DC Direct Series 7 Black Lantern Superman

Since we looked at DC Direct Nekron in my last action figure post, we'll now have a look at Series 7 Black Lantern Superman. There was already a Black Lantern Superman in this line, the more zombified Earth 2 Superman who was killed by injuries sustained while fighting Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis. While he didn't do much in Geoff John's Blackest Night, I prefer this slicker interpretation of Earth-One Kal-El.

Nekron is revealed as the power behind the resurrection of the fallen heroes, creating sleeper agents to be later called forth in service in the War of Light. The Lord of the Unliving seemingly reanimates Batman as a Black Lantern, creating emotional tethers between Nekron and the resurrected. With the connection in place, more Black Lantern rings are forged, taking over many of the Earth's greatest heroes... including Superman.

Again, this is DC Direct so articulation is limited  to bicep joints,  a cut joint at the boot tops & wrists, ball/socket shoulders, hinge elbows & knees, a ball-jointed head, and T-hips. This is a great sculpt that I'd love to see done in regular or New 52/Jim Lee deco. Yes, the body is mostly smooth, but the insignia and silver bands leading into the cape and shoulders are sculpted in. He's just so... sleek!  Yo Go Re over at OAFE.Net claimed his had center of gravity problems involving his stance & the weight of his cape, and while I've experienced this with other caped DC Direct figures, I had no such issues with mine. Positioning the left foot back just a bit from the right should alleviate this if you are having a hard time balancing him.

Mine has a little paint slop around the corner of the mouth and right eye- not a deal breaker though. More glaring is how the pin striping down the front of his left leg doesn't match up at the abdomen- not sure what went wrong there. He still looks killer though, and with the 20% off sale at Comic Headquarters, I got him for about $15.00- pretty good for a DC Direct. I really wanted to get this Superman and the Series 4 Black Lantern Wonder Woman after they came out, but they wasn't in the budget; she goes for $60. + on eBay now, but this Superman you can get pretty inexpensively if you are willing to pay the shipping (I was not).

The Blackest Night series by DC Direct was a huge success, and I bought several after reading  Blackest Night and Blackest Night: Green Lantern- both mandatory Green Lantern reading in my novice opinion. It's funny that I opened these last two Blackest Night figures I bought recently, but unceremoniously stowed away the others I ordered well over a year ago  :D   I should open all the rest- they really look cool! Pictured below: Series 7 Black Lantern Superman with Series 5 Nekron... what a wicked pair!

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Action Figure Blues Podcast!

Finally got a chance to listen to the Action Figure Blues Podcast last night, which made me laugh out loud several times  :D   You can download their episodes FREE at iTunes, send feedback, ask questions, and rate each episode.  I joined the Action Figure Blues Forum awhile back, where additional mirth and camaraderie can be enjoyed by comics/actionfigure/sci-fi/popculture enthusiasts like yourself- I recommend you do the same!

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DC Direct Series 5 Nekron

Funny thing, I haven't opened any of the several DC Direct Blackest Night figures I bought over a year ago, yet I'm opening this bitchin' Series 5 Nekron I scored for cheap a month ago   :D   I've said before, I appreciate the action figure as art, and Nekron here is most certainly the Albrecht Dürer of the form, adorned with the kind of detail that makes other action figures really look like toys.

The packaging on these is collector grade and difficult to open- a knife is required. MOC collectors probably preferred the durability of these to the easily creased card back It was interesting to see DC Direct go back to the card back/blister packaging with the new Series 4 and 5 Green Lantern figures, certainly the less expensive option.

Of additional note: there was some sort of rusty stain inside the plastic, which can be seen to the right of the packaged figure above. I'm unsure how the metal chain attached to Nekron's arm was painted/decorated, but it looks like a real rusty chain- I have to assume this somehow migrated to the inside of the package, and have read/heard multiple reports on this, some claiming the entire front covered with this stain. It's of little consequence to the figure's deco, the character having such a weathered appearance and the rust color integrated into his colors scheme elsewhere on the figure. Kinda creepy though, huh? What if it was powdery DEATH delivered from the Lord of the Unliving himself, scores of unsuspecting nerds droppin' like members of Howard Carter's excavation team??!  Hey, if you croak unexpectedly after picking one up, don't say I didn't warn ya  :D

So much greatness in one figure... where to begin?!  First the negative- he's hopelessly out of scale. While I'm a cherry-picker that has never finished a BAF in his life, Mattel recently offered a great C&C Nekron in proper scale, but with NO SCYTHE. Fail! Mattel has been skipping on accessories a lot lately, and really blew it there! One of the great things about the DCD Nekron is the accessory that's tantamount to the character. I mean, c'mon... he's basically the Grim Reaper; he must have a scythe.

