finger and all.

Next up, we have this assault rifle. It’s an interesting design, very futuristic, and like the revolver, he can hold it perfectly in his right hand. It’s cast in the same plastic as the pistol, and here especially I think some additional paint apps would have helped make a cool looking weapon even better.

His sword draws from the scabbard easily, and his left hand is designed to grip it firmly. The blade is made of pretty stout plastic, so it isn’t susceptible to warping and I really dig that.

And finally, Slade comes with his staff. It’s another accessory cast in silver plastic. It also separates to form two fighting batons.

DC Icons Deathstroke is such a damn great figure, I can’t help but feel sad for the Icons releases that have already been cancelled. Booster Gold, Ted Kord Blue Beetle, Etrigan, Catwoman, Sinestro, and Deadshot are all among the confirmed cancellations and that’s breaking my heart. I know, I shouldn’t be pissing all over the end of this review by dwelling on this stuff, but every time I open a new Icons figure, I just want more and more. I’m guessing it’s too late to save this line, but I still have pre-orders up for all of these figures on Amazon, where they have yet to be taken down. I know, it’s wishful thinking that I can change anything, but I’m still willing to try.

In case you haven’t noticed, 2016’s final wave of DC Icons figures has been trickling onto the pegs. I was able to get The Joker a little early and now I’m working on picking up the rest of this four figure assortment of comic book randomness. Today I’m checking out the one figure I was looking forward to the most, and a character that still eludes my DC Universe Classics collection… Firestorm!

Firestorm comes in the same style packaging we’ve been seeing since the launch of this line. You get a clean and collector friendly window box with the figures name and number on the side panel along with the comic he’s drawn from. In this case, Firestorm hails from “Trinity War,” his last hurrah before his matrix became a living prison for the Justice League in “Forever Evil.” As always, the package gives you a great look at the figure as well as all of his extra bits and pieces.

I’ve gone on record many times for holding the rather unpopular opinion of liking most of the New 52 costumes and that holds true for Firestorm here as well. Of course, this costume isn’t a radical change from his more classical looks. As a result, I’m going to guess there aren’t that many people hating on it. I will concede that I miss the flared shoulders on his older costume, but everything else here works just fine for me. As has been the case, just about every detail on the figure’s costume is part of the sculpt, from the panel lines to the chest emblem. DCC has definitely not been cheaping out on these sculpts by re-using a lot of parts.

The coloring on this figure is absolutely fantastic. DCC uses a gorgeous, deep metallic crimson for the pants and sleeves and a pearlescent yellow and white for the rest. You also get some neon orange paint in the panel lines. There’s a slight variation between some of the painted yellow bits and the actual yellow plastic, but it’s really not that bad. I particularly dig how they used translucent red plastic discs for his chest emblem and the larger one on the back. On the downside, my figure has some scuffing on his chest, which is pretty unfortunate. These are the pitfalls of having to buy these figures online and sight unseen.

From the neck up, things are just fine. This is one of my favorite portraits in the Icons line so far and the translucent yellow and orange plastic used for his hair/flame effect looks great. You get more of that snazzy metallic crimson for his helmet and the paint lines are pretty crisp and clean.

The articulation on this line has remained consistent throughout and there are no changes here. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, with double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps and forearms. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, with double hinges in the knees and both hinges and rockers in the ankles. There’s an ab crunch hinge near the waist, a ball joint in the chest, and another ball joint in the neck. Still no thigh swivels, which remains my only gripe about these otherwise excellent figures.

Firestorm includes some pretty spiffy effect parts. These replace part of his forearms and the hands attach on to the end. I love the look of these and may actually keep them on the figure for everyday display. As someone who is generally pretty indifferent to effect parts, that’s some high praise, folks.

You also get an extra pair of hands, which are cast in translucent yellow plastic.

This line continues to scratch that itch left behind by the absence of DC Universe Classics and I find myself excited every time a new wave drops. It’s hard to believe we’re at sixteen figures already! Firestorm and Joker are both high points of this assortment for me, but I’m still on the hunt for Static Shock and Jon Stewart before the end of the year. I don’t want to venture into 2017 behind on my Icons, because it looks like DC Collectibles is going to be putting out a ton of these next year and the pre-orders are already beginning to pile up like crazy!