DC Universe Classics Green Lantern Wave 2: Medphyll and Naut Kei Loi

It's only 8 days to go till the Green Lantern Movie hits the screens over in this part of the world!  And that means I'm about to fail my objective of reviewing all my DCUC Green Lantern Wave figures. Hah!  But look!--I got one more of 'em done over at Articulated Discussion.

So head on over there to check out what the Green Lantern Corps is offering on ts lunch menu--that's right, raw Broccoli and boiled fish!  Bleargh!  But I'm sure it's safe to say that this is one instance where the toy might taste better than the actual...uh...characters. What the hell am I talking about?  I don't know either!  So scoot!!! ;P

Sneak Review: DC Universe Classics Wave 17 Star Sapphire Wonder Woman!

Most of fandom is kinda outraged at Wonder Woman's recent costume change from the classic look to the blue long johns. Well ok, mainly people dislike it, with a few fans lukewarm and even less saying it's a good look.  But I know one thing's for sure--if Wonder Woman had ditched her old costume for the one she's wearing on this figure, all of you would've approved.  Well, most of you anyway. 

Yes, Star Sapphire Wonder Woman has even less on than when she isn't championing the pink light of passion.  And while it may make some of us bleed from the nose and smoke from our ears, you can only get a good look at photos and read a review right now, because Wave 17 has another 2-3 months before it hits the stores.

But is scantily-clad-pink-Diana-Space-faring Wonder Woman worth the investment?

Let's find out!

DC Universe Classics Green Lantern Wave 2: Star Sapphire Carol Ferris

Boy that's gotta be the longest name for a toy I've reviewed yet!

So Brightest Day has just ended with the ***Spoiler Alert*** return of Swamp Thing and John Constantine to the mainstream DC Universe. ***End of Spoiler***  But the DCUC figures of Blackest Night Characters have only just hit the shelves last month.

Well, I just managed to get my hands on the complete Wave 2 of the GL 2 Series and what a wave it is!  Pity it'll be the last totally Green Lantern themed wave.  The great thing?  We get some brand new characters for the DCUC line!  And Carol Ferris is one of them.

So how well did Star Sapphire turn out?  Head on over to Articulated Discussion for the review!

Sneak Review: DC Universe Classics Wave 17 Blue Lantern Flash!

Well, it's a regular Flee Market Sunday down at local toy hub here in Singapore and I'm thinking about not going because I'd woken up late.  The baby was a little restless and kept us both up the night before.  Also, I'd just have maybe over an hour of browsing time before I had to head back towards home for Church.  I also was reluctant to leave the wife and son home alone for to long--I guess I'm terribly fond of them both.;)

But having freed all my unopened my Justice League stuff from their plastic prisons and set 'em up nicely in one of my smaller cubby hole shelves, I was inspired to look for the missing figures I'd forgotten I didn't have.  Guys like the Question, Ice and Fire, Galatea, and most of the bad guys.  But what I found instead was that DCUC Wave 17 (The deputy Blackest Night Lantern wave) had hit the stores.

Well, actually, the loose figures had.  And they were more like tables than stores, really.  Yes, those figs that don't make QC had reached the hands of those regular flee-marketers. And not being particularly keen on the Anti-Monitor Collect n Connect figure, I jumped at the chance to get Blue Lantern Flash and Star Sapphire Wonder Woman for S$12 (US$9) apiece!  I'd also have gotten the rest of the wave loose but those weren't anywhere in sight.  But I also did manage to snag myself a shiny Hal Hordan from the Hal vs Thaal Sinetro 2-pack, as well as a spare Skallox for when my DCUC GL Wave 2 comes in this week (So I'd have a spare body for Night-Lik.)

So how did (QC fail) Blue Lantern Flash turn out?

Masters of the Universe Classics Eternian Palace Guards

No namers.  Minions.  Collateral damage!  D-listers.  Calefare (meaning bit part actor--and hence expendable--in the Chinese dialect of Cantonese...)

But we love them all, whether they are Stormtroopers, Rebel Commandos, Iron Man 2 Assault Drones, or COBRA Troopers!  Without them, the Empire would be an empty place, Justin Hammer wouldn't know what to do with his time, and GI Joes would have no one to warm up on before laying the smack down COBRA Commander.

Without the Eternian Palace Guards, who would Prince Adam get to do his bidding?  Who would go to the Burger King drive thru for King Randor?  Who would Man-at-Arms get to boss around?

