Tag Archives: DC Icons

#1452: Nightwing

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

NIGHTWING

DC ICONS

I’ve had a bit of theme to my purchases as of late, so for the next few Fridays, I’ll be sort of transferring that theme to the site and taking a weekly look at DC Collectibles’ DC Icons line.  Last week, of course, I looked at Supergirl, the first Icons figure I’ve bought in quite a while.  She was a pretty solid figure, so I went back for more, and grabbed the latest version of Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing.  I’m always in the market for a good Nightwing figure.  Is this one?  Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the fifth series of DC Icons, alongside Supergirl and the Super Sons.  He’s figure 24, which makes him the first in the set numerically.  Poor Nightwing is actually the last man standing from his initial series-mates; last summer he was first shown off in a series with Shazam, Sinestro, and Deadshot, but those three ended up cancelled, and Nightwing was pushed back a ways to be released alongside Supergirl.  Lucky him?  Nightwing’s package cites that he’s based on his appearance in “Hush,” which has always been one of my favorite Nightwing designs.  It dates back to the Hush line’s Nightwing figure, which has long been my favorite figure of the character. Hush’s more streamlined Nightwing design is really strong, so the design makes a lot of sense here, but it’s still a bit weird to wrap my head around a Hush-based figure that doesn’t actually look like a Jim Lee drawing.  Of course, there are worse things than a figure that looks like an Ivan Reis drawing, so I’m hardly going to complain.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The upscaling was somewhat evident on Supergirl, but it’s in full force on Nightwing.  He’s not really going to fit in with earlier Icons figures (especially not the Series 1 Batman, which is a little sad), but he’s now a little more at home with something like Marvel Legends.  Just for reference, he’s just a smidge shorter than a Bucky Cap-based figure; the only real inconsistency is the head size, but that’s minor.  Nightwing gets an all-new sculpt, and it’s a very strong one.  The articulation seems quite well worked in, and the figure feels very svelte and streamlined.  The build seems about right for Grayson and the etched-in edges to his logo are very nicely handled.  I wasn’t 100% sold on the head at first (it’s my love of that old DCD Nightwing’s head kicking in there), but after taking the figure out and viewing it from a number of different angles, I’m really happy with it.  Nightwing’s paint work is very strong, apart from one minor issue: the color of his mask.  If this is really a “Hush” Nightwing, then the mask really should be blue, not black.  To be fair to DCC, only the original release of the Hush Nightwing figure got that detail right; all of the re-issues changed it to black.  I have to wonder if it’s some sort of “brand identity” thing.  Beyond that, the paint’s great.  The glossy sheen helps the blue to pop really well up against the matte black, and I also like the high-gloss boots.  This is a very polished looking figure.  Nightwing is packed with his standard Escrima sticks, a batarang attacked to a grapple, and three pairs of hands in fists, and two variations of gripping.  Not a bad assortment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s all Cosmic Comix’s fault.  No, really.  They sold out of Nightwing initially, so I just bought Supergirl.  And I only would have bought her, content, and unaware of this figure’s existence.  And then they had to go and ask me if I wanted them to order me one.  Darn them and their clear knowledge of my collecting habits….

This figure’s a very strong offering.  I wasn’t sure about him, just based on how much I love that old Hush figure, but this one’s awesome, if for different reasons, maybe.  Regardless, this figure’s so awesome that I went online to see what other Icons figures were coming out, and that’s when I discovered that not only was the line essentially over, but that there were a ton of really cool figures that I wanted that got cancelled.  Now I am a sad Ethan.  But at least I got Nightwing, right?

#1445: Supergirl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SUPERGIRL

DC ICONS (DC COLLECTIBLES)

