DC Universe Classics & Batman Legacy - New York Comic Con 2011

 This past weekend was the 2011 New York Comic Con and Mattel revealed some cool new additions to their DC Universe Classics and Batman Legacy toy lines.  There is so much to go over so lets take a look at some of the new action figures we can look forward to seeing in 2012

 

Starting off with the Batman Legacy toy line, Mattel is releasing a "First Appearance Batman" action figure (above).  If you're not familiar with this look, google some images of some of the first Batman comic books.  

 

Catwoman seems to getting more press these days, with her appearance in the The Dark Knight rises movie coming next year, as well as Batman Year One and her role in the new Arkham City video Game.  Now Mattel will also be releasing a Silver/Bronze Age Catwoman action figure too.  More on Catwoman in a bit.  

  

 Mattel's next Arkham City Two-Pack from the Batman Legacy edition and based on the Batman: Arkham City Video Game, will be the combo of Robin (Tim Drake) and Joker.  We already new about these action figures from the SDCC but not that they were going to be sold together as a two pack.

 Could this combo (above) be the next two pack?  Possibly.  We have seen prototypes of Harley Quinn but not Nightwing until now.  Since it appears that these Arkham City action figures are being sold as two-packs, my money is on this group being the next edition. 

 You can probably also count on this duo (above) to be sold as a two pack.  Catwoman and a blue version of Batman, similar to the Batman action figure from the two pack with Arkham City Two-Face. 

Now, I'm not sure if the above Super Powers version of  The Penguin is going to be part of the Batman Legacy toy line or the DC Universe Classics toy line, but really, does it matter?  We know it will be released at retail but not part of a specific wave.  I'm really curious to see what Mattel will be doing with the DCUC stuff at the retail level.  Apparently just popular characters, but will they still be released as waves and no CNC figures (a la DC Superheroes toy line back in 2007-08)

Penguin's head sculpt is brand new and looks a little cartoony.  The rest of the body and his umbrella are exactly the same sculpt as the original DCUC Penguin in Wave 1 .  Okay, that's it for Batman Legacy, on to the DC Universe Classics

 Back at the 2011 SDCC, the final full wave 20 of the DC Universe Classics toy line was announced however, we did not get a look at White Lantern Flash or the size corrected Sinestro Corps Sinestro.  At NYCC 2011, as you can see, the entire set was on display.  Sinestro appears to have been given the same body size as the many Hal Jordan action figures we've seen released in this toy line. 

White Lantern Flash has been given similar attachments that we saw back in DCUC Wave 2 on the red and blue Superman variants.  

 New Toys R Us Two Packs were also announced but they are also just repaints of previous figures.  We have a Blue Lantern Kyle Rainer & Sinestro Corps Hal Jordan Two-pack.  I'm not 100% sure but i believe the Hal Jordan head is from one of the Wave 17 Hal Jordan's (White Lantern i believe). 

The second Two-Pack is a Battle Damaged Batman and Azrael two pack.  Again, these appear to just be repaints.  The symbol on Batman's chest is ripped and his head is pure blue.  Other than that, this is similar to the original Wave 1 Batman and the many repaints after that.  Azrael is a repaint of Wave 16 Azrael.  The blue on the original figure has been replaced with red.   

 A lot of Rainbow Lantern action figures coming out here and there, makes you wonder if the rumors of another Rainbow Lantern wave was true at one point.  Mattel will be releasing this Orange Lantern Larfleeze action figure at retail apparently but on an individual basis.  He will not be part of any set....?

He's got a very cool head sculpt.  Love the horns coming out of the side of his head and the teeth look amazing!!

 On display again were the Matty Collector DCUC Infinite Earth Club action figures, Starman, Jay Garrick and Atrocitus.  No other Infinite Earth Club action figures were present or announced so members will have to hold their breath a little longer for more news.  

 The winning action figure and the first large size action figure to be released in the Infinite Earth Club of the Matty collector poll is Metron and he was on display at the 2011 NYCC along with the Mobius Chair.  Metron apparently will stand 12 inches tall. 

 A close up of the Mobius chair above and a close up of Metron below. 

Finally, you can't go to Comic Con without there being an exclusive action figure.  This year is a scary version of the Joker from Arkham City.  It is different from the Arkham City two pack Joker

  That is one messed up head sculpt!  I've actually seen a few of these on eBay already.  There's only 4000

of these Joker action figures out there so if you want to get your hands on one, click here immediately!

