A couple years ago, I got the Harley Quinn figure, which came with Grodd's torso and head. I didn't buy any of the other figures in the wave (I wish I'd bought Aqua Man so my JLA would now be complete!), but I kept the piece of Grodd as I tend to keep BAF pieces even if I have no intention of completing them. Recently, I did decide to sell off all the BAF pieces I've accumulated over the years, and in the process of sorting through them decided to finally complete Grodd. Through the magic of Ebay, I was able to accumulate the rest of the limbs over the past couple of months. Ultimately, I think I ended up paying slightly less than I would have if I had just bought all the figures during their initial release. So, good enough. In case you are wondering, the left arm is the most common piece being offered. That's the one that came with the red and blue versions of the electric Superman.
Finally, here he is, Bane! My first completed DCUC collect n connect figure. The reason for all the tears and suffering in ordering a full wave of DCUC figures. Thankfully, there are no stuck joints or limbs misshapen due to packaging. Yay! The socket in the head for the ball joint was a very tight fit, and I was worried that I would snap something when putting it on, but it turned out okay. It's on a little moveable peg, so the head actually has some forward and backward motion.
Although I haven't read the Knightfall story, coming so soon after the death of Superman, Bruce Wayne's retirement as Batman was big news at the time. I think the general consensus at the time was that the new Batman's costume was kind of ridiculous, and I still think so today. So this isn't a figure I would likely have picked up if it had not been necessary to complete this wave. Even so, I still dig it in spite of its awful 90s design. Once again, thanks to Mattel's inability to package their figures without warping them, the left knee is a bit bent inwards, but not so drastically as some of the others I've opened recently. The cape/blade things seem a bit compressed, but that's not too big a problem. If nothing else, the design sticks out from pretty much every other DCUC figure, so that's cool. I'm pretty surprised Mattel decided to make this figure at all since it's hardly current and required so much unique tooling.
I only got this figure for the build a figure piece he comes with. The scissors-hand is kind of neat. There is a regular hand it can be swapped with, but my faith in Mattel's quality control is too little for me to tempt fate by trying to remove the hand. Naturally, the right leg is bent terribly at the knee. I realized what the problem is: Mattel can't make double hinged knees. The figures didn't have this problem when they were single hinged knees. Go back to what works, Mattel! My complete apathy towards the character makes me not particularly upset by its malformation, and I may end up trying to sell it online.
Out of this wave, Robin was the figure I was most looking forward to adding to my collection. Naturally, the figure is in terrible shape. Once again, thanks to the packaging, the left leg is bent at a terrible angle, so Robin can't stand in any natural sort of position. And the left hand broke off after I barely rotated it. I was able to plug it back in, but it's held in place very loosely.
Hey, it's the Riddler, and I have no quality control complaints. Yay! Hurray for a figure unmarred by its packaging! So this is the second version of the Riddler in the DCUC line. Perhaps feeling that the first version had too much uncommon tooling (it was the suit and bowler hat version, and he shared a body with DCSH Two-Face and Clark Kent), they decided to update with the spandex suit version covered in question marks. I have the other version, but I like both versions of the Riddler enough that I was completely happy to get this one as well. When this version was originally shown, it looked like it was going to use the muscular body, and I'm glad they ended up giving it the leaner one. The Riddler isn't my favorite member of Batman's rogues gallery, but I'm really digging this figure. The face has a cocky smirk, which I think works well for him, and the cane he comes with is the same one as the previous version.
Mattel strikes again. Thanks to the way the Creeper was packaged, his left leg is terribly bent, making it difficult to stand him up in a stable pose. The big plastic fur piece on his back doesn't help, as it makes him kind of back heavy. Aside from that, I like the figure. He has a great demented expression on his face. My only experience with the character is from his appearance on Batman: The Animated Series, which was pretty cool, but I probably wouldn't have picked up the figure if not for his inclusion in this wave. If only Mattel would learn their lesson about packaging figures in "exciting" poses...
So after it had been on DVD for a little while, I remembered to watch the Jonah Hex movie. I thought Josh Brolin did a good job in the role, but otherwise the movie was a disappointment. When I watched the movie, I had already ordered this figure a few months previously. There is a Jonah Hex figure based on Josh Brolin's movie appearance also. Normally, I wouldn't care enough about Jonah Hex as a character to want to get a figure version of him, but I really wanted to get build-a-figure (or collect and connect if you want to get pedantic) for this wave. I figured there were enough figures in it that I at least kind of wanted, so it would be worth buying them all instead of going to Ebay for the pieces. So here it is.
The third Wal-Mart exclusive wave has shown up, and once again there is only one figure that I want to get from it. Perhaps the most distinctive thing about this figure is that it's Mattel's second attempt at actual fishnets. I think they worked a little better on the Black Canary figure, and that is probably because Zatanna's entire legs are otherwise uncovered whereas Black Canary has boots on. Mostly it's on the lower legs and ankles where the fishnets here get all bunched up. For accessories, she gets a magic wand and a hat. Until Harry Potter, this is what I used to think of when I thought of a magic wand. The hat can sit on the head, but it doesn't stay very well, and so far I've had better luck leaving it in the hand.
I decided to get the seven main members of the JLA after Wonder Woman's original run in stores, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to find her without paying ridiculous secondary market prices. Fortunately, Mattel put her out again in one of the World's Greatest Super Heroes waves. Now all I need is that fishy guy.
During Power Girl's initial release as a Wal-Mart exclusive I was amused that a figure with such prominently displayed cleavage was being sold in the toy aisles for any kid walking by to see. Because of that novelty, I kind of wanted to get one, but not enough to actually buy it. Then she was re-released in the All Stars wave, so my local Target had one. And then I got a free $10 gift card during Black Friday. And at the same time, Target has been running a 50% off sale on DCUC figures. So I was able to buy a Power Girl without actually spending any of my own money. And here she is. Mostly she's a good figure, but she is way too thin. Especially her arms. I don't know if it's Mattel's fault for not paying for a new female body sculpt or what. She got a new chest, forearms and lower legs, why not go all the way on the arms? Of course, I do think the Four Horsemen made the female arms too skinny for any of the female characters in the first place. Maybe it's because the first female DCUC figure released was Harley Quinn, who's more acrobatic than brawny, that every female DCUC figure is cursed with skinny arms.
So around the time Martian Manhunter's long awaited figure was announced, I decided I should build a DCUC JLA. Unfortunately, this means I have to wait for a re-release of Wonder Woman or pay way too much for her in the secondary market. I'll be getting an Aquaman from the upcoming DCUC/MOTUC two-pack. So now that I have Martian Manhunter, I'm at 5 of 7 for the team. I dig the green they used for his skin, it's a bright shade that really pops out in comparison with my other DCUC figures. One of the interesting things about this figure is that it uses elongated shins to give it extra height. None of the other body parts are taller, so it does throw off the proportions a bit, although I think the buccaneer boots help hide that. It's pretty much exactly the type of solution I would expect from Mattel. Also, he comes with a button. The picture shows the Martian Manhunter and the Green Lantern... dancing? I'm not sure what's going on, it's probably some sort of action shot, but it's hard to tell with everything else cropped out.
Similar to Marvel Universe's sorry state of representation at my local Target, for the past few months the DCUC figures have been represented by a few Ted Kord Blue Beetle figures. On my recent visit, I was pleasantly surprised that there were finally some new DCUC figures on the shelf: the All Star wave. Consisting of re-packs, it's a nice opportunity to pick up some classic characters you may have missed. I had been thinking of picking up a Flash figure a few months ago when they were on the shelf, but they all had distractingly bad paint errors on the face. So I skipped them. I'm glad the people in charge of DCUC are such big suckers for the classic DC Super Powers line from the 80s, because that means we get a Barry Allen Flash (I'm sure Wally West will be released eventually), which is the Flash figure I had as a kid. Still have it, actually. This is one of the DCUC figures where the reuse of the some sculpt doesn't really matter since there is very little on Flash's costume that needs any sculpted detail. And those parts that do need new sculpting get it, so his head and boot tops are both new. My only complaint is that the little wing on the left side of his head was a little bent from the packaging. Oh, and since it's from the newer waves of DCUC, a pin is included. In this case, the image is from the cover of the first issue of the Justice League of America comic, featuring Flash playing chess with Despero.
Unfortunately, I did not attend SDCC this year, although I hope to some day. Fortunately, I happened to have the day off when Mattel was selling their exclusives online. With three browsers open and constantly refreshing, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to order Plastic Man, the only Mattel exclusive I was interested in picking up. 
DCUC's precursor, DC Super Heroes, was basically focused on Batman, Superman, and their associated characters. Like DCUC, it was pretty hard to find the figures, perhaps even harder in the later waves. Clayface was originally released in the DCSH line, and the only time I ever saw one was when I picked one up for my roommate. These days, it's hard to find, and expensive when you do. Fortunately, they did a re-release in this two pack. Unfortunately, they included this ridiculous Batman, so paying 30 bucks seemed like kind of a rip-off. Eventually, I found one on sale online for 15 bucks, and I figured that's a good price, so I went for it. 
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