Tag Archives: The Flash

#3824: Jay Garrick Flash

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

JAY GARRICK FLASH

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

The vintage Kenner Super Powers line had exactly one JSA member in its entire run, Doctor Fate, who was left all by his lonesome for 40 some years.  McFarlane’s revival line has greatly expanded the roster in quite a short span of time, first with a whole three-pack of guys, and now with Jay Garrick, the original Flash!  Let’s check out this guy and his very shiny hat!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jay Garrick Flash is part of Series 10 of McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation line.  He’s the fifth JSA-er in the style, and is based on his post-“Flash of Two Worlds” look, complete with the white streaks in his hair.  The figure stands just shy of 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Jay is built on the updated skinny body, patterned on the original Barry Allen Flash, which I suppose does make it a fair but of sense.  He gets a new head, which is a rather nice piece, probably the nicest of the four McFarlane JSA sculpts.  It definitely feels very Jay in its characteristics.  He’s also got a belt add-on, as well as modified boots with the flaps and the ankle wings.  All in all, it’s a pretty good set-up, and its quite a nice recreation of his comics design.  His paint work is generally pretty good too.  The details are crisp, clean, and sharp.  I do feel like for proper authenticity, he really should have a chromed helmet, but the silver paint works okay on its own.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I love Super Powers and I love the JSA.  I also loved the three-pack, even with its slight flaws, so I’m game for pretty much as many of these guys as I can get.  Jay’s the biggest missing member, and kind of an essential counterpart to Alan, so you gotta have him.  He’s pretty much as on the mark as you can get with these figures, and a fantastic addition to the quickly growing line-up.

#3519: Nighthawk & Blur

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

NIGHTHAWK & BLUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The high-flying Nighthawk and super-speedy Blur ally with each other and the Squadron Supreme to defend their Earth”

It’s a rarity that I get to return to a Squadron Supreme discussion.  Sure, I’ve brought the team up a few times before, but it’s always about recontextualizing what is inevitably another Nighthawk or Hyperion.  This time, I actually get to build on a set I’m already building….albeit with another Nighthawk…but that’s not the point!  There are others as well!  That’s right, the Not-Batman comes packed with a Not-Flash, The Whizzer Blur!  Let’s check them out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nighthawk and Blur are the second of the two Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs based on the Squadron Supreme.  While the first set was a fairly catch-all classic take on its characters, this set more definitively dials in on specifically the Squadron Supreme of America incarnation created by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness.

NIGHTHAWK

Hey, it’s Nighthawk!  The Kyle Richmond version!  Which Kyle Richmond version, you ask?  Valid.  There’s actually four separate Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, and that’s *just* the Kyle Richmond versions.  There’s another four not-Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, but they admittedly get outweighed by Kyle.  This latest Kyle is perhaps the most Batman-y of the Kyle Nighthawks, so he’s got that going for him.  Design wise, he’s kind of a greatest hits of all the Richmonds before him, which is nifty, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Vulcan body, which makes a degree of sense, since Vulcan’s supposed to be replacing Bucky Cap, and that’s what the last Nighthawk was based on.  He gets a new head and cape piece.  They seem pretty in line with McGuninness’s depiction of the character, albeit filtered through the line’s usual stylings.  The cape’s a little tricky to keep in place and kind of stiff, but it’s an improvement on the last one for the most part.  His color work is a bit darker than the last Nighthawk, which is in line with the depiction in the comics.  The molded color work is solid, and the paint application is nice and sharp.  Nighthawk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open, and three not-Batarangs.

BLUR

When the Squadron Sinister first appeared back in the ’60s, their Flash equivalent was re-using the name of Golden Age speedster The Whizzer, and when the Squadron Supreme came into existence a decade later, the heroic equivalent was also re-using the name.  It’s a name that’s admittedly a little on the sillier side, I suppose, so the villainous version switched to “Speed Demon,” while the heroic version took on the name “Blur” during Strazinski’s reboot of the team from the early ’00s.  Aaron and McGuinness’s version kept the “Blur” name going, albeit married to a design that’s a pretty strict update to the Silver Age Whizzer designed.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This figure is based on the 2099 base body, with the upgraded arms and legs to remove the elbow and knee pins.  Speed Demon was built on the Pizza Spidey body, and I honestly was never entirely happy with that.  This one suits the general character set-up a lot better.  He gets a new head and belt, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  The head’s a fantastic piece of work, with a nice, fun-loving grin on his face.  It feels very true to the character.  The color work is pretty clean; the black and yellow works well, and the painted elements are quite nice.  Blur is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly didn’t intend to pick this set up.  I got the first pack mostly because I just wanted a Doctor Spectrum.  These two using the newer designs meant I had less attachment to them, so I was planning to pass.  But, then they announced Power Princess, meaning I’d be able to finally have *some* version of the team completed, and the more I looked at the Blur figure, the more I liked him.  Blur is the real star here for me; something about his simplicity just really works, and he’s close enough to the classic Whizzer design to work for my collecting sensibilities.  Nighthawk I can take or leave.  I prefer the Defenders costume to this one, so it’ll remain my primary version of the character.  Of course, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a first appearance costume for him.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#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.

