{"id":17114,"date":"2012-02-24T04:01:30","date_gmt":"2012-02-24T10:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17114"},"modified":"2012-02-24T21:00:22","modified_gmt":"2012-02-25T03:00:22","slug":"dc-classics-com-s-t-r-i-p-e-week-s-t-r-i-p-e-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17114","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week
S.T.R.I.P.E. Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>As everyone (hopefully) expected, we\u2019re wrapping up our S.T.R.I.P.E. Week with a look at the big guy. STRIPE & \u2018comic accuracy\u2019 don\u2019t belong anywhere near each other in a sentence, but Mattel and the Four Horsemen pulled off a feat, a fantastically inaccurate figure that\u2019s fantastic at the same time.<\/p>\n

Before we jump in here with S.T.R.I.P.E., I wanted to give a shout out to all of our readers! We know you guys love the theme weeks because you turn out in droves for them, but we weren’t sure about this go-round because we’re getting to S.T.R.I.P.E. & his wavemates so late in the game. These reviews would’ve been late in December<\/em> and here we are in late February. Yet you guys were still on board, and we saw the same spike in traffic and comments despite the extremely late reviews. You guys humble us and push us to do more with your patronage. A couple years back when it took a month or more to get what is now a day’s traffic around here, we never thought it would blossom into us talking toys to this many folks on a daily basis. So you’re all due a hearty thank you from the whole gang here at IAT! <\/p>\n

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Even though S.T.R.I.P.E. wasn’t created until 1999, the man inside the suit (Pat Dugan) is a fair bit older than that, having first appeared in 1941’s Action Comics #40 as Stripesy. Stripesy is a rarity in comics because he somehow ended up being the adult sidekick to a teenager, the Star-Spangled Kid. The wealthy teen and the garage mechanic would initially operate independently as heroes, but when one dude’s got a star theme and the other has a stripe them – well a team-up is just natural, right? (The pair actually had met prior while stopping a riot and then followed parallel paths until they met up again as superheroes, if I recall). I’m not sure how Stripesy ended up the sidekick other than the fact that SSK was filthy rich. Life’s just not fair, y’know?<\/p>\n

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My first introduction to Stripesy came in the form of a JLA\/JSA team-up, courtesy of those oft-mentinted Blue Ribbon Digests<\/em>. The two teams had to track the time-lost members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory (a team that Mattel has yet to give us a proper figure for…). Hourman, Batman, and Starman travelled to Ancient Egypt to locate Stripesy and return him to the present. He didn’t appear a lot af that until Geoff Johns brought him back to the forefront in 1999’s Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.<\/em>. Now, things get a little iffy here – Pat Dugan was a mechanic, in his early 20s at least, in 1941. So, in 1999 when he remarries and ends up with Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl) as his step-daughter, this guy’s gotta be pushing 80! He doesn’t look it in the comics and I don’t recall if Johns ever broached the subject of his age, though it wouldn’t take much. One sentence of blah-blah-blah and his youth is explained away. Heck, his being time-lost could cut decades out right there, but it’s not relly important I suppose. <\/p>\n

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What does matter is that Courtney found SSK’s old costume among Pat’s things and assumed the mantle to annoy her stepdad, but Pat didn’t miss a beat. Since he was a bit old (ahem) to be galavanting about as Stripesy, Pat built a suit of armor (robotic suit) to accompany Courtney while she was out on patrol. Thus, S.T.R.I.P.E. was born. You really have to admire a 1940s car mechanic that’s still in the game and can build cutting edge robots 50 years later. To my knowledge, the acronym didn’t stand for anything in particular. It was just simply a call back to his old moniker with a robotic flare. Readers suggested “Special Tactics Robotic Integrated Power Enhancer” and it stuck, clunky as it sounds. <\/p>\n

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So here’s the funny thing about the suit of armor Pat built, it looks nothing like the figure. The comics have featured two primary versions of the armor (a third exists if you count the JLU<\/em> animated series). The first version (above, bottom right) was a clunky design with a kind of Big Guy and Rusty<\/em> vibe. The later version (above, bottom left) is a little used, but pretty much direct rip-off of a megadeuce design from Big O<\/a>. <\/p>\n

