Green Lantern Classics: Hal Jordan Vs. Sinestro

This is by no means a new set: it came out in advance of the Green Lantern movie in an attempt to cash in on its success (ha!). It's a Toys R Us Exclusive, which seems kind of excessive since there aren't that many other toy stores left. When you get down to it, all that really means is that these aren't sold at Walmart or Target.

At any rate, Toys R Us has been trying to unload these for the low, low, not-at-all-low price of forty-something dollars. Here in the city, I'm pretty sure they were charging around $45 at one point. Even if I didn't already have both a Hal Jordan and a Sinestro, that's a lot of dough.

But I'm a sucker for a deal, so I jumped when these hit $20 (actually, I paid less than that: I combined it with a Google Offer that got me a $20 credit at Toys R Us's website for $10). At any rate, I got a good price.

This is basically the same Hal we've gotten before, though he's painted in a more metallic paint than last time. I'm pretty sure Sinestro's unchanged, too, assuming you got this version and not the far superior Sinestro-Corps variant.

Actually, I'm a little unhappy with Sinestro. The peg on his left hand snapped when he came out of the box. I superglued it back on, but that was that for wrist articulation.

The main selling point on this line was the new accessories. And when I say "new" I'm of course being sarcastic. I'm pretty sure all of these were existing sculpts from other DCUC accessories done in semi-clear plastic. I can never get enough energy constructs, so this was a major reason I bought the set. It might not have been the best reason, however.

Above, you can see two of Sinestro's weapons and one of Hal's in action. I'm pretty sure the mace was from Hawkman, and the others are from some of the Metal Men. Hal's ball and chain are cool, but the fact the chain isn't green is a big problem. I think Sinestro's ax is okay, but it looks kind of cheap; same with the mace.

The gun originally came with John Stewart. Apparently, something happened to the mold between then and now, because while that one works perfectly, this one's malformed. I can't seem to get it to fit correctly on Hal's arm, no matter how hard I try. Again, the plastic is kind of cheap-looking.

Next up, we've got Sinestro's wrench and Hal's pizza slicer. Look, I realize that these characters have a history of whipping out random constructs, but these are kind of silly. Even if they'd flipped the colors, it would have been better: I just don't see Hal disemboweling his foes, nor can I imagine Sinestro fixing a toilet. The wrench does tighten and the saw does spin, though. If you care.

Finally, there's... this. It's playing off of a classic comic cover, which depicted the two standing on opposite sides of a power battery that was half green and half yellow. Yeah. Fine on paper, but stupid in reality. Unless you really want to build a display recreating that image, this isn't really useful. Really, for the amount they were charging, this set should have contained this thing along with a green and yellow power battery. Not that I really need more green lanterns, mind you: I've got a ton of them now.

At any rate, these are cool figures, and if you missed the earlier waves, now's a good time to pick them up on clearance. However, if you've already got these, don't think you need them for the constructs: they're not as good as you'd hope.

Oh, and one more thing: be careful with those wrist joints.

Green Lantern Classics: Collect & Connect Arkillo

Arkillo's one of those characters you either love, hate, or have no clue who the hell he is. Most people, honestly, probably fit into that last category, since he's a relatively new addition to the DC Universe.

Personally, I kind of love Arkillo. Yeah, yeah: the concept is completely ridiculous. He's the Sinestro Corps' drill sergeant, so he's basically an evil Kilowog. But that's why I love the guy: he's the Silver-Age nemesis Kilowog never had.

To put Arkillo together, you had to buy all six figures in the first wave of the Green Lantern Classics line. And - honestly - he's the only reason I bought about half of them.

As usual, the Four Horsemen did some phenomenal work on the head and hands. The rest, though, seems to be the same body used for Kilowog. This wouldn't be a problem if it had been a great body, but frankly it's a little dull. There's just not much detail or sculpting work, leaving the figure a bit bland. He's still cool - like I said, the head and hands are really cool, and the symbols and gauntlets are good - but I'd have liked to see a bit more effort, given what I paid.

Arkillo doesn't come with any accessories of his own, but I was a little surprised to discover the constructs that came with the Sinestro/Hal two-pack seem to fit over his fingers. I have no idea whether this was intentional, but they stay on pretty well. They're too small to really work, but they're certainly good for a laugh.

