After taking a week off due to a little annual event called Toy Fair, we are back to archiving the most definitive DC action figure line to ever come along, DC Universe Classics. As luck would have it, it is time to start on Series 2! Let’s not, ahem, monkey around — time to get to it!
Way back at SDCC 2007, Mattel did not allow their DC panel to conclude with the simple announcement of the DCUC line, they had to tease the second series as well. The line-up was most certainly fan and Super Powers-service again, but I have to admit, despite getting characters like Orion and Etrigan in the first wave, I walked out of that conference room even more excited for the second series — not that I was wishing away the first.
Firestorm was certainly one of the characters that I was dying to see in his full glory (the SDCC tease only included close up of the figure’s chest), and the characters had not really had a good action figure since his incarnation in the aforementioned Super Powers line. The Firestorm character was actually pretty, ahem, hot at the time, too, but not for the classic Ronnie Raymond version. No, the new Firestorm, Jason Rusch was being pushed pretty hard by DC at the time as the next generation for the character, but little did we know at SDCC, this would have an impact on the figure as well.
Because the new Firestorm was getting all the press at the time, but with DCUC being a fan line, this character offered our first actual variant figure in the entire DCUC line. That modern Red Tornado was never released and we never actually saw the rumored “Kirby” Etrigan, so Mattel decided to give Jason and Ronnie an even split variant with the former actually considered to be standard figure. Jason’s bio featured on the back of the packaging so it Mattel was able to push a current character while still giving us classic fans our original Firestorm in Ronnie. This (at least, fairly) even split variant idea turned out to work rather well throughout the course of the DCUC line and while some variants were harder to find than others, I don’t remember ever having a dreadful time getting what I needed to remain a completist with the line.
Vital Statistics
Figure: Firestorm (Jason Rusch)
Company: Mattel
Design: Four Horsemen Studios
Order: DC Universe Classics Series 2, Figure 1
Release: 2008 (March)
Collect & Connect Piece: RIGHT LEG of Gorilla Grodd
Accessories: Atomic Effect
Scale: 1:12
MSRP: $9.99
Variant: Classic (Ronnie Raymond)
Articulation
- Ball-Joint Head
- Neck Peg
- Ball-Joint Shoulder (x2)
- Biceps Swivel (x2)
- Elbow Hinge (x2)
- Wrist Twist (x2)
- Abdominal Hinge
- Waist Twist
- Hip Hinge (x2)
- Hip Cut (x2)
- Thigh Swivel (x2)
- Knee Hinge (x2)
- Ankle Hinge (x2)
TOTAL: 22 Points of Articulation
Background Information
For all intents and purposes, the final Firestorm figures were pretty typical for the DCUC line. That does not mean that they were not without controversy, though and even though fans were fairly warm to the variant idea to get more characters, the execution was not without its challenges. Since Jason was the standard figure, the sculpting for the figure favorite his costume details, which, while similar, did divert from Ronnie’s simpler get-up. This did cause a bit of a dust-up for things like the gloves not being 100% true to Ronnie, but the chatter eventually died down and I think in the end, most collectors regarded both version of the character a success.
Another interesting piece of the story of this figure is that when it was debuted in full (in the prototype stage), the Ronnie Raymond head sculpt was universally hated, pretty much right away. The first pass at the head featured Ronnie with a screaming expression, something that was a bit out of sync for the character, but also a trait that is not usually smiled upon in a collector line. Here is the original:
However, in gutsy and pretty much since then, unheard of move, Mattel and the Four Horsemen went back to the drawing board and created a new head with a more passive and character appropriate expression. This new head would be what was used on the final Ronnie Raymond figure, and fans were instantly pleased. Looking back on it now, it almost seems crazy that the collector base was able to impact change in a line like this, and so quickly. We have since been told that by the time a figure is shown, even in prototype form, it is basically too late to make any changes. This behemoth of a line was in its infancy at the time though, so the powers that be knew it had to be a success, and this change really helped to foster that early on.
After Words
Firestorm has never been a favorite character of mine, but I remember finding myself a bit surprised with how much I ended up liking these figures. The translucent “head fire” looks great on both figures and the included atomic fist effects remain a very nice touch. While most of DCUC has remained iconic, Jason Rusch has kind of fallen into obscurity by today’s standards, but Ronnie remains as iconic as ever standing with the rest of the JLA on my shelf. That is the great thing about action figures though, even if a character is not currently featured in some sort of media, you always have them in your world.
Even though there was some initial fear that having series one of DCUC hanging on the pegs for awhile, it did eventually sell through and series two was released in pretty rapid succession. It is strange to think that an action figure line hit its stride with just the second wave, but DCUC did and this Gorilla Grodd wave really started to open the flood gates in terms of fan-demanded characters. Firestorm offered a lot of firsts for the line as well and the fan’s ability to affect change brought a lot of hope to the future of the line.
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