Tag Archives: dc universe classics

Jul 26 2012

DC Universe Signature Collection: Rocket Red by Mattel

Hey, look! It’s another bonus feature! I decided to just go full guns this week or else I’m going to get too far behind, and this way we can break up the streak of Marvel stuff with a pinch of DC…

It’s been another smooth month for my Matty subs, where I was actually charged the correct amount and my figures were shipped out ahead of the Sale Day. That’s three in a row, I believe, so keep it up, Matty, you’re getting better. I’ve got two Club Infinite Earth figures to look at this month, and I decided to start with the oversized quarterly figure: Rocket Red. This guy has been a pretty controversial figure, mainly because of the size and design that Matty decided to go with.This version obviously wasn’t my first choice for the character, I know I’m not alone in that, but we’ll try to get past that and have a look…

 

Ok, so obviously, I knew going into this one that he was an oversized figure, but holy hell, look at this packaging. Look how massive it is next to one of the regular sized figure boxes. That’s nuts! Otherwise, the box is just a larger version of the same design we got with Jay Garrick and Atrocitus. The window is big and really shows off the figure nicely. The back panel has a big piece of character art and a blurb about the Rocket Reds. I’ve been gushing over the character art on these packages, but this time around I’ll just say it’s nice, not spectacular, and leave it at that. Hey, Matty, you need to be up to date on your DC lore or at least read your own bio. These are dudes in suits… why is he so damn big? As always, the box is collector friendly so you can take him out and play with him and return him to the packaging for display.

Rocket Red is built off the buck used for Atom Smasher, the Build-A-Figure from DC Universe Classics Wave 7. So think about that right now, A Rocket Red as big as Atom Smasher? Yeah, and he’s even bulkier when you consider his armor. The helmet and arms are almost to scale for a regular big-sized dude, but for the legs to work, the guy in the armor would have to be a giant. So to make this guy work in my display, I’m either going to consider him a straight robot or some kind of freak specially engineered to wear the armor. I think I’ll go with the first.

So with the scale issues set aside, I really do dig the look of this guy. The chest armor, shoulder armor and backpack are all cast in one piece of softer plastic and worn over the figure’s torso. The armor has a simple, almost retro-primitive look to it, which really scratches my itch. The cool wrist weapons are permanently attached to the arms with molded, painted straps. The blank-faced Cobra Commander styled helmet really tops everything off nicely. On the down side, I’m not a fan of the veins sculpted into the arms, because it’s at odds with the robot theory that the size of this figure is making me adopt.

The paint is fairly simple here with only two colors used on the whole figure. The base body is red and the armor is silver and most of the pieces are molded in their respective colors. That’s pretty much it! He has a star and “01” stenciled on his chest plate, which looks nice and crisp. There’s a little bit of scuffing to the right wrist weapon, and some abrasions to the faceplate, but overall the colors are fine.

The articulation here is pretty solid and predictable for this size DCUC figure. The head is ball jointed; The arms feature ball joints in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs have universal movement in the hips, the knees and ankles are hinged, and there are swivels in the thighs. You also get rockers in the ankles, although they don’t have a lot of range of motion. The torso swivels at the waist and has a workable ab crunch hinge hidden under the chestplate. I’ve seen quite a few complaints about review samples of the figure not holding together well, but I don’t see that problem on my figure. I’ve spent quite a lot of time fiddling about with him and I haven’t had anything pop off him yet.

Rocket Red cost me $30 plus shipping, which is no little sum for a single action figure, and that price was because I’m a Club Infinite Earth subber. If you bought him off the Matty Collector site, you paid a ridiculous $45 plus shipping, and that’s just insane. No doubt, he’s a big, solid and satisfyingly large figure, but the sculpting and paint apps don’t hold up to the $55 you’d have to pay to get him a la carte. Now, don’t get me wrong, as a stand-alone piece, I really do like this figure, and I’ll even find some justification to shoehorn it into my DCUC display, but there was absolutely no reason for Matty to have given the Reds the super-sized treatment to this extent. Besides making the figure cost way more than it should have, the scale will be too much of a stumbling block for a lot of fans to accept this figure into their collections. Amazingly enough, by the time you read this, Red will have long since sold out, so in the end, I guess Matty was justified. It’ll be interesting to see what he goes for on the secondary market.

