Mego 50th Anniversary WGSH (Wave 18)

I was super-excited about getting these Mego Wave 18 World's Greatest Super-Heroes, which included some bonafide B-Tier DC heroes and villains like Red Tornado and Dr. Fate! None of these were produced during Mego's halcyon days in the '70s, but they really capture the spirit! Check out the video:

There was also a Bizarro included in this wave that I could have pitted against my Mego 50th Anniversary Superman, but I just never cared about that character. I'm much more a fan of Brainiac!

As much as I loved Mattel's DC Retro-Action figures back in 2010, the quality of the figure construction can't match the new Mego figures. That said, the Retro-Action Two-Face is still a treasured item in my collection...

Below, Nightwing joins my modern Mego Batman and Robin for an evening patrol!

Below, Deadman, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, and Red Tornado team up with Aquaman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Shazam- what a great time to be a Mego fan!

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN! 

Earth 2 #11: "When Fate Calls..."

While I've picked up the odd Batman & Robin & Action Comics issues among the New 52, the only books I've kept up with are World's Finest: Huntress & Powergirl and Earth 2, the former I've lost interest in. I dropped Justice League after issue #6, but picked up the first couple issues of  Justice League of America, Katana, and even the first issue of Vibe. I'll have to see how those go, but it's only Earth 2 I've stuck with so far. Nicola & Trevor Scott make some great art together, and I have to admit that when writer James Robinson killed off the Trinity in the first issue, I was convinced this was going to a different place. I've enjoyed the selection and re-imagining of the characters. I'm unsure if it will be remembered as pivotal or groundbreaking, but it's entertained me. 

In issue #10, Wotan sent Khalid Ben-Hassin into the impenetrable Tower of Fate to fetch the helm of Nabu, where the reluctant hero hid it to escape the madness it brought through the ancient Egyptian spirit. Jay's captive mother is all the reason he needs to accompany Khalid through the tower, where the two split up to distract the great beast guarding it, and find the helmet for Wotan. The scorcerer gives Ms. Garrick some backstory on his multiple lives spent battling Nabu, whom Wotan holds a centuries-spanning grudge against.

 Steppenwolf  sends Fury to capture the escaped Mr. Miracle in Gotham City, while he plans for the future of the world from the recently overthrown capital of Dherain...

It was a good issue, though the foldout cover claimed to call Mr. Miracle to the stage, which never really happened. Steppenwolf called Fury forth to find the son of the Highfather of New Genesis, and we get a beautiful full page illustration of he and Big Barda, but that's it. It's as though they tried to squeeze his name onto the marquee. Some of the numerous pages with the guardian beast chasing Flash and Khalid through the Tower of Fate could have been sacrificed for a little more Mr. Miracle in my opinion. After Khalid acquiesces to Nabu's desire to regain essence through him as Dr. Fate, we are given the hero we've been waiting for in the last few issues. Wotan and Dr. Fate will clash in issue #12, I guarantee, and we'll likely see Fury face Scott Free and his own former Fury, Big Barda, in Gotham.

More Later- Make It FUN!

Wave 12 DCUC Spectre

Yes we've all seen Mattel's 6" DCUC Spectre, but my last post on Day of Vengeance prompted me to open this long ignored, surprisingly cool action figure. There was also a glow-in-the-dark variant of this released in 2010, which I can't explain why I passed on. Spectre was one of seven in Wave 12, carrying the connect & collect right arm/"killing glove" of Darkseid. The Mattel Darkseid looks cool, but I have a pretty great DC Direct Darkseid. I have dozens of connect & collect parts, but not one dadburned figure complete!

The collector button features Spectre along with fellow Justice Society heroes, Flash and Green Lantern- according to Yo Go Re over at OAFE.Net, this is from the cover of All-Star Comics #2. Spectre started out as the avenging undead spirit of murdered cop Jim Corrigan, assigned to be the Wrath of God, but came to be much more than the JSA hero of the 1940's, later taking Crispus Allen and Hal Jordan as his new hosts. He is arguably the most powerful being in the DC Universe, essentially the embodied wrath of God. Kinda scary!   :D

One thing the glow-in-the-dark chase variant is missing is the subtle paint shading that makes Spectre's eyes look as though they are glowing- very effective! Spectre's cape is a seperate piece from his head, a swivel joint at the neck. He has the typical, great articulation all DCUCs share, and the sculpt is artfully simple, absolutely nailing the iconic look of this other-worldly character. There isn't a lot to the Spectre's outfit, so the cloak, gloves and boots had to be perfect, which they are, even in the way the folds pleat his cape in back.

