DC Action League Arkillo/Sinestro 2-Pack

Seems like awhile since I bought any of these, but it was really only the beginning of the summer. I knew they were coming, but sort of forgot as I'm easily distracted by the next thing. Since my last post was on both a Mattel product as well as the Sinestro Corps, I thought I'd crack these open & have a look.

I love these little DC Action League figures! The articulation is really simple, but they are so much fun! They are extremely cute, and somewhat addictive. These still go for $7.99  at Wal-Mart, and yes, I think it's overpriced! That said, they character selection and scuplts/designs are really great. This line started with the Batman: the Brave & The Bold, but evolved and was rebranded under the DC Universe banner, and even branching into the Green Lantern line. At first I thought it was odd seeing these on the pegs so long after the Green Lantern movie premiered, but after seeing the movie recently, and Sinestro slipping on the yellow power ring in the last scene, perhaps the timing isn't that bad.

I was glad to finally see some Sinestro Corps members show up in the line, as there have been several Green Lantern Corps members already produced. Sinestro's drill sergeant Arkillo has a gaping mouth and pissed off look that made me really love him at first sight! I just like the whole black & yellow color scheme & design features of the Sinestro Corps uniforms period- it's contrasty & powerful looking to my eyes.

Sinestro has a similar pose & sculpt to the White Lantern Sinestro from Wave 1, but they are not the same- their uniform lines are cut into the sculpt, and the the Corps version has banded cuffs & belt. The Corps version is smaller, too, and I'm not really sure why. It's hard to see in the pictures, but I've studdied them closely. Additionally, the White Lantern Sinestro stands better, his round feet better shaped to plant together on a flat surface. It could just be mine, but the Arkillo rocks slightly on his stance as well.  

It's fun to get a worthy opponent for the Action League Kilowog, another large figure in this line. And unlike Kiliwog, Arkillo has a cut joint in his neck- nice! He made this set a must get- really hilarious  :D

Sinestro & Arkillo with fellow Corps member, Low:

Sinestro Corps Vs. the Green Lanterns!

Click this link to see all my posts on these Action League figures  :)

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DCUC Sinestro Corps Scarecrow

While picking up the All Star & Blue Lantern Flash along with Star Sapphire Wonder Woman during Target's recent DC Universe sale, I also grabbed a Wave 17 Sinestro Corps Scarecrow for $7.99.  He's a great idea for a character, and am glad to say he made an equally cool action figure.

In Geoff John's Blackest Night series, Dr. Jonathan Crane's alter ego & arch enemy of the Batman, Scarecrow, is temporarily deputized by the Sinestro Corps to battle Nekron & the Black Lanterns. Pursuing his addiction to fear since Batman's disappearance in Grant Morrison's Batman R.I.P., Crane is overjoyed by his ablity to feel the emotion again, gone since the Dark Knight's departure.

This action figure rocks, and gets all of the Four Horsemen's best work along with Mattel's best articulation. his ball-jointed head, double-jointed elbows, and swivel-hinge wrists make him the pinnacle of this line's appointments. His yellow lantern, which he never had, and boots aren't comic accurate, but his sculpt is great- especially the tattered head and long coat. His yellow power ring is sculpted into the left middle finger, as his Sinestro Corps chest insignia, which was likely done because of his neck sculpt blocking any chance of a clean tampo in that area. This just makes him look all the more tailored. Really cool. DC Direct made a rockin' version of this character as well, but Mattel did it their own way successfully in my opinion. He also came with the Anti-Monitor's right leg, which will be pronptly sold on eBay  :)

I can think of only one other candidate as worthy as Crane to recieve the yellow ring of fear: the Dark Knight himself   :)  Mattel's "what if" Sinestro Corps Batman is the perfect, if not necessary companion figure to the Sinestro Corps Scarecrow. I'm not certain if it was planned that way, as this pair could have been a two pack like Romat-Ru & Karu-Sil, but they sure look cool together and are an obvious pair. I think some collectors were puzzled by Sinestro Corps Batman's appearance, but if the obscure moment from Green Lantern #17 isn't comic-accurately rendered, it's fully realized in blazing fashion anyway. Fun!

Sinestro Corps Scarecrow with Wave 3 Sinestro, and Wave 15 Sinestro Corps Batman:

* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!

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DCUC Star Sapphire Wonder Woman & Donna Troy

While picking up the All Star & Blue Lantern Flash I reviewed in my last post, I picked up a Star Sapphire Wonder Woman. While she's not everyone's favorite DCUC, at the sale price of $7.99, I'll take a chance. I picked up Donna Troy last winter in a DCUC buying spree, and felt now would be a good time to look at her while photographing Wonder Woman- they are related characters, and I wanted to rid myself of some bulky DCUC packaging. Girl Power!

In Geoff John's Blackest Night story, Wonder Woman is temporarily deputized as a Star Sapphire & member of the Violet Corps in the battle against Nekron the Black Lanterns. Having gained access to the violet power ring of love, Diana could alter her costume at will, create energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. Additionally, her magic lasso was enhanced by the ring. I really loved the whole idea!

There was a lot of crying over this figure, and for good reason. Her articulation was not improved by the abdominal swivel that replaced the old abdominal crunch, but I can see why Mattel did this here in attempt to minimize the aesthetic disruption of her exposed midriff. Yo Go Re over at OAFE.Net complained about the cheap joints, but I always felt leary about these thin figures and didn't notice a difference. I was never a huge fan of the female buck produced by this company (couldn't there be a little more meat on these girls?), but they've done some good ones. She's dressed like a stripper, true- but it's only slightly less pornographic in the book. Yes, I agree DC Direct's version looked a little better, save the big scary face mask, but I got this one for $7.99! And unlike the DC Direct version, she can hold her lantern. I enjoyed photographing her- her colors really came to life out of the packaging.

Similarly scathing were the reviews I've read of this Wave 13 Donna Troy. Articulated Discussion ripped Donna a new one in their review, but the whole thing sounded downright (laughs) vengeful to me  :D  The funny thing about DCUC fans is their love/hate relationship with the line- they hate, hate, HATE IT, then they go buy some more just like it- really hilarious! :D  We love these world famous figures, and have come to expect things from them, both personally & publicly obvious!

True to DC Comics' penchant for confusing the masses, Donna Troy's continuity issues are far too labyrinth to attempt outlining here- I just know her as the Teen Titan, Wonder Girl, who took over the Wonder Woman mantle for Diana after Infinite Crisis (Geoff Johns, 2005-06).

Yes, Donna does look bow-legged in some positions, but the paint on mine was clean, and I love her outfit-  she really looks like a superhero & the tampographed yellow stars & matching belt really looked cool in my eyes. And speaking of peepers, Donna was roundly cursed for the expression on her face, which just didn't bother me. How should a sassy, teenage super heroine look? The angle at which one is viewing makes a difference, I suppose. I honestly appreciate her much more now that I opened her- girls in black boots rock  :D 

My Donna was in the 75th Anniversary packaging, and unknown to me at the point of purchase, missing her Trigon collect & connect parts! Luckily, I don't play the collect & connect game, nor do I care about Trigon, though he does look cool. More importantly, the pirate left me the collector button, of which I treasure a many  :) 

These girls were fun, and I'm glad their on Team Super-Duper! Here they are with Catwoman, Powergirl, and Batgirl:

* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!

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DCUC All-Star & Blue Lantern Flash

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!

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