DCClassics.Com Review:
Red Lanterns Skallox & Nite-Lik

The character-specific pieces swap out easily enough. The hands are a tight fit, but the pegs seem sturdy enough so I’m not worried about them breaking like Mercury’s did. When you put Nite-Lik’s head on you have to decide what to do with the tentacles. The package shows them crisscrossing across the chest, but the way my figure was packaged (as Skallox) had the tentacles tightly wound off to the side and they don’t’ want to crisscross any more as a result. I’m not sure if that is true of the figures packaged as Nite-Lik.* I should also note that some of the figures that were packaged as Nite-Lik lack the Red Lantern symbol on the chest below for Skallox.

* – As collectors we have our set opinions about what will and won’t sell, but when I hit up the Wal-Mart that had received GLC2 only one figure was missing. It was Nite-Lik. Some collector/kid/parent/guardian had beaten me there and the one figure they elected to buy was Nite-Lik. I can see why, but I think him selling first is hilarious in light of the importance we place on character popularity & history.

I wish I’d gotten better paint on this figure. Obviously, I could have left him at the store if there’d been anything egregious (as I did with the Star Sapphire), but there are a few nicks and warbled line in the gloppy red paint here and there. Again, Mattel opted to mold in black and paint the top of the shoulders. That caused some chipping around the joint even before he was out of the package. There was also some copper slop under his arm. There’s no copper paint on him, so I’m not sure what’s going on there. The two heads were both painted well with nice shading on Nite-Lik’s bones and sharp details on Skallox – though the heavy lines around his teeth do give off somewhat of a cartoony effect.

Articulation is what we’ve come to expect. Ball-joints at the head and shoulders, swivels at the bicep, wrists, and waist, hinges at knees, elbows, and ankles, the Mattel hips, and the ab-crunch. Skallox has limited back and forth movement on his, but Nite-Lik has decent range despite the neck piece and extra weight of the tentacles.

Overall, I find myself really conflicted about figures like these guys. I want my JSA! My Morrison JLA! The rest of the Metal Men, for crying out loud. But I also find myself wanting figures for the going on three years old Red Lantern Corps. I want Mattel to make Atrocitus. I’d be upset if I didn’t get a Bleez. I would like to see Guy Gardner, Vice, Haggor, & Zilius Zox (he’s hilariously getting an Action League figure). It’s a real conflict for me, particularly when it comes to Nite-Lik because his origins are backwards.

That said, I was wrong to dislike Nite-Lik simply because of how he came about. I *want* the 4H to get an original MOTU character in there, so why should I have initially objected to a DC one? And it really helps that Nite-Lik turned out as cool as he did. Skallox is fine, but he did end up being the lesser of the two figures. Also, if it turns out that he really should be “hulking” than his inaccuracy would become an issue for me, but for now he’s okay. He looks good with my DCD Atrocitus, Nite-Lik, & Dex-Starr.

I do like having these guys as their proper characters on my shelves, but I also had a ton of fun swapping their parts with the other combo figures. I’ll leave you with a look at a “few” of those combinations. I’m off to continue my search for that stupid hand!

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17 thoughts on “DCClassics.Com Review:
Red Lanterns Skallox & Nite-Lik

  1. Great review! I pre-ordered my set from Corner Store Comics, which haven’t come in, yet. But I haven’t seen any at retail so it’s not a big deal. Hopefully Amazon will stock them soon and I can grab a couple extra Red Lanterns for customizing.

    1. It sounds like a lot of the online retailers are getting them in now, so hopefully CSC is among them! And yeah, the idea of being able to quickly make some other new lanterns with headswaps is near overwhelming…

  2. I don’t think they needed to go CNC size with these guys, but bigger then normal would’ve been nice (like how the DCSH Mongul and Clayface were bigger then normal), especially due to the fact that Atrocitus is also a bigger then normal character, and they will probably make him with this body as well.

    1. You raise a great point Eric! They could’ve “cut the difference” and used a bigger buck for Skallox which, in turn, would’ve given them the base body for Atrocitus (or a buck for any other 7″ character).

  3. I can’t get over how amazing Nautkeloi looks as a Red Lantern…There is just something perfect about the design and I fear you may have sold me on them..

    I just wish he could have some appropriate hands, but even as is. If anyone from DC Comics sees it and it doesn’t pop up in a Green Lantern comic, they’re bigger fools than I thought possible.

    1. Yes! I really loved that combination. I don’t know what it is, but something just works. In general, the color of that red body is a lot more friendly to the other heads. I think even Medphyll looks better in red.

      The hands are a bummer. I mean Medphyll & Nautkeloi didn’t need them, but it would’ve been nice. Plus, Sodam already has the poppable left wrist, so the mold for that one is out there already.

      And heck, I still want interchangeable hands anyway…

      1. I found that pic personally hilarious. I “misplaced” (read: cat got hold of it) that same hand you had Atrocitus offer for about a month, then found it in the living room last week! I thought I’d find it in the litter box, first. Maybe he didn’t like the taste, or he was afraid to eat it?

        (loot at him, sitting here by me, curled up all smug. …grabs plastic bag, shakes it, cat = GONE! LOL)

        1. *look

          and hilarious thought: Kilowog and …the SinCorps dude both use the body originally created for Brimstone, right? Next time you do a Red Lantern review, you should have a pic with Atrocitus trying to figure out of Brim is part of his Corps or not! LOL

          Arkillo! yeah, that’s the tongue dude, right?

          1. Brimstone… as a Red Lantern? Man, I wish I’d thought of that. Good call!

            And yes Arkillo is the “tongue dude”. To help remember it just think of Geoff Johns naming capability – the Kilowog analog’s name ends in “Kilo”.

        2. We have a dog that thankfully doesn’t see any of my toys as food/playthings. That hand was bite-sized though, so I do wonder…

  4. I agree about spacing the releases of the Guru Guard and Nite-Lik a little more, if only for appearances’ sake.

    Fairly unprofessional IMO.

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