Jun 26 2012

DC Universe Signature Collection: Atrocitus by Mattel

Yes, it was a busy month for Club Infinite Earth subscribers. Not only did we get our sub exclusive figure, Metron, but also our second monthly figure, Atrocitus. While I wouldn’t rank Atrocitus here as high on my list as Jay Garrick or Metron, he is a figure that I was pretty excited to add to my collection. The Sinestro Corps has been greatly outnumbering the Red Lanterns on my Green Lantern shelf, so any chance to beef up the Ranks of Rage make me a happy collector.

By now we know what to expect from the Signature Collection packaging, as Atrocitus comes in the same style window box as Jay Garrick. I gushed a lot over the deco yesterday when looking at Metron, so suffice it to say I’m really digging this one too. I think these boxes feature some of the best character art I’ve seen in an action figure package in a long time, so please keep it up, Matty. The package is completely collector friendly, so you can display your Atrocitus loose and return him to the box with no worries.

I was certainly expecting a fair amount of reuse from the previous Red Lantern Corps figure, Skallox and Nite-Lik, and I certainly wasn’t wrong. After all, I do want a certain degree of uniformity in my Red Lantern Corps figures. Nonetheless, a combination of retooling and paintwork certainly makes Atrocitus his own figure. The arms are reused, but with brand new hands, and the body and upper legs are a straight reuse, but with a slightly different paint deco. Curiously, the lower legs are different and instead of having the sculpted line at the top of his boots, Atrocitus just has it painted. It’s a slight step down and I’m wondering why Mattel just didn’t go with the other lower legs. Ah well.

What is new is quite excellent. The head sculpt is absolutely fantastic. It’s intricately detailed with the mouth open to display his amazing set of choppers. The tiny deep set beady yellow eyes are great, and the whole head is framed by a new combined cowl and shoulder armor piece, which is soft plastic so as not to impede Atrocitus’ head articulation.

Articulation? You should know the drill by now. The head is ball jointed. The arms feature ball joints in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinged elbows. The legs have universal movement in the hips, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the knees and ankles. He can also swivel at the waist and has an ab crunch in the torso.

You do get one accessory with Atrocitus and, you guessed it, it’s his Red Lantern. It’s the same piece we’ve seen before only with a snazzy glittery red paint job. I’d be tempted to complain that neither of Atrocitus’ hands are sculpted to hold it, but honestly, I never display these figures holding their Lanterns anyway.

After the Green Lantern overload that punctuated the ending waves of DC Universe Classics, I should be a bit more critical about Mattel including this figure so early on in the subscription line. Green Lantern fatigue was a running theme for me in 2012. So, I should be more critical, but I’m not. The Red Lanterns are woefully under-represented and Atrocitus is a very cool figure. He also serves to remind us that while the Signature Collection may have a new name and snazzy new packaging, it’s still just an extension of DC Universe Classics, and I’m perfectly fine with that.

Jun 25 2012

DC Universe Signature Collection: Metron & The Mobius Chair by Mattel

Way back when Matty first floated the idea of Club Infinite Earths, they had a poll to see who the Sub Exclusive figure would be. There was always a pretty good chance that I was going to join out of the sheer desire to keep my DC Universe Classics collection going, but when Metron won out as the Exclusive, and me being the huge New Gods whore that I am, I was totally sold at that point. Naturally, I’m glad to finally get this guy and his cosmic furniture into my collection. This is also the first time I’ve got one of Matty’s Subscription Exclusive figures. Does he live up to expectations? Let’s see…

Metron comes in a standard Matty Collector white mailer box. Inside you get a satisfyingly large window box with the snazzy “DC Universe Signature Collection” printed across the top and “Signature” in shiny foil lettering. One side panel features artwork of the character and the back panel features a larger piece of character art and a little bio. As with the Jay Garrick figure, Matty has gone above and beyond with the artwork here. It’s colorful, vibrant, and absolutely fantastic.

