{"id":20246,"date":"2012-08-13T02:30:32","date_gmt":"2012-08-13T07:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20246"},"modified":"2012-08-13T11:06:41","modified_gmt":"2012-08-13T16:06:41","slug":"dc-classics-com-club-infinite-earths-atrocitus-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20246","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com Club Infinite
Earths Atrocitus Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Every once in awhile, time just gets away from me. I didn\u2019t realize how long I\u2019d had Atrocitus sitting here when a reader asked me to not skip Atrocitus last week. I was always planning on reviewing him, but somehow he snuck past my sense of urgency. Let\u2019s check him out. <\/p>\n

Before I get too deep into this review, I should note that I\u2019m writing it while travelling. Ideally, you wouldn\u2019t even notice if I didn\u2019t tell you, but just in case. I have the figure here making the trek with me, but you might not see the usual synthesis between what I say and what I show in the pictures as a result of my putting the two halves of this review together at separate times. <\/p>\n

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Atrocitus is a relatively new character, I think he\u2019s probably getting around to being five years old now. He represents the rage\/red part of Geoff Johns\u2019 spectrum and although he\u2019s a recent addition, he\u2019s been retconned pretty heavily into the Green Lantern mythos having had encounters with Krona, the Manhunters, Abin Sur, Sinestro, the Black Hand, and Hal Jordan all \u201cbefore\u201d he first appeared in the second year of Hal\u2019s return. <\/p>\n

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As I\u2019ve said before, I\u2019m not the biggest fan of Geoff Johns work overall \u2013 I liken his comics to Michael Bay movies, lots of flash, but not much substance. That\u2019s kind of Atrocitus in a nutshell. He\u2019s a very difficult character to use because he\u2019s typically only a bad line of dialogue away from coming off as Mystery Men\u2019s<\/em> Mr. Furious. Worse still, Peter Milligan, a writer I traditionally enjoy, wrote him abysmally in the Red Lantern<\/em> comic. He was trying to add depth to the character that Geoff Johns never got around to, but it served to only make him a whiny dude that monologue at a corpse for multiple issues. Ugh. As such, I\u2019ve lost most of my initial interest in Atrocitus, but I\u2019m still glad we got him as a figure in the Classics line. Though it is weird that he was in Club Infinite Earths. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s common assumption among DC Classics Collectors that Atrocitus was pulled from the Nekron Wave, possibly because a well-selling subscription would allow for him to be given a new buck more appropriate to his size. Bill Benecke, the line\u2019s Project Designer, even talked about Atrocitus being bigger as a selling point of the subscription. Well, good intentions and all that right? The Club Infinite Earths subscription last year went through at roughly 2\/3rds of Mattel was targeting. While many of us, myself included, were still happy to get something, one side effect was figures like Atrocitus would be cut off from any new tooling and would again be regulated to the standard buck height, just like he would\u2019ve been at retail. <\/p>\n

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Some of us got a little loud with our disappointment and proposed some solutions to getting some of Atrocitus\u2019 height back, namely Public Enemy parts. Either someone at Mattel agreed or was thinking along the same lines, because that\u2019s what they did. Atrocitus was given a new set of shins that does add about an eighth of an inch to his height. Inadvertently, though, this set off another controversy. To make the change, they had to sacrifice a sculpted element, the top hem of the boot. When the figure made his debut, a different set of fans were upset at the painted on boots. Sometimes, you just can\u2019t win, right?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to each of us to decide what would\u2019ve been better. Personally, I\u2019ll take the extra eighth of an inch over the sculpted lines, but I don\u2019t expect everybody to agree with that. I\u2019d understand, it is only an eighth of inch after all. Still, I\u2019m glad they made the change. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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So those Public Enemies lower legs aside, we\u2019ve got a very standard DC figure. Atrocitus does have a few other reused parts like the brawnier chest, the belt add-on, and the Red Lantern forearms, but new to the figure are really just the head, hands, and his add-on giant collar. <\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t know what to say about the head sculpt. I already had a DC Direct Atrocitus before buying this figure, and like most things with DC Direct and Mattel, I really wish I could combine the two. I like the overall sculpt and skin texture on the Four Horsemen version more, but I\u2019d love to get the sharp teeth from DC Direct on this figure. I also wonder what he\u2019d look like if his mouth were closed. Why does he always gotta be screaming? <\/p>\n

The hands and collar are fine and comic accurate though the two fists are a teensy bit annoying since they preclude Atrocitus from holding his lantern accessory. <\/p>\n

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The main appeal of this figure is going to be the articulation. As I said, I\u2019ve got a DC Direct Atrocitus that I do enjoy the sculpt on, but that figure is annoying when it comes to articulation. It\u2019s DC Direct, so I wasn\u2019t expecting much, but his arms are sculpted in these awful, twisted default positions and what articulation is there doesn\u2019t help find a pose where they don\u2019t look weird. If the figure had just had bicep swivels, it\u2019d be something, but he just looks weird on the shelf. <\/p>\n