And the detail put into this accessory is perhaps the best I've ever seen, from the wood grain in the handle to the dark metallic shade of the blade's paint app... just, WOW! I mean, just look at it...

Nekron's grisly open chest cavity has a high gloss sheen, realistically simulating the wetness of exposed organs. Awesomely macabre  :D  This figure is full of minutia like this, from his silver eyes to the rusty chains, making him so painterly next to the pictures I've seen of the flat, plasticky Mattel version. The drybrushing on Nekron's hide give him a zombie pallor that would make Eddie the Head jealous, and the sculpted Black Lantern Corps symbol was painstakingly sculpted onto the cranium. Look at his teeth! Nekron's pitted, rusty belt was sculpted and painted to match his metal cuff and collar, adding to the great unity in this deco. 

Nekron's impressive sculpt continues onto his exposed vertebrae in back and down the folds of charred robe. Throughout the figure, a worn texture makes Nekron look like he walked right out of the comics! He certainly has to be one of the most artful action figures I own. Like the other DC Direct Green Lantern & Blackest Night Series figures, Nekron comes with a corresponding base (his being translucent black with the Black Lantern Corps symbol).

Nekron has simple, but useful articulation: bicep joints, cut joint at the mid thigh & forearm, ball & socket shoulders, single hinge elbows & knees, T-hips, and a ball-jointed head. His scythe is loose in his grip, but easy to hold in a few positions, and will stay put under it's own weight upright in one hand with the end of the handle on the ground.

Like a lot of characters I read about for the first time in Jeff John's Blackest Night, Nekron was new to me. Rediscovering comics in the last 16 months or so, I had the additional handicap/joy of having almost no Green Lantern as a youth. Yes Nekron, the archetype of death, is not some new idea, but it was evil and fun! Ivan Reis' artwork was really great on Blackest Night, as was Doug Mahnke's on Blackest Night: Green Lantern- both mandatory reading in my novice opinion. I hear a lot of negative feedback about John's hubris in hogging the DC Universe to himself, but I don't care- I was entertained  :)

Nekron with Mistress Death, apple of Thanos' eye...

*Read more about Nekron at DC Wikia!

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DC Direct Series 5 Guy Gardner

I'll admit that most all my exposure to Guy Gardner has come in my reading over the last 12 months- along with the stacks of Green Lantern graphic novels, back issues of pre-New 52 Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and Emerald Warriors have given me a fuller knowledge of Guy and the rest of the characters that populate his universe. Hal Jordan will always be my favorite Green Lantern, though in reading so much about these intergalactic guardians in the last year I've come to enjoy the other members of the Corps more. And that my friends is where all the fun is in reading theses Green Lantern stories: all the great characters! 

First item of note: this figure has a cranky left wrist, making him the second in the last four DC Direct figures to have joint issues. It's annoying, but as I said before:  if you buy as many action figures as I do, it will happen. And while I think DC Direct makes beautiful figures, they do have joint issues more frequently that Hasbro or Mattel. That said, Guy is a great looking figure, artfully done!

Like the other Green Lanterns in this series, Guy has bicep joints, as well as a cut joint at the boot tops & wrists, in addition to the usual DCD ball/socket shoulders & T-hips. The addition of a waist joint for this figure was most likely due to his costume, the belt better able to disguise it. Guy's ball-jointed head with decent range, combined with the great facial sculpt makes him very expressive! Nice work!  While I like a super-articulated figure as much as anyone, I am attracted to the aesthetics of a toy as much as play value- that is to say, I enjoy them as art.

