Doctor Impossible
Normally, I’m not happy with fans who think that “classic characters” deserve some priority over newer characters. I’m generally of the mindset that I’ll take whichever characters I can get, but Dr. Impossible really tests that theory. Impossible was an easy variant of Mister Miracle (basic buck + MM cape + new head). This guy was the creation of Brad Meltzer and I’m not really sure what the character did that was important before he died (or should be dead with the rest of the New Gods) because I tend to avoid Meltzer’s comic work (some good novels though!). Still, even if I don’t care about the character, the construction works for him and the complicated paints apps were done well on the figure I received, so at least he’s a good figure I don’t care about instead of a bad one.
Mister Miracle
For me, Mister Miracle was the centerpiece of this wave. I like a lot of the figures in it, but Mister Miracle is heads above the others. Despite using the basic buck, his costumes details are captured with new gloves, boots, belt, cape, and his head. His feet are also unique and have sculpted circuitry to show the retracted aero-discs in the soles. The paintwork on my Mister Miracle is mostly crisp though some of the yellow paint could be thicker. In addition to his C&C piece, he also sports four accessories. You get the fully opened aero discs for his feet, a classic pair of handcuffs for him to break out of (reminiscent of the Super Powers figure, but in a classic Kirby style), and a motherbox (you might miss the motherbox out of the package, it comes hooked to his belt behind his cape).
Kalibak
As much Super Powers goodness as this wave represents, it does not translate to Kalibak. I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, Kalibak is another sharp DC Classic. This particular costume translates into figure form well. On the other hand, now that we’ve got Desaad with his vibro-shocker on the way, and Steppenwolf, Mantis, and the Parademon in Super Powers versions – it’s a little disappointing that Kalibak didn’t (and is unlikely to) receive the same treatment. But when you look at the figure, you can’t help but be happy with him. He’s a completely unique sculpt and the one I found has good paint work except for the yellow stripe at his ab crunch. The left hip is a little loose on mine causing him to sag a little bit. I’ve thought about picking up a Captain Marvel from Target to get a cape fro Black Adam and a new left leg for ol’ Kalibak.
Kalibak was initially shown with three accessories: a pistol, a club, and his beta club. In the final figure, only the club came in under budget and the other two were dropped. Undaunted, the Horsemen repurposed the accessories for the Parademons. The pistol was reused with an attachment to clamp onto the Parademon’s hand and the beta club was given a harness that allowed the Parademon to hold it. That weapon splits into two pieces so you can give Kalibak his classic Super Powers accessory if you so desire.
In Conclusion…
Overall, wave six is still of my favorite waves. If you get all of them, you have three New Gods, a major JLA member, two versions of Superman from the classic Reign storyline, a Bat villain in figure form for the first time, and Captain Marvel. That’s a good run. I’m a bit biased as many of my favorite characters appeared in the wave, but it’s more than that too. The new parts are more plentiful than in other waves. The paints apps are mostly solid. And other than a loose joint on Kalibak there weren’t any really joint problems to speak of. The wave was readily available for most collectors either through the initial release or the subsequent refresher cases, so there’s not much drama involved for this wave. I’m sure most collectors wish all the waves would have been this plentiful.
I consider that Hawkman to be one of the greatest figures in the line so far while Doctor Impossible is a waste of plastic.
Thankfully, he didn’t include a C&C piece and I’ve left him at the store dozens of times.
I never thought about Impossible not being req’d for Kalibak, but that’s true. I still bought ’em. I still want ’em all.
No mention of Kalibak being so squat? I like his bulk, but he just needs to be bigger so he can brawl with Superman.
I didn’t mind it because I feel he’s in-scale with DCSH Darkseid. But since Darkseid is apparently a behemoth now, Kalibak will look squat if that DS ends up on my shelves.
I hate tall Darkseid. That’s a waste of a c7c.
I don’t hate it, but I agree it’s a waste.
Great review. I’m a bigger fan of the inclusion of Killer Moth than you, though– he’s that nice surprise that you’d didn’t expect, when someone pulls out one more present that wasn’t left under the tree.
My only fault with this entire wave us that Capt. Marvels seems just a tad small– perhaps it’s the head. I feel it should stand out a little more in the crowd.
All great figures for sure, even the wretched Dr. Impossible. Mattel is the opposite of DC Direct who gives us charcters that we want in ways that we don’t want them any more; DCUC on the other hand, gives us characters that we would never think to ask for (Imperiex another recent example) and make them so well that you can’t help but want them…
I do like the figure, he’s just so silly. LOL. I was a big fan of a lot of Neron’s changes to the villains.
Super review! This was the 1st wave I picked up. I really like the figure choices in this assortment. While none of them are mu favorites, they are compelling to me! I really like Kalibak, so for me, they all were a must! Very happy with the distribution of this wave as well! Even though I know nothing about the character, Dr.Impossible was visually appealing to me, so he’s with the rest of my New Gods characters!
I do like the black/purple. That’s about it though.
Great review! This too was the wave that got me started and is still of the best in terms of character selection.
Thanks. I think this wave and w13 have the best lineups.
Okay, not to make myself sound stupid, but I didn’t know that the Motherbox was there until this review. That’s really cool.
A friend told it was there the night I bought him, so I didn’t find it on my own back then either.
MR Miracle is one of the best figures in the whole line. Period.
Definitely.
Great review!
Thanks!
It’s one of my favorite waves too.
Gotta love the modern versions getting some respect!
I loved Dr. Impossible (And the rest of Meltzer’s JLA run)
It’s all good. There are some really awful comics I like too. 😉
Miracle is one of the great figures in the line!
He really is, but I’m partial to all the Super Powers figures.
I can’t wait to see Golden Pharoah by the 4H!
Out of the whole wave Hawkman really surprised me! I’ve never been a fan of him and I usually like his more barbarian look like Ed McGuiness’ design, but when this guy arrived, I was truly impressed. He is easily in the top 5 best figures from this line.
Killer Moth was another fun one. He’s too ridiculous to pass on. My brother was taking a look at my Batman’s Rogues display and when he saw KM, he asked, “who the he’ll is that?!”. He couldn’t understand how that guycould be a “super”-villain. LOL
P.S. My Kailbak has the same hip problem!