DC Universe Classics Wave 17 carded

The next DC Universe Classics wave is almost upon us and mattel has released some pictures carded pictures of the wave 17 line up.  Green Lantern and Blackest Night fans will surely be excited for this set.  You can expect to find DCUC 17 available for sale towards summer 2011.  Now, lets take a look:

First up, Indigo Lantern - The Atom. 

Next up, Black Lantern Hal Jordan

 

And the variant White Lantern Hal Jordan version

Orange Lantern - Lex Luthor in his power suit

Sinestro Corps - Scarecrow who has a very cool looking head sculp.  I really, REALLY hope that Mattel releases a classic version of Scarecrow soon!

And finally Star Sapphire Wonder Woman. 

Im not entirely sure how this wave will end up doing.  It is filled with A list character but the bad part, they are in one time costumes.

If you're looking for DC Universe Classics action figures, check out eBay.  Definitely the best online option with the most variety.  To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics on eBay, click here. 

Action Toy Review brings you the latest news, previews and reviews on Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures so be sure to check back for more info.

DC Universe Classics - Wave 17 Preview

The much rumored line up for Mattel's DC Universe Classics wave 17 set has now been confirmed.  Darkest Night fans will probably be happy to here it is going to be the rainbow Lantern set. 

The first action figure is Indigo Lantern, Atom

Next, Black Lantern Hal Jordan.  Looks like a cool head sculpt.

Another Hal Jordan, this time a White Lantern.  At least they're changing up the facial expressions.

Next up is Blue Lantern, Flash

Next is Star Sapphire, Wonder Woman.

A transparent Orange Lantern Lex Luthor

And finally a Sinestro Corps Scarecrow. 

And the Collect and Connect action figure for Wave 17 will be Anti-Monitor.

And that's the DC Universe Classics wave 17 line up.  My first impressions are.....why is this wave not part of the newly launched spin off Green Lantern toy line instead of the DCUC toy line???? Also, I would've much preferred a regular Scarecrow instead of a Sinestro Corps version.  The Lex looks cool as does Blue Flash but I can't say I'm foaming at the mouth for this set.  You will probably find this set available towards the 2nd quarter of 2011. 

***Possible Spoiler Alert***

Unconfirmed rumors of the DC Universe Classics Wave 18's line up point to it consisting mainly of characters from the old Super Friends cartoon.  It is being dubbed the Super Friends Diversity wave on the Internet and consists of characters such as El Dorado, Black Vulcan, Samurai, a new Bizarro with interchangeable hands and head to switch to Superman (what about the chest piece?).  Metallo, Manhunter round out the line up with the Collect and Connect figure will be Apache Chief.  Again, this is just a rumored line up.  All i have to say about this is, I truly hope it is only a rumor.  I have no interest in any of the ethnic Super Friends even though i loved the show, they were by far the worst part of it.  

If you're looking for any DC Universe Classics action figures, check out eBay by clicking here.   

DC Universe Classics - 2009 Year In Review

The second full year into Mattel's DC Universe Classics and we've seen some pretty cool action figures through out the year.   So I'll just go over some of the main characters and my favs we've seen released through out the 2009 calendar year.

For starter, Mattel gave us the biggest Collect and Connect action figure thus far in Wave 8's Giganta standing at about 10 inches tall.  Easily one of the best looking CnC figures aswell to date. 

We've also seen the dreded return of the Walmart Exclusive set, much like Wave 5 in 2008, wave 10 in 2009 was another walmart exclusive set.  This set featured a very import action figure of The Joker which would be important to any DC Comics fan.  Joker was arguably one of the best DCUC action figures of the year in my opinion.  We also saw and a repainted Batman figure was released again in this set.  That would make this the 4th repaint using this same sculpt.  Mattel thankfully included some cool new accessories with Bats.

Power Girl, also part of wave 10 and Superman from the Gotham City 5 pack (another wal-mart exclusive).  The unfortunate thing about these walmart exclusives is that so many people have a hard time finding them.  It appears that Mattel or Walmart is only releasing this in certain areas around the US.  If you're in Canada (like me) or somewhere else, you can forget about it.  Ebay is your only option. 

Captain Cold and Flash from wave 7 were some of the A list characters released in 2009.  I like how Mattel has been releasing a big name hero with one of their popular arch enemies with each set. 

We also saw some New Genesis/Apokolips characters introduced such as Big Barda from wave 7, Mister Miracle from wave 6, Kalibak also from wave 6, Mantis from wave 9 and Parademon from wave 8.  Look out for more of these characters including a new Darkseid in 2010's wave 12 set. 

Below we have Hawkman from wave 6 and Gentleman Ghost from wave 8.  There were some complaints about low numbers of wave 8 and 9 being released.  I myself still have not been able to finish either set.  Gentleman Ghost was very hard to find at a reasonable price.

Below we have some of the DCUC wave 9 action figures.  Left to right is Black Canary, Green Arrow, Deadshot and Mantis.

As mentioned above, Batman fans saw a few repaints of the wave 1 Detective Batman sculpt and also got some new additions for their rogue collection.  In the pic below we have from let to right, Two-Face (DCSH repaint), Catwoman (DCSH repaint), Killer Moth from wave 6, Batman (Gotham City), Deadshot and The Joker.  Is it just me or is there a lot of purple here?

There were a few two-packs released this year.  Below we see the Clash of the Cosmos Superman and Brainiac pack.

And of course, a classic Lex Luthor which also came in the Gotham City 5 Pack.  This was the only original sculpt in the set and I'm sure a lot of people bought the set just for this figure.  Fans of the old Superfriends cartoon were surely happy with this release. 

