Today's review: DC Universe Classics - Series 3 (Mattel)
Click here to read my review of DC Universe Classics - Series 2:
Series 3 comes with 5 action figures which are in the 6 inch range ( they vary in sizes). Just like the previous 2 sets, each figure also comes with an additional piece of a 6th figure for you to collect and connect.
Mattel has put together a good variety of Heroes and their classic villains with this set. The characters from this series are Green Lantern (Hal Jordan version), Sinestro (Classic or Corps variants), Nightwing, Robin (Tim Drake version), Deathstroke, the Terminator (Masked or unmasked variants). The C&C figure is Solomon Grundy.
Green Lantern's design is classic Hal Jordan. The face looks good. The majority of the body looks very similar to that of Black Manta's body from the previous series. Its no secret that Mattel re-uses some of the same body pieces for these figures. The figure stands just under 6.5 inches tall. DC Comics lists Hal Jordan as 6 foot 2 inches so this figure is about right compared to others in his size range. The paint job is generally done well. There are a couple of small black spots here and there where there shouldn't be. If you look closely around the edges of his mask, its not exactly a totally clean paint job with the green and flesh tone. There are some small runs. The hair is a dark brown wash with a lighter brown highlights. Again, there are some minor runs of the brown over his ears. The face would probably benefit with a bit more shading. Its not quite as nice as Aquaman's face from the previous set.Hal comes with his a well, Green Lantern which in the comics he uses to charge his ring. Its an okay, but nothing overly exciting.
The figure's strong point, much like most toys from these series is its articulation. Starting from the top down, he's got points in the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles.
Overall its a good toy but it kind of has a generic feel to it. Still, it is a good rendition of Hal Jordan and would make any DC fan happy.
Sculpt/design - 8
Paint - 7.5
Accessories - 6
Articulation - 9
Fun - 8
Green Lantern Overall Score - 7.5
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I chose the Sinestro Corps version for this figure over the classic version. The figure is a little shorter than GL standing at exactly 6 inches tall to the tip of his head. DC Comics lists Sinestro as being 6 foot 7 inches so this figure seems not close to scale. Perhaps his neck and head should've been a bit longer. That being said the face design looks really good. Most of the parts used to create the torso are new. The costume is mostly yellow and black with a silver belt.
The paint job is suspect in certain areas. The yellow over his shoulders looks like it could use another coat and shows signs are cracking around the shoulder joints. The hair is jet black with no highlights. The face is cleanly painted. He has black eyes with yellow pupils which look really good. His teeth, eyebrows and mustache all look good and do not run.
Like Green Lantern, Sinestro comes with a Lantern except his is yellow of course. Its not much, but at least its something and it fits nicely in his hands.
Even though Sinestro's body is a little smaller than GLs, the articulation is exactly the same. All joints were nice and tight out of the box. (This goes for all figures from this set).
Overall, a good figure. It uses original parts and has a great face sculpt but I'd have to question the figure's height. He should be taller. The paint is the weak part for sure.
Sculpt/design - 8
Paint - 6.5
Accessories - 6
Articulation - 9
Fun - 8
Sinestro Overall Score - 7.5
Robin stands at 5.5 inches tall so he's the shortest of the bunch. The body type is similar to that of Green Lantern but in a smaller scale. The hair is nicely done in a messy style. His cape totally wraps around his neck which kind of prevents any up and down movement. All the yellow areas on the figure are washed with a faint red. Even the inside of the cape. The back of the cape is black but there a few minor spots of yellow. The hair is jet black with some blue highlights to give it it some dimension. It looks good. The mask is cleanly painted and his eyes are bright white with no runs.
Robin has some cool accessories. He comes with 2 batarangs and a silver staff which all fit nicely into his hands.
Articulation is the same as GL and Sinestro. The only difference, as mentioned, the neck movement is limited due to his cape design. It can only move left and right.
Overall, Its a good toy on its own and he fits in great with any Batman or rogue villain figure in the 6 inch range.
