Toy Review: DCUC Wave 3

DCUC Wave 3 - Solomon Grundy

It’s sad how things go sometimes. DC Universe Classics (DCUC) is, frankly, the best action figure line out there. There have been problems with quality control, but then that is an issue that affects ALL toy manufacturers, not just Mattel. There’s also that hullabaloo about their distribution (which to be fair, is pretty bad), but then this isn’t a line that has as big a potential as say, Barbie, or even Transformers. When it all comes down to it, despite all the collector complaints, DCUC figures are the best superhero toys around.

They’re just so damned expensive!

This economic downturn has even affected shopaholics like me, despite our compulsive buying habits. DCUC was one of the lines I had to drop due to the fact that I simply don’t have as much income as I once had. At about p1,300.00 for each figure, 7 to 9 figures in each wave, and about 1 wave every quarter, you can imagine how expensive this line has become to collect. Even if you are not a completist, that’s an insane amount of product to try and run down. Add that to the fact that this is a line with a Build A Figure gimmick; meaning to get some of the well known villians like Darkseid or Gorilla Grodd, you need to buy a set. Cherry picking isn’t an option if you want those bad boys. When I was re-evaluating my priorities, DCUC was one of the first to go.

Thankfully, for the frugal collector in the Philippines, there are some options.

When a toy manufacturer makes an order of an item, the factory usually makes a small percentage of extra figures to allow for any variance in quality. This ensures that if Mattel has ordered 100,000 Supermen, they’re gonna get 100,000 Supermen. Now usually, there aren’t a lot of figures that need to be replaced, so these “overruns” remain after everything’s been shipped. Since we’re so close to China (where a lot of those factories are) and we have a relatively good market for these toys because of our facination with all things American, those overruns naturally find their way here. There was a time when you could get ENTIRE SETS of early DCUC waves for little more than the price of a single figure.

The thing is, these overruns are as limited as some of those insane exclusives we’re always hearing about. Unlike bootleg toys, there’s a limited supply of these things and once they’re gone, they’re gone. Lucky for me though, there are still a few DCUC collectors out there willing to help out fellow hobbyists that are still looking to get some of the older toys.

The Grundy set (DCUC wave 3) is one of the sets I’ve wanted for a long time. Not only does it include the “Collect-N-Connect” figure, Solomon Grundy, it also includes 2 Green Lantern characters, 2 Batman characters, and one extremely well accessorized black hat.

I’ve actually got 2 Robins now, having bought a single one to add to my Batman collection. It’s not something I stress over though. It’s a pretty great figure if you can get over his tiny size. Like Beast Boy, he shares that standard “teen” mold that DCUC toys have. It’s only about 4.5″ tall, so ends up looking like a prepubescent kid next to the 6″ guys.

Scale issues aside, the sculpt is solid. Well-muscled but not bulky. Proportions are fairly accurate, and he ends up looking lankier than say Bats. The face is a little flat looking though, something he shares with Nightwing.

He comes with several toys. First are 2 “robinrangs”. They’re made of soft plastic and look pretty nice on their own. Unfortunately, they don’t fit in his hand well. It took me forever to get this one to stay in place long enough for me to take the picture above. The other accessory is a quarterstaff. It’s a simple piece that’s mostly smooth except for a small area that has some recessed buttons. Don’t ask me what they do, but it’s a great detail.

Nightwing on the other hand comes with a pair of eskrima baston. I wasn’t aware that Nightwing practiced the Filipino martial art until I saw this toy on the Internet. It feels like every movie/character has been using Filipino martial arts these days. I mean if it isn’t Krav Maga, it’s Kali knife fighting. I’d love to see Batman’s Israeli street fighting versus Robin’s sikaran in the next Dark Knight film.

The sticks can be stored on Nightwing’s back via parallel clips. They aren’t very secure, however. The slightest knock and you’ll be down on your knees with a flashlight in you’re teeth weilding a broomstick trying to get a tiny little piece of plastic out from under the shelves.

It happened to me twice.

The buck that Dick Grayson uses seems to be the same as that of Batman. It’s not a bad fit, but I wish Mattel had commissioned the Four Horsemen to make a few more base bodies that are closert to the body types of the characters. I imagined this former Robin being much thinner than Batman could be.

Speaking of body types, what the heck is up with Sinestro?

The Sinestro figure is really the worst in the set. I don’t know if it’s my bias towards larger than life villains, but he’s really REALLY small. Not as small as Robin, but it still is no match to the Green Lantern’s build or Nightwing’s. I’m thinking if I can get a plain looking body at Greenhills, pop off the heads, and then ask one of the guys at Pinoy Toy Kolektors to custom a new one at the right size.

