Hey all,
Blue Lantern Flash arrived a little bit ago and I finally got around to taking some pictures of the figure mint on card, loose and alongside some alternate versions of the figure. First the mint on card pictures:
When this figure was first announced I was pretty burnt out on the idea of Blue Lantern Barry and I wasn’t really anticipating it. But after I’ve seen it in person I have to eat my words. Absolutely great redeco that beats the pants off of the DC Direct version. See for yourself:
And now both figures compared:
In the past I have always expressed a preference towards DC Direct’s more limited form of articulation. I think part of it was from the fact that my real toy collecting started in the Toy Biz X-Men and Spider-Man action figure days and I thought the articulation of those action figures was perfect. Of course this was when we had the ugly super-poseable figures that looked out of place compared with the rest of the line (I’m looking at you super-poseable Spidey) so I think it was just that I wanted uniformity more than anything. Over the years though I have to admit that these figures have grown by leaps and bounds and the extent of what they can articulate without sacrificing the sculpt is pretty impressive and evident in all of the newer DC Universe Classics figures.
As you can see both figures come with their own lanterns. Mattel’s version actually has an open hand that can hold the lantern while the DC Direct version’s closed hands make it so I had to simulate him holding it by placing it on his forearm. The DC Direct version also comes with a Blue Lantern stand that I have to admit looks pretty cool and is a nice little bonus that fits along nicely with the other DC Direct Lantern Stands (I have a White Lantern and Black Lantern one too).
The figures are different versions of the same character so they have pretty much the same design, the place where they differ is in the choices of metallic darker blues and silver compared with non-metallic various shades of blue. I personally prefer the Mattel color scheme of using various shades of blue; it just looks more natural and like a real costume. I could see The Flash wearing a variation of this costume on a regular basis and not have a problem with it. In fact it reminds me a little of John Fox’s second costume. The glossy metallic paint looks better on Wally West than it does on Barry Allen and the Mattel version is also more comic book accurate in my opinion.
Another picture with the Blue Lantern Flash Heroclix included:
This is the third figure released of Barry Allen by Mattel and we can expect another variation on the shelves soon (slightly different body type):
And finally the entire Blackest Night Flash collection:
DC Direct’s Blue Lantern Flash, Mattel’s Blue Lantern Flash, Graphitti Designs/DC Direct exclusive White Lantern Flash, DC Direct’s Black Lantern Zoom, Heroclix White Lantern Kid Flash, Heroclix Blue Lantern Flash and Heroclix White Lantern Flash.
Keep a look out for comparison pics of DC Universe Classics Wave 18 Captain Boomerang and thanks for reading,
Nice find. I’ll probably pick him up if I see him on the pegs. I don’t want one bad enough to order it from another site though.
Walked into my local comic shop yesterday and there he was on the pegs. So I paid like 2 dollars mark up, but I did just stumble upon him. Great looking figure though.
Very nice! I never stumble upon stuff like that anymore.
I prefer the face on the Mattel version, but overall like the DC Direct figure better (at least based on your photos). Still, I’ll get the DC Classics figure if he can be found for a reasonable price — although that’s often an iffy proposition in Canada. You would not believe how many places charge $20 to $30 for DC Classics…