Green Lantern Classics: Black Hand

Black Hand is an old Green Lantern villain from the 60's who I'd never heard of until Blackest Night, when he killed himself then helped Nekron nearly wipe out all life in the Universe. I've made no secret of my general dislike of that story line, so it probably won't come as a huge surprise when I say I have relatively little interest in this particular incarnation of this relatively obscure super villain.

But screw all that: he came with Arkillo's other arm, which was the last piece I was missing.

In terms of sculpt and paint, this is a perfectly fine figure. I like the metallic studs, and the head's pretty well done. He certainly looks like a contemplative zombie, which is a pretty good approximation of how he appeared throughout most of Blackest Night.

Before I get to articulation, let's talk quality control. My figure had an unusual defect, albeit a correctable one. There was a weird knob in his elbow joint, effectively preventing it from moving at all. I twisted it off with a Leatherman, which freed up the joint. Yeah, there's a small patch missing paint now, but at least his arm works again.

Hand has both double elbows and knees, which is rare for these figures. To be honest, I'm not really clear on why Mattel decided to invest in these joints here: they're not really essential to the character.

I already mentioned he came with Arkillo's arm. In addition, he's also got yet another useless pair of 3D glasses. I can't help but wonder how many kids tried wearing these into the theater only to receive a crash-course on the difference between dual-color and polarized 3D projections.

Frankly, I feel like this could have used another accessory. Something iconic, something interesting. Say, Batman's skull. Come on: that was just about the only cool thing about Blackest Night: how could they leave it out?

While I got half of this wave at a discount, I paid fifteen dollars plus shipping for William Hand here (I picked him up on Entertainment Earth, which had him cheaper than anywhere else I could find). I'm not thrilled with this figure at that price, but I really wanted that arm.

Green Lantern Classics: Black Lantern Abin Sur

Abin Sur was the prior Green Lantern of Sector 2814. He held the job for a while then retired peacefully to a small planet in the Andromeda to pursue his love of music. Kidding! Like the vast majority of space cops, he got killed so a younger character could fill his shoes. That young rookie was, of course, Hal Jordan of Earth.

But that wasn't the end of Abin Sur. Nope: in the "Blackest Night" crossover, he was risen from the grave as a zombie fighting for Nekron to extinguish all life in the Universe, primary because life kept playing loud music late at night or something.

And that's where this version of Abin Sur comes from. The only problem is that Blackest Night was kind of a let down. Broadly speaking, the concept was decades old (Alan Moore introduced a prophesy of the event in the 80's, though I don't think he mentioned zombies), and expectations were sky-high for Geoff Johns, who'd already expanded the Green Lantern mythos brilliantly. In the end, the zombie-thing just felt silly and the story was kind of dull. On top of that, the subsequent company-wide reboot more or less made the whole thing feel pointless. Technically, most of it is still in continuity, but - let's face it - it really isn't relevant anymore.

The figure is certainly sporting a nice head sculpt. I also love the hands: this is an appropriately creepy toy. You also get some added effect from the sculpt thanks to some added articulation. Mattel went with the double-hinged elbows and ball-jointed wrists. Curiously, they stuck with the single-pin knees. I'm not really complaining - I don't need double-pin knees on this guy - but I was a little surprised they included them on the Manhunter and left them out here.

The only extras packaged with Abin Sur's corpse are a stupid 3D mask and the head/ass of Arkillo, the Collect & Connect character. It's a good head sculpt, by the way.

What's missing (at least in my humble opinion) is a bloody heart. I mean, look at this left hand: he should clearly be holding one.

Ultimately, I think I respect this figure more than I like the concept. He's really embedded in a single story-line I just don't care that much about. But there's no denying the head and hands are good work, and the added articulation works well here.

But, honestly, I really just bought this so I'd be another step closer to completing Arkillo. Toys R Us marked all these figures to less than nine bucks, so I picked him up.

Green Lantern Classics: Manhunter

No man escapes the Manhunters, but nine times out of ten no ones needs to escape these guys: most of the time, whoever they're after just turns around and kicks their robot ass. Sure, officially they're supposed to be some kind of universal scourge and longtime enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, but in practice they wind up feeling like cannon fodder. Even so, they're certainly longtime Green Lantern villains, so I suppose it was time for Mattel to make a figure. Unfortunately, like the Guardians who made them the first time, they didn't do a great job.

