{"id":14015,"date":"2011-08-16T23:58:01","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T04:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14015"},"modified":"2011-08-17T00:40:51","modified_gmt":"2011-08-17T05:40:51","slug":"apache-chief-week-dc-classics-black-vulcan-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14015","title":{"rendered":"Apache Chief Week: DC
Classics Black Vulcan Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Since I did my favorite figure yesterday, I figured I’d get my least favorite figure out of the way today. Had Black Vulcan come out looking more like the 2up, I would’ve have enjoyed his figure nearly as much as the others, but something went awry between El Segundo and China. <\/p>\n

Below is a comparison shot of the 2up (left) and the final figure, note the brawnier buck, closed fists, sculpted gloves, inaccurate deco, and the definition in the face. Now I know that even the best factory can’t reproduce a 4H hand-painted original, but most don’t miss the mark this badly… <\/p>\n

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SuperHeroTimes.Com used their most recent Mattel Q&A<\/a> to ask about Black Vulcan and were told that the changes were made by the “design team and the Four Horsemen”. Personally, I wouldn’t own up to making some of these changes. I mean, I get some of it – rounding the “ears” off to non-fragile boomerangs for safety and even going with the slimmer buck because it doesn’t really matter (and the brawnier one may have been unavailable), but the clip-on accessories just don’t look right with the open hands, the inaccurate deco and missing gloves really take away from the figure, and the softer face sculpt is just really disappointing. The 2up looked amazing* to this Black Vulcan fan and the final product just seems “meh” in comparison. <\/p>\n

* – Ironically, as I’m writing this, Toy Guru has just reminded collectors at the Org that “prototypes are shown ALL the time for lines and then small changes often have to be made by final product” in regards to possible changes to a MOTUC Draego-Man figure<\/a>. C’est la vie.<\/em><\/p>\n

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As with Samurai<\/a>, Black Vulcan was another character added by Hanna-Barbera in 1977 for the sake of diversity, but he’s not exactly an original character. See, I was really interested to see the back of his box for his biographical information – which up until now, didn’t really exist. Mattel (or DC) handled it pretty deftly be leaving his origins and identity a mystery, but stating that he was still a trusted and valued member of the team. Plus, it allowed for the possibility that he really was Black Lightning. <\/p>\n

In Black Lightning<\/em> #10 (1978), Black Lightning stops an imposter Black Lightning created by the villainous, scheming Barbara Hanna<\/em>. It’s a really nicely written story despite the obvious metafiction. Like any good thirty year old contract dispute, I’m not up to speed on the details, but that old issue of Black Lightning has always made Tony Isabella’s (the writer & creator of Black Lightning) feelings towards Black Vulcan pretty clear to me.<\/p>\n

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Black Vulcan was really a simple figure all things considered since his only unique piece is his head. You know, I kinda feel like my intro basically guts the usual sculpt and paint sections since I can only reiterate my previously mentioned grievances. The figure just needed a little more love. I don’t mind the occasional painted detail, but Black Vulcan would’ve been better served with the gloved hand the Four Horsemen had intended to give him and maybe even the Sinestro Corps boots to get some sculpted detail on the legs (an extra line would be present, but it’d be better than no sculpted lines at all). I can forgive the boomerangs on his head, but the tray has warped the soft plastic and combined with the soft details on the face, it just doesn’t work for me. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Paint QC was a bit of an issue on my Black Vulcan. The figure is primarily cast in black plastic and the skin tone and yellow areas are all painted on details (a thick paint on the face may be responsible for the soft look), but there are a lot of warbly lines through the figure’s symbol and some missing paint on his left butt cheek is the beginnings of a wardrobe malfunction.<\/p>\n

Then, there’s the flat out missing deco – his neck should be flesh colored, not filled in. Mattel actually made this same error on his JLU figure (which I still need to pick up the Super Friends 3pk, I never saw at my Target), so I guess I’m not surprised it was repeated, but again the 2up was done correctly – so what went wrong?<\/p>\n

