Tag Archives: Kyle Rayner

#3467: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II

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

BATMAN, THE FLASH, GREEN ARROW, HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN, & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

Hey, remember that JLA set I looked at yesterday, where I referenced that there was a second, complimentary set a few times?  Well, absolute shock and awe, if you can believe it, I’m gonna look at that second set today.  Whaaaaaaaaaaat?  This set also gets the extra significance of being the review that marks ten years here on the site, and it’s a more significant one, to boot.  So, let’s check this thing out.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Hologram Superman, and Hologram Green Lantern were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II” boxed set, the other half of the kick-off for Kenner’s JLA line.  As noted yesterday, both sets were Previews-exclusives, with the three standard JLA members per set also being available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

BATMAN

“With a brilliantly deductive mind, expert scientific knowledge, and a master of martial arts, Batman watches over Gotham City from its gargoyles and parapets. He’s the city’s last hope against evil.”

With Superman headlining the first set, you gotta have Batman for the second, I guess.  I mean, his name wasn’t above the title of the whole line this time, so I guess he at least needed to have this concession.  He wasn’t going through the weird changes like Big Blue, so he’s just, you know, Batman.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation, plus those wonky sliding wings.  He’s using the Total Justice mold again, and it’s definitely its own thing.  There are a lot of oddities to this one, with the strangest thing definitely being those wings.  Like, why the wings?  It was weird with TJ, but at least there was the armor up gimmick, but with this release, it’s just random wings.  Just one of those weird quirks.  For his Total Justice release, Batman was blue and grey, with yellow accents.  For JLA, it switched two black and grey, with gold accents.  Through all three uses of the mold, the sculpted line for his trunks gets ignored, since DC was still in a “no trunks” mode in the mid-’90s.  Batman was packed with a display stand in black, as well as a backer with JLA #9 on it.  He’s on the cover, so that works alright.

THE FLASH

“A public super hero for almost his entire life. He can reach speeds approaching that of light itself and explode solid objects by vibrating through them.”

Like Kyle as Green Lantern, Wally West as the Flash had gotten his first action figure treatment during Total Justice, and then he got a quick follow-up to that here.  Again, not one that’s incredibly different, but it was at least some coverage.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He re-uses the Total Justice mold, of course, which I looked at when it was Reverse Flash.  As far as the TJ molds go, it’s not too crazy.  The pre-posing is more of a running pose, which works pretty well.  He gets a few additional details that aren’t usually on his comics costume; the flared gloves and all the straps on the boots being the main ones.  It all works pretty well, though.  His paint work is a noted change-up from the TJ figure’s classic red and yellow coloring; instead, he’s a deeper red with gold accenting.  It’s not quite as striking, but at the same time, it really sells him as being Wally’s ’90s incarnation, in contrast to Barry’s usual coloring.  Flash is packed with a red display stand and a backer with JLA #8 on it.  He’s not really the main focus of the cover, but at least he’s on it.

GREEN ARROW

“As the only son of the original Green Lantern, Connor Hawke is a martial arts expert who fires his arrows with almost superhuman accuracy.”

Like Huntress, Connor Hawke’s Green Arrow was a later addition to the JLA line-up.  He was likewise one of the figures in the final assortment of Total Justice, and works as Huntress’s counterpart in this set, since he doesn’t get a Hologram equivalent.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  I looked at this guy’s sculpt before when I reviewed his Total Justice release.  It’s preposed to the point of essentially being a statue, but it also remains perhaps the best sculpt that either of these lines produced.  For JLA, he got a much improved color scheme for the most part, as well as getting a bunch of details that had been left out of the first release’s paint work.  The only downside is that, matching the shift in the comics, his skin tone is very light, not really matching Connor’s proper ethnicity.  Of course, it’s not really Kenner’s fault; they were just following the unfortunate shift in depiction in the source material.  Green Arrow was packed with his bow and arrow (in brown, in contrast to the original green), a green display stand, and a backer card of JLA #10….which is the issue of “Rock of Ages” that features the Hologram JLA….and not Connor.  He *is* prominently featured on the cover of #8, so, maybe that would have made more sense?

HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

As noted yesterday, these sets each got two unique Hologram JLA members (and they even did two more in the Collection IV boxed set), mirroring the standard versions in the corresponding set.  This time around, we got Superman and Green Lantern.  Both figures stand just shy of 5 inches tall and they have 5 points of articulation.  I looked at both of the molds for these figures in yesterday’s set, and they kind of are what the are.  The Superman set-up is still a real mix and match and Green Lantern is very, very intense.  Of course, it wouldn’t really make much sense for them to be different, since the match-up is kind of the whole gimmick and all.  They both get funky change-up color schemes, and I honestly think I prefer the looks on these two to the other ones.  In particular, the changed up logo on Superman is a lot of fun, and I just dig the indigo set-up on GL so much.  The figures both come with dark purple display stands and backer cards, with JLA #11 going to Superman and JLA #12 for Green Lantern.  Neither of them actually features in either issue, of course, but both issues *are* at least from the “Rock of Ages” storyline, and their corresponding counterpart is prominently featured on them, so they’re far from the worst choices.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve discussed this set a little bit before on the site, back when I looked at the TJ version of Green Arrow, but I’ll go a bit further into detail now, I suppose.  In 1998, when this set came out, I was five years old.  At the time, I would spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house.  In particular, it was a frequent tradition that my Grandmother would come and pick me up from school on Friday afternoons, and we would go get lunch at the local mall, followed by a little bit of shopping.  My main interest was usually the KB Toys, but right across from it was the comic chain Another Universe, which was usually a good secondary.  Another Universe had both of these sets, and I really, really wanted Green Arrow, whose single carded release was still very hard to find at the time.  My Grandmother could have just asked me to be patient and wait for the single, but instead, she bought me the whole set.  They got a lot of play time when I was a kid, especially that Green Arrow.  I lost a lot of the parts, as well as the two Hologram Leaguers over the years, but I still have very pleasant memories of the whole set and the story behind them.  My Grandmother died at the end of August this year, and now all I have left are those, and other, memories of our time together.  So, when I had the chance to get a replacement of the set, and carry those memories forward, I kind of couldn’t pass it up.

#3466: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I

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

SUPERMAN BLUE, GREEN LANTERN, THE HUNTRESS, HOLOGRAM BATMAN, & HOLOGRAM FLASH

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

In 1996, looking to expand their DC line beyond just Batman, and after the success of the more comics-based Legends of Batman, Kenner launched Total Justice.  Okay, to be more specific, they launched “Batman: Total Justice” because they still weren’t totally sold on non-Batman success.  The line did alright, but only lasted three assortments, two of them abbreviated ones at that.  Two years later, they revisited the concept, in light of the success of the relaunched JLA comic, and dubbed it, rather predictably, JLA.  The whole thing was kicked off by two boxed sets, which repurposed old TJ molds to put the characters back out before delving into new ones.  The sets re-released six JLA members, coupled with four of their holographic duplicates from “Rock of Ages.”  And hey, why don’t I look at the first of those today?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Superman Blue, Green Lantern, Huntress, Hologram Batman, and Hologram Flash were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I” boxed set, which, along with Collection II, kicked off Kenner’s JLA line.  Both sets were Previews-exclusives, though the three JLA members per set were also available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

SUPERMAN BLUE

“As one half of Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superman Blue is slow to anger, patient, courteous and serious in nature. He shares the powers and strategic thinking of Superman Red, but their different attitudes tend to get in each other’s way.”