Well, thats Mattel's DC Universe Classics 2009 wrap up for you.  2010 looks to have some interesting new releases.  Waves 11, 12 and 13 have been announced and I've also got my own person list of characters I hope to see wave 14 and 15 or any new two packs.  To check out some previews of waves 11, 12 and 13, click on the links below.

DC Universe Classics Wave 11

DC Universe Classics Wave 12

DC Universe Classics Wave 13

DC Universe Classics - Superman (Gotham City 5 Pack)

Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 Pack includes a classic version of Superman, something we have not gotten to date in the DCUC toy line.   

There have been many variations of Superman however.  So far, we've seen Blue and Red Superman variants from DCUC wave 2, mullet head Superman in his classic and recovery suit variants in wave 6 and Heat Vision Superman from the "Clash in the Cosmos" Brainiac/Superman 2 pack.

As you can see below, Gotham City Superman (left) is essentially the same action figure as the Clash of the Cosmos Superman figure (right) with the exception of Superman's eyes. So I'm not going to go into to much detail on this review. You might as well read my Clash of the Cosmos review (click on the link).

Here's a close up of GC5 Superman.  Seems like black paint around Superman's left eye (your right) ran a bit towards the inside.  Other than that, the paint job on this figure is great. 

Comparing Gotham City Superman (below right) to Mattel's previous toy line's DC Superheroes Superman which was released in 2006, there are a number of differences, which in my opinion, are an improvement for one, the red colour of his cape, boots and trunks are all a brighter read on GC5 Superman.  Also with GC5 Supes, his cape is now shorter and includes the yellow "S" symbol plus his legs are not stuck in a wide stance as with DCSH Superman. 

Articulation on the figure is great just like any other DCUC action figure and there were no major issue with regards to loose joints.  Unfortunately, if you're looking for accessories, you'll be disappointed as GC5 Superman doesn't come with any extras. 

Is the Gotham City 5 pack worth the price?  We'll that's for you to decide.  Do you want a classic version of Lex Luthor and Superman?  Than yes.  Do you own the DC Superheroes versions of Two Face and Catwoman? No? Then yes, go buy it.  Do you like repainted versions of your favorite action figures? ....only you can decide.   Even for the casual collector, this set gives you some classic characters so there are plenty of reasons to go buy this baby. 

The Gotham City 5 Pack is a wal-mart exclusive, so if your local wal-mart is not carrying this product, there are plenty (currently) listed on ebay.  Just be prepared to pay for shipping costs. 

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 Pack on ebay, click here. 

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Superman action figures on ebay, click here.

Be sure to check back for another DC Universe Classics Action Figure review.  I've added a poll on the left menu so you can choose what the next DCUC review will be so be sure to vote!

DC Universe Classics - Lex Luthor (Gotham City 5 Pack)

When I first heard about the DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 pack which includes an exclusive Classic Lex Luthor action figure, it was easily considered a must buy for me. Ya, the other 4 figures are just re-paints but we're talking Lex Luthor here. The greatest criminal mind of all time. The other figures included in this pack are Batman, Superman, Catwoman and Two-Face. I'll get to the other figures down the road but lets get right to the main piece of this set, Lex Luthor:

First, as you can see, like many of the DCUC action figures the main parts of the torso, arms and legs are basically re-use parts. Giving this Lex figure its own individuality are, of course, the new head sculpt and some additional fine tuning here and there.

Wrapped around LL's chest is an X shaped....belt (?) with 4 canisters on the front....at least its what i think are canisters. The chest belt is a separate piece from the torso and has a leathery look to it but cannot be removed. There are also canisters placed on each side of his thighs and calves. One thing that you can really see in these pics (above) is that Lex's right arm sort of sticks out which is probably due to the tight packaging.

Lex's paint job is tight and his face is highlighted with a rosy skin tone shade over his forhead and cheak bones. The costume is fairly basic with no difficult areas to get messed up. There aren't any complex designs here. Green pants and gloves, purple shirt and boots, done.

Comparing DCUC Lex Luthor to DC Superheroes Battlesuit Lex Luthor (below), You'll notice that they really are two completely different action figures, different sculpts from head to toe.

The other major difference I thought was the lack of accessories included in the Gotham City 5 pack. Again, comparing the two action figures in the picture above, the old Battlesuit Lex Luthor came with a gun and a piece of Kryptonite. GC5 Lex Luthor comes with Zippo, nadda, nothing. He is sculpted with one closed fist and one open hand so he could've been given a weapon of some sort.

DCUC Lex Luthors articulation is standard from the DCUC toy line. If you have any of these DCUC action figure then you've got a pretty good idea of what you're getting. All joints were in proper working order out of the box.

Overall, Lex Luthor is a must have figure if you're any kind of a DC Comics or Superman fan. The problem is, Lex is not sold separately and you have to fork over 50 bucks or more to get him in a pack along with 4 other re-paints of previously released DCUC action figures. So you need to decide if this exclusive action figure is worth the cost.

Sculpt - 8, Paint - 9, Accessories - 0, Articulation - 9, Fun - 7

You have a few options on how to get your very own DCUC Lex Luthor action figure. First is you can head to your local Wal-Mart store (in the US only) and see if your store is one of the few that have the Gotham City 5 Pack in stock. The second option is to check eBay for the GC 5 pack (i paid $48 US plus shipping) and the third option, is to also check eBay but see if anyone is selling Lex Luthor by himself (loose). Its very possible but expect to pay about $30.00 for him on his own plus shipping costs.

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 Pack on eBay, click here

To search for the Lex Luthor action figures on eBay, click here

Thus concludes another DCUC action figure review. I'll be jumping around finishing off reviews of Wave 8 and the remaining Gotham 5 Pack figures, plus starting on reviews of wave 9 and 10 (if i can get my hands on wave 10 at all) in the near future. So be sure to check back with Action Toy Review for more news, previews, info and reviews on Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures.