DC Universe Classics Green Lantern's Light!


I told myself I wouldn't do it. I said I wouldn't buy even one. But in the end, the urge took over and I gave in.


After that first Green Lantern, it was only a matter of time before I got another and another and another, and I knew this. I knew it would happen and I did it anyway. Now I'm stuck in the middle of a 6" corp that is missing far too many members. There's still Kyle Raynor. There's still Abin Sur. What about Sodam Yat? Boodika? Katma Tui? Then there are those beautiful Collect 'n' Connect figures Kilowog and Stel. Not to mention all the ones in the new Green Lantern Classics line.

Damn you, Mattel.This is worse than collecting Iron Man figures!


Mattel's solicitation photo for the set

Thanks to a friend who lives near the fairy tale land of Divisoria, the Philippine capital of cheap, China-made products, I was able to add a few more recruits to  my Green Lantern ranks: Hal Jordan (another one), Tomar-Re, Sinestro, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner.

The figures are from the second Walmart exclusive DC Universe Classics 5-pack, the first being the Gotham City 5 box set that came out in 2009. Before we go on, let me just say that all of these figures with the exception of Guy Gardner are just standard DC Universe Classics bodies with slightly different paint schemes and different heads. Conceivably, you could buy several of them, take heads from other 6” figures and make yourself a proper army. A veritable sausage fest in green tights.

I’m not that well off though, so I’ll settle with these 5 for now.


Ok, ok, so this isn’t the Hal Jordan that came with the 5-pack. That one was basically a re-release of the Wave 3 Lantern with graying temples. This one is actually from the Toys ‘R’ Us 2-pack of Abin Sur and Hal Jordan in their Year One costumes.

Sue me.

Either way, this is the least of the figures in that it’s the exact same thing as the rest of the Hal Jordan figures (of which there a quite a few), except for slight changes in his paint. Like the black shoulders. Honestly, since I’m not a big Lantern reader, and I’ve already got one Hal, I could care less which one this is.


Next up is Sinestro.

We got a Sinestro figure in the Solomon Grundy wave, but for some reason, he was in the body of a 13 year-old. This one here uses the standard Green Lantern body. From what I read online, though, this still isn’t correct. Apparently, Sinestro should be slimmer and slightly taller than Hal Jordan. This figure fails in both regards.

In addition, he’s not very accurate since Mattel used the same Sinestro head from the first figure; he doesn’t have the mask of a Green Lantern.


John Stewart is the one I was really excited about. His costume here is from the Green Lantern: Mosaic series, a title that was a vehicle for the character in the early 90’s, which I never read.

The reason I wanted him was because John Stewart was the Green Lantern in the DC Animated Universe’s Justice League. I only got to know the DC characters from the cartoon, so John is Green Lantern for me. If I ever get started painting figures, I’ll probably do him up in the Animated Universe colors (or just buy the Wave 11 version), but until then, I’m fine with this.

Again, he’s not really that close to the comic rendition. The white semi-circle on his chest is huge, and is a little off-putting. Still, he completes my DC Animated Universe Justice League line up:


I think I'll want to replace the Wonder Woman with a prettier version and maybe get a Batman that's closer to the cartoon version, but hell, just getting all seven figures together is enough for me. Even if their costumes aren't exactly the same, it's a hell of a lot of fun having them on my desk.

Think it's time I try and find a copy of Justice League and re-watch it until I'm sick of the thing.

The fourth figure in the set, the first with new parts, is Tomar-Re.


I say "parts", but really he's only got the one: his head. It looks suspiciously like the head that was used for the Romat Ru figure from the MattyCollector.com  exclusive “The Color of Fear” box set, only without the lines on his eyes and a mask covering his face. The expression is very similar, a shout, despite the Tomar-Re being a scientist who was calm and collected for the most part. Better to think of this guy as Tomar-Tu, his son, until Mattel comes up with something better.



I say "parts", but really he's only got the one: his head. It looks suspiciously like the head that was used for the Romat Ru figure from the MattyCollector.com  exclusive “The Color of Fear” box set, only without the lines on his eyes and a mask covering his face. The expression is very similar, a shout, despite the Tomar-Re being a scientist who was calm and collected for the most part. Better to think of this guy as Tomar-Tu, his son, until Mattel comes up with something better.

Last but not least is Guy Gardner.

This figure is all new. They didn’t use the standard tights on him at all, which you can see from his turtle neck and boots. The head is new as well, and it captures Gardner’s jingoistic attitude nicely. You can just see him posturing and laughing at his inferiors.

The figure is nicely done as well, with the costume looking much more natural that the other Green Lanterns, looser. The vest is a separate piece made of soft, rubberized plastic. I’m not sure if he’d still work with the vest off since it does have volume. The body must be smaller than normal to accommodate it.

Unfortunately, he’s got a huge flaw: his head is humongous. It’s gigantic. The other figures orbit around him, struggling against the gravitational pull...

Okay, maybe it’s not that big.

Honestly, I didn’t have a problem with it until I read an article that pointed it out. Even now, after I’ve realized it, he still looks all right to me.

The set also came with five lanterns for the figures to use, but we’re talking over-run figures here. I’m lucky they don’t have Popeye’s head on them or two left hands or something. Considering the money I was able to save, I don’t mind that one bit.


BONUS ROUND!
Along with the five male Lanterns, I also picked up an Arisia figure from DC Direct's Blackest Night Series 3:

DC Direct's solicitation photo for the Blackest Night Series 3 Arisia figure

On one hand, DC Direct figures are nearly the same size as the DC Universe Classics and can fill a lot of gaps in a collection (especially if you're not to particular about scale). On the other, the lack of articulation is really jarring for a joint junkie like me.

Arisia here can't do anything from the waist down. She's got knees, but they're completely useless. There's also no waist joint. About all she's got is her head, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Enough to give her a decent pose if you stick her in the background. She's still got her porn star get up on, and the folks at DC Direct did a decent job of it. The paint on the costume is mostly shiny or pearlized (except her boots), while her skin is cast in a weird tanned skin tone.

I don't think the sculptors really captured her well though. From the artwork I've seen, she's supposed to be sort of elfin. Childlike (insert Hal Jordan pedophile joke here). But the face on this toy is kind of mannish. It's not ugly, but it's not all that appealing either.


Why didn't I make a separate review for Arisia?

Well she doesn't really get me going. Sure she's showing more skin than a stripper, but the sculpt, the paint, and figure in general just falls flat. I think I'd rather get the completely un-articulated Star Sapphire figure from this same set. At least that looks good.

I'm really glad I was able to get these figures, even if it means I'll be shelling out to get the rest of the Corp. Despite a few inaccuracies, the DC Universe male bodies are so good that no matter what you turn them into, they're still good, fun toys. Plus, the fact that they're so generic means they're easy to repaint and do head swaps on. So if I do get that John Stewart from Wave 11, I can just use the body for another lantern, like Medphyll or NautKeLoi.

Or maybe I can just start a new hobby. I hear cocaine is cheaper.

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