Unfortunately, there was no sign of any Mattel version of the "New 52" Justice League or any other rebooted characters, so i guess we'll have to wait and see if Mattel does anything in the future

Thats it for this post.  Be sure to check back with Action Toy Review for all your DC Universe action figure news info and reviews.  Also be sure to help keeps Action Toy Review alive by visiting our sponsors.  Thanks Mates.  Until the next post.

DC Universe Classics - Wave 20 Announcement (SDCC 2011)

TO FIND DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS WAVE 20 ON EBAY - CLICK HERE

This past weekend was the very popular 2011 San Diego Comic Convention and collectors of the DC Universe Classics toy line got some interesting news.  First regarding DCUC wave 20 - the line has been announced and there are pictures of some (but not all) of these action figures.  Originally, there were rumors going around that this would be another Blackest night set similar to the "Rainbow Lantern" Set (DCUC Wave 17) which was recently released.  Wave 20 was suppose to feature characters in their Lantern Uniforms.  Fortunately, this isn't the case (mostly)  Lets take a look at Wave 20's line up first: 

First we have a new Green Arrow.  This one supporting his hooded look.  The face and his bow look very similar to the Green Arrow figure from Wave 9 but the rest of this action figure appears to have some very different detail then the Wave 9 version

Its only fitting that this DCUC Wave 20 also include a Red Arrow action figure to go along with Green Arrow.  Interestingly enough, his outfit appears to be very similar to Wave 9 Green Arrow's look with the exception of the belt.  Hopefully it's not an exact copy. 

Next up we have the Team of Hawk and Dove.

And then we have the Reverse-Flash. 

Now the following two action figures who ARE confirmed as part of DCUC Wave 20 were not revealed at the 2011 SDCC.  Apparently we will not get a look at them until the next New York Comic Convention.  These action figures will be:

White Lantern Flash (Barry Allen)

-and-

Sinestro Corps version of Sinestro.  This is an interesting inclusion.  We've already got a Sinestro Corps version from DCUC Wave 2 but clearly many fans were not happy with that figure due to Sinestro being too short.  An other Sinestro figure was then released in the Green Lantern's Light 5 pack.  This Sinestro basically had the same body size as Hal Jordan with the wave 2 Sinestro's Head attached.  A third version of Sinestro was then released along with a Hal Jordan in a separate Two-Pack.  It was the Thaal Sinestro version and not the Corps version.  It was taller than Hal Jordan and a skinnier body type. So it will be interesting to see which body Mattel will do with Sinestro this time around. 

Finally the Collect and Connect action figure for DCUC wave 20 will be

Nekron

So there you have it. DC Universe Classics Wave 20.  

That's not all the news coming out of the SDCC.  Mattel has also announced their "Club Infinite Earths" which will provide collectors with exclusive action figures.  Head over to Mattycollector if you'd like to subscribe and read it carefully.  Initial cost is $30 bucks but it there are other fees that you will need to pay out as well.  If enough subscriptions are purchased to make the service go forward, the plan is to release 9 monthly 6" figures, 3 quarterly over sized figures, and a club exclusive figure (all figures except the club exclusive will also be available on Mattel's website). The club exclusive will be an over sized figure chosen by fans in a poll on Mattel's website among the following four figures:

Black Lantern Swamp Thing

Metron with Mobius Chair

Rocket Red

Shaggy Man

If enough subscriptions are received, Mattel revealed that the first figures to be released through the club will be:

Red Lantern, Atrocitus

Starman (Thom Kallor)

and

The Flash (Jay Garrick)

On a side note, are you wondering what the SDCC DCUC exclusive was this year?  Take a look:

Swamp Thing

And finally, some more cross promotional two packs were also at comic con which featurs one DC Universe Classics action figure and one Masters of the Universe character.  Im not a really big fan of these but those of you looking to finish off your Legion of Doom collections might want to get your hands on Bizarro from this set.  Or you can just try to grab a Bizarro off of eBay from the DC Super Heroes toy line back in 07-08.  Its the exact same figure. 

There are also suppose to be Two Packs featuring Hal Jordan and Zodiac as well as Supergirl and She-Ra. 