Speaking of, why wasn’t this body the one used for the teens?! It’s slightly taller than the current teen body, and lankier. It’d be perfect for that awkward period where superheroes are getting pubic hair and acne for that first time. Makes you wonder how teenage Superman took care of those zits on date night…

Sinestro comes with a funky looking lantern in a kind of sickly yellow-green color. I suppose the lantern would have looked better on the Yellow variant but it’s a welcome inclusion anyway.

If you are looking for this set, you’ll need to be careful. Sinestro is by far the worst off when it comes to quality control in this wave. This one has a warped leg, lots of missed paint applications, and ragged register lines between colors. The yellow variant is even worse. It’s probably the only reason why Sinestro is the only one of this line I still see on the shelves here regularly.

Sinestro’s playmate of course is Hal Jordan. I’ve been putting off buying a Green Lantern for 2 reasons. The first is because the reason I got into the DC universe is the DC Animated cartoons, the Green Lantern I know is John Stewart. Once you go black, you never go back.

The second is that I knew that if I got just ONE Green Lantern, I’d get that collector urge started that would quietly whisper in my ear, “Green Lantern Corp… Green Lantern Corp…” and keep doing it until I bought a Kilowog, an Abin Sur, a Guy Gardner, a Tomar Re… You see how this goes? With the new movie coming up, you just know there’s going to be a ton of product to scout for. Oh, well.

Like Sinestro, Lantern comes with a Lantern battery. This one is green and shaped more like a classic, well, lantern. Again, a nice include, but I’d have preferred more play oriented accessories like the ones included with later releases Katma Tui and Stewart. A few light contructs would really have gone a long way in a toy display and could have been re-colored for any future toys.

Last but not least is Deathstroke (The Terminator). I never really was into the Teen Titans. I remember having one or two issues as a kid, but it never really took off for me.

This toy however, is made of cool.

Apparently, Slade Wilson is an assassin (which is funny since half his costume is day-glow orange), expert in hand-to-hand combat, and most forms of weaponry. Thankfully, Mattel saw fit to give us a proper collection of implements for him to play with.

The first is a broad sword. It’s an odd choice for a character, since most tend toward the Japanese katana these days. It’s great that it fits so well in his hand and snaps securely into the scabbard that hangs at his side.

The second weapon is a quarterstaff. It’s well detailed compared to Robin’s, with textured areas as well as smoother portions. The staff is much thinner than the other one, but still fits snuggly in his hands.

Even better, it fits into a pair of clips on his bandolier (which IS removable by the way) as well, so you can store it on his back. Awesomeness.

He also comes with a pistol. The gun again fits well into either of his hands, and slides securely into his hip holster as well. Unlike the 4″ toys today, both holster and pistol still appear made to scale. Excellent.

Sadly, there is one fail in this epic list. The weapons are all made of the same soft plastic the figures are molded from, so the odd shape of his assault rifle, and the fact that Mattel chose to sling it around the figure’s torso in package, practically gauranteed buyers that they’d open it up and find a limp noodle of a firearm waiting to be tossed and forgotten.

Still, the other accessories and the general quality of the sculpt on the figure itself, really makes me forget about that one gun. The platemail, the ribbons coming off his head, the boots, the belt. All of that really makes for a wonderful toy.

You do need to watch out though. Next to Sinestro, I remember that Deathstroke was the other figure that suffered from issues. Not only poor paint applications and the deformed accessories,but also switched parts (like two left feet).

Finally, after having opened all the figures, I put together the Collect-N-Connect gestalt, Solomon Grundy.

He’s a pretty big figure, somewhere between the old BAF Sentinels and the newer Onslaught figures. The heft is nice, giving him a very solid feel that’s perfect for a character like this. I hope they start making Hulk figures like this. Actually, if you were to paint him green, he probably would serve as a good Hulk variant.

The sculpt is superb. The Four Horsemen really out did themselves here. Despite just being a big man in a tattered suit, Grundy looks INTERESTING, with little holes and tears here and there. It doesn’t overwhelm, but it doesn’t get boring either.

Articulation is on par with expectations. This is a big figure, so you aren’t going to see a huge range of motion. Still, the elbows manage a respectable 45 degrees, and there’s some ankle and thigh movement to make sure he’s stable on his feet.

Now that Marvel Legends is a dead line, I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to continue finding these figures below retail through second hand dealers and these overruns. I can’t stress enough how impressive they are compared to their smaller counterparts like Marvel Universe. If Mattel could only do something about price, consistency of quality, and their distribution, this would be the line I’d have chosen to continue.