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<\/a>Before we get to DCUC15’s Validus, we’re going to jump into some DC Universe Classics Wave 14 reviews this week. Today, we’ll take a look at a character from one of my favorite teams, the Metal Man’s Gold and a character from one of my least favorite teams, Infinity, Inc’s Obsidian… er, I mean Todd Rice. <\/p>\nGold first appeared in 1962’s Showcase Presents<\/em> #37 along with the other Metal Men. Since that team exists in a weird area where most fans are aware of them but won’t buy a book featuring them, they’ve been shunted off to limbo, brought back, or rebooted plenty of times since their early days. But despite their history, Gold is almost always the field leader (except for a bit where he was “permanently” killed and replaced with Veridium, but let’s forget about that…) and is usually the stretchy guy (representing the tensile strength of gold).<\/p>\n Gold’s figure really had one job and that was to live up to the awesomeness that was Iron. And he comes really close. He’s been given new calves, forearms, a new torso with slots to hold the new chestplate, and a new head. Those pieces successfully recreate his comic look, but I do have a few nitpicks to get out of the way.<\/p>\n First, the hands are die-cast like Iron’s, but they also are<\/em> Iron’s – dents, dings, and all. They looked great before, but on Gold they look like little flaws on an otherwise nice figure. It might have been better for Mattel to have created a smooth mold for the die-cast hands as I doubt anyone would’ve complained about them on Iron. Second, to retain the articulation, the chestplate doesn’t attach at the bottom. I understand why it’s done this way, but it tends to flare out and look odd. I’ve put a small dab of poster putty in there to hold the piece down while he’s posed.<\/p>\n Gold’s head is his signature new piece and it is a nice sculpt, but I don’t like it as much as Iron’s. Two reasons for that – one, the mold lines, I usually ignore them, but sometimes Mattel makes it difficult. That’s the case here with the three lines intersecting at the top of his forehead – that’s too noticeable for me, even on a robot figure.<\/p>\n Second, and this isn’t a problem really, but he kinda looks like George W. Bush to me. He didn’t seem come out that way in my pictures, but in person, I can see it and it’s weird. I suppose it’s better than if he looked like Richard Dean Anderson, and the Metal Men were slowly becoming SG-1…<\/p>\n Gold is a relatively monochromatic figure, which is exactly how he should be. He is painted head-to-toe in a nice metallic gold over a dull gold plastic (if you turn his head around, you should be able to find his base color on the front of his neck). It looks fantastic, but the solid metallic color also highlights every little imperfection and makes it harder to find a “perfect” Gold. On mine, the chest stamp was done perfectly, but the forehead stamp missed by just a smidge.<\/p>\n Articulation is standard for Gold. His chest plate being unconnected allows him to retain his full range.<\/p>\n Gold also included two arm attachments. I like both, but the pick-axe for his left hand seems rather lackluster compared to the spinning saw. The saw is fantastic, not just because it spins, but because some thought was put into it. If you look closely you can see that this thumb and middle finger have been sculpted to look like they’re holding the sawblade. It’s little touches like this that really make me appreciate the 4H working on this line. Both pieces fit nicely, but are softer than Iron’s and start to droop over time. A quick pinch to tighten them back up and they pop right back on.<\/p>\n Ultimately, I may have a series of nitpick about Gold, but I love the figure. I love the sculpt work and the paint choices. He looks sharp alone and even better with Iron. My only complaint at this point is that I don’t know where we’re getting Platinum, Lead, Tin, & the rest of the gang. Continue to Obsidian (Todd Rice)…<\/a><\/P><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Obsidian ended up being an interesting purchase for me. I\u2019ve never read Infinity, Inc and never really cared about the character as a result. I\u2019ve only known him in his later incarnations as a sometimes-villain, sometimes-whiny character that no writer seemed to know what to do with. But he is more than that, even though it\u2019s a bit complicated…<\/p>\n In the early 80s, DC decided to give its older Earth-2 characters children. These children would apply for JSA membership, be denied, and thus begin Infinity, Inc! Obsidian (Todd Rise to his friends, family, & Mattel due to legal reasons) was a founding member of the team. He and his twin sister Jade believed themselves to be the children of the golden age Green Lantern, Alan Scott. To sum this up quickly \u2013 Alan had married Rose Canton, the reformed schizophrenic golden age Flash Villain Thorn. But on their wedding night her Thorn personality resurfaced and nearly killed Alan. He believed her dead in the ensuing fire, but Thorn had escaped and was pregnant with Alan\u2019s twins. BUM BUM BUM!<\/p>\n Rose ultimately gave them up for adoption without even letting Alan know she was alive. Todd was raised in an abusive home and was unaware of his powers until he found his twin sister and together the two set out to reunite with the man they believed to be their farther. Did you get all that? And that\u2019s before Todd inherits his mother\u2019s schizophrenia, becomes an on-and-off villain, and tends to be victimized as a character because he’s gay. Aren’t comics wonderful?<\/P><\/p>\n Anyway, Obsidian the figure is a lot simpler than Obsidian the character. He sports a standard buck with the Spectre\u2019s outstretched hands as well as a new belt, cape, and head. The belt and cape are on-model and help get the figure\u2019s unique look translated to figure form pretty well, but it’s hard for me to decide if I like the head sculpt or not.<\/p>\n On the one hand, I\u2019m glad that the 4H went for an open mouth since he\u2019d lack definition with a closed mouth. On the other hand, he doesn\u2019t have a sculpted upper lip and it looks odd from some angles. On the third hand (what??), I\u2019m not sure how his mask works with an open mouth hole anyway. Is the blue part a mask with his shadow-self face? Is it just a really tight spandex mask? I don\u2019t know. The figure does look good exactly how it is for t he most part, but in some profile shots the lack of upper lip is weird. <\/p>\n Todd\u2019s non-sculpted costume details are nicely captured by the paintwork. I\u2019m sometimes spoiled by the characters that get new calves and have sculpted boots, but Obsidian looks okay with painted boots. The lines between the black and blue are sharp all over the figure, the metallic blue on the cape and belt is a nice touch, and the stark contrast between his eyes\/teeth makes the mask successfully creepy. <\/p>\n Articulation is standard for the figure and isn\u2019t hindered by the soft plastic cape (similar to those found on DCUC15 figures). Obsidian included no accessories. <\/p>\n One thing I\u2019d like to mention is that I again feel \u201crobbed\u201d by this character being in a Walmart wave. I don\u2019t mind that Walmart gets exclusives waves and<\/em> I do appreciate getting to buy fewer figures per wave, but I miss the easy variants sometimes. Like the previous Walmart waves, there were some great variant possibilities that simply can’t happen. In Obsidian’s case, I would\u2019ve liked to have seen him in his shadow form, a smoky translucent black figure.<\/p>\n Overall, Obsidian is a nice figure that goes far enough to make me more interested in the character. I like the sculpt and clean execution of the final product. I kinda wonder if I should hunt down some old issues of Infinity, Inc and check \u2018em out. Though judging from the AFI Fan Bracket<\/A>, there\u2019s not much love for the founding Infinitors \u2013 all but Jade are statistically eliminated and it’s only Round 2. Ouch.<\/p>\n![](\"reviews\/dcimages\/2010\/gold01.JPG\")
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