But that's not why we love them so.  We love them to bits because they lack star power.  The toymakers, feeling bad for these poor fops, make up for their lack of charisma with...tons of accessories!  (And lots of new tooling.  Ok, maybe not the Stormtroopers but ya get what I mean. ;])  Just check out GI Joe's Pit Commando.  Or the tooling on Iron Man 2's Ground Assault Drones.  Heck, the Eternian Palace Guards are no different!

In fact, they might even be better, lots better...more after the jump!

DC Universe Classics Green Lantern Wave 1: Kyle Rayner

Seriously, how many DCUC figure come with big swords?  None.  None, except Kyle Rayner here.  But what's truly impressive is the amount of work that's gone into making sure a top notch accessory came out right.  And I guess that's all we as fans ask for: quality.  We don't need a bunch of crude constructs packed in with figures (though that would beat no constructs at all), we just need one; one with quality and that will excite our imaginations.  And that's just what (wrong as it sounds) Kyle's big sword does--Excite us!

Kyle is Figure 1 in Wave 1 of the DCUC Green Lantern Series.  I hear that the series will last all of 2 waves, but I have a feeling Mattel has more planned for our Emeral heroes and their enemies in upcoming DCUC spin-off waves. DCUC GL 1 is the first wave I pre-ordered in its entirety--I liked the characters, I liked the new articualtion, and I liked the Collect and Connect figure.  How could I pass it up?

Unfortunately, it's also the first wave I'm paying the new higher retail price for, having cherry picked in past waves and/or holding back till I found the figures I wanted for reasonable prices. This wave cost me S$35 (US$25) a figure, bringing the total to S$210 ($150).  But thanks to Vincent at Toyrealm, I managed to get 'em at S$30 (US$21.40) a piece!

So how did Kyle do as the first figure of the series? Well let's see!

Sneak Review: Green Lantern Movie Masters 6" Hal Jordan!

I was at the local weekly toy "flea" market last week and guess what had hit the streets?  All right, so it's in the title of this review but hey, I had to set the stage somehow, right? ;P

Well, Dave from Davestoylet had his usual table/booth set up at China Square Central and besides the whole host of the latest loose DC Universe figures, packaged GI Joes and MOTU Classics figures, he had his newest offerings: Toys 'R' Us Exclusive Green Lantern Movie Masters 6" figures of Hal Jordan, Rot Lop Fan (gotta love that name) and Tomar Re!

But instead of trying to sell me the figures, he tosses me one of the Hals and asks me to review it--I jump at the chance because these haven't been released.  So here it is, my first ever "sponsored" review, a loose but exclusive movie Hal Jordan!

DC Universe Classics Wave 16: The Riddler

Riddle me this: What's one of six in 16 and all about the tricks?

Who's the only on-screen super-villain that will ever be played by Jim Carrey?

What's neon green and and has 51 question marks all over?


THE RIDDLER!!!

This was the only figure that interested me in Wave 16--this and Robin, ah, the super articulated, muscle-bound and curly-haired Robin.  Gotta love how his lack of pants indicated he was a superhero sidekick, just like all the other sidekicks back then: Aqualad, Wondergirl, Bucky, and Chewbacca.

But I digress...

I picked the Riddler up for S$30 (US$23) after a discount from Vincent at Toyrealm.  Real nice guy and a great store at China Square Central to get stuff from hereabouts in Singapore. And I'm glad to say the Riddler didn't disappoint!

On to the review!

DC Universe Classics Green Lantern Wave 1: Black Hand

Creepy.

The Black Hand just gives the word new meaning.

If you've read Blackest Night, you'd know what I mean.  The whole story is really about him.  Not Hal Jordan, not Nekron, and not the Flash, though they all do play major roles.  Wanting to bring peace to the universe by killing everyone?  Keeping everyone "alive" after death so that they'll enjoy this "peace" with him?  Ideas of a madman.  A madman named the Black Hand.

And while he was just a bit-part villain before having his origin rewritten, he's now a major baddie with even more major issues like necrophilia and believeing death to be the ultimate peace.

So it is fitting that he ends up as a part of the 1st wave of DCUC Green Lantern Series.

Chase Pics: Battle Cat - The Alternative Mode of Transportation

I just love Battle Cat!  I'm sure those of you who picked him up while you could also do.  I reviewed him yesterday and if you haven't seen it yet, I took a whole bunch of pics because he looks simply astounding, especially with He-Man.

In fact, he looks so awesome with He-Man that I wanted to put other guys on him and shoot the photos.  But that would've made the review a lot longer and I didn't want to have to try and squeeze all the pics in.

So naturally, I took more pictures of him, this time with different riders.  Here they are! (After the jump. ;])

The New Family Pet: Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat!

When Battle Cat was first released, I hadn't gotten on the MOTUC rain quite yet.  I'd been eyeing a He-Man, any He-Man, because I wanted to have the icon himself and no other figure.  He had always been my favourite character after all--not just for the Masters of the Universe brand, but also across all toys and characters.

So naturally, I missed out on ol' B'Cat.

Almost an entire year and a few MOTC figures later (including Adam, King Grayskull, He-Ro, and He-Man himself), I knew I had to have the world's most famous green cat. So naturally, I jumped at the chance when Matty Collector put him on their Cyber Monday Sale for the 29th of November last year!

But in all honesty, I thought ol' B'Cat would've flown off the virtual shelf once the sale opened, so I wasn't holding out much hope that I'd be able to get him at all.  Add to that the numerous problems Matty reportedly have on sales days and I pretty much was prepared to not have Battle Cat at all.

To my surprise, I managed to get to the order page,put in my order, and get the confirmation email relatively easily. There wasn't the dreaded "Red Wall of Reload."

Also, I'd thought Battle Cat would make an excellent Christmas present for the Rangerlord, and since I'd always wanted to get the DC Universe Classics Color of Fear 2-pack set, I was thrilled at having completed my order.  Huzzah!

Five weeks later and out of the country for my honeymoon, the package still hadn't arrived.  But on the Monday of week six, I get a text from my in-laws that it had arrived.  According to the mailing labels on the box, it had been to Germany and France before arriving in Singapore?  What did that mean?  I didn't care!  I still don't!  Battle Cat was here!  Double Huzzah!  Of course I had to wait till the following week when I returned home before cracking him open, but it was well worth the wait.  Let's have a look-see, shall we? :)

Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Armor He-Man!

I've been wanting to get my hands on this guy ever since the announced they were going to make him.  But a combination of so-so reviews--the lack of accessories, the switchable plates instead of a revolving chest cylinder, and his limited articulation kinda threw a spanner in the works for me.  For the same price I'd be able to get figures like Mer-Man, COunt Marzo, Keldor, and Prince Adam, all of whom came with a ton more stuff.  So I held out until...

Two weekends ago at the Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention (STGCC fer short), I finally gave in at a good price.  I have to confess, he was my favorite He-Man growing up because he'd never lose his armor--the original He-Man's harness would always snap at the catch on the back and as a result, I'd have a regular half-naked guy as my hero.  Not a good deal.

As it turns out, BA He-Man was a fave among lots of MOTU fans too, except the Rangerlord.  But we can forgive him because he gave in to his MOTUC urges and added original He-Man to his Man-At Arms at STGCC.  (Don't worry bro, it's a decision you will not regret.)  ;)  :P  :D.

So how did Battle Armor He-Man fare when he was put up to the Chase Variant review panel? (That's me.)  Find out after the jump!

DC Universe Classics Wave 1: The Demon!

Reaching to past figures from DCUC,

To review this figure finally.

Had him now for many months,

Always close to opening him but never took the chance.

So in my new den, I've taken him out of package,

To play around with, and bring you some photo-age.

The Demon, Etrigan, his name might be,

But Jason Blood is his human reality.

Say this rhyme he does to change,

From human form to the occult, strange:

"Gone, gone the face of Man,
Rise the Demon Etrigan!"

A weird minor comic book character he might be,

Rising to prominence in JLU Animated on TV.


A favorite of mine he's been since then,

Especially in an episode when,

He becomes a little baby,

And helps the Justice League defeat Mordred and his Mommy.

So how does he fair from paper to silver screen to plastic?

Click onwards to see the embed and more, I also threw in some comics!

Why I didn't Open It Earlier: DC Universe Classic Wave 11 Shark

Reason: Seriously?  Was there even a reason to open him at all?  Ok, kidding.  There is, at least for me: He's a Green Lantern Baddie and he's monstrous!  He gets even more monstrous as he gets hungrier!  But this figure?  Just a guy in a shark mask.

I got him very early on after the release, for the same reason I got the rest of the wave: Collect and Connect Kilowog!

Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull

I knew I had to get this guy the moment I saw that he had the 200X He-signia and had a great lil' background written for him.

