Chase Pics: Justice League Unlimted Display! (and other updates. ;] )

5 long years after the last episode aired, I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and opened up all the JLU figures that I have.  The reason I took so long was partly laziness, partly because I'd discovered DC Universe and Marvel Universe figures were more poseable (and up my alley), and mostly because I've never had the space to display 'em all.

Well, after getting married and moving into our own place, I finally have a whole room I can devote to displaying stuff!  Even then, I realized that packaging was taking up a lot of space.  And I mean a LOT.  That also meant that I was buying more stuff than I had time to open.  (Weird, right?  Ok, maybe not...)

I guess I had the lofty ambition of reviewing every toy I bought, thinking that I could do it because I'm a self-professed cherry-picker and proud of it.  But boy was I wrong.  There ain't no way I can review toys faster than I buy them.  The verdict?  I get a brand new JLU display!

I needs me Justice Lords Wonder Woman!!!

Read on for more updates! ;)


Yes, I realized after setting this up, that I need more bad guys!  Even my Justice Lords aren't actually the real thing--you see, I'd picked up the J-Lords Superman, Batman, and Hawkgirl 3-pack over the Supes, Bats, and Wonder Woman pack because the former was harder to find.  I intended to then try and get WW loose somehow.  The only other difference between the two 3-pks was that Supes and Bats had thes weird circuitry markings on their shoulders.  I couldn't recall any moment when that had appeared in the JLU series, so I shrugged it off.

Then while re-watching the entire 4 seasons with Melissa, I finally spotted the circuitry versions of the J-Lords--they were Braniac clones in one of the season finales!  I'd been cheated!  By myself, no less, but still cheated!

Haha, na, it isnt that bad.  I'm still happy that I got those Justice Lords clone because I really love that episode/story arc.  It just means I have to go back and get them, this time hopefully with Wonder Woman!

Besides the JLU, I also cracked open some sealed DCUC figures to round out my JLA Magnificent Seven and "Reserves" display.

I love this display--I may yet get to reviewing some of these guys, especially the ones involved in Brightest Day!

And I also beefed up my Masters of the Universe Classics shelf!

Still have Evil-Lyn and He-Ro I need to open. I'm such a slacker!

Public Enemy Number One: Superman!

Well, I finally cracked open my first DC Universe Classics Target Exclusive Public Enemies figure despite having all 6 figures across 2 waves necessary to build the Collect and Connect Brimstone figure.

I wanted so badly for this figure to be the perfect Superman because so far, none of the DCUC ones was good enough.  You name it: disproportionate head-size to body, long hair, too dark a costume, poor head sculpt and paint, to even too long a cape, every figure had its woes.

So what about the Public Enemies Superman?  Well, while he doesn't come close to being perfect, he's a helluva lot better than the standard DCUC Supes.  And while he's come under lots of criticism by many, I have to say some of the shortcomings actually turned out to be plus-points for me.  'Different strokes for different folks' is what Grampaw Nanna Uncle Charlie my pet dog Rex someone used to say to me.  I think.  I didn't dream of someone telling me for sure.  Or maybe I did...

So let's check Public Enemies Superman out!

Like: The head sculpt because it's the best to date. Supes needs to have a strong, lantern-jawed, symmetrical face with perfect hair.  So in a sense, a "realistic" face sculpt would never fulfil these requirements, much like how tough it is to find the right actor to cast as the Man of Steel.  This means Supes needs to have almost a caricature of a face, and the animated look of Public Enemies fulfils these needs.  Perfect blue eyes?  Check.  Perfect black hair with the perfect spit curl?  Check.  Perfect jaw?  Check.  Perfect expression of determination mixed with confidence?  Check.

Like: His big ol' blue eyes. Their painted with black pupils with the white neatly done and some dark lines for shading.  The overall effect is dramatic and makes the figure pop because his eyes stand out even when you're looking at him form a distance.
 
Like: The bigger buck used for his body.  Superman has always been traditionally bigger than the rest of the super hero population so it's time that he was given his due.  The DCUC versions and the DCSH versions are too small by just a tad.  Hopefully, Mattel will be able to use this buck to vary the sizes of their future offerings.  In that vein, time for a new female buck as well, one that doesn't make every super heroine look like they only eat once every three days.

