DC Action League: Low Vs.Tomar-Re/John Stewart Vs. Actrocitus

In keeping with current trend of all-things-Green-Lantern, due to this summer's upcoming movie and Geoff John's transformation of the comic book title in the last few years, Mattel was sure to include some in the DC Action League line. The first wave included White Lantern Sinestro Vs. Green Lantern, and this second wave included two GL two-packs...

Low Vs.Tomar-Re is a nice pairing that was well done.  Tomar-Re is a member of the Green Lantern Corps, one of the first to guide Hal Jordan as a rookie Lantern. He also had attempted to help save the unstable planet of Krypton with stellarium, a substance that would stabilize the planet's radiation. He was blinded by a star gone nova in the mining of the said stellarium, and Krypton perished, save the infant Kal-El who had been sent from the planet in a life-pod by his parents. The ring of this fallen Lantern of  space sector 2813 went to John Stewart upon his passing, fulfilling his dying wish. Stewart's ring went back to it's previous owner, Hal Jordan, who then came out of retirement- another of Tomar-Re's other dying wishes.

Low is very dangerous parasite and member of the Sinestro Corps, recently created by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis for the Green Lantern title. He can suck all the blood from a victim's body within seconds, simultaneously laying eggs within the carcass that can produce up to a thousand offspring- pretty nasty! Along with Atrocitius, this is one of the chunkier figures in the line and I just love him! Mattel also released a 6" DCUC figure of this newer character, as they did with Tomar-Re.

The Low Vs.Tomar-Re set was matched by this equally cool John Stewart Vs. Actrocitus pairing...  I had seen this several months ago at Target, but wasn't there for that specifically so I passed on it. Luckily, all four pairs from this wave were on auction at eBay for a very reasonable price.

John Stewart first appeared in 1972, created by Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams. An architect & ex-Marine, Stewart was selected by the Guardians as Hal Jordan's backup when Guy Gardner was recovering from serious injury. He later inherits Tomar-Re's ring to become a full-fledged member of the Green Lantern Corps, and later an Honor Guard member of the Corps along with Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and Sodam Yat.

Atrocitus really captured my imagination in the Blackest Night books! One of the few survivors of the Manhunter Robot's slaughter of space sector 666, this Red Lantern's rage is fueled by his hatred for the Guardians who created the flawed Manhunters and their Green Lantern Corps. Read more about this interesting character at his Green Lantern wikia page.

Now a couple comparison shots:
My DCUC John Stewart with DC Action League John Stewart...

My DC Direct Blackest Night Atrocitus (still in the clamshell) with DC Action League Atrocitus...  I never did open any of those Blackest Night DCDs! LOL! Some rainy day, Friends... on some rainy day  :)

Be a Good Kid, Go Play With Your TOYS!

DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro Figure

I was surprised at how little there was to read about the DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro released in January of 2009... I couldn't find one review. Was it the economy or was he roundly ignored by the often critical fans of DC Direct? Perhaps a little of both. I had my eye on this guy for quite awhile, and when Mattel released the 8" Retro-Action Sinestro exclusively on MattyCollector for $20.  + ten bucks shipping, I set my sights on getting a better value. I paid only twelve more dollars for this 14" DC Direct Sinestro that came with two extra sets of hands, a display stand, and working lantern!

Like the other DC Direct Deluxe figures I bought, Sinestro came packaged in this handsome 4-color window box with a fifth panel...

Sinestro came with the coolest accessory ever: a working lantern! This really makes the toy deluxe, in my humble opinion, and a step up from the accessories the other dolls from this line included. And of course, you won't get that with the Mattel Sinestro. It's not blinding but relatively bright, and runs on a couple button batteries that are (laughs) difficult to remove  :D  Very cool, however.

His outfit appears to be made of three types of material: a rubbery material for the black bodysuit (much like the Batman Beyond I have), a spandex-like cloth for the yellow armband, chest layover, and boots, and a bendable plastic for the wrist gauntlets, belt, and boot soles. And for some reason the Corps insignia on his chest & armband is a separate piece of plastic as opposed to a screenprint onto the material- perhaps this stood out against the bright yellow material better, or those areas were too tight to place a clean, well centered image. He doesn't like to sit, and I'm unsure if that's due to the tightness/material of the outfit or to his body construction- I will not be stripping him to find out because he will be standing. On a related note, his boots cramp his toes a bit, and don't fit perfectly- I would have used a different material, perhaps vinyl like the boots my DCD Superman & Batman came with.

The paint and face sculpt on this figure is GREAT- certainly the best I've seen on any DC Direct 1:6. The craggy detail of Sinestro's visage is expertly captured! Just wonderful... a work of art, I say!

Some people prefer Sinestro's blue/black costume, but I'm partial to the high-contrast look of this yellow/black Corps outfit. Both the Mattel 6" DC Universe Classics and the 6 3/4" DC Direct Green Lantern:  Series 3 Sinestro, which featured this outfit,  go for more than I paid for this larger version. For whatever reason, this one created less demand... and I believe part of it was the price. This dolly retailed for about $90.00 a couple years ago, but you can find him for about forty bucks on eBay nearly every week- closer to what I think he's really worth... I think DC Direct was asking a bit much for this. Don't get me wrong: this is a cool toy that I love and am grateful to have, but ninety bucks was apparently too much to ask.

As I've stated previously, I've been reading a lot of Green Lantern/Sinestro related books lately, having read a couple Blackest Night books this past winter, Tales of the Sinestro Corps after that, and The Sinestro Corps War volumes, and Green Lantern: Secret Origin this month. Sinestro is an sophisticated villain that interests me greatly:  having mentored Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern Corps member himself, he abused his position by enforcing galactic law using fear, and was ultimately exiled to the Antimatter world of Qward by the Guardians. Unfortunately for the Guardians, Sinestro joined forces with the Green Lantern-hating Weaponers of Qward, who crafted for him a yellow power ring to wield vengeance back at the GL Corps.