#2959: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

You do have to give Mattel a little bit of credit, and I can’t believe I’m saying that, on how they handled the early line planning on DC Universe Classics.  There was some serious effort not to just front load the whole thing with all of the hitters right away, instead using them to anchor assortments of otherwise more minor characters.  Their first year saw them struggling to reach full retail distribution, but going into their second, things were starting to seem a little more solid.  They kicked off the year with an assortment loosely centered on today’s focus, the Flash, specifically of the Barry Allen variety, since he had just returned to life after a lengthy period of deadness just a few months prior.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flash was part of the seventh series of DC Universe Classics, the series that built the Atom Smasher figure I reviewed last year.  This marked Mattel’s first of many assortments where the heavy hitter of the set would be sold sans Collect-N-Connect part, something Hasbro would end up co-opting into their Legends line when it returned a few years later.  Flash was, unsurprisingly, the heavy hitter for this assortment.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  At this point in the line, the rockers are still present on the ankles, for all the good they do.  Okay, that’s a little unfair, because they do wind up being somewhat useful on Flash, at least for some slightly better running poses.  He’s still not gonna balance very well in those poses, but let’s take what we can get.  Flash was built on the medium male body, originally introduced in Series 3 for Nightwing and Green Lantern.  It was the slightest build they had available for an adult male body at the time, and would remain that way for quite a while.  Ultimately, it’s just too bulky for any iteration of the Flash.  Barry can be a little bulkier than the average speedster, but this goes to excess.  I honestly think that it’s really the shoulders that throw things off; the DCUC bucks always had very prominent shoulders, and for a character like Flash, this stands out even more.  Generally speaking, however, it’s not the worst it could be, and in light of a line that was built upon such things across the board, it’s ultimately a minor issue.  Flash got a new head, shins, and feet.  The head is decent, if a bit devoid of personality for Barry.  A slightly warmer expression would go a long way.  The lower legs gave him proper boot sculpts, which are actually quite nice.  The feet even get treads on the bottoms, just like Flash always had.  It’s certainly a nice touch.  His paint work is generally pretty basic, but it’s also generally pretty clean in its application.  He also gets a little bit of accenting on the reds and yellows, just to keep things a little more visually interesting.  It actually works pretty nicely.  Flash was the one figure in the set not to get a CnC piece, but he did get one of Mattel’s patented crappy blue display stands.  They were great for…umm…being not so good at helping the figures stand?  They sure were blue and translucent, though.  They did that part well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

By the seventh series, the line was starting to get a little easier to get, so it wasn’t quite the nightmare of other sets to get these figures.  That said, I didn’t actually get Flash until after the line was essentially dead.  At the time he hit, I was still mixing these guys in with my DC Directs, and I had a couple of other Barry Allen Flash figures I liked well enough, so I didn’t go after this one.  When the line ended, I realized how close I was to having the Satellite Era League, so I filled in a few gaps, and picked this one up for a decent price loose.  He’s not my favorite figure from the line, but he does an okay job, and he does look cool with the rest of the League.

#2907: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

DC MULTIVERSE (MCFARLANE)

“In a freak lab accident, forensic scientist Barry Allen was struck by lightning and doused with chemicals, which gave him the superpowers of the Speed Force. Now he uses these powers to defend his hometown of Central City—and the rest of the world—from the forces of evil as The Flash! The Fastest Man Alive can run up the sides of buildings, across oceans, and around the world at light speed. He can also vibrate his molecules to phase through solid objects!”

