Catwoman Purrrsday :: JLA

Meet the newest member of the JLA...Catwoman?!?!

From the New 52 Justice League of America #1, on shelves now.

Random Toy Pic :: Justice League Imaginext

Now I need to get Green Lantern to complete the team (until Imaginext creates Wonder Woman or Hawkgirl etc, that is!)

Got tough stains? Use Ultra Humanite! Now with Retsin!

One of my favorite action figures of all time is Ultra Humanite from the Justice League action figure toyline.

I just love the character design and character himself. Originally debuting as a proto Lex Luthor (bald mad scientist against Superman) in Action Comics #13, June 1939, Ultra Humanite was killed off in 1940 and didn't re-appear until years later as part of Earth 2 continuity.

Ultra Humanite has survived for many years by transferring his brain from his original body into various vessels over the decades, finally settling on an albino ape (because ALBINO APE!)

As odd a choice as he may seem, Ultra Humanite was one of the first villains to be released in action figure form for the Justice League cartoon. He was of course a welcome foil to the original seven and also of course quite hard to find (because MATTEL!)

In addition, he was released looking exactly like he did in the cartoon, not with day-glow pants or a scuba suit (like most toys from that era.) Ultra Humanite is also superior to most standard Justice League or JLU action figures in that 1) he's an oversized figure roughly in scale to his cartoon counterpart with the other Justice League action figures 2) his construction includes zero re-used parts and 3) he can stand upright on his own.

All of these factors were a big deal in the early 2000s when Ultra Humanite made his plastic debut.

Another factor in making this Ultra Humanite a favorite action figure of mine: I am not an articulationazi; in my opinion Ultra Humanite has just the right amount. Shoulders, elbows, legs, neck and even wrists!

I don't need an Ultra Humanite that can do the splits or suck his own toes and neither do you.

Sadly, although Ultra Humanite is an oversized figure he appears either undersized (or Gorilla Grodd is oversized) when placed next to the JLU Gorilla Grodd action figure. This fact is a wonder of science and nature because Mattel could have very easily re-used UH parts to make Grodd (because MATTEL!) yet they did not, opting instead to just make Gorilla Grodd a hard to find Target exclusive packed with a bunch of re-issues (because MATTEL!)

Finally, Ultra Humanite is awesome because he fits in with almost any toyline of this scale: He can be a Cobra experiment gone awry, he can hang with the big boys in the Mos Eisley Cantina, he can stomp Lego mini-figures until the Lego cows come home.

He is indeed Ultra.

Ultra Humanite originally came with a gun/hoversled accessory which wasn't half bad but is stored away somewhere else for now. But that's okay, Ultra Humanite needs nothing but his keen intellect to destroy the Justice League, the JSA, Superman, or even that chrome-domed pretender Lex Luthor!

It's not easy being...

...green JLArmy men!

Tom of Freak Studios came though for me big time when he told me he had come across one of my biggest "wants" from Argentina - a handful of little plastic DC Superheroes!

I don't know the full story behind these guys, but I have seen them occasionally pop up online (often credited to toy manufacturer Gulliver and coming out of Argentina) and have always longed for some of my own. I've always loved the cheap charm of monochrome mini plastic figurines, and when those monochrome mini plastic figurines are fashioned after DC Superheroes I'm doubly in love!

So when I asked Tom if he'd seen any in his toy hunting travels and he showed me these, I just about flipped!

My personal favorite is of course Batman. Bats is looking regal in green, and although he looks like he suffered a broken nose in a scuffle with villainy, he's in great shape.

Next up is Superman, also in green. These guys are all set for the JLA St. Pat's party! Supes is in beautiful condition and I love how their symbols are embossed and their costume components and face sculpts are very well done. God I wish I could go down to the drug store and buy a bag of these guys for a buck. I'd install one of those ball-pit type things like at Chuck E. Cheese and fill it with thousands of these guys and swim in it daily like Uncle Scrooge...ahem...sorry.

Next up is Batgirl in pretty pretty yellow. Batgirl is a little rougher and the sculpt is less clean - she may be a later cast as the tool began to wear down.

Here's Flash one, we'll call him Barry. Barry is supposed to have wings on his ears and boots but only has one boot wing left. He has some other casting issues too but that's okay because he's still epically cool!

Flash two, we'll call him Wally, is a lighter green matching Batman and Superman and Daiquiri Ice ice cream from Baskin-Robbins! He also has only one boot wing. He outran the others.

Orange Robin aka Dickie is the cleanest casting of all. He's in great shape and must be one of the earliest figures here. He's flawless and clean and beautiful, just like a youthful ward should be.

Red Robin aka Jason is pretty rough. Probably a very late casting. I'd call a 1-900 number to put him out of his misery if DC asked me to. Red Robin is also completely void of his name on the base. All the other figures have their name cast into their base, but Robin here does not, and it isn't because it wore off the figure, it just isn't there. Maybe another clue as to where he falls in the history of these guy' manufacture.

"Dang! You look like you've been beat by a crowbar and left for dead, Jason! Maybe you should put a hood over your head. While you do that, I'll be Batman."

"Here we go round the mulberry bush!"

These guys are all unbelievably awesome! I need to go buy a bag of army men so I can have Batman and Superman and Flash and even Batgirl and Robin swing in and save the day!

I can't believe Tom was able to track them down for me so quickly and effortlessly. I'm beginning to think Argentina is the ultimate destination for a toy lover. Come to think of it, they probably have topless beaches too.

I'm booking my flight now, Tom; I hope you have a big couch!