Tag Archives: The Flash

#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!

#0768: Captain Cold

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

CAPTAIN COLD

THE FLASH (DC COLLECTIBLES)

CapCold1

Well, CW’s The Flash successfully made its way all the way through its first season and is now halfway through its second. It’s not a perfect show (few shows are), but it’s been a lot of fun, just all throughout. The series’ cast of regular characters have a lot to do with that, but they don’t do it all on their own; they get by with a little help from their… guest stars, who, more often than not, are playing members of the Flash’s oh so awesome rogues gallery. One of the most prominent, most recurring of those rogues is Captain Cold, who’s proved to be quite the popular character. He’s even getting an expanded role on the upcoming Legends of Tomorrow spin-off. So, what better to celebrate that than an awesome action figure?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CapCold2Captain Cold was released earlier this year as figure 02 in DC Collectibles’ The Flash line. He follows the Flash, and precedes his frequent partner in crime, Heatwave. The figures stands about 6 ¾ inches tall (he’s just a little taller than Flash) and has 30 points of articulation. The range of motion on the joints is a little restricted, but I found Cold to be easier to pose than Flash, so that’s good. Captain Cold is based on his most frequent appearance from the show, which is his fur-lined blue parka look. It’s a pretty nice callback to his comics design, while still being reasonably practical in a real world setting. This figure’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s pretty reasonably handled, though it isn’t without its drawbacks. The articulation is mostly worked in well, but the ankle joints are a little rough, and his feet almost look like they belong on another figure. Also, there’s no way that this guy can get his arms close enough to his chest for a two-handed hold on his gun, so you’ll just have to pick one side or another. The hood is probably my least favorite aspect of the figure. It’s permanently up, for one thing. You can sort of pull it back behind his head, but it’ll want to go back into place. I feel the figure might have been helped by a separate hood piece that could be swapped for one that was folded down. Plus, the fur lining looks more like a poor CGI rendering of a fur lining than the real thing. The rest of the sculpt is actually pretty good. The texturing on the clothing is very nicely handled, and there’s a fully detailed shirt under the coat. The head gives us a pretty spot-on likeness of Cold’s actor, Wentworth Miller. He doesn’t quite have Miller’s intense stare, but I think that’s more a result of the goggles. Cold’s paintwork isn’t the most exciting paint ever, but it’s quite nicely done. Everything’s pretty clean, and there’s lots of nice accent work for the sculpt’s finer details. Captain Cold is packed with his trusty cold gun, as well as two pairs of hands (gripping and fists).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I actually wasn’t sure I was going to get Captain Cold when he was announced, and even less sure after not being wowed by The Flash figure DCC put out, but I really found myself liking the character on the show a whole lot. So, when he showed up at my local comic book store, I happily picked him up. I’m glad I stuck with the line. Cold still isn’t a perfect figure, but he’s a definite step up from Flash, and shows that the line is definitely going in the right direction. I can’t wait to see who else we get!

CapCold3

#0561: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

THE FLASH (DC COLLECTIBLES)

FlashTV1

Live action and DC Comics have something of an iffy history. While they pretty much invented the modern Super Hero movie with Richard Donner’s Superman, most of their film work has been acceptable at best and horrifyingly bad at worst. On the small screen, they faired a little better, with popular runs of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but they kinda started to run out of steam. Smallville lasted for an insane 10 seasons, but I wouldn’t really call any of them particularly noteworthy. When they launched Arrow, I watched for about a half a season, but gradually lost interest. I figured that DC TV just wasn’t for me anymore. Enter The Flash. It’s fun, light-hearted, and it doesn’t seem to be shying away from the bolder aspects of the characters. And now it’s getting action figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FlashTV2Flash here was just released last month as part of DC Collectibles’ The Flash line, based on the show. It’s sort of a spin-off of the Arrow line, and Flash is a single release figure (though he’ll soon be joined by Captain Cold). Flash is marked as figure 01, so clearly DCC is planning on there being at least a few of these. The figure stands about 6 ½ inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. In case you hadn’t already pieced it together, Flash is based on the character’s appearance on the TV series of the same name. The show design is, of course, based on the comics design, with a fair bit more texturing and the like added. The figure features an all-new sculpt. After dipping my toes into the DCC waters with several of their animated figures, the Flash is a little bit of a letdown. The sculpt certainly isn’t bad. There is plenty of texturing on the suit, and most of its finer details are nice and sharp. The problems with the sculpt are mostly related to its resemblance of actor Grant Gustin. Gustin is a pretty skinny guy, but he’s definitely not as lanky as this figure would have you believe. In addition, while the head features a passable likeness, the details are a little on the soft side. The figure’s paintwork is generally pretty decent. The colors seem to be a close match to those on the show, and most of the details stay within their designated areas. The only real weak point is the head, where the paint ends up being a little softer at the edges, although that’s at least in part due to the sculpt. The Flash is packed with three sets of hands, in fist, grip, and open poses. They’re perfectly fine additions, but the figure would have majorly benefited from the inclusion of some sort of stand to facilitate some deeper running stances.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Flash was something of an impulse buy (which is fitting, I suppose). I don’t do that very often anymore, but my comicbook store had him sitting on the shelf, and I have been enjoying the show. The figure isn’t the most impressive figure ever made, and he hasn’t really swayed me on buying anymore of DCC’s TV-based figures. That said, he’s really not a bad figure, and I don’t regret the purchase. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the rest of the line, and I’ll probably end up picking up a few others, depending on the character selection.