{"id":19376,"date":"2012-07-02T04:25:19","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T09:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19376"},"modified":"2012-07-02T04:34:08","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T09:34:08","slug":"dc-classics-com-club-exclusive-metron-his-mobius-chair-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19376","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com Club Exclusive
Metron & his Mobius Chair Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>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. <\/p>\n

When Mattel kicked off the Classics line, the New Gods were well represented. Orion was in the first wave and an improved Orion came in a 2pk with Lightray the next year. Mister Miracle & Big Barda followed shortly thereafter, Forager found his way into the Walmart wave, and plenty of evil New Gods were salt & peppered into the line those first couple years too. Then things kinda dried up. It wasn\u2019t that big a deal \u2013 there are hundreds of DC characters that sorely need figures, but some of the notable New Gods were visibly missing. Metron was first on that list for many. <\/p>\n

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I voted for Metron to be the Club Exclusive in last year\u2019s fan poll. I always thought he\u2019d win, but the \u201ceww\u201d factor of the alternative (Black Lantern Swamp Thing? Really?) gave me pause. I wouldn\u2019t have minded the Shaggy Man or Rocket Red (until I saw him anyway\u2026), but Metron was the best option and I\u2019m tremendously grateful to all the like-minded voters out there. <\/p>\n

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And that was before I had him in hand. There are a few issues that I\u2019ll cover as we go along, but this is one really impressive toy. The Metron figure we deserve & the Metron figure we need right now! He makes me happy that we have the DC Subscription. I know there\u2019s been fan debate about where Toy Guru & Co. might have cribbed Metron from. Was he the \u201cmissing\u201d SDCC exclusive? Was the just going to be a regular chairless figure? Was the Chair going to be a new C&C form factor? That kind of geek discussion can be fun to engage in, but it\u2019s just that, geek discussion, and it\u2019s not particularly important. However Mattel intended (or didn\u2019t) to get this figure & chair out to us, I\u2019m just glad they did. <\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re not familiar with Metron (hopefully that didn\u2019t lead you to vote for Black Lantern Swamp Thing\u2026), he\u2019s one of the basic New Gods created by Jack Kirby in the early 70s. Metron more or less fits neatly in the \u201cobserver\u201d archetype like Uatu. He seeks to learn everything he doesn\u2019t know and doesn\u2019t really join into the fray too often (and when he\u2019s does it\u2019s usually by doling out a key item or revealing a pro-tip). Metron\u2019s not necessarily aligned with the Highfather\u2019s noble New Gods or Darkseid\u2019s notorious bunch, but it\u2019s hard to learn new stuff when you\u2019re dead, so he\u2019s more often seen hanging out with Miracle, Orion, & the gang. <\/p>\n

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Metron\u2019s most notable feature is the Mobius Chair (that\u2019d be the big, green hunk o\u2019 plastic in the pics). The chair is powered by an unknown element that allows Metron to move through time and space instantly and effortlessly. As you can imagine if you had a chair like that, Metron is almost never seen not sitting in it. It\u2019s one of those things that put toy companies in a logistical jam. There\u2019s little point to making Metron without his chair, so his name usually ends up on the cutting room floor. It took Mattel years to get this far. DC Direct did produce a chair-less Metron a few years ago. It looked nice, but no chair, no sale. <\/p>\n

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Before I get to Mattel\u2019s Mobius Chair, which will probably be the highlight of the Club Infinites Earth subscription this year, I do need to spend some time on the figure. (See, that\u2019s how important the Chair is, it\u2019s the star of the show. As any long-time DC Collector would expect, Metron is built on the basic buck and only required a new head and hands to get the details right. I will take a moment to mention that I wish the folks at Mattel had more vision (& tooling budget) to create a vaster array of bucks that would include a lean, adult sized torso. This figure works on this buck, but it could be better. Unfortunately, Mattel and I aren\u2019t interested in the same type of bucks. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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While the hands are new, it\u2019s the new head sculpt that has to do the heavy lifting for the figure. It\u2019s a sharp sculpt, particularly with all the raised piping from front to back. I wish the ears were a little less detailed, but the look is true to Kirby\u2019s classic art so I have no cause for complaint. <\/p>\n

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Since the figure is on the basic buck, it was up to the paint to really carry the figure. It does mostly and if you\u2019re lucky. There are a ton of little imperfections throughout my figure, some on the chest tampo and on the lines of the mask, but my figure came out relatively well. It\u2019s hard to see in the pics, but the eyebrows on mine were the only area where I really wish things had been done better, lots of little scratches and a bit of the darker blue showing through when I have him in hand. I got lucky though because I\u2019ve seen more than a couple reports of Metron getting his nose smashed against the packaging and ending up with a blue dot. As any toy collector knows, the nose is a key part of the figure to get right. Hopefully, Metron being close enough for his nose to get scuffed or chipped is just a result of the massive space the Mobius Chair required in the packaging and we won\u2019t see this happen again. <\/p>\n