To be fair, there is a lot to like here. The arm gauntlets and boots are cool, and the extra leg articulation is appreciated. But that doesn't make up for the boring paint job on the head. There's a decent if unremarkable sculpt underneath, but the lack of any real shading gives this the impression of something released decades ago.

I mentioned the articulation before: in addition to the normal joints, you get a double-pin on the knees, allowing for some cool poses. In theory. See, the above pose is really cool, but it's not like he could actually hold it. If wanted to display him on one leg, you'd need to put him on a stand. There's just one problem:

Oh, Mattel. I thought we were past this. The Manhunter, for no reason I can fathom, lacks a peg-hole  in either foot. So unless you want to drill one (or wire him in flight), those knees aren't good for much beyond pratfalls.

The good news is that you do get a few accessories. He comes with an old-school Green Lantern battery (the Manhunters were entrusted with the Guardians' power once upon a time), a piece of Arkillo, and the same stupid 3D mask every character in this wave came with.

In case you were wondering, I bought this because it was less than nine bucks at Toys R Us, which was cheaper than buying Arkillo's torso on Ebay. If you're looking to complete Arkillo, now's the time to look into these. If not, you may want to skip this figure. He's not awful, but he's definitely one of the worst 6-inch DC figures Mattel's put out in a while. Unless you count the Movie Masters, of course.

Green Lantern Classics: Mongul

For reasons I'm not entirely clear on, Mattel keeps releasing Mongul. It's possible they're under the impression he's a far more important villain than he actually is. Or I suppose it's also possible they just really, really like the sculpt the Four Horsemen did for them (it is, to be fair, really cool).

At any rate, they released Mongul at least twice before. As far as I know, this is the same sculpt, though I can't say for certain, because this is the first I bought and I'm clearly too lazy to spend the necessary 5 minutes of research finding out.

Regardless, he's not exactly the same as the other releases, since this is the Sinestro Corps version who showed up in Green Lantern a year or two back. I didn't actually read that arc, but I think I get the general idea: he tried to take over the Sinestro Corps from Sinestro and wound up being an antagonist for both the good guys and bad guys.

The figure is certainly imposing. I'm also in awe of the Four Horsemen's ability to turn a color scheme usually associated with My Little Pony and turn it into something genuinely awesome (also adapt at this trick: My Little Pony).

My one complaint with Mongul is that his articulation is extremely limited by his bulk and his belt. But I suppose that's the price you pay.

He comes with Arkillo's left arm, which is a big part of why I bought him. In addition, he comes with the same crappy pair of 3D glasses every character in this wave was packaged with. Noticeably absent is a Black Mercy, the alien flower used by this character to entrap his enemies within a fantasy world.

These started out costing more than $20, but I found him on clearance for less than $9. There's nothing like the period right after Christmas for finding deals.

Movie Masters Green Lantern: Hal Jordan with Bzzd

Mattel's Movie Masters line has been alliterative but not particularly consistent. They released some amazing Batman figures, but a lot of the Dark Knight's supporting cast has been mediocre. The first wave of their Green Lantern figures, on the other hand, was mostly good: by and large, the aliens looked phenomenal (though from what I've seen, the Parallax build-a-figure is a flop).

While I wasn't a fan of the movie, I still wanted a Hal for my collection. When I saw one going for eight bucks at a local discount store, I got excited. Then I took a closer look and realized the figure kind of sucked. But then I looked EVEN CLOSER and realized it was actually a two-pack, as it also included Bzzd, an insectoid alien Green Lantern. And that's awesome.

The cool thing about Bzzd is that, due to his small size, I could display him with my Green Lantern Classics figures, and no one would notice he was out of place with the comic book versions of the Lantern Corps. Granted, no one would notice him at all, but that's hardly relevant, is it?

Actually, you get a few accessories here. In addition to the two Lanterns, you also get a green display stand. It's more or less identical to the ones that sometimes come with DC Universe Classics figures, but green. You wouldn't think molding it a different color would count for much, but honestly I think it's a pretty big improvement.