The Metron figure is packaged standing beside the Mobius chair and with the chair’s base mounted separately behind the tray. Here’s where my only issues with the packaging come into play. If I were a MISB collector, I would definitely have preferred Metron to be sitting in his chair. I’m an opener, so I’m not going to nitpick about that. On the other hand, while the package is totally collector friendly, the chair is designed so that once you snap it together, you risk damaging it if you’re going to try to pull it apart. Of course, you have to pull it apart to return the figure to the package, and that’s my only complaint. I really want to save this package, but knowing I can never return the chair inside, it seems pointless to do so. In the end, I’ll probably just wind up clipping off the back panel, because I just can’t bring myself to throw out that gorgeous character art.

Metron is one of those DC Universe figures that gets by with very little original sculpting and mainly some original paintwork to make up his costume. The head sculpt is the only thing that’s really new here and I’m actually delighted to see how much of it is sculpted and not just paintwork. The face is excellent, with a bold, piercing gaze. I expected the piping on his brow and helmet to just be paint, but all the detail work on his hood is fully sculpted. The hands appear to be new sculpts, but someone may correct me on this point. They’re configured so that they can rest convincingly on the control panels arms of the chair, but when out of the chair they look as if they are about to unleash some form of cosmic power.

The cosmic deco on his chest is tampo’ed on with crisp precision. The bulk of the figure is cast in a nice, deep blue plastic and the lighter portions on his pelvis, hands, and chest are painted on as is his belt. There’s a little bit of smudge on the left side of my Metron’s belt as a reminder that while this may be an exclusive figure in a subscription collector line, Matty is still sticking to the regular mass market standards of quality control. It’s easily fixed with a little black pen work, but nonetheless a little disappointing.

Metron features standard DCUC levels of articulation. You get a ball jointed head; The arms feature ball jointed shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinged elbows. His legs feature universal movement at the hips, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the knees and ankles. He can also rotate at the waist and has the standard DCUC ab crunch hinge in his torso.

The Mobius chair, as mentioned, comes in two separate pieces. The base snaps onto the rest of the chair and it does it more or less permanently. It’s a sturdy piece, but the plastic is light enough that I wouldn’t risk disconnecting the base once it’s attached. At the very least it feels like it would produce some nasty stress marks.

As a display piece, the chair looks fantastic. It’s perfectly sized and fits the figure very nicely. The back disc spins and Mattel put a lot of love into the sculpt, giving it a lot of fine detail even under the base and behind the seat where it isn’t going to be readily noticed when on display. The chair is cast in green plastic with metallic gold paint to fill in the deco. Most importantly, Metron looks outstanding seated in it.

No doubt in my mind, Metron is a very cool figure, especially for a subscription exclusive. Granted, you’re mileage may vary. DC Universe Classics was always a line that tested the true limits of fans and collectors with some really obscure characters, and while I certainly wouldn’t call Metron obscure, he’s probably not on the forefront of a lot of want lists. I’ve already labeled myself a New Gods whore, as some of the first DC comics that I read as a kid on a regular basis were Mister Miracle and Orion, so this set is targeted squarely at me. It’s true that Matty didn’t go above and beyond with the figure itself. Metron is a typical DCUC figure through and through, but when you bundle him with the chair he makes for a nice exclusive piece. Either way, he’s definitely going to be a showpiece in my DCUC collection.

May 30 2012

DC Universe Signature Collection: Jay Garrick Flash by Mattel

[Disclaimer: Once again, I’m starting a Mattel feature with a rant against that most unholy of partnerships Mattel and Digital River. If you’re tired of reading this kind of stuff, and yeah I don’t blame you, just skip down to where it says “END RANT” and you can get right on to my look at the figure without having to be exposed to my vitriol.                     

So last month’s Matty Sale Day included the first of the Signature Series DC Universe figures. Yeah, the line was supposed to start shipping in April, but Matty fucked up and it was delayed a month. Then, Matty fucked up again and instead of shipping on the day of sale, the figure didn’t ship out until five days later. And that was the least of this week’s complications. Matty also sent out a shipping invoice that claimed they were charging me $57.46 for my $15 Jay Garrick figure. Eventually it turned out that Digital River mistakenly included the original price of the sub on the invoice, so I was not actually charged that. Instead, I was charged $25 and change and then again $36 and change. I was furious.
                         
