So, have we left you waiting long enough? Do you really want to know who made it into the Top Ten after all of this time? Has the oath of the Brown Lantern Corps gotten in the way of your need to know who placed in the Top Ten as soon as possible? Well, we finally have the results for you. Like always there were some expecteds and some surprises in the results. You know the drill, read on to find out who took the coveted top spots!
So, how should we do this? Top spot first? Tenth place first? Collect and Connect? Hmm… Spin the wheel… round and round… what do we have? Collect and Connect first! Here we go!
Up to this point in the Fwoosh DCUC Top Tens, our most accurate gauge for predicting up-coming figures has been in the Collect and Connect category. We picked Grundy, Atom Smasher, Giganta, so we have a pretty good record going. Now the pink bulldog of the Green Lantern Corps has taken the top spot and he is rumored for the Collect and Connect figure in series eleven. Will this prove to be true? I don’t know but I can tell you this- Kilowog is a much needed figure and the timing could not be better. Fwoosh Sense tingling!
With the onset of this summer’s huge comic even Blackest Night, the Green Lantern Corps has never been so much in the spotlight. Over the years the GL drill sergeant Kilowog has been a favorite of poozers all over the universe- and with good cause. The only way Mattel will do him justice is to release him as a Collect and Connect figure and his alien physiology is right up the Four Horsemen’s alley. So, while the emotion of the Green Lanterns is willpower, I am going to side with Saint Walker the Blue Lantern and hope that we do, in fact, see Kilowog soon as a Collect and Connect.
I’m sorry, I must have something in my eye… I am so proud of all of the little Fwooshers. We did it! Liberty Belle has cracked the Top Ten!
A stalwart of the new generation of the Justice Society of America, Jesse Quick, aka Mrs. Hourman, has quickly become a strong (quite literally) female character on a tradition-rich team. A bit of a dark horse, this is just the kind of fan-favorite character we need to show Mattel that we want and that they need to step up and make. While she does not don the normal superheroine costume of a skin-tight unitard, Liberty Belle certainly has one of the most unique, and most toy-etic costumes, in all of the DC Universe.
We have gotten off to a great start with our Justice League collection- we have members of the Satellite team, the International era and the modern team, but we have just begun to scratch the surface of the JSA. The modern incarnation is red hot right now and we need characters like Liberty Belle, Damage, Stargirl and Cyclone to make our collections complete. Jesse here would make a great start to the new guard, let’s make it so, Matty! (that way we can get to Cyclone ASAP!)
One punch! One punch! Oh man, the GL with more personality in one pinky than the rest of the Corps combined, Guy Gardner comes into the Top Ten in any way he feels like, except for subtly, of course. The Lantern with an International flair would make a much-welcomed addition to the Blue and Gold corner of the display, every incarnation of The League needs a green space cop.
Thus far we only have Hal (though John is heavily rumored for series eleven) so that leaves the field of Lanterns wide open, getting Guy sooner than later would be a welcome treat, not only to fill out the Corps, but to also provide an adequate punching bag for your Classic Detective Batman. The only question that remains is whether to go with the classic bowl cut or the modern fade-thingee. Eh, why settle for one when we can have both? Just make sure you put him in a series with Fire and Ice. Speaking of…
Well, the love of Guy Gradner’s life, Ice, comes in one spot ahead of him in the vote- it is like it was meant to be! Teammates in JLI, soul mates in life and death, there is no one in the DCU that Ice has a longer and more storied past with… Eh? What’s that? Fire? We have a Top Ten with Ice and not Fire? Who the heck let that happen? Peanut butter without jelly? Milk without cookies? Cinnamon without Sugar? How did we come to this? Missed it by *this* much. Well, what is done is done and we can only look forward, so let’s focus on Tora for now.
We have only ever gotten one [semi] six-inch figure of Ice and really, that was not in the costume that most geeks wanted. Ice has been a favorite in the DCU since the early 1980s and fans have been waiting for the definitive figure of her for a long time so it is time for you to step up to the plate, Matty. Let loose your Horsemen and bring us the first half of DC’s most hot and cold duo.
It started with Captain Atom. The we added the Blue Beetle. Soon we will have our fan-favorite voted figure of the Question. The next spot on the Steve Ditko DC All-Stars line-up is demanded for the Creeper! One of the most unusual characters conceived by one of comicdom’s most elusive creators, Jack Ryder has been on and off of Mattel’s radar since the days of DC Superheroes.
