I started collecting DC Universe Classics (from now on referred to as DCUC to save on typing) when Wave 4 was just becoming hard to find in stores, but I never actually saw Wave 5 due to the fact that I believe it was a Wal-Mart only release at the time. My initial figure hunting was pretty exclusively Target based but I have moved on to include select Wal-Marts in the hunt.
Anyway, on to DCUC Wave 5. This set consists of 5 figures, each one coming with a Collect and Connect piece to build a sixth. The five figures are The Atom, Amazo, Black Lightning, The Eradicator, and The Riddler….with the C&C pieces coming together to build Metallo. This was a much smaller group, with only 5 figures and no variants. Typically, it seems there is one extra figure that doesn’t have a C&C piece and at least 2 variants like Sinestro in his old blue costume or his new Sinestro Corps costume, or Mary Marvel in white or red costumes. Sometimes you get lucky with the variants such as my recent Wave 12 find, and sometimes you don’t which is why I’m still looking for a reasonably priced Sinestro Corps uniformed Sinestro.
Mattel’s DCUC figures, for the most part, are very well sculpted and painted, while providing excellent representations of some of the DCU’s most iconic (and some very obscure) characters. Let’s proceed alphabetically, shall we?
Amazo : Amazo is an android created by Dr. Ivo that can absorb the powers of anyone. He usually went up against the Justice League which made him extraordinarily dangerous. This figure is fairly standard but Amazo is not that complex of a design. On his right hand there is a Green Lantern power ring that he forms using his adaptation abilities. This is the Amazo from the comics, not the smoother more robotic looking Amazo from the JL animated series (which I almost prefer). Not a bad figure all in all, but not the most exciting figure either. Another random villain to build my random villain ranks.
The Atom : This is the Ray Palmer version of The Atom. Nothing extraordinary about this figure since he’s just a basic male body with the costume paint job. My only nitpick is that the atom symbol on his head is fairly off-center to the right. Other than that, this is a decent figure. I still haven’t decided which grouping Atom is going to be in but he’ll probably end up in the Justice League.
Black Lightning : Not too much to say about Black Lightning except that I needed him for my SuperFriends collection. I know, I know….the SuperFriends had Black Vulcan not Black Lightning but this will have to do. Decent figure, nothing too exciting.
The Eradicator : These crazy 90s designs have to be difficult to translate over to action figures sometimes. The Eradicator was one of the four Supermen that took over after Superman “died” in the 90s although he eventually proved to be evil and showed up now and again. This is the figure that I really bought this wave for since I need him for my Death and Return of Superman setup. The crazy large S symbol that holds the flowing cape is well done, but I would have liked to have seen transparent yellow goggles (which are shown on the package art) instead of the opaque gold colored ones. Not a big deal though because the goggles do flip up to reveal glowing red eyes underneath.
The Riddler : I’ve always been a fan of the Riddler, from Frank Gorshin’s brilliant take on him to Jim Carrey in Batman Forever. This Riddler will join Lex Luthor, Black Manta and Captain Cold in my Legion of Doom display.
This is the same basic “suit” body as Two-Face, including the same bow-legged right leg flaw that makes him a little difficult to stand up. Luckily, Riddler comes with his trademark question mark shaped cane, which makes display easier.
…..and the C&C figure for this wave :
Metallo : I was a little disappointed in the Metallo figure. Overall, the sculpt and painting are good, but the joints are the problem here. While having loose joints has been a problem with some figures’ ability to stand (I’m looking at you, Black Canary) Metallo’s arm joints are super-tight. I had to really fight them to bend at the elbows for posing. The main issue is that there are some very thin connecting pieces around the joints that feel like they will break if you push too hard. His left leg also seems to have a flaw in the upper hip joint that restricts you from closing his legs all the way to stand him up straight. Not a huge deal, just a little annoying.
Other than the joint issue it’s a decent C&C figure, not the best and not the worst. The “M” plate on his chest is removable to reveal his Kryptonite heart and there is a painted green glowing effect around it that gives it a nice look.
My next mission for the DCUC collection is to hunt down some of the figures on eBay that I’ve been searching for like Sinestro (both classic and Sinestro Corps versions) and Gentleman Ghost so I can complete the Giganta Collect & Connect figure and add her to the Legion of Doom.
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