While Man of Steel and Total Justice had hit firmly during Superman’s mullet phase, JLA hit right as he was spending a year with a brand-new power set, and a brand-new design to correspond.  So, rather than a classic Superman (who, to be fair, we got later down the line), our main Superman at launch was Superman Blue, who got his first of three figures in short succession right here.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He is, unsurprisingly, the exact same construction as the Superman Red from the single-card releases, meaning he’s the Total Justice Superman sans cape, with the head of the Man of Steel line’s Hunter Prey Superman.  It’s not a perfect set-up.  In fact, it’s not a great set-up, since he still keeps all of the sculpted details for the standard Superman costume, as well as the totally different head gear set-up of the Hunter Prey design.  They straight up just paint over it all and really hope you don’t notice.  And, honestly, it’s fine.  It’s not great, but it’s fine.  The colors actually look really solid; like Red, Blue is bright and vibrant, and really pops off the shelf.  I can definitely dig that.  Superman Blue gets a blue JLA display stand, and a cardstock cover of JLA #15, which does at the very least actually feature him.

GREEN LANTERN

“One of the youngest members of the JLA team, Kyle Rayner inherited a ring, which is considered to be the most powerful weapon in the universe. The ring is capable of generating solid light in the form of anything Kyle imagines”

Since Kyle Rayner was the Green Lantern of the ’90s, he had gotten his first figure during Total Justice.  JLA gave him a rather quick follow-up second, albeit one that’s not incredibly different from the first.  Whatever the case, the figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Kyle’s sculpt is one that has a lot of trouble standing, due to the severe pre-posing present.  Those legs are just jutting out there.  It’s kinda crazy, really.  The best word I can think of to describe it is “intense.”  Like, he’s very angry, and very into it, and he’s not planning to stop any time soon.  Kyle was generally depicted as rather on the jovial side, but that’s not the case with this guy, who’s got a pretty angry look about him.  Presumably, he just found his girlfriend in the refrigerator.  Shame.  It’s a sculpt that I don’t think anyone can quantify as “good,” but it sure does do…something.  Look, it’s very memorable.  In terms of color scheme, Kyle’s original Total Justice figure was pretty subdued on his colors, with the greens a little on the darker side, the black more of a dark blue, and the white a sort of pearlescent shade.  For JLA, which tended to aim darker, they actually punched it up a bit.  The white and black are much starker, and the green is just a tad lighter.  During Total Justice, GL got some of the line’s crazy Fractal Armor, but in his case it was done up in translucent green plastic, so it looks like a construct, which seems less silly.  For JLA, he got a green stand and a backer with JLA #14 on it.  He’s one of the three Leaguers on the cover, so it works well enough.

HUNTRESS

“In a quest for vengeance against the death of her family, Helena Bertinelli, a Gotham City high school teacher, became The Huntress. With her arsenal of weapons, she preys upon Gotham City criminals.”

Huntress was a later addition to the JLA in the comics, and also had been a late addition to Total Justice, hitting during the ill-distributed final wave of the line.  As such, she’s one of two odd-ball characters included in these sets, without a Hologram duplicate in the alternate.  She’s seen here in her mid-90s attire, which she quite fortunately kept through both Total Justice and JLA’s runs.  I’ll admit, it doesn’t quite hit the same for me as the later Jim Lee redesign, but I guess it’s not a terrible design.  The figure stands a little under 5 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation…technically.  Of course, the hair costs the neck almost all of its movement, and the hips are at an odd angle.  Like, not quite v-hip, but not straight t-hip.  So, it’s really just the arms that do anything.  That all said, her sculpt’s honestly one of the better ones from the line.  Her pose isn’t anything too crazy, she’s surprisingly stable on her feet, and her face lacks the weird intensity of most of the others.  Her cape is also pretty basic, with enough flow to prevent it from looking too stiff, but not anything that looks *too* crazy.  Huntress’s Total Justice color scheme went for the comic style shading, giving her a purple and blue outfit.  For the JLA release, that was translated to purple and black, which definitely looks a little bit sharper.  Her TJ figure got a crossbow and fractal armor (which are both missing from my figure), while the JLA figure got the crossbow, a purple display stand, and a backer with JLA #13 on it…which is interesting, because, in addition to the cover being just a close-up of Martian Manhunter’s face, Huntress is also just not in the issue.  So, you know, there it is?

