{"id":5384,"date":"2010-05-12T03:52:07","date_gmt":"2010-05-12T08:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5384"},"modified":"2012-04-16T03:54:27","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T08:54:27","slug":"retro-review-dc-classics-wave-4-despero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5384","title":{"rendered":"DCClassics.Com: Wave 4
(Despero) Retro Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing our efforts to complete our DC Classics Review Archive<\/a>, we’re making the Retro Review our regular Wednesday feature. This week we’re taking a look at DC Classics Wave Four, the Despero Wave.<\/p>\n

This wave was released in late 2008. And, at the time, was one of the harder waves for us to complete. With four of the five figures having variants, building Despero was easy enough, but it wasn’t always easy to track down both versions of each character.<\/p>\n

I remember lucking into an Artemis at retail and a much delayed trip to nearby Kay-Bee finally netted me Unmasked Terry and the sonic arm attachment for Cyborg, but it wasn’t until months later that I was able to get the silver Captain Atom and complete the wave. The gold version seemed to be in abundance even though I understood him to be the variant. I was annoyed at the time, but looking back in a post DCUC5 world, these weren’t that hard to get.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wonder Woman<\/strong><\/h4>\n


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Wave Four was headlined by the Amazing Amazon herself and it’s a relatively good figure with some problems. DCUC has never really nailed down the proportions on the women, but I think with the biceps turned a bit inward Wonder Woman looks pretty sharp from the front (where you can’t see the tiny waist). I like the head sculpt and the hair. Basically, all the details that need to be there are present. The one thing that sets Wonder Woman back though is the articulation. It’s standard and the joints all work well, but there’s just something about skin tone that exaggerates the articulation cuts, particularly on the women. I think it’s a mental thing. We want to see smooth, unblemished skin and the articulation creates more discontinuity than it does on most of the figures. Articulation is standard for the line, but the belt piece blocks the waist from being able to turn completely.<\/p>\n

The paint apps on Diana are mostly great, with sharp stars and the subtle blue detailing on the hair, but the face doesn’t quite live up to the 2up. In addition to her Despero piece, the figure included an axe and a shield. The shield clips snugly on her bracelets and she can hold the axe in either hand. Her lasso is molded to her hip. I’m fine with it, but I’m still waiting for a toy company to figure out that WW should include a second lasso molded to fit around another figure (and make the one on the belt removable). In all, Wonder Woman is a good figure, but she’s just not great. Wonder Woman should be one of the best figures in the line.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Artemis<\/strong><\/h4>\n


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I love Artemis in the comics and I’m glad she was able to find a way into the line, even if it was as a Wonder Woman variant. Artemis was introduced in the late 90s as a member of a long lost tribe of Amazons. Hippolyta, seeing a vision of Wonder Woman’s death, manipulated events so that Artemis would become Wonder Woman and die instead of her daughter Diana. Her plan worked and Artemis died in Diana\u2019s place. She was later able to escape Hell, rejoin the living, and has been a supporting character in Wonder Woman’s book off and on since then.<\/p>\n

She’s depicted here from her brief stint as Wonder Woman. The figure features a new head sculpt with her trademark ponytail, a new belt w\/ quiver, and new feet with wings and straps, the rest she borrows from Diana. Instead of an ax and shield, Artemis was given a longbow with two arrows molded to it. <\/p>\n

Overall, I’m happy to have this version of Artemis, but I’m still holding out hope that Mattel has her more unique, Benes costume someday. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

Ares<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Ares, quite simply, is the Greek god who has been used as a primary antagonist most of Wonder Woman\u2019s run. This figure is a sleeper hit in the DC Classics line. Not only is he spot on to his classic comics look, but he’s also a bigger, bulkier figure with a ton of unique detail. <\/p>\n