So while the Mattel version of Atrocitus is lighter on sculpted details like the piping and layering, it’s being able to move the arms and legs around sells me on this figure. I should say that I did end up gently pulling up the glue of the Mattel Atrocitus\u2019 collar so I could get greater range out of the neck. Mine came free without messing up any paint, but I can\u2019t say that will happen for everyone, so don\u2019t send me hate mail if you mess up your figure. <\/p>\n

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Atrocitus did include one accessory, a red lantern. This was particularly important because it\u2019s another step closer to getting all the lantern colors sculpted by the Four Horsemen. Atrocitus\u2019 Red Lantern completes the main seven (though I\u2019m still waiting for Larfleeze\u2019s handled<\/em> lantern) and now we just have the lost cause of getting Mattel to produce a white and black version of the lantern (and, yes, I know the comic accuracy of a Black Lantern, I don\u2019t care, I want it!). <\/p>\n

Atrocitus is also notable for what he\u2019s missing tough, some rage vomit. Mattel has some that works; they already released it with Dex-Starr. The direct-to-consumer nature might\u2019ve even allowed for Mattel to make it red instead of pink like the previous release. Nonetheless, they missed that opportunity and if you want Atrocitus spewing napalm blood everywhere, you\u2019re going to have to steal it from the kitty. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Atrocitus really just came out as a run of the mill figure. I\u2019m not really all that upset that he\u2019s fraction of an inch short and I definitely can\u2019t be a hypocrite and get annoyed at Mattel over the sculpted boots when I did ask for them to try these Public Enemies legs. To me, Atrocitus is just\u2026 fine. He works. He fills out the overflowing Green Lantern section of my shelves a little more. The newly sculpted pieces above the belt get him right and even though he\u2019s not as menacing as I\u2019d like, I think he looks good. The articulation is a huge upgrade over my mostly static DC Direct version too. <\/p>\n

Sadly, with Larfleeze & Walker coming, I\u2019m now put in the dubious position of wanting a figure of Indigo-1 more badly than I normally would. We have the other six Lantern leaders accounted for or in the pike, so they kinda need to do her to finish the \u201cteam\u201d. I guess she\u2019d have to be in the sub, but do we want the 2013 sub to have three rainbow lanterns in it? I don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n

And on that note, how said is it that Mattel doesn\u2019t feel like it can put \u201cOrange Lantern\u201d, \u201cBlue Lantern\u201d, and \u201cRed Lantern\u201d out at retail? If the retail line really is staying so high profile as not to include these guys, I might finally have a shot at some of the crazier Batman & Superman variants after all. Geez. <\/p>\n

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More DC Universe Classics Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For all our 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":"

Every once in awhile, time just gets away from me. I didn\u2019t realize how long I\u2019d had Atrocitus sitting here when a reader asked me to not skip Atrocitus last week. I was always planning on reviewing him, but somehow he snuck past my sense of urgency. Let\u2019s check him out.<\/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":[324,1166,665,2557,40,20,1435,967],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-5gy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14679,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=14679","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":0},"title":"Ask Matty October 1st Edition","date":"October 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - October 1st Edition DCClassics.Com: Have all accessories been revealed for the announced DC Subscription figures? Is there still time for subscribers to campaign for Starman & Jay Garrick to receive alternate heads? At this point the Starman and Jay Garrick figures are close to final, but we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2150,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=2150","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":1},"title":"ItsAllTrueReview: Atrocitus & Saint Walker","date":"October 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the difficult realities of the toy world is lead time. If a toy company sees a property that has potential, they can't really strike when the iron is hot. The production process is simply too complicated and drawn out between conception and retail. By the time the product\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15893,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15893","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":2},"title":"Ask Matty December 15th Edition","date":"December 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - December 15th Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: In a previous Q&A, Mattel stated that Atrocitus would be the size of a standard figure. Is there no possibility of utilizing previously tooled pieces such as taller feet, longer calves, longer pelvic piece, or even the Public Enemies buck instead of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2741,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=2741","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":3},"title":"ToyFare 150: Blackest Night is the DC Direct line that won’t die","date":"December 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"ToyFare #150 went on sale yesterday (12\/9) and among it's pages we saw the world premiere of MOTUC Evil Lyn, some future Wal-Mart exclusives DC 2pks (via ActionFigurePics.Com), and an article on the future of the DC Direct Blackest Night line (be sure to check out the magazine for pictures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22868,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=22868","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":4},"title":"DCClassics.Com Club Infinite Earths Saint Walker Review","date":"March 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two St. Walker\u2019s walk into a bar\u2026 ah, I forget the rest. Some collectors consider the overlap in character selection between DC Direct & Mattel to be a joke, but I try to look on the bright side - it's an opportunity to choose the better of two figures. Too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12227,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12227","url_meta":{"origin":20246,"position":5},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: Red Lanterns Skallox & Nite-Lik","date":"April 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is the penultimate entry in Armless Stel Week! Before we get to the big man himself tomorrow, I'm taking a look at the Red Lanterns Skallox & Nite-Lik. I've been dreading this review somewhat. See, I lost Skallox's right hand some time during the month I've been waiting on\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\/20246"}],"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=20246"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20257,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20246\/revisions\/20257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}