When author and former theology student John Ostrander brought the character into the modern age, he placed the Spectre in complex, morally ambiguous situations that posed certain ethical questions. He also added several new concepts into the Spectre's history, revealing that the Spectre was meant to exist as the embodiment of the Wrath of God, and Jim Corrigan was but the latest human spirit assigned to guide him while he existed on Earth. He also portrayed the Spectre the fallen angel named Aztar who had participated in Lucifer's rebellion, but then repented, serving as the embodiment of God's anger as his penance. (Wikipedia)

My favorite part of the Day of Vengeance series I just read was the Spectre's battle with Captain Marvel, in attempt to destroy all magic in the Universe. Convinced by Eclipso that that all things that follow the rules of the physical universe follow God's law, and anything contradictory breaks God's law and is therefore evil. Though the Enchantress channel the power of magicians around the world through Captain Marvel, it's too much in the end, driving her temporarily mad and allowing the Spectre to defeat the Big Red Cheese!

Another perhaps greater battle in Day of Vengeance is that between Spectre and Nabu, the powerful entity that trained Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate in the magic arts after he opened the ancient wizard's tomb. Long unsuccessful in finding a host for the Spectre, Nabu, last of the Great Lords of the Ninth Age, is forced to confront him. In fatally injuring Nabu, the Spectre gains attention of "the Presence", who is finally forced to contain the ramaging spirit. The dying Nabu hands his helmet to Detective Chimp, who has Capt. Marvel throw it into space to let chance find the new Dr. Fate and welcome the Tenth Age of Magic. Pretty heavy stuff!

Along with Dr. Fate, I often think of Deadman when in the same category as Spectre for obvious reasons. Deadman wasn't a big player in Day of Vengeance, but he was shown in one of the panels, part of Phantom Stranger's team hunting down monsters that escaped the Rock of Eternity that Spectre smashed while killing the wizard Shazam. Like the Spectre, Deadman used another being as a host to search for his murderer and serve justice. Below are pictured the Spectre and Deadman with The Spectre Annual #1, Vol.2, 1988, in which the two spirits battle the Proto-Demon at the gates of Hell! Riveting!

Some other great Spectre issues in my collection:
*All Star Squadron Vol.3, No.28 (DC, Dec. 1983) The Spectre Vs. The Justice Society! Goofy, but fun  :D
*The Spectre Annual No.1, "Lost in Memory" (DC, 1995) Team up w/Dr. Fate! BubbaShelby turned me on to Mankdrake & Ostrander's work on Martian Manhunter, which I loved, and wisely recommended their work on the Spectre as well. Great stuff!
*The Spectre, No.38 (DC, Feb. 1996) Check out that spooky cover by Donald David- brilliant!

More Later- Make It FUN!

DCUC Haul

Let's take a quick look at the DC Universe Classics I picked up on sale this weekend for $6.69 each, an amazing deal that I took full advantage of. Some of these are a little harder to come by, especially at that price. I only started collecting these last winter, so I missed a lot from this really GREAT action figure line.

*Wave 6 Hawkman

This puppy caught my attention immediately- such an great action figure with the expanding wings. He was clean as the day he was made, with all his accessories. WOW. True, I just got a DC Direct Brightest Day Hawkman, but this DCUC is exception & unique. Plus, I have a DCUC Hawkgirl that was lonely   :D

*Wave 13 Negative Man
Tragic member of the Doom Patrol, Negative Man, will keep my keep his teammate Robotman company. His bandaged visage, meant to keep Larry Trainor's radioactivity away from innocent passersby, remind me of the invisible man. I've read little with the Doom Patrol, but it's great stuff.

*Wave 9 Deadshot

Enemy of Batman and member of the Secret Six along with Catman, Deadshot is an expert assassin who kills for whoever is paying. I thought he was unique and liked his gauntlet guns. Pretty simple.

