One Flash, Two Flash, Red Flash Blue Flash...
I went back to Target and grabbed some more DCUC on account of them being on sale at a paltry $7.99 each, and picked up this Blue Lantern Flash upon my return. I have a beautiful DC Direct Blue Lantern Flash, but at that price I caved. The thought of two beautiful new Flashes to photograph was too much :D
I never was into Barry Allen as a kid, known only as Flash to me then, but after reading Geoff John's Blackest Night and Darwin Cooke's The New Frontier this past year, I was sold on the Justice League's fastest member. Mark Waid's JLA: Year One and Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis solidified my admiration for the good hearted hero. The second incarnation of the character, Golden Age Jay Garrick preceding, Barry is a forensics expert on the Star City police force, his super-speed abilities coming in handy on the job as well as defying the laws of physics while fighting crime as the Flash.
Originally released in early 2009 as part of DC Universe Classics Wave Seven, I had missed the fan favorite and never ran into him on the pegs, having won my first DCUC in a contest over at Action Figure Blues in late 2010. Little did I know then I'd later come to own many :D Mattel released a TRU exclusive in red & gold in the third quarter of 2010, but mine is an All Star reissue. Seeing on a peg at Target for $7.99 was like seeing Bigfoot or a pot of gold... I plucked him like an apple from a tree :D
Like my Indigo Lantern Atom, Blue Lantern Flash was released in Wave Seventeen in May of this year. DCClassics.Com claims he's the same sculpt as Wave Seven Flash aside from the sculpted ring, but that's not true- Blue Lantern Flash's torso is smaller/more lean, most notably in the latissimus dorsi (back) and trapezius (shoulder-neck). They look so similar aside from color, that it's easy to miss. He came with a nice metallic-blue lantern and the collect & connect right arm of Anti-Monitor. Rightfully, some are annoyed by Barry's death in '85 and '08 resurrection in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis, and were further puzzled by his appointment as deputy Blue Lantern in Geoff John's Blackest Night, but it worked for me. I was never heavily invested in the character, and getting back into comics only in the last year, I had a fresh, enthusiastic look into the medium. I loved Blackest Night, and often hated Hal & beloved Barry's relationship throughout the book interested me greatly. I haven't read the recent Flashpoint series, but will likely pick up the TPB at some point.
All Star Flash with Wave 2 Aquaman, Green Lantern 5-pack '90's Hal Jordan, Superman, and All-Star Batman.
Blue Lantern Flash with Wave 13 Blue Beetle:
* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!
More Later- Make It Fun!
I kept passing by these at my local Wal-Mart and noticing that they just were not moving.They were selling for about 14 bucks a piece and i remember telling my girl how these would eventually have to go on sale.
ReplyDeleteAm liking All-Star Flash myself.
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't so late....I would be at Target right freaking now. I don't go in there that often. :(
ReplyDeleteUmmm... The Blu Lantern is a repaint of the Wave 7 figure. The All Star Flash used the bigger torso for the latter release. So DCClassics.com was correct. The All Star Flash is basically a "new" figure (Because of the chest and arms and because the feet don't have the rocker function like the wave 7 release, either).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification Kevin!
Delete