In truth, I had forgotten he'd appeared in the 200X MOTU Animated series.

That's bad when you consider that I have two DVD copies of the entire series. Yes, two.  One original, one not so original.  Yes, bad.  So what did I do?  I popped in the DVD and watched "The Power of Grayskull" once more!  Well, actually I had to watch it on YouTube because the DVD the Rangerlord got me was perfect, except for that one episode!  Gaaaargh!!!

But it's all good because having found it of YouTube, I can share it with ya! (You actually have to "Read More" to see more.  Irony, no?)

DC Universe Classics Wave 14 Collect and Connect Ultra-Humanite!

Yes, it's the elusive Walmart wave 14 and the even more elusive CnC figure, the Ultra-Humanite!

Ever since the wave was announced in ToyFare complete with pictures, there were only two figures I really wanted: Zatanna and ol' Monkeybrains here.  Ok, and maybe Alan Scott.  It seemed like it was going to be a tall order to get a build-a-figure without getting the figures themselves but what could one do?

Well, just a couple of Sundays back, I ventured down to the local weekly toy "flee" market after missing it for various reasons over the past month or so.  And guess what?  He was right there.  And only for S$50! (That's a low, low US$39!)  That's right, just the CnC itself, no other figures that I didn't want attached.

Yet, I didn't get him initially because he was the only one left and had pretty bad paint splash on the back of his leather costume.  So this weekend, I paid a visit to the market once more and what did I find?  My regular seller Dave (from the reputable Dave's Toylet, no less) had a couple more pieces on hand.  He told me one was scuffed pretty badly on the back his uniform so he'd only charge $45.  But thank goodness the other Humanite he had was in good condition and still gave me a further S$2 discount on that.  So US$37+ for one of the latest CnCs?  Hell, Yeah!

So the remaining question would be: where did these figures come from, and so cheap at that?

I can only think of one place: China.  Straight out of the quality control reject bin.  And while it's still a great figure, you'll see why it might have failed QC as we look at the ultimate smart-monkey himself (the Ultra-Humanite, not me) right after the jump!

DC Universe Classics Wave 15 Martian Manhunter

Yessssss!!! He's finally here!  The Magnificent Seven is finally complete!  Or not.  I have a Two-pack Aquaman (And Black Manta) on the way, but he's stuck somewhere in Canada...for now...

So we'll just use Hawkgirl as a stand-in for now!  Yeah, it'll be Justice League Animated Series Mag 7 for now. :)

I chose to get the variant version of J'onn J'onzz because he's be less "standard"-he'd have a pointy head, a chopper blade hand and be loads better than the human form version.

As the Rangerlord says, the classic Manhunter can be quite boring, depending on your taste.  But after having a gander at both, I realized that they were both equally ok, and that in order to have the complete Martian Manhunter, you'd have to get them both.

Why?  He's a shapeshifter, so having interchangeable parts like Plastic Man would be totally awesome.  But Ol' Stretchy Tights was a Comic Con Exclusive, meaning that there is no way Manhunter could be equally awesome, yes?  Well, yes and no.  And here's why...

Masters of the Universe Classics Faker

Now this rare variant of He-Man is pretty tough to find, so tough that the only place you're likely to find him is in the Royal Palace trash.  (Or at Mattycollector.com.)  But for those of you lucky enough to find him on the shelves of specialty stores or buy him off said website, you'll have to beware that you don't end up buying the original He-Man instead.

For you see, there are very minute differences that make this He-Man variant very unique in his own right.  If not for these, they'd look so alike that even the real Masters of the Universe wouldn't even be able to tell them apart.  But we are way smarter!  For example, did you notice the bluish tone to his shin?  Yup, that's the first clue that this guy is not simply the original re-release.

Other differences include the slightly red-brown hair, red eyes (betcha almost missed that), and get this--if you look closely enough, you'll see that his leather harness is not He-man's, but a repainted version of Skeletor's!

I got this funky variant at a good local price of S$45 (US$32),which is a good $5-8 under the usual prices at the local specialty stores.  Upon cracking the package open, I discovered that he's got a VHS tape player on his chest!  That's a sweet Easter egg of a difference to set him apart for your average original He-Man release.

Also, don't be thrown off by the name they give you one the package--Faker.  This guy's the real deal!  He's really He-Man!  He's the truest, most original He-Man variant you'll ever find.  He's so close to the real thing that you might even think of him as a genuine fake.  Don't believe it?  Well, click on and see, non-true-believers!