Welcome back to another edition of Demanded Characters. One thing we have seen this month is that Darkseid surrounds himself with loyal allies and when they are not loyal he kills them. He has learned his lesson time and time again and the bulk of his support comes from a group of creatures that seem to have only one thing on their minds, to serve their master. This week we take a look at an important army builder of the DCU, the Parademons.
Last week it was a tough battle between the human look Mantis and the bug like robot Mantis, but it was clear that fans of DCUC want to see the more humanoid version more.
How do you do a biography on a group of mindless slaves? Well, it all starts with the need for an army. Darkseid could not take the chance that he would have a volunteer army so he used the lower part of his society. He trained them in the fire-pits and tortured and brain washed them until they were mindless slaves who only lived to serve lord Darkseid.
There are many subtle variations on the Parademons but there are only 3 main looks that seem to scream for figures.
The Green and Yellow:
While Darkseid and Orion like the red and blue, it seems that all of his followers at some point like green. The Parademons in the comics are very well know for their green and yellow look. While that look took a break in the 80’s to be more demon-like, it has returned today to be much more soldier-like. The uniform look of the yellow goggles and details make them into a perfect army-building figure in the DCUC. The nice thing about them is that they could be bulky like the Demon or thin like Sinestro, or a combo of the two. There is no limit to the different types we could get with this costume, and there is no doubt they are going to be multiple sellers in the line.
Red Demons:
The Parademons coming out of the 80’s really embraced the demon aspect of their name. The Horsemen would have a field day with this design, twisting and turning this group of figures into one of the most sought after figures in the line. You would have to have an army of them behind Darkseid, taking on the heroes of the DCUC. The Demon like features would be perfect for the Horsemen to sculpt. They can make them hunched like the Parasite type body, and we will not only want to build armies of them, we will need to build armies with them. Make sure to include their yellow blasters and give them wings, and you have an instant seller.
Secret Six:
The final look is something that was only briefly part of the DCU during the Infinite Crisis miniseries. The Secret Six had a Parademon who seemed to be much more than his Apokoliptian counterparts. He had a simple mind, but grew fond of Ragdoll. He was the muscle of the team and sported a slightly different look than the average Parademon. He seemed to have a smirk most of the time, showing off his personality. He wore a thick winter coat to warm him on the cold plant of Earth, which was much colder then the fire pits of Apokolips.
So what do you think: how should we see these figures?
1: Single (50/50 split)
2: Two Pack Mix (with one classic (maybe a Secret Six Variant) and one Super Powers)
3: Two Pack Solid (two classic Parademons (maybe a Secret Six Variant) or two Super Powers Parademons)
Some images courtesy of comic vine
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