So after going back and fourth a few times via email, and Matty insisting every time that everything was correct, the $25 charge was debited back to me, and so I was left with a single charge that still overcharged me about five bucks. Emails flew in both directions a few more times. They assured me that the amount on my invoice was correct, despite me doing the math for them and showing them it was wrong. In the end, when I was prepared to take the trouble to FAX my credit card invoice, they debited back that charge and I was finally charged the correct amount, $15 for the figure and $8.70 for shipping. Headaches like this, I do not need. Ok, enough with this crap…
                     
END RANT…]

 

For those who haven’t been paying attention, DC Universe Classics is gone, and even the line that was supposed to replace it, DC Univese All Stars, has been put on the back-burner. As a result the only way to keep your DCUC collection going is with Mattel’s online exclusive/subscription line, Club Infinite Earth. It seems like an eternity ago that Matty put up the sub for this line with the disclaimer that it would only go through if they hit a certain goal. The goal was never met, but the sub went forward anyway. Of course, back then we weren’t entirely sure what figures we’d be getting, but one of the few that Matty used to tempt people into the sub was the long awaited Jay Garrick. And here he is. And I have no problem admitting that this Golden Age Flash was a big reason why I subscribed, because… well, damn I wanted this figure bad.
I’ll confess, I sort of expected Matty to just keep going with the DC Universe Classics packaging, with maybe a new insert to set these apart. So, I’ll give credit where its due, as they went for an entirely new packaging and threw out the cardback and bubble altogether. Jay Garrick comes in a window box and it really goes a long way to make this figure feel like something extra special. There’s no C&C piece, there’s no stupid collectible button, just an honest to god figure of a character I’ve wanted since the day I started collecting DC Universe Classics. Looking at the box dead on, the package allows the figure to do most of the talking. It has the rather simple, yet snazzy “DC Universe Signature Collection” title on the top, and “The Flash” diagonally on the bottom. You get a great look at the figure behind the window, who thankfully is packaged in a very neutral stance. How badly Matty must have wanted to put him in a joint-fucking running pose, but kudos to them for resisting.
The side panel and back of the box features some really fantastic artwork. I mean, seriously, the illustrator put some great effort into the character art and boy does it show. I love ya, Marvel Legends, but damn you could learn a thing or two from this character art. The back features a simple, but effective little bio blurb that ties Jay nicely in with Barry Allen, just in case you’re a little too young to remember or appreciate Jay Garrick. I do sincerely miss the extra stats that used to appear on the DCUC packages, but that’s really the only gripe I can come up with concerning the Signature Series packaging. I love it!
The name of the line and the packaging may have changed, but once I got Jay Garrick in hand, it was a comfortable and familiar feeling. This is still a DCUC figure through and through, and I’m so happy that Jay Garrick can hang with the rest of my DCUC collection without looking out of place. The plastic even feels a bit more solid than the more rubbery stuff I’ve been seeing in the later DCUC figures. Jay features the standard DCUC painted costume body, which means that from the neck down there isn’t a whole lot of unique sculpting at work here. You do get a sculpted belt, his hands are both sculpted into fists, which works fine for the character.
The sculpting that is worth mentioning, however, is the head. Matty’s team really nailed the face perfectly, right down to the little hint of a smirk. Its not quite as deliciously cheesy as the character art, but just right. The helmet is sculpted onto Jay’s head and the little wings are made of something a little softer, but they still hold their shape great.
The paintwork on my figure is pretty immaculate, but then there isn’t a whole lot to screw up here. Sure, the lightning bolt on his chest is crisp and clean, but apart from that you just have the red shirt, blue pants, and red boots. The colors are rich, particularly the red and blue. Ok, there’s a tad of uneaven application between his shirt and skin, but the fleshtones are nice, and the paintwork on the face is crisp and clean, as is the case with most of my DCUC figures. I think the nicest surprise here was the vac metal helmet, which I’m sure was talked about prior to the release, but I don’t remember reading anything about it. Either way, it was a nice surprise and looks very sharp on the figure. If anything makes Jay Garrick stand out as something different from the DCUC figures, its that cool chromed out helmet.
Articulation is exactly what we’ve come to expect from the DCUC line, which again helps to make the figure feel right at home among the rest of my collection. You get a ball jointed head, naturally. The arms feature ball jointed shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the wrists and biceps. The legs feature the usual univeral hinge for the hips, hinged knees and ankles, and swivels in the thighs. Jay can swivel at the waist and features the ubiquitous DCUC ab crunch hinge. Yes, I would have liked to see swivels in the ankles, or even rocker joints in the ankles. Or maybe double joints in the knees. The articulation isn’t perfect, but its familiar and perfectly serviceable.
In the end, I still have to ask myself is it worth it? Is it worth the headaches with dealing with the sub? Is it worth paying basically $25 (including shipping) for what used to be a $15-18 figure line in the stores? And I keep inexplicably answering yes. I’ve invested a lot of time, energy and money into DC Universe Classics over the years and truth be told, I still adore the line. and by extension I love this first figure in the Signature Series. The fact that DCUC is living on this way isn’t exactly optimal, but I’m still glad it is. Ultimately, Matty delivered on a fantastic first figure for the line. The Jay Garrick figure represents every reason I’m still motivated to collect this line, as it is quite simply a great figure of an iconic character that desparately deserved a place on my shelf.
Mar 31 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 20: Red Arrow by Mattel