I've read a couple complaints about the metallic paint on this figurebeing too disco, but I like it. While I'm not one to call out an action figure for comic inaccuracy, I've seen Guy with and without white stripes running down the outside of his pants, but don't recall them being striped on the inside of his legs ever??  I prefer Guy's modern hair styling here as opposed to the bowlcut he sported before, inspired by the General Glory comics he read as a youth, the hero's sidekick, Ernie, wearing a like coiffure.  Like the other DC Direct Green Lantern & Blackest Night Series figures, Guy comes with a color corresponding, translucent base (his being green with the GL symbol), and power battery.

Hal Jordan's arrogance is almost magnified in Guy Gardner's personality; it's little wonder that he was unknowingly the Guardians second choice to Jordan's selection as Green Lantern of space sector 2814, and was soon thereafter chosen as backup for Jordan. Also like Jordan, Gardner's strong machismo makes for an identifiable character, the archetype necessary for a foolish/fearless charge into danger, making him a ideal Corpsman. Read more about Guy at DC Wikia!

Guy with Series 5 Green Lantern Sinestro & Soranik Natu...

There's a pretty wicked Series 4 Red Lantern Guy Gardner available from DC Direct as well- probably worth getting!

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DCUC Sodam Yat & Katma Tui

Between the New 52 Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and Green Lantern New Guardians, as well as my constant hunt for whatever issues of Green Lantern Corps: War of The Green Lanterns and Green Lantern Corps: Brightest Day from 2010-2011, I've been reading a lot of Green Lantern lately! That being the case, I've picked up some new lanterns in the last couple months, including DCUC Sodam Yat & Katma Tui I found cheap online recently.

Kat's accessories include a sheild and sword construct for this protector of Korugar. Mine fit onto her tiny clenched fists pretty well when correctly positioned, the shield the more reliable it seems. No lantern for this Corps member.

Katma Tui is from the 11th wave of DC Universe Classics, like her husband Green Lantern John Stewart, released in the 4th quarter of 2009. A Korugarian, Kat was Sinestro’s replacement as Green Lantern of Sector 1417 upon his banishment to Qward. She's had a rough way to go, slain by Star Sapphire, resurrected, then robbed of her life again by Parallax, then back again to haunt Lantern Stewart in Blackest Night! Harsh!

Kat's a nice DCUC female, but somewhat plain. She has standard articulation for these 6" Mattel girls, my criticism being the limited articulation in the neck & elbows, and height/weight ratio...  the buck on these DC Universe women have always been too anorexic. I realize they are meant to be stylized like females in the comics, but they come off way too thin. Even Big Barda was undersized in this line! That said, I enjoyed this figure's styling and color, and I like Kat's face & hairstyle... her eyes remind me of someone. She looks sassy  ;D

DCUC Katma Tui is dwarfed next to DC Direct's Soranik Natu, but they both have their strong points. I enjoy both lines for what they are. Photographing these figures is how I "play with them", otherwise they are sitting on a shelf or stored, so aesthetics are a major cencern. But while Soranik is superior looking to Katma, there are times when great articulation can provide more opportunities for photography.

Sodam Yat is from the 2nd wave of Green Lantern Classics, spring 2011- I really liked the green packaging on these! Lots of eye appeal! I liked Sodam as a figure when I first saw him- I really like the black/dark green combo on his outfit. I'm not sure if I like his ring construct sculpted onto his hand- it's his sole accessory, the figure including a regular fist bearing his green ring.

Lantern Yat has the typical DCUC articulation and the same sculpt as Hal Jordan from the neck down, like the other male DCUC Lanterns. He wasn't a fan favorite, but I like his outfit, and the head was very well sculpted and painted. Mine has a slightly loose left ankle joint, making his stance slightly undependable- I  have a Robot Man with the same issue, so leave a comment if you know the best fix for this.

Lantern Yat is a Daxamite, and being the descendants of ancient Kyptonites, having similar powers to Superman within near proximity to Earth's yellow sun. I've read very little of the stories featuring the character, but have seen his best story when after becoming Ion in Green Lantern Corps #17, he's nearly killed by Superboy-Prime in a knock-down, drag-out brawl through New York. Awesome!

Below are Lantern Yat with the DC Direct Kyle Rayner, and with DCUC Katma Tui: 

My DCUC Green Lanterns- Katma Tui, John Stewart, Sodam Yat, Hal Jordan, and Naut Kei Loi:

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"

 

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

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