I don’t know about you guys, but I probably put a little too much thought into my top ten picks this time of year. I always have a tough time narrowing down my picks for the DC Universe Classics line to just ten characters, so I’m going to post some articles as a way to organize my priorities and share my love of this rich universe of characters. I’ll start with a group from my favorite ongoing comic: Secret Six!
The modern incarnation of the Secret Six began their career in the Villains United mini-series written by Gail Simone. The six villains were brought together by the mysterious Mockingbird in order to combat Lex Luthor’s new Society of Super Villains.
Catman
Catman (Thomas Blake) was a formerly competent Batman rogue who had gone to seed in recent times. After a particularly humiliating defeat at the hands of Green Arrow, he retreated to the plains of Africa to try to regain some of his former pride. He does so by wandering out into lion country with little more that the clothes on his back.
The experience serves him well and he gains a pride and regains his former competence. I really like it when writers take a maligned character and rehabilitate them. The more credible threats the heroes of the DCU have to face, the more heroic they seem and Catman is portrayed here as a super competent bad-ass.
Catman is my number one priority from the six. He serves as the moral center (such as his morals are) of the team and is a big part of the book. He is also one of the constants in a team with an ever shifting roster. When they make him in DCUC, I’d like to see him come with a couple of knives and the brass knuckle type claws he uses.
Deadshot(Floyd Lawton)
Another former Bat-rogue, Suicide Squad member and Catman’s hetero life mate.
Floyd’s been around a while, but I really love how Gail is exploring the nature of his character.
If you can track down DCUC series 9, you can get a perfect version of this character. I’d still like to see an alternate headsculpt with his mask off and smoking (guy smokes like a chimney in the title), though I’m pretty sure I’ll have to customize that myself. Maybe in a box set or future Matty two pack?
Scandal Savage
The leader of the group and the daughter of long time DC villain Vandal Savage, Scandal is deadly with her wrist mounted ‘lamentation blades’. There is evidence in some of the books that she may have inherited some semblance of immortality and invulnerability from her father. Scandal would make a great looking toy and my villains shelf could use a lot more female representation. It’s also pretty cool that she is a legacy villain. Read the book, I dare you not to like her.
Ragdoll (Peter Merkel Jr.)
Another legacy villain, Ragdoll is the son of the original Ragdoll. Not gifted with his father’s triple jointed flexibility, he had numerous painful operations to replicate the original Ragdoll’s abilities. While his insanity and amorality are often played for laughs in Secret Six, in my opinion he is probably the most dangerously unpredictable member of the group.
Even if you can’t get into the character, this guy is begging to be made in toy-form. That costume and his unique physique would really pop on your shelf. I would hope they could add some more joints to this guy than the standard DCUC figure, though. Superposeability is his super power!
Parademon (Name Unknown)
Parademon is a deserter from Darkseid’s army. Mockingbird blackmailed him into serving on the team under the threat of revealing the Parademon’s location to Granny Goodnes.
But we already have a parademon, you say? Poppycock says I. Okay. That works as a decent stand in for this character, but if I had my druthers, we would get a whole new sculpt. A little variety for your parademon army can’t hurt!
Bane
The man who “broke the bat” has been an interesting addition to the Secret Six in the new ongoing series. His relationship with Scandal Savage is almost sweet (as odd as that seems) and his moral struggles with the work he does with the six is an interesting read. I’ve never been a big fan of the character, but there were a couple issues of Secret Six where I ended up cheering for the guy ( I won’t spoil it here). Although we already have a very nicely sculpted Bane figure from the old DCSH line, the articulation scheme on him is not up to the current DCUC standard. I wouldn’t mind seeing an all new body sculpt for a more modern Bane.
Cheshire (Jade Nguyen)
Long time Titans foe, Cheshire joined the six when Mockingbird threatened to kill her daughter Lian. Cheshire is probably one of the more clearly evil members of the six and is a real nasty customer. She’s been kicking around the DC universe for a while with appearances in Teen Titans and Birds of prey. I’d like to have a figure of her as one of the original modern six, but she is probably my lowest priority.
Jeanette
Jeannette is the newest member of the six and a new creation by Simone. Her history and powers were initially a bit of a mystery, more and more about her origins have been revealed in the current Secrety Six storyline that ties her to a well established DC villain and group of heroes. I love to see new blood injected into the DCU.
Don’t mess with her, or she’ll tear your arm off! I’d love to get a figure of her. She’s another unusual design (for the cape and cowl crowd anyway) that would pop on the shelf.
Knockout
Former Female Fury, Superboy villain and Suicide Squad member. That resume works for me.
Fiddler (Isaac Bowin)
Fiddler may have the worst villain name ever, but I kind of like the idea of a guy whose super power is violin. Maybe it’s just me, but I want an evil violinist on my action figure shelf. Though he didn’t serve long on the six, he does have a very long history in the DCU mostly as a Jay Garrick flash villain and that counts for something in my book.
The Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch)
This guy has been around forever and is a grade A premium crazy Bat-rogue. His time on the six only deepened my appreciation for the character. He’s one of the few substantial Bat villains left to do for the DCUC line.
Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel)
Harley briefly served with the team, but we already have a pretty much perfect DCUC version of her. Ebay prices for that figure are pretty decent now.
If you are interested in reading more about the secret six, most of their stories have been collected in the following trade paperbacks:
- Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) – Collects the first miniseries
- Secret Six: Six Degrees of Devastation – Collects the second miniseries
- Birds of Prey Vol. 7: Dead of Winter – Collects their Birds of Prey Crossover
- Secret Six: Unhinged – Collects the first story arc of the ongoing series. The series is in the middle of the second story arc currently.