Hey, look at that, sometimes McFarlane doesn’t only do Batman.  I know, it’s a crazy concept.  Sometimes he’ll laser focus in on a different character for just a moment.  And for a little portion of the last year or so, one such laser focused character was the Flash, who’s now had a whole five figures.  Can you believe that?  I mean, I guess it’s possible to believe it.  I mean, there’s like empirical evidence to support it and all.  It’s probably been peer reviewed.  Speaking of reviews, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing here, so why don’t I do that?  Yeah, I think I will!  Let’s jump in on that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Flash was part of the basic DC Multiverse line-up, hitting retail at roughly the mid-point of last year…some places anyway.  McFarlane’s distribution’s been all over the map, so exact timelines can be weird.  He was the first of the Flash figures McFarlane released, but was quickly followed by the slight retool of this one for the two-pack release with Red Death.  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  Flash’s articulation scheme follows what we’ve become used to with McFarlane’s DC stuff.  The range isn’t bad, but it does have a tendency to break up the sculpt in rather odd ways.  Also, some of the joints, notably on the ankles, are a little on the loose side, so it can be hard to get him to hold poses for terribly long.  But, for the most part, it’s not terrible.  Flash’s sculpt was initially unique, but then saw re-use for the two-pack release, and is getting another re-use for the upcoming Reverse Flash as well.  It’s patterned on his far more ridge-y post-New 52 appearance.  While it’s got a bit too much going on for it to be my preferred Flash, it does seem like it’s more up Todd’s alley.  Also, it’s still his current look, so it adds up.  It does at least make for a pretty nice looking figure, and they didn’t add a bunch of other unnecessary details that don’t need to be there.  The main defining trait of this figure, in contrast to the two-pack release, is the head sculpt.  For this one, he gets a more playful expression with a smile.  It’s a bit cartoony an exaggerated, but it feels appropriate for the character, and I really like it.  The only part I’m a bit iffy on is the ear wings, which seem a little too crazy for my preferred take on Flash.  Otherwise, it’s pretty solid.  Flash’s paint work is generally pretty basic.  It’s bright and colorful, which is a bit of a contrast from the usual McFarlane output, so I won’t really complain on that.  The figure is packed with an assortment of lightning effects, as well as a display stand, so that you can get some more intense running displays…when he remains standing, of course.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When DC Collectibles launched Essentials, I picked up Reverse Flash, but not the standard, because I found basic Flash to be just a touch too bland for my taste.  I still wanted one in a comparable scale, so when this guy was shown off, I was at the very least interested.  Of course, with the wonky distribution and such, All Time never ended up getting theirs, and I couldn’t really be bothered to actually hunt him down.  As luck would have it, he wound up getting traded in loose a couple of months ago, so I was able to pick one up without much fuss.  He’s still got those typical McFarlane things going on, but I do like him a fair bit overall, and he fits in well with my Essentials figures, so I’d call that a win.

#2763: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

“Flash is the fastest man alive. Can run at super-speed. Can vibrate his body so quickly as to be immaterial, so that bullets pass through him, or can go through walls. Can also move so fast he becomes invisible. Can run on water.”

Despite the namesake being one of DC’s earliest heroes, and this particular iteration being the character that ushered in the Silver Age at DC, The Flash was nevertheless, rather conspicuously missing from DC’s earliest forays into the world of action figures.  He wouldn’t get his toy due until Kenner’s Super Powers, where he at least was not only finally included into toy form, but was also in the line’s inaugural year.  Way to go Kenner!  Let’s look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Flash was included in Kenner’s first assortment of Super Powers in 1984, debuting alongside most of the rest of the core Justice League line-up.  Since Barry was still the current Flash at the time, the figure was very definitely based on him, in his look that more or less remained unchanged from his very first appearance in Showcase.  The figure was one of the shortest in the line, at a little under 4 1/2 inches tall, and he sported the standard 7 points of articulation.  Barry was typically depicted as a little bit on the shorter side compared to some of the other members of the team, so this slightly smaller stature fit the character, and also helped to keep the slightly more diverse physical characteristics of the line’s take on the heroes.  His sculpt also depicts as being much more lithe than his teammates, with notably narrower shoulders than the other male heroes.  It definitely helped to place emphasis on his legs and his build as a runner, which is very appropriate for the character.  His face has a nice, friendly smile on it; most of the heroes had a generally friendly expression, but Flash’s is very definitely a smile.  And it’s not one of Wally’s more sly grin’s, either; this is very definitely Barry’s goofy scientist type of smile.  I really like it.  Flash’s costume elements are largely sculpted, which is certainly impressive.  Perhaps the coolest little touch is the inclusion of the treads on the bottoms of his feet.  That’s an area that usually gets left smooth, but not on this guy.  It’s a very nice attention to detail.  The figure’s paint was pretty basic.  There’s not exactly a ton of details to be had, but he was, like the rest of the line, bold and colorful.  I like that.  Unfortunately, Flash is also a figure very prone to paint wear over time, specifically on his nose and chin, as can be seen on my figure.  I’ve actually had three of this guy over the years, and every one of them had the exact same wear.  Flash had no accessories, but he did include his own action feature, dubbed “Power Action Lightning Legs”.  When you squeeze his arms, his legs kick back and forth, in a sort of a reversal of the other figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

