The Flash 1990 TV Version (DC Multiverse Signature Collection)

John Wesley Shipp played Barry Allen in the 1990 TV series "The Flash." This series is actually pretty fun even with the "darker" influence of Tim Burton's Batman film. This show fell victim to a shifting schedule, bloated budget and was probably a bit ahead of its time. But I have the complete DVD set and this figure just called to me; much more than the modern TV Barry Allen figures ever have.  He comes with a figure stand with an attachable arm for more dynamic posing possibilities, however it's quite springy and wouldn't sit still for many photos. The figure looks great (that paint job!) and has better articulation than regular DC Multiverse figures. A great throwback to an underrated piece of Flash history.

 

Shokoti (Masters of the Universe Classics)

In part two of "House of Shokoti" we meet the evil sorceress for whom the episode is named. She communes with a Lovecraft-esque "Sleeping Beast" (well as Lovecraftian as you can get on Saturday Morning TV in the 80's) and a disobedient boy named Stanlan learns a lesson. Shokoti has a simple design but it works well enough. I like the black abyss of her eyes and the skull on her belt. The red cape pops with the blue of her skin. Her hands are clearly meant to hold a sword or something but she doesn't come with anything to hold. A quirky figure of an obscure villain.

Lord Masque (Masters of the Universe Classics)

Lord Masque is a villain from the episode "House of Shokoti." He's not much of a character, just tasked with guarding Shokoti's House of Darkness and trying to scare away the archaeological expedition Prince Adam and Ram-Man accompanied out into the Sands of Time. Masque is more of a cool design than a character but let's be honest that's most of the Masters of the Universe.

He's a pretty typical MOTU Classics figure in terms of articulation. The mask is well done which one would hope to be the case when the character's name is Masque.

Okoye Build-a-Figure (Marvel Legends Series 6")

So now we get to the figure that "forced" me get the entire Black Panther wave: the leader of the Dora Milaje Okoye. She is probably the most badass character in the entire movie and is just super cool. Danai Gurira portrays Okoye with strength, grace, and a deep loyalty to her country. Her scenes with W'Kabi highlight the complexity and depth of the movie. As a figure her basic design is very similar to Nakia's but does have more unique parts than I expected. Her likeness is probably the best of the unmasked figures in this wave. I'm very pleased I was able to add Okoye to my collection.

Namor the Sub-Mariner (Marvel Legends Series 6")

One of the earliest Marvel superheroes, Namor the Sub-Mariner is the half-human Prince of Atlantis first introduced by Bill Everett in 1939. As mentioned in my posts about Aquaman I've always had an affinity for undersea heroes and Namor is one of the best. His creator, Bill Everett, is one of my favourite golden age artists and though this figure goes for a more generic head sculpt there are hints of his more stylistic (and triangular headed) origins though I see a bit more of a 60's Marvel House Style influence.

Namor's been hanging out with the X-Folks for a while now and his previous Marvel Legends figure sported that outfit whereas this figure goes back to the... minimalist... outfit he's most famous for wearing. He's got nice open hands for striking swimming poses and the wings on his ankles (which are the mutation that qualifies him for X-status) are well done. The alternate bearded head is not from any Namor story I've read (usually when he sports a beard he's lost his memory and has a shaggy mane of hair too) but it could be from a more recent story I'm not familiar with. I feel like I should be saying more about this figure and Namor in general but I'm going to sign off now.