Welcome back for the fifth DC Univese Classics Wave 20 figure, and the last one we’re going to look at this week. He’s Speedy… er… He’s Red Arrow! Yesterday, I mentioned that I wasn’t really jonesing for a Green Arrow figure because he’s never been a favorite character of mine. You’d think that would be doubly true for Red Arrow, but truth be told, I’ve developed a bit of fondness for this character by way of Young Justice.

And once again, there’s the Wave 20 packaging. Red Arrow is packaged in a fairly neutral stance, holding his arrow in his left hand and reaching back for another arrow with his right hand. There are also three additional arrows mounted on the tray beside him.
Out of the package, Red is a great looking figure. I expected some parts sharing between Green Arrow and Red, but that’s surprisingly not the case. His outfit is two-tone red with a sculpted vest, complete with sculpted laces running across his chest and a belt and cross strap to match. He has a permanently attached copious quiver on his back. The head sculpt is also beautifully done. The mask is sculpted, rather than just painted, and he’s got a nice determined look with gritted teeth and a well defined jawline.
Red features the same articulation as Green Arrow. You get a ball jointed neck, the arms have ball joints in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in his biceps and wrists. The legs have universal movement at the hips, hinges at the elbows and knees, and swivels in the thighs. His torso swivels at the waist, and you get the usual ab crunch hinge.
Accessories? Obviously you get the bow and… hey, wait… its the same exact bow that came with Green Arrow! Am I being too picky to cry foul at the fact that Mattel packed the same accessory in two figures from the same wave? You do also get the extra three arrows. I’m not one to bemoan extra accessories, but these are going straight into the junk bin because they really serve no purpose. You can’t put them into the quivver, and the bow already has an arrow sculpted into it, so I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with these.
Surprisingly enough, Red Arrow turned out to be one of my favorite figures in this wave. I love the sculpt and the coloring and he’s just fun to pose and play around with. I’m not going to gripe much about the reuse of the bow, since the line was winding down and honestly the bow works fine for both figures. It’ll be interesting to compare this guy to the Young Justice 6-inch Red Arrow when I finally get around to picking that one up.

[And that’s another week in the can. There are still two more packaged DCUC Wave 20 figures to look at: White Lantern Flash and Reverse Flash, and then there’s the C&C figure Nekron. I’ll be getting around to finishing off the wave sometime next month. In the meantime, I’m taking tomorrow off, and I’ll be back Monday with a brand new week of action figure goodness. -FF]
Mar 30 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 20: Green Arrow by Mattel

Yesterday I waxed surprised about how I could possibly be collecting DC Universe Classics for this long and not have Sinestro. The same could be said for Green Arrow, since he’s seen his first release way back in Wave ?? and I’m pretty sure he’s been hanging on the pegs as an All Stars re-issue from time to time. Truth is, I’ve never been a huge Oliver Queen fan and so he never was really a priority for me. I also vastly prefer his modern look over his older one, so I was more than happy to cross the character off my list by getting this modern version.