A proper Kenner Flash was actually one of the later additions to my early Super Powers figures, which is amusing, because it’s actually Flash’s fault I was introduced to Super Powers in the first place.  When I was first getting into collecting in the ’90s, Flash figures were hard to come by (the Total Justice one had just dried up at retail, and the JLA rerelease wasn’t quite out yet), so my dad bought me one online.  It was the Toy Biz DC Super Heroes one, but had be incorrectly identified as the Super Powers one.  That ultimately led to me stumbling upon the Super Powers Archive and low-key falling in love with the line, but for the first few years, my “Super Powers” Flash was actually the Toy Biz one.  It wasn’t until my dad got me a batch of various figures for Christmas one year that I actually got to upgrade to the one seen in this review.  Despite not being my first Flash, he’s still a very cool Flash, and definitely one of my favorite Flashes, and he really shows that Kenner was very committed to not phoning these figures in.

#2707: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

FIRST APPEARANCE (DC DRIECT)

After the success of Superman and Batman, DC created a whole host of additional costumed heroes to join them.  Debuting in Flash Comics #1, Jay Garrick became the first incarnation of the titular character.  When the Golden Age ended, he was replaced by Barry Allen as the Silver Age Flash, but re-appeared just a few short years later in “Flash of Two Worlds,” the story that placed all of the Golden Age heroes on a separate Earth and officially created DC’s Multiverse.  Pretty nifty, huh?  Despite being a rather prominent fixture of the DC ‘verse, Jay’s been light on toys.  Under DC Direct, he got his second figure, amusingly enough, under the First Appearance banner.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Flash was released in the first series of DC Direct’s First Appearance figures, alongside the previously reviewed Batman.  Prior to this one, his only figure was the less style-specific figure from the main JSA line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  While DCD were willing to spring for extra joints on Batman, they were not similarly inclined for the rest of the assortment, so Jay just got their standard movement of the time.  It’s enough for some decent posing, but is admittedly pretty limiting.  He’s certainly not getting any deep running poses or anything.  Like the rest of the line, this version of Jay is quite strictly based on his first appearance art, in this case, Harry Lampert’s illustrations from the interiors of the book.  He seems to draw the most inspiration from the illustration of Jay that ran alongside the character’s header within the book, right down to his slight pre-posing seeming to line up with the slight running pose of the drawing.  It’s actually not a bad match for the art, though it certainly leaves him looking a bit more polished, and generally just a bit, I don’t know, prettier? He’s a pretty man, I guess, or at least he was in 1940.  Less so later.  I’ll admit, I’m a touch weirded out by a Jay that’s not at least middle-aged, but he wasn’t always, I suppose.  This figure also reflects the minor changes that were present in Jay’s costume earlier on, with the free-floating lighting bolt, the slightly less defined boots, and the bolts on the sides of his legs (presumably to make him go faster?).  Flash was the one figure in the first series to lack any cloth goods pieces, due to his costume’s tighter-clinging nature.  He does, however, get a removeable helmet piece.  It’s not as defined as other versions, but it’s also accurate to the art in that way, so good on them for that, I suppose.  Flash’s paint is quite bright and colorful, which is appropriate for this incarnation, and also makes him fairly eye-catching.  As with Batman, they vary up the finishes a bit on some of the colors, which helps give them a little more pop.  Flash was packed with a display stand (same as Batman’s) and a reprint of his story from Flash Comics #1.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My main focus when this line hit was Batman, so I really didn’t pay this guy much mind when they were new.  Not many people did, honestly, so he would up being way marked down at Cosmic Comix about a year later, which is when I finally picked mine up, because, hey, he was cheap, right?  I also didn’t have another Jay Garrick at the time, so he worked on that front, too.  He’s not a bad figure, though he’s maybe not one of the showier offerings from this line.