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So, the Chair. I kinda just want to type \u201cit rocks\u201d eight-seven times until everyone gets me. While the 4H have proven themselves modern masters when it comes to sculpting figures (you guys have all seen Scarabus<\/a>, right?), I love, love, love when they get to do tech pieces. The Wind Raider was a thing of beauty last year as was the (so far) unused Battle Ram displayed at SDCC. Their talent comes into even sharper focus on their DC work though because you can tell the fellas have a genuine love for Jack Kirby\u2019s work. The mother boxes, aero-discs, killing glove, astro-harness, etc. have all been some of the greatest accessories in the DCUC line. <\/p>\n

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The Mobius Chair is no exception, though calling it an accessory does it a disservice. Whether you want to oblige it by calling it a diorama piece or go full-on and call it the line\u2019s first vehicle, the sculpting work here is nothing short of amazing. All of the details are sculpted and there\u2019s a ton more than you first might think. The fingertip controls are present as you\u2019d expect, as is the panel decorations on the front and side, but the floorboard and underside of the chair are also covered in detail. The underside is so impressive that it kills me I don\u2019t have a way to display it where I can show it off all the time. The metallic paintwork on the chair is fantastic and helps sell the look too. Oh, and if you\u2019re into it, you can spin the top of the chair around. I\u2019m not sure if that was done for logistics or on purpose, but it\u2019s funny. <\/p>\n

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Metron pretty much sums up what we need from Mattel\u2019s DC Subscription service. Yes, he\u2019s a low tooling figure that needed a minimum of new parts, but, for now, that\u2019s fine. The figure looks great despite the reuse and he\u2019s a much needed character for many of us. Mattel does need to up their quality control game in regards to the paint on complicated figures like Metron, but I\u2019m happy with the figure I received. <\/p>\n

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The real masterpiece here is the chair. The subscription was able to deliver us something that might not have been available at retail. That\u2019s what the subscription should be for. While the folks in charge of the DC Subscription are still hamstrung by Mattel\u2019s bean counters, this is the ideal they need to be shooting for future figures. Metron delivers something unique to my toy shelf and I\u2019m glad to have them. I already know I can\u2019t say that about all the upcoming Club IE figures, but let\u2019s hope they get more right than wrong at next week\u2019s SDCC panel! And, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hoping they just tell us who the 2013 Club Exclusive is and avoid the fan poll this year…<\/p>\n

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

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

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"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":[1166,378,665,21,759,20,1167,1576,275,1546],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-52w","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19433,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19433","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":0},"title":"Sponsor Announcement: Ka-Razy Kings of Toys Sale Extended!","date":"July 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey there, folks! Summer's heating up, and just around the corner we have Independence Day! Well, to work around that duration for you, we decided to have a sale going on all week! Our Independence Week Sale will start on July 1st, and continue until July 12th at 11:59 PM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sponsors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12594,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12594","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":1},"title":"Matty on Facebook: DC Universe Classics 17 in Package","date":"May 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, Mattel released images of the DC Universe Classics Wave 17. This wave stirred up a lot of controversy when it was announced, so how it sells in the next few weeks will be interesting. I'm buying because I want to build the Anti-Monitor and, hey, the figures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13651,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13651","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":2},"title":"SDCC ’11 Armchair Coverage: DC Universe & Ghostbusters","date":"July 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re waiting on some overall Day 2 Coverage, it is still coming. We had a tremendous spike in traffic for DCClassics.Com & MOTUClassics.Com and I made the call to get those updated with the latest information. Still, I have some more Armchair Coverage ready to go for DC &\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Event Coverage"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15233,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15233","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":3},"title":"Mattel Announces their 2012 DC Line: “All-Stars”","date":"November 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Reminding us that the \u201crebranding\u201d of the DC Universe Classics line is coming all too soon, Mattel has announced the names and shown the first images of initial wave of the new line. I\u2019m not trying to be negative, but I\u2019m not that impressed, by the name or the character\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31406,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=31406","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":4},"title":"SDCC Armchair Coverage: DC Classics… Not Totally Dead?","date":"July 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18548,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18548","url_meta":{"origin":19376,"position":5},"title":"DC Classics.Com Nekron Week! White Lantern Flash Review","date":"May 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have no idea what I\u2019m going to say in this review. I really enjoyed DC Universe Classics over the years, warts and all. So much so that I\u2019m a bit disenchanted with the prospect of wrapping up my reviews on the original line with a figure like White Lantern\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\/19376"}],"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=19376"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19396,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19376\/revisions\/19396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}