Like: The lighter blue costume.  The DCUC Superman releases suffer from to deep a blue for their costumes, among other things.  The Public Enemies version of the Last son of Krypton is spot on.  The blue even matches the blue of his eyes! ;)

Like: That he has a thicker 'S'.  I really can;t emphasize enough the importance of the correct thickness in his chest emblem.  I can tolerate a blue that's slightly off.  I can even close one eye to a slightly dopey looking and otherwise expressionless face.  But that 'S'?  No, sirree.  It's what makes Superman recognizable as Superman.  It's his symbol.  It's what he threw at Non in Superman II.  Ok, maybe not for that last reason.  But they have to get it right, otherwise it makes him look like a cheap knockoff.

Like: The shorter cape.  I didn't fancy this at first, preferring the longer sweeping cape of the DCSH version, especially when it came to supporting more dynamic poses.  But a short cape has its advantages--it's not as heavy, it doesn't get in the way of the leg and arm articulation as much, and it actually looks better for Supes in this scale because it's rather more practical, don;t ya think? ;)

Like: The raised belt.  It's a nice improvement from the DCSH figures of yore and helps break the boredom of what would otherwise be a completely painted-on costume.  It's a minor detail, but and important one for the overall look of PE Supes.

Like: Great articulation. As with all DC Universe figures, Superman has your standard 23 points or so (depending on how you count) of articulation.  Special mention goes to his head, which has perfect up, down, left and right motion that's absent from recent new waves of DCUC.

Like: Skin Tone.  Some have said he's too tan.  Well, Supes should be tan cuz he wants to be in the sun all the time. And what Kal-El wants, Kal-El gets.  Some have also said he looks Puerto Rican or Mexican or whatever.  He frickin' looks like Superman with a nice healthy tan.  Why would anyone want  pasty white, unhealthy looking Man of Steel anyway? ;P

Dislike: Stuck Ab Crunch...that I can't get unstuck and that's still stuck right now!  This seriously bothers me.  I've no complaints if they joint came loose somehow but as it is, one of my favourite joints on a figure has pretty much been neutered.  Sure, he can still arch back to stretch out his torso, but he can't crunch without it slowly shifting back to an upright position.  Any solutions to this problem are welcome by the way!

Dislike: Loose knees.  Well, they're not hopelessly loose, but they're not as tight as the hip/leg or the ankle joints.  Thankfully those are fine and help compensate for the knees when balancing.

Dislike: That it's a Target Exclusive, didn't come to many areas. definitely didn't come to Southeast Asia.  Luckily I had friends living in the US who where willing to put up with my shenanigans when I asked for them to look out for the wave.  So thanks, Mary!  I don't have any problems with Exclusives, just exclusives that aren't available here in Singapore. :P

RATINGS 

Aesthetics: 8.5/10 - It's the standard Superman.  Red, blue, and yellow.  But there's so many things that can go wrong and have done with the standard DCUC issue.  PE Superman gets 'em all right, or at least to my liking. ;)

Poseaility: 8/10 - He's great in this respect but really loses points for a stuck ab crunch.  His head is excellent but his score could've been better but for the stomach problems. Heh.

Fun: 9/10 - He's Superman and I have five other versions of him, so how much fun could he be?

Well, to my surprise, plenty.  It's funny how much more fun a figure can be when you look at it and you simply like what you see.  Also, he'll look great next to PE Batman and the rest of the supporting cast from that series.  Can anyone say mass brawl???

Value: 7/10 - He cost me around S$30 (US$21.42) after shipping and handling, which is about three-quarters of the price of what specialty stores around here are charging (if they have them at all).  In that sense, he's a deal.  Also, he comes with Collect and Connect Brimstone's right arm and a spiffy Public Enemies figure stand, both of which I consider bonuses when compared to the standard DCUC version's regular stand and no BAF for the same price (or maybe even more after the price increase).

But still, he comes with no other accessories, as is that practice with Supermen.

Overall: 8.3/10 - The best Superman figure in the DC Universe line yet.  He might take a hit for value but he rates very highly in the other categories.  Take away a stuck joint that's probably the exception rather than the norm and you have yourself an even bigger winner.  My advice?  If you're not keen on the CnC Brimstone, find him loose (preferably with the stand), find him limber (need that ab crunch), and find him cheap (or at least reasonably so).