HOLOGRAM BATMAN & HOLOGRAM FLASH

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

Exclusive to these sets were the Hologram JLA, based on the purple-hued JLA avatars that the Injustice Gang used during the first issue of the “Rock of Ages” storyline.  They were a pretty straight forward gimmicky re-paint using the existing TJ molds of the JLA members.  This set got Batman and Flash, whose standards were included in the other set.  Both figures are just shy of 5 inches tall.  Flash has the standard 5 points of articulation, while Batman also gets the sliding glider wings of the TJ mold.  I’ve looked at both of these molds previously here and here.  They’re very much products of their time.  To sell them as the holograms that they are, both figures are molded in translucent plastic, with a big emphasis on purple hues, which honestly is a pretty fun and unique look.  They come with JLA logo stands, both in a dark purple, as well as their own backer cards.  Batman gets #16 and Flash gets #17, neither of which features these two, either on the cover or in their contents.  Also, #16 has Huntress, so, like, maybe that one should have gone to her?  I don’t know, I’m just spit-balling here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t get this set when it was new.  I had gotten the Total Justice Green Lantern as a Christmas gift from my aunt, and my cousin Rusty had traded me the Huntress for something else, and I didn’t really care for Superman Blue at the time, nor did I have any attachment to the Hologram JLA.  Over the years, I’ve grown to have more appreciation for this line overall, and I really wanted those Holo guys above all, but I haven’t seen the sets in person since.  But, a couple of weeks ago, Cosmic Comix got this one and the second one in, and I was feeling particularly nostalgic.

#3380: Kyle Rayner

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

KYLE RAYNER

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

When Green Lantern first appeared in the DC Animated Universe in Superman: The Animated Series, the producers opted to use the then-current holder of the title, Kyle Rayner, as their introductory Lantern.  Kyle gained a good portion of Hal Jordan’s origin, being the first Earth Lantern, having gotten the ring directly from Abin Sur, but he still retained Kyle’s personality and background as an artist.  When *a* Green Lantern reappeared in Justice League, it was not Kyle, but rather John Stewart, who was chosen not only to add a little more diversity to the titular team, but also to give the show a slightly less defined Lantern to work with for some of the show’s character arcs.  Rayner still existed within the narrative however, and was granted a couple of additional cameos, as well as a small speaking role in Justice League Unlimited‘s “The Return.”  It was this appearance that finally got animated Kyle some action figure treatment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kyle Rayner was initially released in 2006 during the second iteration of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited tie-in line, under the orange packaging style, in a pack that also included fellow GLs Katma Tui and Arkkis Chummuck.  He was then re-released as a single the following year, and once more in a convention-exclusive pack with Evil Star and Goldface.  As noted in the intro, Kyle is based on his design from “The Return,” which was itself an adaptation of Kyle’s Jim Lee-designed costume update from the early ’00s.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s based on the medium-sized male base body.  Rather fittingly, it started as a GL body, and it remains so here.  Kyle’s original build was a bit smaller, but by the time of “The Return,” he’d bulked up a bit, so it makes sense.  Kyle got a new head sculpt for this release, and it’s honestly a pretty good one.  We don’t see a ton of Kyle in the show, but this matches up pretty nicely with what we do see, while still being rather unique.  It’s sharp, clean, and pretty on point for the character.  Kyle’s paint work does most of the heavy lifting, as with most of these figures.  It does it well; his outfit’s detailing is pretty spot on.  The green’s a little prone to chipping, but not as bad as some figures from the line.  The head paint is alright, though a bit washed out; the brown for the hair feels a little light, as does the skin tone.  But, it still works well enough overall.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

“In Brightest Day” is far and away my favorite entry in the DCAU.  I was such a huge GL fan as a kid, and I excited recorded the episode on VHS when it aired back in the day.  The lack of a GL in the tie-in line always bummed me out.  When Kyle was replaced with John in JL, I obviously adjusted, and I was happy to get plenty of cool figures for John.  That said, I still hoped for Kyle.  Admittedly, this wasn’t the look I initially had in mind, and to this day, I still would love to get a STAS version of the character, but I do still really love this guy, too.  He honestly holds up pretty well.