You can see some elements of each in the final design, but either the Four Horsemen created their own vision for S.T.R.I.P.E. or DC supplied them with some wonky control at that we’ve never seen. Now, earlier this week, I stirred the pot a bit by pointing out that I didn’t care about Atom’s height being accurate because it was a great enough figure. If there’s anyone out there who loves S.T.RI.P.E. in the comics and insists on accuracy, don’t read the next sentence. This design is better than either of the versions used in the comics.<\/em> Seriously, if S.T.R.I.P.E. shows up in the DCnU, the folks at DC need to just use this design. He’s never looked better. <\/p>\n

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Now, STRIPE (I’m tired of typing all those periods) does share parts with the C&C Stel<\/a>, so one might think that’s what dictated some of the figure’s design and that could be partially true, but while Mattel intended to part share between Stel and STRIPE (which resulted in us getting a ridiculously oversized Stel), STRIPE ended up reusing a fewer bits of Stel than I’d expected: the legs, lower torso, shoulders, and upper arms. These pieces are all fine to be reused here. They’re nicely detailed and really add to the sculpt. Being cast in white plastic helps bring out the details even more so than when we saw them on Stel. <\/p>\n

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While Stel’s pieces being a great level of detail to STRIPE’s usually smooth look, the newly tooled pieces blend in nicely. I love the big, clunky feet in particular, but the armored forearms\/hands, the new torso, and the new head all look sharp on the final figure. I especially love the head sculpt – yes, it’s not like any of the comic versions, but it does have a great look to it. Some softer plastic pieces are also new here, one to cover the crotch and the make the figure a little less lean through the middle and the large “football pads” that cover his shoulders and upper chest. They both finish off the look and don’t block the articulation, so win-win there. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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As with any C&C we’ve got to work a height paragraph into the discussion. I’m gonna go with a big “OK” for this aspect as well. STRIPE’s height in the comics has varied. In Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E.<\/em>, Pat rode around in the chest of the robot despite the fact it didn’t really appear big enough to fit a grown man in there. The later version would seem to suggest the suit is simply being worn by Pat (as it was in the animated series). The figure here strikes me as a balance between the two, similar to Obidiah Stane in the Iron Man<\/em> movie. <\/p>\n

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Articulation is pretty good on this figure (and I’m saying that after playing with those wonderful new Marvel Legends all month). There are ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, & hips, swivels at the biceps, waist, thighs, and calves, hinges at the elbows and knees, rocker ankles, and the ab-crunch. The figure’s bulk limits some movement here or there, particularly in the ab-crunch, the rocker ankles, and the hips. The shoulders conflict with the soft plastic armor somewhat, but it does give and the lets the arms stay in place (I just wouldn’t pose him like that for too long). There were some stuck joints here – namely the thigh swivels. My left one just didn’t want to give and it took quite a bit of work to get even a little movement freed up. <\/p>\n

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At first glance, STRIPE doesn’t appear to have much paint, but in truth the entire figure is painted in a pearlized white to give him a metallic look (which is presumably why some of the joints were tight\/stuck). I think it looks fantastic. There’s a little bit of a light blue wash to bring out the details and then reds and blues were added over tha. Being nitpicky, I think the few apps could’ve been done a little more cleanly. For the most part STRIPE appears to be pretty sharp, but the limited number of blue and red applications kinda exaggerates the little places where they’re not clean. <\/p>\n

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On the subject of paint, I also wanted to point out that STRIPE could’ve used a few more paint apps. There’s a little extra blue on the hands and arms, but the figure is solid white form the waist down. Some color might look good here. I looked earlier and couldn’t find it, but when STRIPE debuted at MTV Geek, one enterprising collector took to Photoshop and added some red stripes across the raised portions of the forearms and on parts of the legs. It looked pretty snazzy. I love the STRIPE figure as is, but I wouldn’t have objected to a little more color being added to the new design either. <\/p>\n

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Overall, I remember how annoyed I was when I found out that Stel and STRIPE would share parts. The truth is, I was kinda discouraged by the whole wave. I’m going to chalk that up to my just having a really bad week (the DCUC19 debut was the same week as the Joplin Tornado, so there was plenty of ‘meh’ to go around). <\/p>\n