I remember way back when, we heard rumors of the Creeper’s inclusion in the DC line at Comic-Con one year, and then nothing the next. Then there were online rumors again, but nothing as of the 2009 New York Comic Con. What is a fanboy to believe? We know that DC Direct has a Creeper figure scheduled for later this year, maybe that is the cause of the delay, but I know this: it is time, Mattel. It is likely that if this Top Ten makes and impact it won’t be until late 2010, early 2011 so that is long enough to wait for the Creeper. The fans have spoken, we don’t want to wait anymore.
You can be a trend follower or a trend setter. Raven is most certainly a trend setter. She was totally Emo before there was even a concept of the sub-culture, let alone a name. The moody magic user of the Teen Titans has had a rough past- hey, it ain’t no picnic having Trigon for a father, but she has remained a tried and true member of the #1 teenaged super team.
Thus far we have gotten Cyborg, Starfire and Kid Flash- along with Beast Boy, Raven is certainly the biggest name yet to be done. Back when we had our poll, the classic purple costume version was certainly the most popular, but a version of her white costume would be an easy variant. Let’s continue to build our Titans and add Raven to the ranks.
Aztek? In the Top Ten? Surely there could not be one single driving force behind getting this dead, Grant Morrison-created figure in here could there? Hmm… we will just have to chalk this up to a fluke. Maybe.
But let’s face facts, even with his fairly brief turn in the Justice League, Uno here would make for one really cool figure. White and shiny gold would add a lot of variety to the shelf. While he died in the events of World War III, I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to a hero than to be immortalized in DCUC plastic. That solemn sacrifice should be the driving force behind getting a figure. That or getting Piffy to stop screaming AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZTEK! At every turn. Take your pick.
We are getting her. Oh baby, are we ever getting her.
Girl power continues to rock the upper echelon of the Top Ten and we come to our first Bat-Baddie in Dr. Pamela Isley. A long-standing thorn (Ha!) in the side of Batman, this floronic female has been a member of the Suicide Squad, Secret Society and Injustice Gang since her introduction in 1966. She has paid her dues and deserves a good action figure.
The fans seem to be split in the preferred version however- do you like the caucasian incarnation or the green-skinned femme fatale better? Why pick when we can get a variant version from Mattel?
Mmmm… Catman. Yes! We are getting Deadshot in series nine, now we need his hetero life-partner, Thomas Blake. A huge fan favorite thanks in no small part to Gail Simone and the Secret Six book, Catman was unfortunately defeated by the Question (recount!) in the first DCUC Fan Choice Poll. That does not discourage the Fwoosh-lot however, and we are making it clear: Catman is a must! And soon!
Yes it is true, Catman was a bit of a joke Bat-Rogue for decades, but we got Killer Moth in series 6 and Thomas has his mojo really working right now. Plus, I don’t think there is one single character left to be done out there that would collectively quiet the Fwoosh staff faster than Catman, plus he is easy to make. All work and no Catman makes Robokillah a dull boy. Catman!
Ah yes, another runner-up to the Question in the Fan’s Choice Poll, Helena (possibly in Bertonelli or Wayne flavors) here was no real surprise to make it into the Top Ten.
Let’s face it, she is tough, sexy and doesn’t really play well with others. Fanboys just hate that. The toughest choice here is not whether to make a Huntress figure, but to decide what costume she should be sporting. We might be able to get a variant situation going, perhaps that could score us the Earth-2 version, but what would that leave for the standard? The modern costume that makes most functional sense or the Jim Lee *ahem* designed version that Oracle loves to make of. The choice seems simple. For both sides.
Batman, Red Tornado, Aquaman, Firestorm, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Atom, Superman, Hawkman, Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow and Black Canary. That is thirteen characters of the Satellite era of the Justice League (arguably the most recognizable line-up) in just nine short series. It is no wonder that Zee is sitting at the top spot, she is probably the most well-known, far-traveled member of that team yet to be made (all due respect to the Martian Manhunter). The mistress of magic has been loved by fandom for decades so there is certainly a strong contingency that would fully support a figure from the skilled hands of the Four Horsemen.
Like Huntress though, the true question comes to which costume she should be wearing. The most iconic is by far the top hat and tux tails look, but the George Perez designed costume is the one she wore in the aforementioned Satellite JLA. So, it is clear that we want Zatanna on our shelves, now it is time to let Matty know which version we want the most. I am sure there is a thread topic somewhere in there, but I am tired of typing so I will leave it for someone else.
Well kids, that does it. After we made you wait forever, your choices are now known. Thanks for taking the time to read this, now there is room for much debate. I was really glad to see some of the surprises like Liberty Belle, Creeper and Catman, but at the same time, I get the feeling we will be seeing characters like Zatanna and Huntress until they are announced for the line. If that doesn’t come at SDCC 2009 don’t worry- we will get another Top Ten going right after that!
[Edit – full results added – Ron]
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