Remember DC Icons, DC Collectibles’ attempt at creating a DC line to compete with Marvel Legends?   The line was met with praise initially, but the slightly smaller scale DCC chose to go with didn’t sit all that well with a number of fans.  I myself wasn’t too put off by the scale, and picked up a handful of figures from the first two series, but sort of lost touch with the line over the last year and a half.  Too much stuff competing for my money, I suppose.  I’ve finally found my way back, though, and today I’m taking a look at the release that grabbed my attention, Supergirl!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Supergirl is part of Series 5 of DC Icons, figure 25 in the line.  She’s designed by Ivan Reis, and is based on the character’s Rebirth design.  I’m definitely fan of the look; it’s a fairly classic look, with just a few slight variations to give it a bit more polish.  It’s also rather similar to what she’s wearing in the TV show, which I’m sure is no coincidence.  What I like most about this design is that, while it’s a recent look, it still hits all the iconic notes, so we aren’t left with a slightly odd variant that looks out of place, as was the case with Mr. Miracle.  The figure is just over 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Since Series 2, DCC’s been doing a slight creep on the scale, to help bring the line a little closer to the likes of Legends.  Supergirl stands just a touch taller than Flash and GL, who are the tallest Icons currently in my collection.  That means she’s a little out of scale, since Kara’s usually shorter than those two, but she’s close enough that she’ll still fit in alright.  As with Mr. Miracle, Supergirl doesn’t get any shin or thigh swivels, which initially put me off, but I’m happy to see that DCC’s done an overhaul on the way the hip joints work, and has used drop hips similar to those seen on Figuarts releases.  It adds a bit more playability to the figure, and means she isn’t completely without lateral movement on her legs.  Supergirl’s sculpt is quite nicely handled.  She’s clearly inspired by the art in her Rebirth series, but the stylization’s been downplayed a bit so as to help her fit in a little better with the rest of the line.  She looks a little bit older than I tend to think of this incarnation of the character being, but it’s not like she looks decrepit or anything.  The proportions are all fairly nicely balanced, and the details are all clean and sharp.  The articulation is mostly worked in pretty well, though I do find the torso joints stick out a little bit more than I’d like.  The cape is made from a softer rubber and affixed to her shoulders.  It’s not a perfect fit, but it looks fairly decent.  I wouldn’t have minded a second cape that went back over the shoulders, similar to what we’ve seen on some of the Batman Animated figures, since the shoulders are a bit restricted as-is.  The paintwork on Supergirl is pretty solid.  There’s a bit of slop on a few of the transitions, but it’s mostly clean.  The colors are fairly bright, which certainly helps her pop.  Supergirl is packed with an alternate heat-vision head, three pairs of hands, and a flight stand.  The extra head is an interesting idea, though the heat beams look a little bit like Twizzlers, and she’s more than a little frightening with them removed.    The flight stand is a nice thought, but rather a strange execution.  It’s just this big cylinder.  It’s not particularly discrete, and it unfortunately requires you to place all of her weight on her right leg, which causes some balance issues.  I feel something that hooked around her waist would have been slightly more practical.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed Kara from Cosmic Comix, taking advantage of a 40% off coupon to get her at a more reasonable price.  I’ve been looking for a solid Supergirl figure for quite some time, and she’s a character that companies seem to have some difficulties getting right.  I quite like this figure.  She’s not breaking any records or setting a new bar for action figures, but she’s pretty decent, and a marked improvement on some of the line’s earlier figures.  I think this is going to be my go-to Supergirl from now on.

#1029: Green Arrow

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

GREEN ARROW

DC ICONS (DCC)

GreenArrowLBH1

Green Arrow can be a tricky character to handle. He sort of walks that fine line between being an intriguing modern day take on Robin Hood and just being Batman with a bow and arrows. If I’m honest, I think he works best when he’s sort of a mix of the two, as odd as that may seem. He’s a character that I used to really like, but as of late his characterization has kind of stuck with grim and depressed, which doesn’t tend to be my thing. But, I can still enjoy older interpretations of the character, which translates to more than a few action figures in my collection.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GreenArrowLBH2Green Arrow was released in the first series of DC Icons, as figure 03. Like all of the early figures in the line, Ollie was designed by Ivan Reis, based on Mike Grell’s illustrations of Green Arrow from The Longbow Hunters. It’s a good choice because, while it isn’t a straight classic Green Arrow, it’s from a rather definitive point in the character’s history, and it also has the hood, for those more familiar with more modern takes on the character. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall (making him thus far the tallest figure I’ve looked at) and he has 29 points of articulation. Green Arrow has a sculpt that is technically unique to him, but is aesthetically very similar to the likes of Green Lantern, Flash, and Mister Miracle. Arrow’s is more unique than most in the line, though, since he’s wearing a lot of looser fit clothing. The general quality of the sculpt is quite good, though there are a few issues that hold him back a bit. His limbs definitely feel a bit on the skinny side, especially the arms, which are doubly small, since he’s supposed to be wearing something with flowing sleeves. Also, like the other figures I’ve looked at from the line, his facial expression feels a bit bland. In general, his face feels a bit smooth, which is especially out of place given that Grell’s Ollie from Longbow Hunters is supposed to be a good ways into his career. Still, the overall look is pretty good, and he definitely feels like a Green Arrow figure. The paintwork on Ollie is nice and clean. In fact, despite it’s somewhat subdued qualities, I think it might be my favorite of the Icons figures I have. The paint on the hair/beard is particularly good, with a slight metallic sheen to it, which helps make it look like actual hair.  Ollie is packed with a bow, hands in both fist and gripping poses, two single arrows, and two pairs of arrows to fill the quiver.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I kept meaning to pick up Green Arrow. I really did. He was actually the figure I wanted the most from the first series. Of course, when the first series arrived at my comic book store, this guy was the first to sell out, so I didn’t get him and I just never got around to ordering him. I ended up getting this guy from my parents as a birthday present this year. He’s not perfect (a common issue with the Icons figures), but he’s certainly fun, and I’m happy to have him.