Paaaaackage Shoooooot! Green Arrow is packaged in a neutral stance, holding his bow and arrow off to the side. Not much else new to say here. Let’s move on…
Green Arrow is a fairly simple figure, but there’s still a lot more new sculpting on this figure than on many of the DCUC figures. His quiver is a permanently attached sculpted piece, as are the little pouches on his belt and the straps around his right thigh and both biceps. He even has a little dagger hanging off the back of his belt. I like the little sculpted lacing on his v-neck and the way his hood is sculpted as a separate soft, rubbery piece. The head sculpt is a slam dunk, particularly Ollie’s ‘stache and beard. The paintwork is very well done. He’s mainly just two-tone green with black leggings, but the detailwork on the face is immaculate and every little button on his pouches are individually painted. Nice!
Ollie’s articulation is exactly what w’ve come to expect after twenty waves of these figures. You get a ball jointed neck, the arms have ball joints in the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in his biceps and wrists. The legs have universal movement at the hips, hinges at the elbows and knees, and swivels in the thighs. His torso swivels at the waist, and you get the usual ab crunch hinge.
Naturally, Ollie comes with his bow. I’m a little torn on the accessory. The bow looks fine, but I kind of wish it wasn’t sculpted with an arrow knocked into it. Chances are I’m going to pose him holding the bow down at his side or across his chest, and it just looks kind of odd with the arrow on the string like that. Not a big deal, but just my two cents.
This modern version of Green Arrow turned out to be a really nice figure. He wasn’t high on my list, but I’m certainly glad to have him, particularly since he is an A-lister in the DC Universe. I probably would have even picked him up if he didn’t have a C&C piece. Tomorrow, we’ll check out his one-time sidekick… Red Arrow!
Mar 29 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 20: Sinestro by Mattel

Its crazy that with well over 100 DC Universe Classics figures in my collection, and about two dozen of those being in some way Green Lantern related, I haven’t had a Sinestro figure on my shelves until now, despite this one being the third release. [Actually, it would be the fourth release if you count the one in the Walmart Exclusive Green Lantern 5-pack! -FF] The story of Sinestro in the DCUC is sort of akin to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Wave three Sinestro was too small. Two-pack Sinestro was too black and blue. Well, Wave 20 Sinestro is juuuuust right!

Take a good look… we won’t be seeing this packaging for much longer. I’ve yet to see what the new DC All Stars packages will look like, but the Club Infinite Earth figures will be in snazzy new window boxes! Anyway, Sinestro looks mighty nice in his bubble and the Necron C&C piece is concealed behind the insert.
Sinestro’s head appears to be the same sculpt that was used last time, and that’s perfectly fine because it really is a terrific sculpt. Resculpting costs a lot of money and in this case it wasn’t broke, so why fix it? I’ve always thought Sinestro’s mug was the perfect guise between arch villain and pedophile and that’s certainly well conveyed here. The rest of the figure is more or less the costume painted on the body. There is an additional sculpted piece for Sinestro’s higher collar. The belt and ubiquitous arm bracers that appear on all the Sinestro Corps figures are also sculpted onto the figure. The paintwork is sharp and clean and I always dig the color scheme on the figures because the black and yellow just really pops.
The articulation here holds no surprises. You get a ball jointed head, The arms have ball jointed shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps and wrists. His legs have universal movement in the hips, hinges in the knees and ankles, and swivels in the thighs. Sinestro can swivel at the waist and has the usual ab crunch in the torso. I think it would have been cool to employ some of the newer double joints here, just because Sinestro’s body is a little lankier than usual, but that didn’t happen.
Sinestro comes with his yellow lantern and… that’s it! I don’t expect a lot of accessories with my DCUC figures, but in this case a couple of yellow constructs would have been cool. Matty could have just tossed a couple from the 2-pack in for good measure. Ah well. Chances are a lot of people already own the previous versions, and thereby already have some of the ring constructs to share.
Its crazy to think we had to wait 20 waves, much less the last wave, of DC Universe Classics to get this awesome Sinestro figure. I was lucky to have waited so that this was my first and only version of the character. Even still, I think he’s well worth picking up even if you have one of the previous releases. He’s properly proportioned and looks fantastic. And finally my Sinestro Corps figures have a leader. Yay!
Mar 26 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 20: Hawk and Dove by Mattel

