Oh, you laugh at Aquaman, do you? How completely unoriginal! No, all goading aside, there is nary a comic book character who has suffered as much misplaced roasting as Arthur Curry. To actually know the character, you realize that he is pretty much a badass who just happens to be able to talk to fish, but don’t forget — sharks are fish, too. So, it is only appropriate that a fantastic character gets an equally fantastic action figure, and moreso than any time before, DC Universe Classics turned Aquaman into a plastic greatness.
Yeah, I might be a little biased for the character, but for some reason, I have always been an Aquaman fan. I am sure it hearkens all the way back to the Super Powers days, but even that notwithstanding, I have never really gotten why it is so choice to make fun of Aquaman. Something tells me that the Four Horsemen feel the same way because, even in the infancy of the DCUC line, they seemed determined to give us the end-all Aquaman figure that could stand toe to toe with any DC character that Classics could offer.
Sure, Classic Detective Batman was the foundation of the first series, and possibly the line as whole, but when series two needed the “anchor” character, Mattel had the entire starting roster of the JLA at their disposal, and they went with Aquaman (and I say that knowing full well a version of Superman was also included in this wave). Now, we could speculate all day as to why they decided to go in that direction, but I personally feel it was due to the strength of the actual figure. Due to his costume design, the figure actually needed a good deal of new parts to satisfy the “scale mail” shirt and calf fins, but since they were able to squeeze a variant into the mix as well, it helped spread some of the money around.
However, it all starts with the head sculpt and to this day, I think the classic Aquaman interpretation is one of the best of the entire line, not only for the quality of work, but for the attitude and emotion it puts forth. This Arthur is handsome, stern, and well, cool. The sculpt has all of the classic traits, such as the blonde hair and square jaw, but the 4H gave him a bit of majesty that is completely appropriate to the character, but often furloughed with his action figures. Sure, the argument could be made that the head is *slightly* undersized in the production, but not by much, and aside from that, I find it to be pretty much perfection.
Vital Statistics
Figure: Aquaman (Arthur Curry/Orin)
Company: Mattel
Design: Four Horsemen Studios
Order: DC Universe Classics Series 2, Figure 2
Release: 2008 (March)
Collect & Connect Piece: RIGHT ARM of Gorilla Grodd
Accessories: Trident
Scale: 1:12
MSRP: $9.99
Variant: Modern (Arthur Joseph Curry)
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
Like all of the series two figures, Aquaman was teased at SDCC 2007 with a quick look at his chest. Speculation began to fly almost immediately. There was the question about how the figure would look overall, but the specific version of the character, and costume choices were debated early on. For the former, it turned out that we would actually get TWO versions of Aquaman in this assortment and the modern version was included as well. There are a few costume changes here and there (bracers instead of gloves, no black shorts), but the biggest difference was (obviously) the new head sculpt. Personally, I was never overly fond of this version anyhow and the head is certainly not as strong as the classic iteration so I am glad that the aesthetic balance was shifted the way it was.
Now, if I am remembering correctly, and I might not be, so please correct me if I am wrong, there was some initial talk about the modern version of the character being the standard figure in the assortment with the better-known classic falling to the variant slot, but that was changed prior to the release. Aside from the overall strength of the iconic figure, I think Mattel was finally clearing out any hesitation about the target audience of this line with the release of series two. Sure, the packaging bore the “Adult Collector” tag from the very beginning, but shifting towards iconic character versions ahead of the modern showed a willingness to “give the people what they want” and that is not always the case with a mass-distributed line.
Sure the iconic version helped continue the Super Powers theme, but there was no denying that Aquaman was tagged as one of (if not THE) best DCUC figures in the short life of the line, and classic Art quickly became a real bugaboo to find on the retail shelves. Sure, there might have been a little chatter about his neckline and belt buckle accuracy, but by and large, he was pretty universally hailed. If I had to pick one spot about the release I was not crazy about it would be the trident, but that is only because I would have personally wanted a plainer version. The detail in the accessory is pretty fantastic and while it was an interpretive take, it certainly has a menacing quality to it.
After Words
When I found Aquaman on the pegs at Target, he instantly became my favorite figure released thus far in the DCUC line. Sure, we were only two waves in, but to this day, he remains squarely in my top five for the line all-time. He had a LOT of stiff competition for a spot like that throughout the course of the line, so that is some pretty high praise. Like I said, his head might be a little small, but I don’t find that it detracts from the figure much, if at all. Additionally, this figure gave me some clarity around the fact that I had never owned a really good Aquaman toy. Ever. So, any time you can get the best figure of a character with any one release, that is something worth commenting on.
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