DCUC Series 5 is starting to show up at Walmarts across the country and I found my set earlier in the week. While not my favorite DCUC wave, I still found a lot to like about this set of figures. For more opinion and pics, read on…
I think that I should probably state upfront that I am a huge fan of the DCUC line. I liked DCSH very much, but I feel like Mattel and the Four Horsemen have been really firing on all cylinders since starting up DCUC. It just hits me the right way and I eagerly anticipate each new release or product announcement. That said, wave 5 has been my least anticipated wave announced so far. I think my main issue with this wave prior to release is that I don’t really love any of the announced characters. I do like the Atom and Black Lightning, but they aren’t favorites of mine. Now that I have the figures in hand, though, I find a lot to recommend here.
The Atom
The base body for this figure is Black Manta, so it has all the poseability and style of that sculpt ( a favorite of mine ). I think the Atom has the best use of the Manta body in DCUC so far. The headsculpt is quite nice and looks classically heroic. Very comic booky for sure. I think the smaller size of the head and the higher placement on the neck makes the body look more proportional than other figures using this base body. I like Hal and Nightwing from series three, but I feel like their heads were just a smidge too large and low on their necks. The final figure matches up well with his prototype and for some reason has me even more excited about how the series 7 Blue Beetle is going to turn out. Maybe it’s all the blue. The paint for the costume detail is nice and sharp and the Atom design is crisp and centered properly on his noggin.
Something to watch for – both hips on my Atom were stuck. It was a quick fix with a cup of boiling water, but I could have tore the legs off if I hadn’t noticed. Overall, very solid, if not flashy figure of a needed JLA member.
Black Lightning
If Atom is the best use of the Manta body yet, Lightning is a close second. These two are just fun to play with. Definite hand candy. Like Atom, I think Lightning’s head sits a little higher on the neck than either Green Lantern or Nightwing. I think the slight difference adds to the overall appearance of this figure. I do wonder how the clear yellow goggles we saw in the prototype would have turned out in the final figure, but I’m happy with the look of the goggles we got. I love how he looks posed with the electricity effects from Superman Blue.
The paint is good on this figure except for the yellow ‘lightning’ details on his costume. They are slightly fuzzy as if a little bit of overspray got through a paint mask. The lines are not as crisp as I am used to seeing on this toyline. It’s not horribly objectionable, though. Both hips on my Black Lightning were stuck, same as Atom. It’s an easy fix, but look out for that. Lightning makes for another solid DCUC utility figure of a cool character. I’m glad we got Jefferson so early in the line, but I do hope at some point in the next few years we can get a more classic Outsiders costume.
Eradicator
Eradicator is not a character I particularly care about one way or the other. I never read death of superman and I’ve kinda picked up what happened in that storyline through osmosis over the years. Still, I already have Cyborg Supes, Steel and pre-ordered the regeneration suit and mullet-head Superman, so I might as well complete the set (assuming we get clone Superboy at some point). I can also see the appeal to the buyers of this line of a Superman variation in the line-up. Eradicator’s base body is the same as DCUC2 Red/Blue Superman, so that’s nice for consistancy of scale.
The base body looks really nice with Eradicator’s flared cape and raised symbol. The symbol and cape are one piece of fairly hard plastic. The cape restricts the movement of his ab crunch’s backward range of motion so flying poses are pretty limited. You can get some decent poses out of him, but I really would like Mattel to focus on making these capes more flexible in the future. Robin’s from series 3 was pretty close to perfect. I love the headsculpt on this guy. It’s almost a little too stern to use as a standard Superman. He looks like he means business. It’s also cast in some of the nicest flesh colored plastic I’ve seen used in a mass market toy. The face is bare plastic, but it doesn’t really have that bad of a plasticine appearance.
The glasses are also really nicely done and fit his face perfectly. It’s a shame that they weren’t cast in the clear material like the prototype. It’s a missed opportunity for sure. I must admit, though I’m getting used to the look and I dislike it a little less the more I look at it. I had initially considered tracking down the glasses from DCD Eradicator or molding and casting the glasses in a clear plastic, but I think I can live with him as is. Overall, this figure is really growing on me and I find a lot to like, despite the obvious flaws.
Riddler
Riddler is a really nice re-use of the Clark Kent/ Two Face DCSH base body. He works pretty well here in bright green and question marks. I especially like the smirk and the exaggerated pointy chin and nose of his headsculpt. It seems fitting for the character and lends a nice ‘leapt from the comics’ feel to the figure overall. The 4H are packing a lot of personality into these headsculpts. I’m thinking I might repaint the cane a nicer gold as the gold plastic seems a little dull for my taste. This is a nice representation of this version of the character, though I do hope that they can revisit Riddler at some point down the line and make the classic costume. Preferably after they make a base body thinner than the Black Manta and a little taller than Sinestro. The head does not have a very nice range of motion due to the old DCSH headjoints, which is to be expected due to the parts re-use, but is a little annoying.
Amazo
One of the crazier costumes in comics history is well represented here with smooth and even paint application on his stripes. The skullcap and eye detail paints are also really sharp. Another great headsculpt here as Amazo looks grimly determined to bash some skulls in. The base body is the same as Eradicator and has the standard DCUC articulation. I’m having a lot of fun pitting him against my JLA figures (yeah, I play with my toys. Don’t judge me!).
Metallo
The collect and connect figure is Metallo. As with Eradicator, I don’t have any love for this character, but he is an established Superman villain, so I can see why he would be made. It really doesn’t matter to me, however, as I’d be interested in buying this figure no matter where it was released. It works for me on the ‘just a cool toy’ level. Your mileage may vary. Metallo is a really big, chunky, super-poseable evil robot action figure. What more do you need to know? Mattel did a great job getting a metallic look for the plastic on this figure. It looks like it was cast in a silver plastic and given some black airbrush lowlighting for detail. The detail paint applications on the hoses and rivits and whatnot are all nice and crisp on my figure. I really like the ab crunch articulation on this figure as well. There is side to side as well as the standard backwards and forwards range of motion. This type of ab design allows for some dynamic poses. Metallo is also pretty well balanced for his top heavy design with some large stabilizing feet. Metallo is another figure that is extremely playable. Hand candy for sure.
I’m glad I took the time to track this wave down.
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