#2159: Kyle Rayner – Green Lantern

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

KYLE RAYNER — GREEN LANTERN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

“Once a White Lantern and the bearer of seven rings, Kyle Rayner is back to basics under a new Corps as a Green Lantern.”

What do you get when you put together two things that Ethan didn’t used to like?  That’s right, a Mattel Kyle Rayner figure.  My rocky history with Mattel is of course no secret around these parts, but then again most people’s rocky history isn’t much of a secret, I suppose.  What’s slightly more downplayed is my dislike of Kyle.  I mean, he’s a Green Lantern, and he was active during the ’90s; he’s even the star of my favorite episode of Superman: The Animated Series, which is my favorite DC animated property.  What’s not to like?  Well, admittedly, I got a little caught up in the “he replaced Hal Jordan” rage.  As a kid, my first exposure to GL was in Challenge of the Superfriends, where it was Hal, and I was quite confused by this Rayner guy running around in the comics.  Over the years, though, I’ve actually grown to like Kyle quite a bit, which means I’m actually quite excited to get his latest figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kyle Rayner is part of the Lobo Series of DC Comics Multiverse, which is the third assortment following the change to the blue packaging.  This marks the second Kyle we got during Mattel’s tenure.  The first was a fine figure, but fell victim to the late-line tendency for DCUC figures to be in their most recent costume, rather than their most-wanted.  This one goes for Kyle’s classic ’90s costume, or at least the Rebirth recreation of it, which is a solid choice.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Kyle uses the relaunched line’s equivalent of the old line’s mid-sized male body.  Like the Bizarro figure (who used the larger male body equivalent), this means the Kyle’s a little bit outdated when compared to the line’s more advanced figures.  That said, it’s still a marked improvement over what Mattel was doing a year ago, and makes for a serviceable base body.  Kyle gets a new head, forearms, hands, and knees.  The new parts are fairly decent; nothing amazing or anything, but they recreate his look pretty well, and he’ll fit in with DCUC stuff, as well as Multiverse stuff, so he’s a decent bridge figure.  The paintwork on Kyle is pretty basic, but gets all the important points down.  There’s a touch of fuzz on the edge of the white section on his chest, but aside from that it’s all pretty clean.  Kyle is packed with his power battery and a blast effect piece that goes over his hand.  Standard stuff for a GL, but honestly that’s a step-up from how Mattel’s been handling up to this point.  He also included a piece to the Lobo CnC, but I didn’t get that for reasons I’ll touch on in just a moment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite the issues I may have had with Kyle as a character, in the ’90s a figure in this costume was the only way you were getting a Green Lantern figure, meaning I have quite a soft spot for this design.  Despite my general reservations about Mattel products, I was intrigued by this figure when he was shown off.  Of course, I’ve not once seen a single one of the figures from this assortment at retail, so I didn’t have a chance to buy one.  However, Max really wanted the Batman Beyond figure, as well as having a passing interest in the Lobo, so he and I decided to split a set of the figures from Big Bad Toy Store.  I got the one figure I really wanted, and I’m really quite happy.

#1608: Green Lantern – Kyle Rayner

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

GREEN LANTERN – KYLE RAYNER

JLA: CLASSIFIED (DC DIRECT)