DCUC Superman: Red and Blue

These two characters are the perfect example of when a good idea is poorly executed. Here's what the back of his box reads:

The funny thing is, that's not how it happened. According to the infinite wisdom of comic books, Superman Blue (or Electric Blue Superman) came to be when Supes’ powers started “evolving” into pure energy and his body eventually became unstable. So a containment suit was used to keep him in a solid state. The result was a new costume, blue “skin” and energy based powers. Blue Supes found that he could turn these powers “off”, and that he would be completely human when that happened.

However, to make a bad idea even worse, Cyborg Superman, or Hank Henshaw, trapped Supes in an “energy containment structure” and literally dissipated him. So Hank leaves but the energy reforms moments after.

Except this time, a red stream of energy reappears in addition to the original blue stream. So both form Supermen, and both, of course, believe they were the original Superman.

Red was rash and Blue was calm, while every one of their readers (I somehow avoided being one) was bored. So what did they do? They had them collide and BOOM(s), the original Superman was back.

Despite their obviously craptastic story, the designs of the two Supermen are both actually quite appealing. And just like their characters, their DCUC toy counterparts are so wonderful, but yet so, so flawed. Just check out the melted hole bottom left of this MISB Superman Blue's "s" shield.

Even the guy who sold me this conceded that the quality control for the early DCUC waves was pretty bad, so much so that he gave me a loose Superman Blue for buying Supes Red, Blue, and Hawkgirl from him. So I was more than happy to be getting 4 figures for the price of 3. But whaddaya know, the loose Supes also had two glaring defects: A really ill-fitting seam and a warped right foot.

And the paint on these guys are also seriously not the best quality. Chipped paint/smudging/spillover near the joints and seams just make the toys a little less appealing up close.

The accessories also aren't the best, with detachable lightning for the wrists/fists that don't seem to want to stay in place for long. The lightning on their back that forms an energy 'S' shield is not removable, but you can always modify that--it'll peg on perfectly even without glue.

As for Red, he doesn't have the seam and foot problems Blue has, but he did have 2 very sticky/tight leg/hip joints. Both legs felt like their pegs weren't rotating correctly in his hip. But after much coaxing and cajoling, the left peg became unstuck. The right leg is still refusing to respond, so Superman Red is sorta lame right now.

But I understand these problems are inherent to the early waves of this line, and these guys being wave 2 figures, would suffer from an ailment or two. Because honestly, even with all the defects, I still found posing/playing with them quite enjoyable.

And while Red is the rarer variant of the two, both of them are not just straight repaints. In fact, Blue's head looks like the standard Supes head sculpted with headgear and hair. Red's hair is similarly sculpted, but he's got a grimace on his face that makes him unique when compared to all the other DCUC Supermen (Blue suit original, Black Suit, and Brianiac 2-pack).

Now, why couldn't they use this face sculpt for one of the other Supermen? The dopey face on long-haired versions works on Superman Blue, but on the rest, the expression just seems so lost. It's so much better when an action figure has an opinion, in this case a facial opinion. :P






Time to rate 'em both!

Aesthetics: 8.5/10 - The points here are for the bold colours and the design of the character. The sculpt is also excellent. I'm particularly pleased by the differing heads. But poor paint, dodgy seams and chips/spill overs bring this score down.

Poseability: 9/10 - Like it or not, they're DCUC figures, and these have standards, like the 23 points of articulation. The only bad thing for these guys is Red's stuck left/hip. I may have to perform surgery. :(

Fun: 9.5 - One without the other would just be very meh. But both of 'em together--Are you kidding? :) They make for great posing opposite one another.

Value: 8/10 - If I had known that the quality of these early waves are as bad they are, I might have held off on getting these two. But they were a good deal and S$55 for 2, ONLY if they didn't have major flaws. But in this case my MISB Blue has a serious hole on his costume, and his replacement had seam trouble at the thigh. Red's got bigger issues with the unrelenting right leg joint.

And while it's cool to have the electric "S" shields on their backs, it would've been much cooler if they weren't glued on.