#0858: Green Lantern

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

GREEN LANTERN

DC ICONS (DCC)

GLIcon1

After the success of Barry Allen as the second iteration of the Flash, DC got to work on re-imagining as many of their old superheroes as they could. In the years since super hero comics had faded away, the magic and mysticism had fallen out of favor. When the heroes returned, science fiction was all the rage, so, when the new Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, debuted in 1959, his origin was tailored to fit that new sci-fi mold. It was a pretty successful idea, so successful, in fact, that years later, the original Green Lantern’s powers were re-tooled to be more in line with his successor’s. Anyway, I’m a pretty big fan of the second incarnation of GL, and I was happy to see him added to DC Collectibles’ new DC Icons line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GLIcon2Green Lantern is a deluxe figure in the DC Icons line, released to coincide with the release of Series 2. He’s #09 in the line, placing him just after Series 2 chronologically. He was designed by Ivan Reis and sculpted by Sam Greenwell and Erick Sosa. GL’s based on his appearance during the “Dark Days” storyline, which is a fancy way of saying he’s a New 52 figure. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation. Like Barry, he’s a bit taller than Mr. Miracle, but I find he doesn’t scale as well with other lines (such as ML) due to his head being slightly smaller than Barry’s. Also like Barry, he has lateral movement on his shins, which is much appreciated. He’s also got cut joints at the tops of his gloves, which are a bit redundant, but serve a purpose I’ll get to in a sec. Structurally, Hal is fairly similar to Barry (and by extension, the rest of the line). Despite being a New 52 design, this sculpt doesn’t feel over burdened with unnecessary details. The extra lines that are there feel well placed, and make the figure as a whole very appealing to look at. The head is a pretty sharp piece of work too, though perhaps not as sharp as the rest of the sculpt. Like the Flash, I feel the face is lacking a bit in expression, but it’s not quite as bad here. Hal’s paint is very nicely done; the greens are all a nice metallic shade, and the whites of the gloves have a nice white finish. The application is a little thick on the face, but not terribly so, and there’s a bit of chipping at the wrist joints. Aside from those issues, it’s pretty solid, though. Now, so far I haven’t outlined anything that’s all that different from a normal release. Why’s this guy a deluxe figure? Accessories, that’s why. He comes with hands in fists and gripping positions, a power batter, a giant green construct fist, and a full set of construct armor, made up of a helmet/wingpack, shoulder pads, two big gun hands, thigh armor, and big stompy boots. This is how you adequately showcase Green Lantern’s powers! The extra joints on the figure’s forearms are there to allow for them to be swapped for the construct gun-hands, which is a pretty good way of handling things. However, the giant fist is still a slip over piece, which is a bit of an issue, since Hal’s right forearm has some trouble staying in place. Had the fist been handled the same way as the gun-hands this wouldn’t have been a problem.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I’ve gotten away from it in recent years (in no small part due to DC doing a whole lot of sucking), at my core, I’m a huge Green Lantern geek. So, I was pretty thrilled to hear he’d be in this line. I was a little less thrilled when I found out he was a New 52 figure, but, I gotta be honest, in hand, I don’t care all that much. This is a really awesome Green Lantern, regardless of which incarnation he is. Undoubtedly the coolest figure I’ve picked up from this line. I am content to have this as my default GL. Of course, if they wanted to do a Neal Adams version of Hal later on, I certainly wouldn’t say no…

GLIcon3

#0857: The Flash

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

THE FLASH

DC ICONS (DCC)