*Wave 9 Wildcat (purple variant)
I love the clawed toes on this one! Wildcat is a golden age DC Character & longtime member of the Justice Society of America.  A heavyweight boxing champ who trained Batman, Ted Grant relies on his heavily conditioned strength & endurance to fight crime.

*Wave 2 Aquaman & Black Manta
I've been wanting A DCUC Aquaman & Flash for awhile, but not at any price I've seen on eBay- they had two other DCUC versions of Aquaman there as well, but I couldn't resist the classic! I have these two from the Retro-Action line & Batman: Brave & The Bold line as well- time for a group shot!

*Wave 8 Dr. Fate & Wave 11 Deadman (variant)
These two will be great with the DCUC Spectre I already had! The Deadman is the variant, which I preferred, his hands & feet fading into translucent plastic- Killer!

*See the DC Universe Classics checklist at DCClassics.Com! 

More Later- Keep It FUN!

Hey, Mr. Postman!

A nice eBay haul came in the mail yesterday! As you might have suspected, it was full of more of those great DC Action League figures I've been posting about  :D

John Stewart Vs. Atrocitus:

Prometheus Vs. Green Arrow:

 Low Vs. Tomar-Re:

Batman Vs. The Joker:

AND... from the Batman: The Brave & The Bold Action League Series
Dr. Fate Vs. Wotan:

As usual, I was too slow on the draw to catch these new in stores, yet lucked out on eBay, not paying much more than they originally retailed for, even when including shipping. I had walked past most all of these in recent past, shamefully not recognizing how fun & collectible they really are. Wonderful toys, Kids! I also scored a Brave & The Bold Action League Series Batman Vs. Etrigan that should be here soon. Until then, remember: Play With Toys & Have FUN With Your Life!

Hey, Mr. Postman!

Part of my 2011 goals for collecting toys is to open some more of the hundred or more action figures I've recently collected- there were a couple weeks there a month or so ago that seemed like I was (laughs) getting toys every other day! Hooray! Let's go back to December 1st and take a look at the excitement that was knocking at my front door...

*DC Direct Trinty Series 1 Batman, Ra's Al Ghul, & WonderWoman. I really like these action figures- superb styling. The WonderWoman in particular is majestic and unique. I haven't read this DC book... may have to look into that after I read the dozen or so comics I have on my list to read in 2011!

*DC Direct First Appearance Series 4 Aquaman- I'm nuts about this series of action figures, and Aquaman makes seven that I've collected. He's really different, with his long hair, iridescent paint, and sword...

*DCUC Nightwing by Mattel- I've always ignored this DC character, and I'm unsure why- there's a very interesting psychological element to a guy who got out from under Batman's wing and went out on his own. Though I'm unschooled on the existing literature concerning this, I gather there is a slightly broken relationship between the two- at least it appeared so in Batman: Under the Red Hood, which I viewed recently at my pal Jackhammer's house. FUN movie!

*DCUC Dr. Impossible by Mattel- I got nothin' here, Friends... I bought him only because I like the way he looked. I will have to learn more about this guy. I could not figure out for the life of me why he was only $8.75- he's SO COOL looking!

SURPRISE DOUBLE EDITION OF "Hey, Mr. Postman!"

Yes, it's good to be me, heh heh- the very next day I received yet MORE toys in the mail! Things get better over here by the day Kids, I swear!

*DC Direct New Frontier Series 2 Dr. Fate! After reading DC New Frontier, I had to get the Dr. Fate action figure from this series- he was too cool to pass up at $6.99, and I enjoyed the scene in the book where he and Spectre are summoned by The Phantom Stranger to a banquet on the Moon to discuss if they should assist mankind in destroying the alien invaders, or let let them carve their own path to salvation, hence bettering themselves- Epic, I say!

*DCUC Spectre by Mattel! DC Direct didn't make us a New Frontier Spectre action figure for us, so I got a DC Universe Classics Spectre... whaddya gonna do? I have several of the Mattel DC figures now- I've said before that I never thought I'd get into 6" figures, but I certainly dove right in! Mattel seems to do a pretty good job on these...

Well, I'm bushed folks- I work retail, and they asked me to work on my only day off tomorrow due to business being so good this holiday season. Of course I accepted the offer as I must (laughs) pay for all these toys!

G'Night!