I did say that Wave 17 would likely be the last DC Universe Classics Week here on FigureFan and that’ll stand as true. Rather than pick up the final Wave 20 all in one shot, I decided to get them a few at a time from different sources. The cost is about the same as they would have been on Matty Collector and it saves me from having to roll the dice with Digital River. Anyway, We are likely going to get to a good portion of the figures in Wave 20 this week, but not all of them, and not all in succession, as I will be spreading around a little love for Marvel Universe as well. I’m also going to do something a little unorthodox today and look at two of the figures in one go. Why? Because its Hawk and Dove, and why would I want to split them up?

I was happy that Mattel went with the more modern versions of this pair, as I was never really a follower of the earlier Hank and Don duo. It wasn’t until much later in the pages of JSA that I latched onto the characters. Currently, its one of the New 52 that I’ve been still following. Needless to say, I was excited to get these figures.
And here it is, folks, the last example of DC Universe Classics packaging. The ultimate, evolved form if you will. Kind of anti-climactic, as its the same as the last bunch of waves. It took Mattel a while, but I’m happy to say that Hawk and Dove are both carded in pretty neutral poses so as not to mess up their joints. Better late than never. Each figure comes with a piece of the C&C Necron, concealed under the insert. This pair gets you Necron’s upper torso and lower torso.
Both Hawk and Dove are fairly simple sculpts, making use of stock bodies with their costumes painted on. Each one has a single unique sculpted piece, for Hawk its his cape and for Dove its her cowl. Dove’s cowl is simple enough, but Hawk’s cape is really awesome. It comes up off his shoulders and falls down behind him in long strips. I wasn’t sure how the artwork on this design would transfer to figure form, but Mattel’s sculpting wizards executed it flawlessly. The paintwork on both figures is excellent, with sharp lines and no slop or bleeding to speak of. The head sculpts on this pair really are fantastic and dutifully represent the duality of this pair. Hawk is seriously pissed off, with a toothy scowl, wheras Dove bears a nice, contrasting tranquil expression. I really dig the way they sculpted her mask, and her cascading pony tail is pretty cool too.
After 20 waves, the articulation employed here shouldn’t hold any surprises, and both figures feature the same points, so let’s tick through them for old time sake. You get ball jointed neck and shoulders, swivels in the biceps, wrists, thighs, and waist. The legs have universal movement at the hips. There are hinges in the elbows, knees, and ankles, and both figures feature the ab crunch hinge in the torso.
Yes, its the last wave of DC Universe Classics, and yes there are many who will argue that there are other characters who deserved a slot more than this pair, but then as we’ll see you can say that about a lot of the figures in Wave 20. Maybe Hawk and Dove would have been better suited as part of Matty’s Infinite Earths subscription, but now we’re just splitting hairs. Either way, I know I’m happy to have this pair in my collection.
Mar 15 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 17: Collect & Connect Anti-Monitor by Mattel

And today is the payoff. After collecting the six figures of Wave 17, I can finally build the amazing Anti-Monitor C&C figure. There were only three figures in this wave that I would have bought otherwise: Scarecrow, The Atom, and Wonder Woman. I didn’t mind so much having to pick up The Flash. But Lex and Hal were only for the pieces. Was it worth it? Oh yeah! Obviously, Anti-Monitor is a character most fans and collectors are going to want to have in their collection, and Mattel did a bang up job with him.

Holy shit, that’s a nice looking figure! Putting him together is a little trickier than most C&C figures, mainly because of his soft rubbery cowl. It’s also rather difficult to get his domed head to peg in just right. The head and shoulders on mine still tend to pop off every now and then when I’m trying to pose his arms too high.
The sculpt is mighty nice with plenty of detail. You get all the various panel lines on his armor, along with the tiny little bolts at the corners of the plating. I really like the segmenting on his arms and legs and the hoses connecting the segments of his armor look great and really add a lot of depth and complexity to the sculpt. His domed head features stickers for the eyes and mouth. I wasn’t really sure about how good this would turn out. It the end it looks a tad cheesy, but I don’t think paint apps would have worked and I suppose the stickers give contribute to his comic bookish look.
The only thing I’m not too keen on here is the softgoods cape. Its definitely too big to have been executed in plastic, but it doesn’t hang very well on the figure. The better way to go here would have been to make it a little bigger and put the bendy wire in the edges like Mattel did with the C&C Trigon.

