Day 28

Comrade Superman has to get out of here, the Bizarro Corps have finally caught up with him.

#30: All Stars Two Wheelers - Motorcycles

So when I bought Ghost Rider, I figured he needed a motorcycle of some sort, so I went to the next aisle over where they have that sort of thing. If you ever want a motocross bicycle for your figures, that is the place to go. At first, I was going to get one of the little Harley Davidson replicas, but then I noticed the same company made other motorcycles for a buck fifty less. So for a lower price, I'll take a generic motorcycle. At least, I think it's generic. There certainly wasn't any identifying information on the packaging. It is just perhaps a tad too small for Ghost Rider, but I think that's more to do with Marvel Universe figures being more of a four inch line than a 3.75 inch line. But it works well enough for me.

#29: Marvel Universe - Ghost Rider

After seeing Black Widow at Target a little while ago, I hoped they would continue to restock with new figures that aren't Iron Man (Iron Man already has his own line, stop putting so many Iron Man figures in the Marvel Universe cases!) and on my next visit Ghost Rider was sitting out on the front of one of the pegs. I've been looking for him for a while, so I swooped in on that immediately. The next time I went to Target, they only had a bunch of Iron Man figures and one Red Hulk.

So this is the Johnny Blaze version of Ghost Rider, so his leather outfit isn't as spiky as the more modern version. He's pretty standard as far as Marvel Universe figures go, so fairly decent articulation, and he feels kind of light. There's a spot on the cheek where the paint came off or was mis-applied, but I am okay with pretending that is just hellfire spilling out from his eye. His only accessory is a chain. Too bad he doesn't come with a bike...

#28: DC Universe Classics - Deathstroke

Many months ago when I pre-ordered DCUC wave 16, I saw that Deathstroke would be available as one of the greatest hits figures packaged alongside the new figures. The assortment I ordered didn't include Deathstroke, but it was also available separately, so I added that to my order as well. I never saw a Deathstroke figure on the shelves during its initial release, but I've always heard good things about it from reviewers so this was a good chance. He comes with a sword, a staff, a pistol, and a rifle, all of which can be stowed away keeping his hands free. That's quite a nice selection of weapons! As cool as the figure is, he alas suffers from some totally not surprising quality control issues. There are a couple minor paint defects on the mask, but I can live with those. More annoying is that both of the wrists are stuck. There is that slight give that tells me any attempt to rotate them much further will result in the hands falling off, even after some time in the freezer. Damn!

Day 27

These aren't the droids Comrade Superman is looking for.

#27: DC Universe Classics - Bane

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.

Mattel's previous Bane figure suffered from being a bit undersized in the height department, but I feel it was a superior sculpt. The proportions were a bit more exaggerated, and Bane looked somewhat more 'roided out from Venom. This Bane is definitely a more imposing height, perhaps he is too tall. I think Bane's supposed to be big, but not necessarily towering over everybody. This version of Bane has a good sculpt, but it feels more subdued. It seems like it has less personality. It sounds like I'm complaining, but I actually quite like this figure. It's hard for me to dislike a figure of a character that wears a luchador mask.

Day 26

Comrade Superman does not make a very good prosthetic leg.

#26: DC Universe Classics - Azrael Batman

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.

#25: DC Universe Classics - Mercury

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.

Day 25

Comrade Superman thinks you're crazy if you think he's going to share his Thin Mints.