And now just for fun, a Sinestro Corps group shot:

a. DCUC Sinestro Corps Batman (shut up, I like it)  b. DC Direct Justice Sinestro  c. DC Action League White Lantern Sinestro  d. DC Direct Deluxe 1:6 Sinestro  e. Mattel JLU Sinestro  f. DC Direct Blackest Night Sinestro Corps Arkillo

Have a FUN Weekend!

Hey, Mr. Postman! ...AGAIN!

Yes, I received yet more toys in the mail... don't hate. It's fun to be me  :D

DC Direct 1:6 Deluxe Green Lantern Corps & Sinestro Action Figures
I've been waiting for the right moment to score these at the right price... that time has come. I have been reading A LOT of Green Lantern/Sinestro this year, and I love these big dollies - they have light-up lanterns :)

Batman: The Brave & The Bold Action League Series Batman Vs. Etrigan the Demon
I fell in love with this set after seeing it on Toyriffic toy blog, and am currently reading Jack Kirby's Etrigan Omnibus I scored on Amazon for, like, five bucks! Fun!

Justice League Unlimited Planet Patrol Wonder Woman
I've got a few of these little guys, and like the Superman & Batman from this series, I wanted a variant of Wonder Woman. She has pants, a sword, and cape...

Justice League Unlimited Atom

He was hard to find for under ten bucks, but I finally found him for six bucks (shipping included) on eBay. The best part about this guy is that he comes with a tiny version of himself, too- GREAT!

I also have a JLU Metamorpho coming that I'm excited about- it's really been a fun month for toys over here, and I'm glad you've come to read about my crazy obsession. It's hard to believe how unhappy/unhealthy my life was less than a year ago. I turned that around, turned off that negative pattern of thinking/living, and created this happy place where all are welcome to come enjoy TOYS and having FUN! I want you to take that joy with you and share it with all those you meet- you deserve to be happy and love your life!

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!

DC Action League: Firestorm Vs. Deathstorm!

Another from the first wave of DC Action League 2-packs, Firestorm Vs. Deathstorm! I had mentioned before that this seemed to be the pegwarmer at my local Wal-Mart, and I'm unsure why because they are so cool with their mirror poses and translucent, flaming heads. Another interesting and contemporary choice for  this series of Mattel toys, pairing Deathstorm from the Blackest Night/Brightest Day story arcs with Firestorm.

Though the articulation is limited to the head, shoulders, and waist on these toys, they are a lot of fun to keep on the desk to play with. The "squared off" designs, bright colors, unusual character choices, and affordability appeal to me greatly.

And now some group shots just for fun  :D

More Later- Keep Having FUN!

DC Action League: White Lantern Sinestro Vs. Green Lantern!

White Lantern Sinestro was an interesting choice for Mattel in this line, and one I welcomed. From the recent Blackest Night story arc, Sinestro temporarily gains the powers of a White Lantern, but ultimately fails in his attempt to defeat Nekron, who tears the Life Entity (sentient manifestation of all life) from Sinestro. Sinestro's over-sized ego was his downfall in the confrontation, having to be rescued from Nekron & the other Black Lanterns by Carol Ferris (Star Sapphire). DC Direct released an exclusive White Lantern Sinestro at Wondercon in San Francisco last year that goes for a lot of dough now- running for about $60.00 on the open market, and like the Green Lantern Batman, I'm not willing to go there.

This is my favorite of the Series One DC Action League pairs, and I'd been eyeing it for awhile.  He was the last one on the pegs at my local Wal-Mart last Friday night. I can't believe it took me that long to pick this set up. As I said before, I'm seriously into Green Lantern right now, having read a couple Blackest Night books this past winter, Tales of the Sinestro Corps after that, and The Sinestro Corps War just this week.

They did such a great job with these toys... the packaging, the poses, colors, and face sculpts are just great. And the tiny tampograph imprint on the power rings and the chest emblems are impressive! So many good things are going on with these toys, and this set in particular, that I declare this to be a solid value at $6.97!

And now a group shot with some of my other Hal Jordan GL action figures, just for fun :)  Clockwise from the left: DC Direct New Frontier Hal Jordan, DC Direct Blackest Night Hal Jordan (still in clamshell), Mattel DCUC Hal Jordan, DC Action League Hal Jordan (w/my GL ring!), and Fisher Price Imaginext Hal Jordan:

I wanted to split these Action League posts up a little so I could include some comparison shots with some other toys, such as I did with Captain Boomerang Vs. Flash, without making each post too long.  I'll show  Firestorm Vs. Deathstorm next, but until then visit  Come, See Toys blog to see more pictures of these Series One Action League figures!

DC Action League: Captain Boomerang Vs. The Flash

After a weekend of two work shifts, three band rehearsals with 2 different bands, Sunday lunch out with Mon & Dad, and a couple workout sessions squeezed inbetween, I finally got a minute to shoot some pics of the DC Action League figures I picked up at Wal-Mart last Friday...

Captain Boomerang Vs. The Flash

Alex asked how the size of these compares to the Imaginext figures I posted recently...

Here's Action League Flash with my Mattel Retro-Action Flash...

And just for fun, a group shot  :)
Clock wise from the left: Hasbro JLA Flash that JBoy sent me , DC Direct New Frontier Flash (boxed), Mattel 8" Retro-Action Flash, Fisher Price Imaginext Flash, and the DC Action League Flash:

*See more pictures of these Series One Action League figures at Come, See Toys blog!