DC Comics Icons Wave 3

DC Comics Icons Wave 3

DC Comics Icons Wave 3

It has been 8 months since the DC Comics Icons Action Figure Line was launched in November of 2015 with their first ambitious wave including Batman, Green Arrow, Deadman and Mister Miracle.  After another wave, a deluxe figure, and what felt like a really REALLY long time, we come to DC Comics Icons Wave 3!.  The wave itself is what I blame the long wait feeling on.  Amazing, dare I say, Iconic characters are addressed in this wave, so it just made the wait feel longer…that’s what I’m trying to say.  Wave 3 brings us Atomica, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and Superman!  13 unique figures in 8 months, with a full factory change in between, they can’t make these figures fast enough for me, but DC Collectibles is doing a damn fine job of making these figures pretty fast!  Further, these figures are staggering, beautiful, everything you want in an action figure with very little concession.  All four figures are staring at me over my shoulder from the filing cabinet top in my office at work.  I like them that much, that I want them to hang with me for 8 hours a day on display.  Let me stop rambling and dive into what you are going to love about these figures, and what you might love less.

Atomica – Forever Evil

The Good

  • 3 figures for the price of one, Atomica, Ryan Choy and Ray Palmer!
  • Amazing sculpt on Atomica, clean lines, very smooth.
  • Stunning head sculpt with molded on goggles.
  • Hair detail is exceptional.
  • Ray Palmer figure packs amazing detail for the scale and his atom surrounding is very clever.
  • Ryan Choy Atom has excellent articulation for his smaller size, head swivel, arms and legs rotate!

The Bad

  • Atomica carries a higher price point than the rest of the figures in this series.  She comes with more to be certain, 3 figures in one.  I certainly wouldn’t claim the price is not justified, the figure is a bargain on it’s own, it’s beautiful, but it should be noted, if you want it, she’s a little more.
  • I was hoping that when she was out of package stood up next to the rest of the Icons line, she’d be taller, not comically so, but maybe just a little?  Earn the title?
  • The only other want I have for this figure, would have been to have the goggles not be molded on so you could move them down over Atomica’s eyes.

 

 

Harley Quinn – No Man’s Land

The Good

  • This is the Harley Quinn figure I’ve wanted since I’ve wanted a Harley Quinn figure.  The Icons line captures her in her most iconic costume to be sure, the red and black with the jester hat.
  • Harley is perfectly sculpted and looks like she has jumped right out of the comic pages.
  • Harley includes some of her most memorable props as accessories, cork stopper gun, giant mallet, hands to hold each / either.
  • Perfect sculpt on the jester hat and collar.  Excellent molding on the boots.

The Bad

  • The paint application above her eyes is a little sloppy – QC complaint, not design.
  • Totally unreasonable to ask, but swap-able jester hat / hair appendage?  That’d be neat…

 

 

Aquaman – Legend of Aquaman

The Good

  • Scalloped shirt is every bit as detailed as you’d expect from DC Collectibles.
  • Multiple included sets of hands, and most importantly, one pair of hands does an outstanding job of holding his trident.
  • Molded on fins look great and feel sturdy.
  • Included mental telepathy cone and alt head may be one of the coolest accessories I’ve ever seen with an action figure.  To compliment, Aquaman comes with a pair of hands that you can hold to his head to evoke a pose of projection.

The Bad

  • I don’t like liking Aquaman, he was just never my thing…2016 though, this figure, Dan Abnett writing the book.  I’m out of options, I have to like Aquaman.
  • He doesn’t come with a dolphin.

 

 

Superman – Man of Steel

The Good

  • I have had DC figures most of my collecting life, certainly as a child, but as an adult, it’s only been about two years or so that I’ve been collecting DC figures with a purpose.  When I poked around to see what the best possible Superman was, there were good options, and i grabbed those, I settled on a DCUC Superman, from the Gotham City 5 set.  It’s a nice Superman, it does the character as he lives in my mind justice….but the DC Icons Superman?  For me, this is the de facto, the ideal, the Icon to compare all other Superman action figures to.  The one Superman figure that if you like Superman, you need to own.
  • His cape sits on his shoulders like a cap sitting on someones shoulders, there is no gap, no hover, the cape is part of the figure.
  • The curl of hair on the forehead is perfect.
  • Paint application is impeccable.  Nice solid blue, very sharp detail lines.
  • Face sculpt is dead on with a nice stern jawline.
  • Yellow belt, red underpants…  This is Superman!
  • Included is Kelex, the Kryptonian droid.  Kelex is just stunning, a very faithful recreation of his comic book counterpart.
  • Included clear stand makes it easy for him to appear as a floating robot.
  • Deep red optic area for Kelex.

The Bad

  • The fact that this is wave 3 of DC Icons, and we are just now getting what should have been figure 01…
  • After taking pictures, I realized Kelex is not Kallax, but I left the picture in in case just so you can make the distinction for yourself.
  • It’s understood that the inclusion of a companion figure is a big deal, I love Kelex, DC Collectibles did a fantastic job.  But I’m greedy.  Aquaman got telepathy.  Can I have an alternate head with read eyes, or holes for eyes where red laser beams could be inserted for heat vision?  I’m a child!  Gimmie!

 

 

The rest

A few things should be stated that apple to the whole of the line.  Wave 3, as far as I understand it is the first wave of the series to come out of a different manufacturing facility.  As such, I feel like I’m noticing a few things because of that.

  • Build quality feels more durable.
  • Paint applications, though, not without issue are overall cleaner and more consistent.
  • I used to feel like I was going to break the hands when I pulled them out and changed them, DC Collectibles is very alternate hand happy, and I am appreciative of that.  This wave though, I was pleasantly surprised when hands were snuggly in place with no danger of falling out, but could be easily replaced with little effort and no loud, disturbing clicking noises.
  • One issue not addressed is limited head articulation, it has been present since the dawn of the line and folks who want their figures to look up for proper flight poses will still need to break out their Dremel tools.

All things considered, DC Comics Icons Wave 3 is a very welcome addition to an already fantastic toy line.  If you love DC heroes, you shouldn’t pass this line, and certainly not this wave of figures up.  You get great value, beautiful figures and lots of extras.  I will say this though, the most negative thing about getting wave 3, is that now we start the wait for wave 4, and it’s a doozy.  Joker, Firestorm, Static Shock and Jon Stewart (Green Lantern).  Let’s hope August(ish) comes quick!

Availability

Big Bad Toy Store has these for order as of today.  Shop DC Entertainment has these.  As always too, you can check your local comic shop!  All outlets should have them on shelves as of today! I got mine yesterday!

 

Family Photos!