Despite getting into comics and such in the ‘90s, my first and favorite Green Lantern was *not* the then current holder of the role, Kyle Rayner.  I was aware of Kyle.  I had figures of Kyle (although, my small child brain hadn’t initially processed that he and Hal were not one and the same).  But I didn’t like him much.  At least not originally.  I’ve acquired an appreciation for him in more recent years, and also acquired a few more figures as well.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kyle was released in Series 2 of DC Direct’s JLA: Classified line.  The whole assortment was ‘90s-themed, so Kyle in his classic costume was a perfect fit.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  Mobility was never at the forefront on these particular figures, and Kyle’s not really much of an exception.  He’s good for standing there and maybe some slight adjustments to the arms, but not much beyond that.  As with all of the figures in this line, Kyle’s sculpt is based on the style of Ed McGuinness.  I’m not actually sure McGuinness ever drew Kyle in this costume, or even at all, but he does seem to fit MgGuinness’s bolder illustration sensibilities.  I mean, he’s definitely a bit more of a beefcake than Kyle tends to be, but isn’t everyone when illustrated by Ed McGuinness.  He ends up using a lot of the same pieces as the Superman Blue/Red, but does get some unique parts for his head, gloves, and boots.  The head is actually one of my favorites from this subset of figures.  Apart from being perhaps slightly serious in expression for Kyle, it does a solid job of capturing the character, right down to his floppy ‘90s hair, and that goofy crab-mask thing.  Kyle’s paintwork is very clean, and very sharp.  The metallic green is actually a lot better than the sorts of metallic greens that you usually see, being much brighter and thus truer to the comics.  I also dig the slightly pearlescent finish to the white, which contrasts well with the flat black paint on the base body.  Kyle’s only accessory was a JLA: Classified-branded display stand.  A power battery might have been cool, but with the hands both being fists, I guess he couldn’t hold it anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At the time of this figure’s release, I was pretty well invested in DC Universe Classics, so I wasn’t really picking up any DCD figures.  As such, this guy went under my radar.  I’ve not really seen the figure since, but always was interesting in tracking him down at some point.  I ended up finding him loose at House of Fun this past November.  He’s a rather stylized figure, and certainly requires you to like this particular group of figures.  For me, I quite like him, and I’m happy to add another Kyle figure to my collection.

#0251: Kyle Rayner

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

KYLE RAYNER

GREEN LANTERN CLASSICS

KyleRayner

To the outside observer, the identity of Green Lantern can be a bit confusing. To date, there have been six humans to bear the name, not to mention the countless aliens that use the name throughout the universe! Which one of them you think of when you hear the name largely depends on when you were introduced to DC. Many DC fans learned about the character through Challenge of the Superfriends, which featured Hal Jordan (my personal favorite). People who were fans of Justice League consider John Stewart to be the definitive GL (with good reason). And people who got pulled into comics in the 90s, well they tend to be fans of a guy called Kyle Rayner. That’s the guy I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kyle was released as part of the first series of Green Lantern Classics, which was a subset of DC Universe Classics intended to tie in with 2011’s Green Lantern. The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and features 23 points of articulation. He’s based on Kyle’s post-Sinestro Corps War costume, which was the one he was wearing at the time of this figure’s release (I believe he’s still wearing it, though I don’t know for sure. I haven’t read a Green Lantern comicbook in almost two years.) Personally, I think it’s his best costume, so I don’t mind it’s inclusion here, but I can understand why some people were bummed we didn’t get Kyle’s main look from the 90s. Like DC Universe Classics, Green Lantern Classics was built on the buck system. Kyle makes use of the standard medium build body with a new head and a right hand borrowed from DCUC’s John Stewart. The head is a very nice piece, perhaps one of the finest head sculpts in the line. It very nicely captures Kyle’s look. The figure relies on paint to handle most of the costume’s details. The paint does pretty well, although there are a few fuzzy lines here and there, and a noticeable line of black plastic between the greens on the lower torso and the waist. All in all, it looks pretty good, though. Kyle includes a sword construct and a piece of the series’ C-N-C Arkillo. The construct is very impressive, and snaps easily over Kyle’s hand. It’s a great sculpt, and it’s nice to see include a fun accessory for a change.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a Green Lantern fan, I’m sure it’s no real surprise that I ended up with this figure. Even so, this is actually one of two figures from the first series of GLC I actually kept. This was another series where my brother and I split buying a series so that one of us could get the C-N-C. He wanted Arkillo, so I helped him finish the set. Not that it took too much pressuring to get me to buy Kyle. Even amongst all the versions of Hal Jordan offered, Kyle may well be my favorite DCUC-styled Green Lantern (although John does give him a run for his money). It’s a great figure, and I’m definitely glad I got one!