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The figure stands about a half-inch taller (more if you count the helmet’s crest) than the standard buck and features intricate detail on nearly every piece including threaded braids on his gauntlets, nicks and slashes in the hammered metal armor, and skulls aplenty. Other than his red eyes, his face is featureless under the helmet. He’s fully articulated, though the shoulder armor and skirt restrict the ball shoulders, waist, and hips to varying degrees.<\/p>\n

The mix of metallic blues, flat blues, and black help finish the figure off. He also included a sword and an axe that can be stored on one of the two hooks on his belt. Overall, he’s not one of my favorite characters, but he’s one of the best figures in the line. The right knee on mine is a bit warped, I\u2019ve never gotten around to righting it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Batman Beyond & Unmasked Terry McGinnis<\/strong><\/h4>\n


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Batman Beyond was a pleasant surprise for me when I heard he was included. I’m an “all inclusive” guy when it comes to the line – I don’t care if the characters come from cartoons, movies, or the original books.* I really enjoy the idea of Bruce aging out of Batman and needing a new recruit. I thought the show was a standout in the Timmverse and I hope that a few of the villains do find their way into DC Classics sooner or later. I still want Red Bee and Neon the Unknown too, so I’m bound for disappointment no matter what.<\/p>\n

* – Bring on Conjura!<\/em><\/p>\n

Batman Beyond features the standard buck with a unique head sculpt, new forearms, and a new belt. I kinda of wish that a smaller buck and non angry head had been used for Terry, because the angry, full-size buck seems more like the adult version from JLU and not his carefree younger self, but the figure still looks great on the shelf – particularly in the shiny black paint scheme. He includes a batarang accessory, but is missing his trademark “wings”. Those don’t usually translate well on action figures, but I’m curious to see how the 4H might have incorporated them.<\/p>\n

Batman Beyond was also available as a KB, then online, then Wal-Mart exclusive that featured a Terry McGinnis head and a bunched up mask accessory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cyborg & his Sonic Arm Attachment<\/strong><\/h4>\n


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My first exposure to Cyborg is his teaming up with Firestorm in Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. Cyborg is Vic Stone, a guy with horrible parents. They experimented on him throughout his childhood and when he was horribly wounded (and his mother killed) by a creature one of their experiments let loose, his Dad jumped in and replaced all the damaged parts with cybernetic implants. Vic took it about as well anyone would and had a chip on his shoulder for a long time, only getting over his condition because of his affiliation with the Titans.<\/p>\n

Cyborg features an original buck with a ton of detail and features the standard articulation. The paint work, largely silver, is simple and elegant and makes the figure standout on the shelf. The regular release Cyborg included two attachments that could replace his right hand. One is an updated version of an attachment that came with the Super Powers figure. The second, and I’m not sure, reminds me of something from the Galactic Guardians. Finally, Cyborg had a third attachment, a sonic disruptor (pictured to the right) that was only available with the KB\/online\/Wal-Mart exclusive version. The figure was otherwise identical, but packaged only with the sonic attachment and not even a regular hand. Continue to Page 3…<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Captain Atoms<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Captain Atom is one of the Charlton characters that DC acquired in the 1980s and slightly reinterpreted. The DC version, immortalized in plastic here, was an Air Force pilot that was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. He agrees to be experimented on in hopes that he’ll survive and be pardoned. He’s put in an alien ship and blown up with a nuclear bomb (I said he hoped<\/em> he’d survive…). The metal of the hull melts around him and absorbs the blast, throwing him forward in time from the late sixties to the mid-eighties. He never received his pardon and the conviction was used to impress him into government service as Captain Atom. Then, there’s the Monarch thing, but I’ll save that in hopes of a Monarch figure.<\/p>\n


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Cap here uses a standard buck with a new head, but that’s sufficient to be accurate to his comic look. The silver version is his standard DC look, while the gold version has been used in Kingdom Come<\/em> and while he was briefly in the Wildstorm Universe. Both figures have standard articulation and sharp paint apps. I would have liked both these figures to be a bit brighter or, shinier at least, but they’re both serviceable versions of this stalwart character.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Despero<\/strong><\/h4>\n


