DCUC has made it over a year now, and the first wave of 2009 brings hope of a better year then 2008, or does it?  

Wave seven marks the start of the A/B cases of DCUC.  The A cases have 4 of the seven figures from the seventh wave, while the B cases have the remaining 3 figures; but with the inability of the big box store to understand this idea it leave collectors looking at case after case of A, and no B, or worse if you shop at Target - wave two.  

Mattel’s idea seemed simple: give the stores something new every month and a half or so, but what it seems to have turned into is a hunting nightmare for the collector.  While the West Coast is getting wave 7B it seems the East Coast is still receiving 7A more than a month after 7A was released.  Combined with the mix up of solid cases to the online stores, and you have a collector’s nightmare.  What I don’t understand is the ability to find Infinite Heroes (expect that Gotham set), Brave and the Bold, Movie Masters, and for the most part JLU, but they can’t get DCUC right.  I have been looking at bare shelves at my local Walmart for over a month now and the last restock they did after getting two cases of 7A was wave 6.  While most would say to turn to an online source, that is not even a sure thing anymore.  My case arrived from Enchanted Toy Chest just fine, but it was after they were shipped cases marked Captain Cold but filled with Big Barda.  While I love the line and the characters I have heard too many “I give up on them until Mattel can get it together” stories.  Now with wave 8 starting to show up on e-bay, and some other websites for previews, what chance do the rest of us have of finding the rest of Atom Smasher?  Enough about the problems of distribution. Lets look at the figures themselves.  

The Flash- Barry Allen was a police scientist, who late one stormy night had his life changed forever.  He was cleaning up his lab when a bolt of lightning came through the window striking a metal rack full of chemicals. The chemicals covered Barry, giving him the ability to move with incredible speed.  Donning a costume similar to Jay Garrick, he fought crime in Central City using the name the Flash.  He became one of the DCU’s most famous heroes, and while he lost his life in the original Crisis, he has been spotted at various points in time, and may be back for good in the DCU.

One of my favorite DC characters and figures from my childhood was the Flash.  I remember owning more than one of the Super Powers Flashes when I was a kid, and this version of Barry Allen does not disappoint.  With no joint issues, except for some looseness, he is great from head to toe.  There is one issue, on the right side of his chin the flesh paint does not go under the chin, and there is a tiny bubble which almost leaves a red scar on that side of his face.  It would not bother me if I thought I would be able to find another Flash, but with the horrible distribution there is not much I can do about it. 

Kid Flash- Wally West is the nephew of the Flash, Barry Allen.  One day while visiting his uncle at work lightning struck twice when lightning stuck the same shelves and chemicals, giving Wally the same powers as his uncle.  Wally became the Kid Flash, partnered with his uncle, and became part of the Teen Titans.  

Many people think that Wally is undersized for the figure but I think he’s a good “Kid” Flash.  I don’t expect him to be a teen or larger size, and when I see these costumes I think of the smaller heroes of the early days of the Teen Titans.  I just hope they don’t decide to up size the teen body and make Speedy and Aqualad much larger. Wally is clean from head to toe, no paint issues and no joint issues.  

Big Barda- Barda grew up under the tutelage of Granny Goodness, learning many useful skills and becoming the top student in the orphanage.  Being the tough girl that she was, Barda did have a soft spot for her fellow orphan, Mr. Miracle, AKA Scott Free, who eventually became her husband.  The two met during their training at Granny’s orphanage. They fell in love and when Scott left to find a new home on Earth, Barda also left her life as the leader of the other girls at the orphanage and found her true love, Scott, and they lived happily ever after. 

We have two Bardas in this wave and both look like the little sister to the real Barda.  Scale seems to be an issue once again, and what I don’t understand is that she was supposed to be using Wonder Woman parts, yet she came out smaller.  In the comics Barda is much taller then her husband Mr. Miracle, yet here she is clearly smaller, even with the giant helmet.  Th sculpting and the paint details are great on her, she has that textured armor all over and she is a very solid figure.  

Captain Cold- Leonard Snart was a born loser who endured a hard life.  With the Flash protecting Keystone City, Len decided to come up with a weapon which would freeze all the moisture in the air, which he thought would help slow down the Flash.  Through many battles and after much time he took on the name Captain Cold and became the unofficial leader of the Rogues.  His crimes, while non-lethal, were still crimes and his ability to stay calm and in control made him the perfect leader.  Despite being the leader of the Rogues, he has also at times helped the Flash and vice-versa. 