FlashIcon1

In 1956, Barry Allen became the second version of the Flash, and officially brought about the Silver Age of comics, for DC anyway (though, if you want to get technical, the first real Silver Age character was Martian Manhunter, who appeared one year prior. And if you want to get REALLY technical, the first Silver Age character was Superboy, who appeared a decade before that. I feel I may have lost some people on that one…). Barry was a brand-new take on an already established hero, and in one fell-swoop showcased DC’s penchant for both reboots and legacies. Barry is a pretty important character for DC, so it’s not a huge shock to see him show up as one of the figures in DC Collectibles’ DC Icons line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FlashIcon2The Flash is part of the second series of the DC Icons line. He’s figure #05 in the line, placing him right after Mr. Miracle in the numbering, and making him the “first” figure in Series 2. Flash’s figure was designed by Ivan Reis (one of DC’s top artists) and sculpted Amos Hemsley. He’s officially based on Barry’s appearance in “Chain Lightning,” which was a five-issue arc during Mark Waid’s tenure on the book, which brought back a pre-Crisis Barry through time travel. Of course, all that’s just a very specific way of saying he’s a classic, pre-Crisis Barry Allen Flash. The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. He’s just a bit taller than the Mr. Miracle figure; he still totally out of scale with other DCC lines, but you can sort of fudge it a bit if you want to put him with, say, some Marvel Legends. Also, he’s got lateral movement on his legs! Yay! I was afraid DCC had totally abandoned such joints. Barry gets an all-new sculpt, but it’s worth noting that he, like many others in the line, is built on a base prototype body, which gives everyone a unified look. Overall, I really love this sculpt. It’s nice and clean, and full of classic comics goodness. The details of his costume are all sculpted elements, which is certainly a nice change of pace. The detailing on his boots is definitely a stand-out. The arms do seem just a touch small, and I really wish his facial expression was a little less bland, but aside from that, the sculpt is very nice. Barry’s paint is generally pretty nice. The colors are bright and vibrant, and there’s a nice glossy finish on the boots and his logo. His eyes are a tad wonky, but not terrible for the scale. The Flash is packed with two pairs of hands: one set of fist/gripping combo, and one set of flat palms, perfect for running. However, the coolest accessory by far is the Cosmic Treadmill. It’s a slightly more modernized design than I’m used to, but it’s exquisitely sculpted, and a fantastic companion piece to the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is actually the figure that sold me on the whole DC Icons concept. It’s funny, because it isn’t like I don’t have classically-inspired Barry figures, but I just really liked the look of this one, and was happy to see more pre-New 52 stuff. I ended up using a giftcard I got for Christmas to order him from Amazon. While he isn’t perfect (the expression still kinda bugs me), I do like him a lot, and he’s one of my favorite Flash figures I own. He’s definitely a good indicator of how cool this line can be!

#0798: Mister Miracle

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

MISTER MIRACLE

DC ICONS (DC COLLECTIBLES)

MrMiracle1

Jack Kirby is a pretty pivotal figure in comics, having had a hand in the creation of a huge portion of the Marvel Universe. He didn’t just work at Marvel; he also spent a fair bit of time working for Marvel’s main competition, DC. He didn’t have the same impact at DC that he did at Marvel, but he did create the Fourth World, which picked up a pretty substantial cult following. One of my personal favorite characters from the Fourth World has always been Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle. Scott (or Scot, as he’s known now. Extra “t”s are so last century) has made a fairly recent return to the DC Universe, and his new look just got a figure, courtesy of DC Collectibles’ newest line, DC Icons.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MrMiracle2Mister Miracle is figure 04 in the first series of DC Icons. He’s the lone New 52-based figure in the first series, which is fair, I suppose. The main purpose of the Icons line was to serve as a competitor for Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, so articulation is a key point. Mister Miracle delivers pretty well on this, sporting 27 points of articulation. Like a couple of the animated figures, he would really benefit from some sort of lateral movement on his legs, but you can still get a pretty decent range out of him. What he doesn’t deliver on so much is height. He stands about 5 ¾ inches tall, which makes him a good half an inch shorter than the average Marvel Legend and almost a full inch shorter than prior DCC figures. For what it’s worth, he’s in roughly the same scale as S.H. FiguArts figures. But he, and the rest of the line, are still a lot smaller than expected. Moving past that, he has a totally unique sculpt, which is pretty well executed. The proportions of the body are actually pretty good, and most of the articulation is worked in pretty well. Design-wise, he’s based on Miracle’s look from Earth 2, which is a slight tweaking of his original Kirby design. I think the original is still a stronger look, but this isn’t a bad look. The costume details are mostly etched in, which has MrMiracle3the result of making him look a lot sharper. The cape is a separate, but permanently attached piece, made from a softer materials. The sculpt is okay, but, the cape is a little oddly shaped. That being said, it works for what it is. The paint work on the figure is nicely handled overall. The etched in lines of the costume make for cleaner paintwork, and help to make the details pop a bit more. The colors are all done in a really cool metallic sheen, which really makes him look pretty sweet. For accessories, Mister Miracle includes two sets of hands (fists and open), a pair of hoverdiscs for his feet, and what I believe is a Mother Box.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Mister Miracle from my local comic book store, Cosmic Comix. He was actually the only of the four first series figures left. I was somewhat intrigued by the concept of Icons, and I’ve always liked Mister Miracle, so I thought this guy would be a good starting point. The issues of scale are a little frustrating, especially for people who were hoping to place these figures with their prior DCC figures. That being said, Miracle is a really fun figure, and he shows a great improvement in terms of quality for a DCC product. Plus, as more of these figures are released, the scale thing will become less of an issue.

MrMiracle4