#2563: Flash

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

FLASH

DC HEROES UNITE (SPIN MASTER)

To continue my Spin Master DC-centric week of reviews here, lets go ahead and just expand that Justice League roster just a bit further, shall we?  Yeah, and it’s gonna be one of the team’s founding members, even.  I mean, depending on who’s under the mask.  And which founding line-up you’re talking about…look, it’s the Flash, okay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Flash is part of Spin Master’s DC Heroes Unite.  He was technically in Series 1, but proved a little more on the scarce side at that point.  Fortunately, he’s also in Series 2, allowing anyone who missed him the first time around to have another chance.  Yay for me!  Flash is seen here in his post-New 52 costume, which has the notable feature of being pretty much the only of those designs to actually last.  It helps that it’s really just a slight tweak on the classic ’60s costume.  That officially makes this figure Barry Allen, but given the general similarity of Flash costumes, he could also be Wally in a pinch, I suppose.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  No waist or wrists hits Flash a little bit harder than the others in the line, but he’s still got enough posability in him to get some halfway decent running poses.  In terms of sculpt, he follows the line’s general trend towards making these guys a little bit bulkier than usual, so Flash definitely isn’t as svelte as I tend to think of the character.  It’s not terrible, though, and he ends up being about the same size as NIghtwing, which tracks alright for me.  It’s really just his arms looking a bit stubby that throws things off, but it’s not the end of the world, and it’s no worse than anything Mattel did.  He’s got more jovial expression, with a friendly smile, which leans him more into that Barry characterization.  Whatever the case, it works, and it sets him apart from the others nicely.  Flash’s paint work is pretty simple, but also clean and very bright.  It works well for his design.  Flash has had a few releases, so there are a few options for his blind-boxed pieces.  Mine’s got the lightning bolt sword thing in yellow, the chest armor in a sort of metallic blue/purple, and the wind vortex in blue.  Ultimately, I don’t see myself using any of these for the character, but they’re nifty enough, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Flash is one of the rare Spin Master DC figures I’ve actually found for myself, and was the one that cued me into the fact that there was actually a Series 2 out there, once I looked at his little pamphlet.  I’d actually just guessed he was a Series 1 restock when I saw him.  Whatever the case, I was glad to get a second chance at him, and he’s another solid addition to the line-up.

#1498: Kid Flash

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

KID FLASH

THE FLASH (DCC)

One of my favorite TV shows (and one of the few I can actually more or less keep up with) is CW’s The Flash.  The show’s gone pretty much all-in with the whole Flash mythos, and just last season they officially introduced Wally West in the role of Barry Allen’s sidekick Kid Flash.  Wally’s always been a very important character in the Flash, and I was pretty thrilled to finally get to see him in action.  I was also pretty thrilled that finally got an action figure, courtesy of DC Collectibles’ very slowly released line of figures from the show.  Let’s have a look at how he turned out, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kid Flash is the seventh figure in DCC’s The Flash line.  The last of these I looked at was Captain Cold, who was figure 2, so it looks like I’ve fallen a little bit behind.  Wally just hit a few weeks ago, alongside White Canary from Legends of Tomorrow.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall (just a skosh smaller than Barry, which is about right) and he has 26 points of articulation.  Wally loses several points of articulation from Barry, all of them swivels on the legs.  I’m not sure what DCC has against swivels on the legs, but they do seem to remove them a lot.  It’s frustrating, because it definitely limits the poses you can do with the figure.  He does at least have rocker ankles, so he makes out a bit better than Supergirl in that respect.  The articulation is far more useful than on recent Mattel offerings, and that’s a definite plus.  Wally’s sculpt is all-new to him.  While it’s not quite as detailed as Flash or Supergirl (which is true to his show design, since his costume lacks a lot of the texturing of the main characters’ costumes), but it’s still quite accurate to the show design.  I actually find his build to be more realistic and far less gangly than Barry, which is a step in the right direction.  The head sports a pretty solid likeness of actor Keiynan Lonsdale in the mask, although this is clearly him from earlier in Season 3, given the shorter hair.  Wally’s paint is some of the best I’ve seen on the CW figures, helped largely by the bolder colors present in the design.  There’s a lot of vibrance in the color choices, and he’s even got some pretty solid accent work to keep the larger stretches of the same colors from getting too monotonous.  Wall is packed with hands in fists, gripping, and in flat running poses, which make for a decent variety of poses.  He also gets an extra unmasked head, which makes me retroactively frustrated that DCC stuck the extra Barry head in a freaking two-pack.  I still would have liked to see some sort of running stand included here; I ended up making due with a Minimate flight stand for the photo up top.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Wally from Cosmic Comix.  As luck would have it, he hit during the 26th Annual Annual Sale, so I got him for 40% off his usual price.  I definitely wanted to pick him up at some point, but I won’t deny that the sale helped me make the decision to grab him sooner rather than later.  I’m happy with this figure.  He’s not perfect, but he’s still quite good.  And, most importantly, he got me to dig out my CW Flash figure, and reminding me that that figure was actually way better than I remembered.  And now I have this pretty awesome pair!