I can’t much say about the man who can slow down the Flash, other than that the Four Horsemen did a great job while Mattel, well, not so much.  The issue once again is scale and paint.  While I can forgive the paint, the scale is something that is becoming a major problem in the line.  If you stand him next to Sinestro he looks fine, but when you put him next to a hero or other villains he does look rather short.  The other issue is the paint. When I think 0f Cold I think of the blue and white winter coat, and because he is a villain I expect some dirt on the costume. When the blue is so bright that it makes the white gray, well then you have an issue.  Once again it seems over-spray is something they still have not gotten down since Harley.  There is one final problem: while he is undersized for the figure, his hand is a bit oversized, making it almost impossible to hold his gun straight. Eventually it pivots to one side or another, or will point down.  The design is great on this guy, but the final outcome is not up to par with the rest of the set.  

Aquaman- During the time following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Aquaman explored his roots.  First he changed his costume, then he learned more about his half brother, Ocean Master.  

This is just a simple buck with the Aquaman head and new paint.  Nothing much to say because he even comes with the same Trident as the wave two Aquaman did. I am impressed with this figure’s very clean paint application, which in this day of toy collecting is a rare thing and give me some confidence that other figures that need complex paint schemes can be done without any issues.  

Booster  Gold - Booster is a football hero of the 25th century who always wanted fame and fortune. Michael tried to increase his fortune by betting on his own games. These actions led to him being banned from the sport and made him a disgrace to football. The only job he could get was a night watchman at a space museum. As he cleaned he looked at the relics from the 20th century, yearning to be a hero. He kidnapped a security robot named Skeets to help him steal the tools. With the robot in tow Michael stole a Legion flight ring and a personal force shield, and he activated Rip Hunters time machine, sending him and Skeets back to the 20th century. When he arrived in the past he put his knowledge and tools to work, taking the name Booster Gold. He used Skeets, a data machine, utilizing his database to be the first on the scene for various crises and crimes. Joining different versions of the JLA, he is now a hero in modern times, trying to fix any problems in time with his sister and Rip Hunter.  

Right now the Booster book is a favorite and because of that this figure is one of my favorites of the line, and I get 2 of them.  Both versions are well done but not perfect.  You can tell that some of the paint was sprayed on which leaves a sort of fading effect when you go from one color to another.  Examples of this can be seen on the back of the hands. The Legion flight ring is one of the best parts of the figure, and it has an L, not a reuse of a Green Lantern hand.  My only complaint is that it seems like the modern version has the ability to remove Skeets, but in the classic version, the little robot sidekick is stuck in his back. Thankfully the plastic is very soft yet durable, and you could probably remold it a bit with some heating and cooling of the clear yellow connector.  

Blue Beetle- Even though Ted Kord never got the magical scarab to work like the previous or future Blue Beetle, he was still a hero.  Like Batman,Ted was able to use money and technology to become a hero.  There was one limit that Ted had, his own mortality.  Ted struggled with heart problems throughout his career that eventually put him behind the desk at Kord Industry.  He met his maker at the hands of his old JLI organizer Max Lord.  

Ok so VeeBee was so excited that this figure got made, that he got me all excited about the figure. I have to say I am very impressed with how well he came out.  From the see-through goggles, to the clean paint applications, to the correct belt, he is an example of how amazing it is when Mattel gets it right. When this line started it seemed like accessories were coming and coming, but as the line has grown we have seen those accessories get axed. I am glad that in Ted's case he did not lose his blaster.  

Atom Smasher- Al Rothstein is the godson of the original JSA Atom.  Al always seemed to walk the hero line, first as part of Infinity Inc. as Nukion, and later in the JLA.   When he joined the JSA he took on the name Atom Smasher, though he strayed further from being a hero and fell under the wing of Black Adam.  His powers allow him to grow in size, and he is the muscle of the team.  Though he is not 100% in their good graces, he still tries to walk that hero line.  

Ok so he is bigger than the normal hero, but is shorter than Grundy.  That is wrong.  Again, scale is an issue in this line, because from what we have seen Giganta will be taller than Atom Smasher and I don’t understand why.  They are both characters that can alter their height, so if any two figures should have been the same height it should have been these two.  Aside from scale, I think he is a solid figure. He has no joint issues, all his parts fit well; and there are no paint issues which with a BAF would be a very sore spot with collectors.  

Overall this wave is better than average, but the separate cases is an issue that has not solved distributing issues.  From the start we all knew this would be a hunting game, but I think from what I have seen it is getting worse. There is nothing we can do except hunt, and if you don’t want to hunt check out Enchanted Toy Chest for great prices and service.  That is where I get most of my DC figures and I could not be happier with the service.  

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