Thats it for this post.  Be sure to help keep Action Toy Review alive by visiting our sponsors.  Especially if you're looking to purchase these action figures.  I am a big fan of eBay to use purchase DC Universe Classics so be sure to check out eBay's section by clicking here

Be sure to check back for more SDCC news on Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures. 

DC Universe Classics Thaal Sinestro

DC Universe Classics wave 3 probably has, in my opinion, the best line up of DC comic book characters compared to any other of the other 16 waves released to date.  That being said one of the action figures from that wave also has some of the most complaints of inaccuracy, more than any other action figure in the entire DC Universe Classics toy line.  That complaint was, "Why is Sinestro so damn short??"  Well, Mattel has now corrected that and released a new Sinestro action figure in a 2 pack.  Unfortunately we are only getting a Thaal Sinestro version and not a Sinestro Corps variant this time around.  So lets take a look at Thaal Sinestro. 

Wave 3 Sinestro was quite short.  Sinestro is suppose to actually be a bit taller than his nemesis, Hal Jordan.  I believe DC has him listed as 6 feet, 7 inches.  Mattel is still using some of the same body parts from the original Wave 3 Sinestro.  The head sculpt, forearms and hands are all still the same.

If you have the DCUC wave 3 version of Thaal Sinestro you will notice that the look of this action figure is practically idential.  The only change really is the size.  Does that warrent a new purchase?  Your choice.

In general, Thaal Sinestro has a slimmer build than Hal Jordan. Most of the other body parts used here look of similar size to the ones used for Deadman from DCUC Wave 11.

The torso, upper arms and legs are very comparable to Deadman.  You can see that, aside from the different details between the two action figures, they are basically share the same body frame.

The paint job on Thaal Sinestro is pretty good.  The eyes are yellow with a black pupil which is different than my Sinestro Corps version from wave 3 which were just pure yellow eyes.  The rest of the paint job is near perfect.  No slop or weak lines to speak of.

If you buy Thaal Sinestro in the Hal Jordan vs Thaal Sinestro two pack, you'll be lucky enough to get a few constructs included with the set.  One of the complaints about these accessories is, we've seen them before.  They are for the most part, just re-colored accessories used previously on the Metal Men, Iron and Gold as well as Hawkman's mace.

The wrench accessory in the picture above is pretty cool and can actually be loosened or tightened like an actual wrench.  The problem is, it does not fit over Sinestro's forearm or hand very well.  Since it was originally made for Iron in wave 12 who has a thicker forearm sculpt than Sinestro, it sits on Sinestro's forearm quite loosely and will not stay on properly.

The pick axe accessory, which was originally used on the Gold Metal Man action figure in wave 14 fits perfectly on Sinestro's hand.  The mace does fit into Sinestro's right open hand but it is a loose fit.  The staff of the mace needs to be a bit thicker for a perfect fit.  The good thing about these constructs is they can be used with other Sinestro Corps members if they have the proper hand sculpts.  The wrench for example fits perfectly on Maash's ring hand. 

Thaal Sinestro's articulation is exactly the same as the Wave 3 version.  You get all the standard DC Universe classics joints that we've all been use to.  Joints in the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows wrists. abdominal, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles.  All joints were in fine working condition and were not too loose or tight.

Overall, Thaal Sinestro is a great action figure.  It does depict the character's classic look quite accurately however, I would probably much rather have an updated Sinestro Corps version.  I was contemplating using Sinestro's head and hands on the torso of a Maash or Low body but Thaal Sinestro's hands are too small and just doesn't look right on the more muscular body frame.  So I suppose I'll have to wait for a proper Sinestro Corps version to come out.  Maybe Mattel is saving that for the Green Lantern toy line. Anyway, at the end of the day, Thaal Sinestro corrects the height error made in DCUC wave 3 Sinestro and that is what most people were asking for.

Sculpt/Design - 9, Paint - 9, Accessories - 7, Articulation - 9, Fun - 8

Thaal Sinestro naturally comes in a vs Hal Jordan two pack but there are tons of auctions on eBay for just Sinestro, if you're looking to update him in your collection.  If you're not buying the 2 pack, you may find it hard to get a 'loose" Sinestro with the accessories.

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics, Thaal Sinestro action figure on eBay, click here.   

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