The last accessory is a Green Lantern ring. Unlike the pieces of junk Mattel stuck in every one of those damn 3.75 inch figures, this one is actually pretty nice. In fact, considering it's just an extra, I'd say it's really nice.

Sure, it's definitely a toy and not a high end replica, but it would certainly work as a costume piece. Also, it's not a bad fit:

That's a good thing, too, because the headliner in this pack, Hal Jordan, really isn't much to look at. This version differs from the Hal in wave one by being unmasked, being much blander in color, and having some of the crappiest paint ops I've seen in a while. Seriously, Mattel?

The articulation is also annoying. I get that Mattel was trying to design something with as many ball joints as possible, but it winds up providing surprisingly little range of movement, crappy balance, and still looks incredibly stupid, especially when compared with the earlier Movie Masters Batman.

This is definitely one of those times when the accessories eclipse the figure. On his own, this Hal isn't even worth the eight bucks he was marked down to, but the ring, secondary character, and (to a lesser extent) even the stand add up, making this is a good deal.

Action League: Arkillo & Sinestro

In my opinion, Mattel's answer to Hasbro's Superhero Squad keeps getting better. The Action League line started back in 2009 with several waves based on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Since then, it jumped to DC proper, and dramatically improved in the process.

Not too long ago, I looked at a two-pack containing Deadman and Martian Manhunter I received as a gift. It was part of wave which included two packs I didn't really need (I already have a Flash and Batman) and this:

While I actually do already own a Sinestro, he's the "White Lantern" version that came with Hal. While he's certainly cool, I far prefer having Sinestro slinging his yellow ring. The fact he came with Arkillo didn't hurt, either. For those of you who might be out of the loop, Arkillo's basically an anti-Kilowog. In fact, despite being a new character, he feels like he should be Kilowog's Silver-Age nemesis. For those of you who have no idea what any of that means, just smile and nod.

Like Kilowog, Arkillo's an extra large figure. Thanks to his posture, he stands a bit shorter than his foe, but he still towers over others in this scale. The sculpt and paint are both good, and the design is at once menacing and a little wacky, which feels right.

Sinestro's pretty great, too. I like the look and design of the figure, though I do have one quibble. With articulation already slim (cut head, waist, and shoulders), designing him with an arm outstretched reduces the your posing options even further. I'm still waiting for Mattel to wake up and realize they should be including cut joints on the wrists, given how large their hands are.

I ordered these from Toys R Us's website, where I paid something like $8 plus shipping. Four or five years ago, I'd have baulked at paying four bucks a figure for toys in this scale, but now it seems pretty reasonable, especially considering Arkillo's mass.

I still feel like the articulation is lacking, but the overall quality of these figures has really improved since the line started. I'm a bit underwhelmed on the upcoming Flashpoint wave, but I'm hoping Mattel keeps these coming.

Green Lantern Constructs

Recently, I've been buying a lot of cheap 3.75 inch Green Lantern merchandise for their energy constructs, and I wanted to post some pictures showing how those look with 6 inch figures.

Above, I've got Sodam Yat posing with a crossbow from the Ultimate Construct Collection, along with Sinestro's smaller energy sword. The crossbow is attached using the connector that came with Kilowog. It's a tad awkward: it seems to work best with the more 2-dimensional constructs, like the pinchers pictured below:

I'm pleased to report I found an even better use for a few of these constructs that doesn't require the connectors. On a hunch, I pulled my Katma Tui off the shelf. To date, she's the only female member of the Lantern Corps Mattel's produced (a shame: there are some great characters out there), and the constructs she came with were a bit lacking:

I like the idea of her having a sword and shield, but those are quite possibly the crappiest constructs Mattel's made to date. On top of that, none of the other 6-inch constructs fit her hands, because they're so much smaller than the male characters'.

Fortunately, the miniature constructs made for the 3.75 inch figures are just right. Like I said, I wanted to maintain the sword/shield combo, but I gave her an upgrade:

Much better. She has trouble standing up with the shield, but I've got her (along with most of the Corps) wired up in flight anyway, so that's no real problem.

The next step is to take a look at some of the extra connectors I've got and see if I can build some new constructs off of them using various green plastic parts I have lying around.