Anti-Monitor has a wonderful metallic blue and silver deco with some gold fringe. Even among a lot of brightly colored superhero figures, he still really pops on the shelf, particularly if you’ve got some nice lighting directed at him.

And there we go. Anti-Monitor is definitely one of my favorite C&C’s the DCUC line has produced. He’s a crucial and iconic character and a natural choice for the C&C gimmick. Its unfortunate that Matty decided to include him in this uneven and often underwhelming wave.
Its possible that this has been FigureFan’s last DCUC week. I’ve only got Wave 20 left to pick up, and I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to get it all in one go or not. I do still have some assorted DCUC figures to grab from past waves, so either way you’ll certainly see plenty more from this line. And let’s not forget next month, when we’ll be looking at the very first figures from Matty Collectors’ Club Infinite Earth.
Mar 14 2012

DC Universe Classics Wave 17: Sinestro Corps Scarecrow by Mattel

And here we go… its the last packaged figure of Wave 17, and its probably no surprise that it happens to be my favorite. Scarecrow being deputized into the Sinestro Corps is still one of my favorite concepts of Blackest Night and while I still wound up liking a number of figures in Wave 17, Scarecrow is the only one of the packaged figures that I was actually excited to own.

Say goodbye to the Wave 17 packaging. Granted it hasn’t changed much and we’ll see it again when I get around to looking at Wave 20. Scarecrow is packaged in a pretty neutral stance so no worries about joint deformities.
Out of the package, Scarecrow makes for the perfect Sinestro Corps agent. His main weapon has always been fear and he’s grotesque enough to hang with the freaks and oddities that make up this Corps. He’s based on a nice, lanky body that suits the character well. His high collared trench coat is molded in a separate piece of soft rubber and permanently attached. Look closely enough and you can see the individual stitches running all along its borders. Even the Sinestro Corps emblem on his chest is sculpted, rather than just tampo’d on. Impressive!
The headsculpt is not only great looking, but very cleverly executed. The bottom of Scarecrow’s, um… head bag and rope necktie are sculpted onto the body and even though the head sits on a ball joint, it looks like its all one piece. The head itself is damn creepy, with sunken, piercing eyes and the individually sculpted strings sewn over his mouth. I’m particularly fond of the way his wide brimmed hat hangs over his head and casts most of it in shadow. To really appreciate the work that went into the head you need to pick up the figure and get in pretty close.
Regular visitors to FigureFan may have noticed that I’ve omitted discussing articulation during this Wave 17 week. That’s because I’m being a lazy shit this week many of the figures in this assortment are repaints and resculpts and I think we all know what to expect by now. Scarecrow, on the other hand is one of those few DC Universe Classics figures that presents a pleasant departure when it comes to articulation. You still get the usual ball joints in the neck and shoulders, you get the universal movement in the hips, the swivels in the biceps, thighs, and wrists, and the hinges in the ankles. But you get DOUBLE hinges in the elbows and knees! We don’t see this a lot in DCUC, but when we do its always a treat.
While I’ve surely said my piece about being underwhelmed by this Blackest Night wave, that doesn’t change the fact that I love getting new figures to add to my Sinestro Corps ranks and apart from Akillo, Scarecrow here was tops on my list. Like Indigo Lantern Atom, Mattel really poured the love into this guy. Sure he stands out in what was a largely forgettable wave of figures, but Scarecrow is so wonderfully executed, he really stands out among all the figures on my Green Lantern/Blackest Night shelf.

And that wraps it up for the six packaged figures in Wave 17. Tomorrow we’ll finish it off with a look at the very reason I own most of these figures. And that’s Wave 17’s Collect & Connect figure: The Anti-Monitor!