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The thing you need to know about the Despero figure is that it’s not really Despero. In his early appearances (including JLoA #1<\/em>), Despero’s fin went the other way and he liked to play chess (yep, he’s that<\/em> guy). In the 80s, he liked to run around naked with a UN flag for his cape. In modern times, Tony Bedard is finally making him cool and not completely evil. In the middle of that, in the 90s, his body was used to host the consciousness of the robot L-Ron while he was a member of Justice League Task Force. That’s the look captured here. I’m happy with that decision because I don’t like the sideways fin version and I don’t need Despero running around with his junk hanging out.* I also had this Depsero as a Total Justice figure, so it’s like a little bit of that line lives on in DCUC.<\/p>\n

* – Or worse getting Ken-Dolled by Mattel like Trigon!<\/em><\/p>\n

Despero shares his base body with Lobo, but has plenty of pieces unique to him including his boots, belt, forearms, hands, armor, and head. The figure is heavily detailed, captures the 90s\/L-Ron look well, and features standard articulation. I have super gluing his armor\u2019s collar to his torso on my to-do list because I think that will improve his overall look.<\/p>\n

His paints are sharp and consistent throughout, except for this strange red wash on his face. It’s a strange thing, as you can only see it in the right light. Despero was originally slated to include a sword, but it was cut before the final figure. He does include a giant rifle and a handgun, both of which can be stored on the figure. The rifle, specifically, is made to fit into the armor on his back. Despero stands at 8.25″ tall (counting his fin).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In Conclusion…<\/strong><\/h4>\n


\n<\/center><\/p>\n

Overall, wave four was a refreshing break from the poor quality control of DCUC3 and the strange leg\/joint issues that would plague the subsequent two-packs and DCUC5. I enjoyed the character selection in this wave, particularly with the well-executed Cyborg and Ares. I was annoyed with how difficult a wave it was to assemble at the time, but later waves have put DCUC4 down as one of the easier waves to pick up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing our efforts to complete our DC Classics Review Archive, we’re making the Retro Review our regular Wednesday feature. This week we’re taking a look at DC Classics Wave Four, the Despero Wave. This wave was released in late 2008. And, at the time, was one of the harder waves for us to complete. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5484,"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":[6,369,34],"tags":[528,526,529,523,527,530,524,2569,2560,525],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/dc4TN.jpg?fit=50%2C50&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-1oQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3034,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=3034","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":0},"title":"Retro Review: DC Classics Wave 6 (Kalibak)","date":"December 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11955,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11955","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":1},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: Collect & Connect Bane","date":"March 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, so like \"Bane Week\" was supposed to end on Saturday. Oops. Anyway, it's Monday morning, I'm feelin' good and I'm ready to conclude IAT's look at DCUC16 with a look at Bane! Well, mostly ready. This might take a couple cans of Dr Pepper to get through. It's 5am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2789,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=2789","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":2},"title":"Retro Review: DC Classics Wave 5 (Metallo)","date":"December 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5274,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=5274","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":3},"title":"DCClassics.Com: Wave 7 (Atom Smasher) Retro Review","date":"May 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We've been a little busy lately and one of the projects that has fallen by the wayside is the completion of our DC Classics Review Archive. For the next few weeks, barring a few current reviews to keep us relevant, we're bringing back our Retro Review as a regular Wednesday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12594,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12594","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":4},"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":13084,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=13084","url_meta":{"origin":5384,"position":5},"title":"DCClassics.Com Review: The Atom (Indigo Lantern)","date":"June 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Was there a character you've been wanting from DC Classics only to be disappointed by the figure? Old Fogey Alan Scott maybe? Uni-boob Starfire? It can be maddening when a figure you wanted doesn't come out well. Indigo Atom isn't one of those. No, he's a figure you prolly don't\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\/5384"}],"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=5384"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18037,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5384\/revisions\/18037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}