Apache Chief is the collect and connect figure for this wave and I have to say he’s a great choice for this group of characters. I figure if you wanted Samurai, El Dorado and Black Vulcan you would also want an Apache Chief figure. If you really hate the other Superfriends only guys, chances are you wouldn’t have much interest in Apache Chief here either. It’s nice that they didn’t ‘force’ a comic only die-hard to buy these Superfriends characters in order to complete a comic book only collect and connect figure.
Apache Chief was one of my favorites from the old Superfriends cartoon. I was too young to be bothered by the ham-fisted stereotype inherent in his characterization nor did I consider how odd it was that this grown man was walking around with no pants.
I get the sense that the creators of this character meant no harm in his creation, but it’s a little cringeworthy to watch a Superfriends episode with Apache Chief now. Honestly, the whole show is pretty cringeworthy, but I loved it then and Apache Chief was one of my favorites. I think there’s something inherently appealing to kids about shouting a phrase to activate your super powers (Shazam!, Sho-Ryu-Ken!, whatever power rangers scream out) and I loved Inukchuk back then. I applauded when I was reading an issue of Justice League Elite and Manitou Raven shouted ‘Inukchuk!’, my nostalgia is so strong.
Accessories
He doesn’t have any, though I don’t feel like I’m missing anything he should have come with.
Sculpt
I think Apache Chief shares a lot of parts with the collect and connect figure from wave 13, Trigon. He’s a pretty fantastic translation of the design into the DCUC style and the design looks great in this form. He looks like a real bruiser and much more cool than I expected Apache Chief to look.
The boots and clothes have some texture sculpt to make them look more like leather which is a nice detail to add to this simple design.
Articulation
The articulation is the standard DCUC articulation scheme, but the good news is that none of it is hampered by the loincloth or the hair as both are cast in a nice super flexible plastic. It’s kinda crazy and a little sad how pleased I was to be able to have this figure look up. It’s a long standing issue with these figures and super articulated figures in general, so it’s gratifying to see some progress in this area.
Paint
The paint here is pretty simple but effective. The body is mostly cast in flesh tone plastic with a bit of overspray to highlight the muscles. His face is painted to match the body’s flesh tone plastic and does a decent job in that respect, though it’s a little bit glossy for my taste. I believe there is a wash on the ‘leather’ textured portions of his costume to bring out the details a bit. It’s pretty subtle.
I think a lot of the appeal here has to do with the strong design work of Alex Toth. There is something to these designs. I remember being really tempted to buy the JLU 3 pack of Apache Chief, Black Vulcan and Samurai even though I don’t care for the JLU style of figure at all because they pop so much on the shelf. As much as we mock these guys for not wearing pants (talk about a design choice that would not work at all in a live action setting), there is something cool about the designs. Perhaps it’s kitsch or nostalgia, but I think there is a little bit more too it. This wave has made me think about how cool it would be to get more Hanna Barbara Toth designed figures done in the 4H DCUC style (Herculoids, Thundarr and Space Ghost) though not in the DCUC line itself as they aren’t DC characters.
Thanks again to fwoosher TRS and ethanstoys.com for making this review possible.
Turnarounds
Previous Wave 18 reviews:
