This wave was filled with a theme, Green. Most of the figures in the wave have a connection to the Green Lantern section of the DCU. Let’s take a look at the first few figures of the wave.  

Before we get into the individuals of the wave, one aspect of the line needs to be addressed. There is now limited neck movement for all the of the figures in the wave.  While they do have a ball jointed head, like past figures, the length of the neck keeps any movement other than left and right impossible. This is a problem due to the three barbell neck peg now being used in the line.  While it is not a huge problem, it does make looking up or down at figures of different heights impossible without modifying the figures. Overall the quality of this wave is the best we have seen in the DCUC line, with no stuck joints or breakage even after working and posing them.  Now on to the figures.  

The Question- 

The Question is a figure that will not excite the average toy buyer, but for toy collectors he is a home run. He was the winner of the 2008 fan poll run by Wizard Magazine. I don’t think Moms want to get their kids a figure of a faceless man in an trench coat, but for collectors he is perfect. We have seen this body three times so far in the DCUC line, first in wave eight then wave ten, and now in wave eleven.  While the figure appears to be the same in every case it is not true. There are subtle differences from the shoes, to the crotch, to the forearms. Each make this figure different enough to make him worth the time spent hunting him down. He seems to be one of the harder to find of the whole wave. There are some issues with him though. The trench coat and the the suit jacket are all one piece, taking away the abs articulation, and most of his waist articulation. The body under the coat is slim compared the average torso in this line, and will make it hard to use this body for anything without a coat to hide the size. The neck suffers from the new neck peg, and has him looking at a slightly downward direction. The face is one of the best details of the figure. While he has a black face the sculpt looks like he has a mask stretched over his facial features. It is details like this that showcase the Horsemen’s ability to give us some of the best sculpted figures in the market today.  

The Shark- 

This villain was a surprise to most collectors. The character has only had a few appearances in the comics, and they were early on in the life of Hal Jordan. I understand the idea of including villains for all the Lanterns in this wave but the Shark does not seem the obvious choice. A few come to mind from just looking over this Wikipedia page(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Green_Lantern_enemies) that would be better choices than this character.  So how does this figure fit in with the line?  He stands out as one of the only Silver Age character designs in the line. The figure itself is a standard buck with fins on the back, forearms, and calves. The head is also unique, though looks more like a mask than the head for a shark turned into a man.  The head is well painted and sculpted and has a real look to it.  A nice figure, but like a few others in the line, stands out as rather plain.  

Deadman- 

Was he a necessary character? Yes, but there is more to this ghost than meets the eye. This figure gives us a whole new body in the DCUC line. The new “Skinny” buck is tall and thin, and came about eight waves too late. We should have gotten this body in wave three to give us a more accurate Sinestro, but now that is it here how long can it be till the yellow leader is corrected? Anyway, back to Deadman. The figure is nicely painted, and the new body looks perfect on him. The oversized collar looks just that - oversized, I would have preferred one slightly smaller, or made of a slightly softer plastic. The rigid collar juts out from the font of the costume and looks more like a separate piece of his costume than part of his jump suit. The facial features are the only thing that makes this figure in need of some kind of head swap. In wave two the Ronnie Firestorm started with a screaming face and many fans called for a change, prompting Mattel to make a change in the final look of the figure. It is unfortunate that this figure did not get the same chance. The character, while a ghost, is more jovial, and this look makes him look scary. It does not match the character in most of his appearances. Even with the problems, the pixie shoes make me hopeful for a Dick Grayson Robin, and the costume for a first appearance Nightwing. 

There is also a phasing version of the character, which has translucent arms and feet.  Nothing too special, and from what I have been told this plastic is more expensive than the average plastic, making me wonder if another character should have had a variant instead.  

Cyborg Superman- SC

This figure was one that at first was met with some resistance.  The initial reaction was... great, another repaint of the DCSH Cyborg Superman, but this is not that figure.  The wide stance is gone, and sculpting is much better, and the overall look is better than the original figure. There are a few issues with the figure. First, some fans would have preferred the black cape from his later appearances during the Corps War. Second ,there are no rings on the left hand of the figure, and though there are a few shots of him with only rings on his right metal hand, in most of the series he wore rings on both hands. I am glad with all the Sinestro corps figures we have gotten to add this version of the character. It brings the character to a modern look, and gives people a choice of which era for the character they want to display.  

Join us later for a look at the second half of the wave....

DCUC Gallery:

DCUC Wave 11 Gallery

DCUC Reviews:

DCUC Wave Ten Review Part 2, DCUC Wave Ten Review Part 1,DCUC Wave Nine Review, DCUC Wave Eight Review, DCUC Wave Seven Review, DCUC Wave Six Review, DCUC Wave Five Review, DCUC Wave Four Review, DCUC Wave Three Review,  DCUC Wave Two Review, DCUC Wave One Review

DCUC Multipacks: Starfire/Strange, Earth 3, Gotham 5 Pack, Wonder Twins, TRU Sets, Brainiac Set, Color of Fear, Jungle