Having both Stel & STRIPE in hand, I wasn’t in sound mind with my initially unhappiness. Yes, Stel is still way oversized, but the two figures look surprisingly different despite the part reuse. These two don’t look like alike in the comics and the figures don’t look alike either. The smart reuse and the new parts have made for a great STRIPE figure. I would like some more paint apps, but the pearlized white looks fantastic and I only want more paint apps because the ones he has look great. STRIPE was easily the best Collect & Connect in 2011 and is one of my favorite C&Cs in the entire DCUC line (alongside Giganta & Chemo). This whole wave, which I once dubbed “meh”, turned out to be pretty amazing. If the line ended here, we could go out happy… <\/p>\n

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… but we’ve got one more theme week in the works, a Nekron Week (yawn), but that’s not going to be nearly as fun as the week has been. DC & Mattel may feel they need to keep things fresh and I won’t necessarily disagree – even I kinda find myself wanting “flavor of the month” characters as figures now and again, but this week has been a blast! I’m happy to have Stargirl & STRIPE in my collection, but having killer figures of Golden Age Atom & Sandman? There’s not much better than having those characters I’ve loved for thirty years jump off the page. I’m going to enjoy picking up Atrocitus & Larfleeze, but this week has left me wanting even more classic characters – heck, right now I want the original Star-Spangled Kid & Stripesy more than ever, and like most of the GAers, that’s not exactly a tall order for Mattel. I’d like to see them get to it. <\/p>\n

That’s a wrap on S.T.R.I.P.E. Week folks! I hope you guys enjoyed all the reviews as much as we did putting them together! We’ve got a good mix coming next week, some more Marvel & MOTU for sure from me, and there’s no telling what Vault has lined up! See ya on Monday! <\/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":"

As everyone (hopefully) expected, we\u2019re wrapping up our S.T.R.I.P.E. Week with a look at the big guy. STRIPE & \u2018comic accuracy\u2019 don\u2019t belong anywhere near each other in a sentence, but Mattel and the Four Horsemen pulled off a feat, a fantastically inaccurate figure that\u2019s fantastic at the same time.<\/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":[6,47,34,10],"tags":[15,665,1049,1277,259,20,957,1390],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-4s2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17034,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17034","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":0},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. WeekStargirl Review","date":"February 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"S.T.R.I.P.E. Week rolls on, but today I\u2019m jumping ahead, oh\u2026 a few decades to a young member of the modern JSA. One of the things I enjoyed most about the late 90s DC offerings was the return of the Justice Society of America and its newest member Courtney Whitmore, a.k.a.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17102,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17102","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":1},"title":"DC Classics.com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Kobra (Lord Naga) Review","date":"February 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I get the last couple normal figure reviews before S.T.R.I.P.E., so I thought I\u2019d kick off today with a look at one of the more interesting villains from the old DC Universe.\u00a0 It may say Lord Naga on his box, but he\u2019s better known as Kobra. I wanted to talk\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/kobr1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17021,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17021","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":2},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. WeekGolden Age Sandman Review","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While I enjoyed DCUC18, I\u2019m still of the mindset that DCUC19, with its JSA theme, was a bastion of greatness in an otherwise dull year for DC Classics. Sandwiched between a wave of Geoff Johns\u2019 Rainbow Deputies and Brightest Day figures, the classic characters featured here were a 2011 bright\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17160,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17160","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":3},"title":"DC Classics.com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Hawkman Review","date":"February 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"S.T.R.I.P.E. Week is nearing its conclusion with my review of the last regular figure in the JSA themed wave, the Golden Age version of Hawkman.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been waiting a long time for this particular figure, and he actually turned out pretty well for what's mostly redeco. Carter Hall was an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/hawk1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17058,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17058","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":4},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Magog Review","date":"February 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s my first review up for S.T.R.I.P.E. Week and I thought I\u2019d kick it off with the surprisingly cool figure of Magog.\u00a0 Although this figure is technically based on a newer character, the original design was one of the more interesting 90\u2019s creations. David Reid was a Lance Corporal in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/mago1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17072,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17072","url_meta":{"origin":17114,"position":5},"title":"DC Classics.Com S.T.R.I.P.E. Week Golden Age Atom Review","date":"February 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"S.T.R.I.P.E. Week has me taking another trip down memory lane today with a look at the Golden Age Atom! He\u2019s not my favorite Justice Society of America member, but as a JSA Fan that\u2019s been waiting forever for a good Al Pratt figure, I\u2019m happy to report this one doesn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17114"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17176,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114\/revisions\/17176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}