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Black Vulcan has all the articulation we’ve come to expect. Good range on the ball-joints at the neck and shoulders, swivels at the bicep, wrist, waist, & thighs, hinges at the elbows, knees, & ankles, the ab crunch, and the 4H hips. <\/p>\n

Since I’ve complained in nearly every section so far, I may as well toss one more into the accessory department. I do appreciate that Black Vulcan includes yellow casts of the cracklin’ clip-on energy from Superman Blue & Red, but that’s not the accessory he needed. Black Vulcan… Roman God Vulcan… Greek God Hephaestus… made Zeus’ lightning bolts… any of that ringing a bell? Well, Black Vulcan is more known for throwing lightning bolts than for having energy crackle off him and a lightning bolt accessory would’ve been mighty fine here and, look he’s even got open hands so he could’ve held ’em…<\/p>\n

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Overall… man, it kills me to have to give such a downer review for Black Vulcan. I was so excited to get him, but I don’t think this is a case of Mattel not meeting my lofty expectations. This figure required so little love to get done correctly (and most of my issues weren’t present in the 4H 2up) that it’s just a shame that couldn’t get him done right. He’s a very simple figure and it was imperative to get the little details – gloves, boots, the head sculpt, the right accessories, just right – and they just… didn’t. I don’t know if it was cost issues, manufacturing issues, or a hex by Tony Isabella himself but this figure simply went to far awry once Mattel got their hands on him. <\/p>\n

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For more DC reviews, check out our
\n DC Universe Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since I did my favorite figure yesterday, I figured I’d get my least favorite figure out of the way today. Had Black Vulcan come out looking more like the 2up, I would’ve have enjoyed his figure nearly as much as the others, but something went awry between El Segundo and China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[6,34,10],"tags":[1141,1145,378,665,939,20,1142],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/bvTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-3E3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14096,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14096","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":0},"title":"Apache Chief Week: DC Classics El Dorado Review","date":"August 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It seems Apache Chief Week was just too ginormous to fit into a standard workweek! We\u2019ve got one figure left before we get to the big man himself, a late addition to the Hanna-Barbera Super Friends cartoon and one DC character that I was sure wouldn't get a figure, El\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14027,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14027","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":1},"title":"Apache Chief Week: DC Classics Bronze Tiger Review","date":"August 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If the Super Friends or Geoff Johns versions of classic characters leaves you cold, then DC Universe Classics Wave 18 probably isn\u2019t your favorite, but the wave still has something to offer even the most stalwart DC Classics Collector, one of DC\u2019s most renowned martial artists, Ben Turner, the Bronze\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13068,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13068","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":2},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: Hal Jordan (White & Black Lanterns)","date":"June 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I found this review particularly difficult to write. Some figures you love right away, some figures make you love them, some figures just fill out the shelf a bit (or came with a critical C&C piece), and some figures you buy only because you maintain a DC Universe Classics Checklist.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12875,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12875","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":3},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: Star Sapphire Carol Ferris","date":"June 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a little over two months since \"Armless Stel\" Week concluded here at IAT. I had the rare opportunity to pick up the wave at retail before it was available online and I jumped at it, but the lone Star Sapphire I found was particularly subpar. Little did I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9905,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9905","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":4},"title":"DCUC Hal Jordan 2-Up Charity Auction","date":"October 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"One official, fully painted DC Universe Classics Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) 2-up prototype figure is be being auctioned right now to benefit the Mattel Children\u2019s Hospital UCLA!! One official, fully painted DC Universe Classics Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) 2-up prototype figure is be being auctioned right now to benefit the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Four Horsemen"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19376,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19376","url_meta":{"origin":14015,"position":5},"title":"DC Classics.Com Club Exclusive Metron & his Mobius Chair Review","date":"July 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Have I ever mentioned I loathe fan polls? (I know I have, but it\u2019s fun to ask). I\u2019ve been thinking about them a lot while photographing DC Universe Classics Metron. He\u2019s just (about) right, but I\u2019m also glad that he\u2019s not \u201cRed Rocket\u201d or Black Lantern Swamp Thing. When Mattel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14015"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14015"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14026,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14015\/revisions\/14026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}