Sculpt/Design - 9
Paint - 8
Accessories - 8
Articulation - 9
Fun - 9
Robin Overall Score - 8.5
Nightwing's sculpt is very similar to Green Lanterns with the exception of his forearms and boots. They are the exact same height, 6.25 inches. He also has 2 slots on his back which hold the 2 nightsticks that come with the figure. The main difference is obviously the face and hair. The paint is reasonably well done. He is mostly black with the exception of the blue design that runs across his upper body and arms. His hair is black with blue highlights that are a bit more noticeably than on the Robin figure. The mask is black but has areas of flesh tone around the edges where it should be black so it looks a little sloppy close up.
As mentioned, Nightwing comes with 2 night sticks which fit nicely into his hand or onto the holders on his back.
Articulation is the same as the other figures. Very well done from head to toe and there is nothing obstructing any of the joints.
Overall, much like the GL figure, this has a bit of a generic feel to it. I think that Nightwing should have been a bit shorter than Green Lantern. Dc Comics lists Nightwing as 5 foot 10 inches and Hal Jordan as 6 foot 2 inches. Perhaps they should have used more of Sinestro's body parts than GL for this figure.
Sculpt/Design - 7.5
Paint - 8
Accessories - 7 .5
Articulation - 9
Fun - 8
Nightwing Overall Score - 8
Deathstroke stands at 6.25 inches to the tip of his head. DC Comics lists Deathstroke as 6 foot 6 inches so the height of the figure is not consistant. For a mass market toy line, you're probably not going to get the height differences in for each individual figure unfortunately. Especially when they are using a lot of similar parts. That said, his body is more unique compared to the others from this set. Specifically the shiny scales around his abdominal and biceps (similar to the scales on Aquaman from series 2). He has his own utility belt similar to Robin but with smaller pockets. His gloves are wider towards the ends (again similar to Aquaman's) and his boots have big cuffs. The head is masked with the ends sticking out to the side like they're blowing in the wind. They cant be moved around. The paint job is well done. The are some minor orange spots on the blue part of his mask. His one eye is painted on cleanly.
Deathstroke comes with a huge variety of accessories. He comes with a huge automatic rifle, a hand gun which is holstered at his left side. A sword with a holder can be detached from his belt. A round of bullets that goes around his chest and has a holder for his final weapon, a staff.
Articulation is the same as all the other figures. and there is nothing obstructing any of the joints.
Overall, this is my favorite figure of the set. Funny considering this was the figure i was least looking forward to. He looks really cool and comes with a great selection of weapons. As far as action figures go, they don't get much better than this one.
Sculpt/Design - 9
Paint - 9
Accessories - 10
Articulation - 9
Fun - 10
Deathstroke's Overall Score- 9.5
Finally we come to the C&C figure, Solomon Grundy. Grundy is big...really big. He towers over the other standing at 9 inches tall. DC Comics has him listed as 9 foot 2 inches. His head is the highlight of the figure. Very well designed, kind of giving him that Frankenstein look. The jacket is a rubbery towards the ends and sleeves looking all ripped and torn. There are holes in his clothes all over his body.
The paint job is also really good no obvious signs of any runs or splotches. The face is nicely painted with a black wash in some of the wrinkles of his face and his teeth. The hair is gray with white highlights. The jacket, pants and boots all have the appearance that they are dirty and covered in mud.
Since Grundy himself is an accessory, he comes with nothing. His hands are perminantly closed so he cannot hold anything.
Articulation is similar to the other figures except that Grundy does not have any wrist joints. His jacket obstructs the movement of his abdominal joint so it is hard to move his upper body forwards and backwards.
Overall, this is a great bonus figure to the set, probably the best of the 3 Collect & Connect figures so far. I only wish his hands were open so he could grab or hold something.
Sculpt/Design - 8.5
Paint - 9.5
Accessories - n/a
Articulation - 8
Fun - 9
Solomon Grundy Overall Score - 9
The best place to find these figures is probably eBay or Amazon.com. Depending on where you live, they may be at a local Walmart or Target but it seems that they have only been released in limited locations.
That's it for series 3. Series 4 is expected out in October 2008 and will feature Wonder Woman, Ares, Batman Beyond, Captain Atom and Cyborg. Then series 5 is a Walmart exclusive set also due out before the end of 2008.
