In the realm of superhero action figures, Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line has been kicking all kinds of ass. The combination of sculpt and poseability is unparalleled in mainstream toys. The newest lineup, wave 3, includes Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Nightwing, Robin, and Deathstroke. Plus it’s a build-a-figure series for everyone’s favorite villainous zombie, the almighty Solomon Grundy!
Marvel/Hasbro should take note. Let’s face it, Marvel Legends figures have been sucking all kinds of ass lately. From their random selection of characters to their wonky ass body sculpts. What’s up with the giraffe necks on everybody and tennis ball boobs on the ladies? Hey Hasbro, boobs don’t look like that. Not to mention that their build-a-figure sets usually require that you track down 7 or 8 figures to complete the damn figure. DC’s BAF? Only 5 figures!
Okay, so let’s talk about those guys. The biggest surprise in the bunch, for me, is Deathstroke. He’s not a character I care all that much about. Sure he pops up here and there in the comics and he’ll kick some teenage asses, but it wasn’t until he became a regular villain on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go!, voiced by the always stellar Ron Perlman, that I even took much notice of him. Of the five main figures, Deathstroke is the best in the set. He’s got everything going for him: awesome costume, amazing sculpt, wicked paint job, and killer accessories! The dude has it all: machine gun w/ strap to hang on his back, bow staff w/ a placeholder on his back (on the ammo belt), big freakin sword w/ sheath, and pistol w/ holster that latches shut. You can totally stow away all of his weapons so his hands are free to do some fist-fighting with Nightwing. It’s great!
The other figures are pretty straight forward. They each have one or two accessories, but accessories aren’t why we buy these figures really. It’s all about the body sculpt and poseability. The Four Horsemen have been rocking these sculpts. Every little detail is there. Just look at the scales and buckles on Deathstroke! And the articulation? Oh my gosh! I was hooked on this line from the first moment I opened up their Superman and Batman figures. Seriously, screw DC Direct. Mattel is where its at. The neck and chest joints make these the only figures of their scale that can get into real flying poses. That may seem ridiculous, but it makes a big difference when you and your friends get down at playtime. The hip joint also allows them to do super high kicks! Hiyaaahh!
That’s not to say that the DCUC figures aren’t without their faults. Paint can be spotty. Just look at the inside of Hal Jordan’s left calf. And before I cleaned him up, my Sinestro looked like a dog took a dump on his face. Some of the black paint for his mustache and eyebrows had smudged on his cheek and mouth. How do you get that off without repainting it? Here’s my secret. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. These things really are magic. They have saved so many toys. You just break off a piece, get it a little wet, and gently scrub it across the area. Just be careful not to overdo it. This worked great on Sinestro because head plastic is pink (not painted pink) and the black is paint on top of it. If it were the other way around, the Magic Eraser would have just wiped off more pink. Also, if the pink were just another layer of paint underneath the black paint, I would have to be extra careful. But it wasn’t, so I was pretty rough. Paint smudges piss me off.
Oh and Robin’s got a smaller teen body, which is cool, but his hands are huge! It’s like they forgot to scale them down. That sucks a little.
Our only other gripe with these figures is distribution! It sucks! You are lucky to find one case of these at a Target or K-Mart, so you have to be extra alert to beat those scalper bastards to it. And if you happen to get there after somebody who decided they just wanted Green Lantern, then you are stuck searching for him to complete your Grundy and will probably have to cave-in and buy one from one of the aforementioned scalper dicks on eBay. This happened to me with wave 2. I could not find Harley or Black Manta anywhere because some jerk decided they would be good for eBay. It also sucks hitting the toy aisle and seeing racks and racks of untouched Marvel Legends and no DCUC figures. More kids need these. They are so fun to play with. We need to get them into their hands! So Mattel, I know you’re reading this, step it up! Ship more cases and more evenly distribute the damn variants!! All shortpack figures are now is bait for scalpers! Luckily, I was able to choose between the original Sinestro and the Sinestro Corps variant, but I didn’t see an unmasked Deathstroke or I probably would have gotten that, too. His white hair is sexy.
But I digress. Let’s conclude this conversation with Solomon Grundy. He is beautiful. We’ve been waiting a long time for a Grundy this good. He’s huge and mega poseable! He makes it all worth it. Even if you don’t like Nightwing or any of the other characters as much, 5 figures at about $10 each gets you a wicked rad Grundy with little friends to beat up. SO worth it!
BUYING OPTIONS
You can try to bug your local stores about them or you can go online. We try to avoid auction sites as much as possible. It just fuels the fire. If you have to buy online, try bigbadtoystore.com or cornerstorecomics.com. They are both reputable.