Overall: 8.75 - I really like this toy. But somehow, every time I play with it I seem to notice a new flaw, a paint chip here, a smudge there. The wrist lightning issue is also really a problem for me. I mean, who likes equipment that keeps falling out of they're hands. And I'm also thinking it's no fun to get one of these Supes without the other. They should have done them both as a 2 pack exclusive somewhere. But as is, if you can still find 'em, you should grab 'em, especially the Superman fans!

(The Death of) DC Super Heroes Superman

Well okay, I didn't really kill him or anything. Really. But after finally hunting him down for a really good price and from a guy who kept him in loose but excellent condition, I sorta, well, injured Superman.

Since I'd found the perfect Superman sculpt in DCSH Variant Black 'S' Supes, I was sorta on the lookout for the original, yellow 'S' fig which was hard to find for 2 reasons: the DCSH line ended some time ago (like 5 years give or take) and because it seemed like Mattel sent more villains here to Singapore than Supermen. Hence a reasonably priced original Superman was tough to come by.

By lo and behold my patience was rewarded after 6 months when Mark decided to sell off his Superman collection on Ebay Singapore. I managed to benefit form this by bagging MISB DCSH Steel variant and Cyborg Superman on top of original Supes for a really, really good price. He's still got a whole bunch of DC Direct Supermen on sale so go to his seller's page to get 'em fast!

I was thrilled to have finally added the original Supes to my collection, and so I up and happily started shooting photos of him.

But alas, as he was winding up for a mighty blow on Kalibak there, I over-wound his arm and his shoulder got scratched/cut by the harder plastic of his arm-hole (right about at the chest).

My heart sunk and I thought, that never happens with my Variant Black 'S' Supes, so I went and tried winding up his arm as well--and almost did as much damage to him.

The moral of the story? After you play with a whole bunch of 3.75" figures like GI Joes and Marvel Universe figs, please be gentle with your larger scale ones. The little fellas are WAY more flexible than 6" DCSH/DCUC figs. Yep.

The good thing that came out of this is that I now also know that DCUC figures are made of better quality plastic than DCSH. Why? Because my DCUC Green Lantern also had some scuffs from a fair amount of posing, but it took some looking before I noticed the slight amount of wear in the same area of his shoulder as Supes.

The other good thing is that I now have a better feel of how new toys are not necessarily improvements of old ones. For example, the new DCUC black suit Supes may have the same shoulders as any of the DCSH Supermen, but they have a smaller, narrower chest.

Aesthetically, DCSH Supes still beats DCUC (from hair, to face, to jaw-line, to eyes, to expression). The skin tone is also more natural and pleasing to the eye.










Black 'S' Supes/ Yellow S Supes/ Black Suit Supes

I also noticed that between black variant and yellow 'S' Supes there are also subtle differences. The eyes, for one, are red on black 'S' but ice blue on yellow 'S'. And though Supes has baby blues, somehow the red eyes seem to fit better on a figure, they're somehow more piercing, viewed from near or far. His skin tone is also slightly more tan on black 'S', giving him more of a summer tan look. The biggest difference though, is the lighter, more comic book accurate blue of yellow 'S'. So while yellow 'S' is more of a classic look, black 'S' is a grim, darker variation.

But both are equally awesome, whether beating up on Kalibak...















Or fighting off Brainiac.


















So here's how I rate DCSH Original Yellow 'S' Superman.

Aesthetics: 10/10 - hands down the best Superman 6" scale action figure out there. He even has sculpted lines for his underwear. The DCUC versions don't. What can I say? Underpants beats no underpants when flying outdoors. ;)

Poseability: 9/10 - Still good, but defnitely not on the level of 3.75" Joes or Marvel Universe Heroes. Gotta be careful not to over-extend him again. :(

Fun: 9.5/10 - Lots to be had here still, especially with his cape which is long enough for him to do some off-balance poses, such as landing or taking off.

Value: 9/10 - Get him if you can find him for S$20 of below. If MISB, he'll come with a diorama stand made of some thick folded cardboard which'll make him look like he busted outta some chains.

Overall: 9.4/10 - Hey, it's Supes! I just can't wait till they come up with a DCUC Martian Manhunter and my Magnificent Seven Lineup will be complete. Ok so I need Aquaman too. But who doesn't? :P