Aquaman (DC Icons)

Arthur Curry is the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman! I have been an Aquaman fan since I was a kid. I loved to swim, I had the Super Powers Aquaman figure and a VHS tape of episodes from the 60's Aquaman cartoon. 

Aquaman is an example of my affinity for the less popular characters. Though it's hard to say that a character headlining his own blockbuster film is less popular anymore. I have a bunch of Aquaman figures, more than those featured here and here, but I didn't have a good "classic" Aquaman so after some resisting I finally broke down and scooped him up. 

This guy is basically the Super Powers figure with better articulation and accessories. Although his "trident" (I know it has more than 3 points) is virtually identical to the long lost one that came with my 80's Aquaman. The real clincher for me was including the little clear plastic "telepathy" accessory that pegs into the alternate head. It's awesome.

DC Icons Green Lantern John Stewart (DC Collectibles)

John Stewart was Hal Jordan's back-up Green Lantern and eventually he was put in charge of the uprooted alien cities transplanted to Oa by an insane Guardian of the Universe which was chronicled in the way out there series "Green Lantern: Mosaic." This was a very bizarre series and I liked its quirkiness but especially liked the slight redesign of John's uniform (by Cully Hamner). In fact this was probably the basis for the animated Green Lantern uniform which John Stewart wore in the Justice League cartoon that made him a much more recognizable character. This figure comes with some great accessories including some ring effects that look like they came right off the pages of an issue of Mosaic. The one flaw is that the figure's eyes are slightly crossed or something, they just look off. Otherwise I'm quite pleased with a very obscure version of a really cool character.

DC Icons Green Arrow (DC Collectibles)

Mike Grell redefined Green Arrow in the late 1980's with the prestige format miniseries "The Longbow Hunters" and it was pretty great though not the best choice to put in a blind bag 3 pack of assorted comics marketed to kids in the 90's. (Me traumatized? No way!) When I revisited the series at an appropriate age I enjoyed it quite a bit and I'm now reading the follow up ongoing series written by Grell that followed (Only like 25 years later, it's all good).

This Green Arrow costume keeps the Van Dyke beard but ditches the Errol Flynn Robin Hood flair and gimick arrows. Grell's whole idea was turning Oliver Queen into an urban hunter and allowing him to deal with being a hero in his 40's. This costume is deceptively simple but the two shades of green keep it from being too boring (like "Earth 2" Alan Scott's GL costume). Honestly though it was Grell's art that made it really pop.

DC Icons Firestorm (DC Collectibles)

The DC Icons line is pretty decent for releasing figures from a variety of eras in DC's history. I've been more interested in figures from the past but Firestorm has always been a favourite and this New 52 redesign is a nice combination of previous Firestorm costumes with some new touches. According to the box this is supposed to be Firestorm as he appeared in "Trinity War" a comic which I have not read. In most of the New 52 designs I find the seams and extra lines too busy but the subtle orange on Firestorm works better IMHO. The "nuclear blast" alternate hands are really cool, unfortunately I busted the peg on one of the hands right off the bat. I don't think it was a design flaw or anything, I twisted it wrong.

DC Icons Deathstroke (DC Collectibles)

Deathstroke the Terminator debuted in the second issue of New Teen Titans back in 1980 and quickly became the arch-nemesis for the new group. This figure is allegedly based on Slade Wilson's appearance in the classic storyline "The Judas Contract" which also featured Dick Grayson adopting his Nightwing identity. I actually read the last part of this storyline before any of the others as I found some New Teen Titans Annuals in the quarter bin at a used bookstore. This is pure 80's George Pérez design and the figure translates it fairly well. The accessories are decent but not amazing, the sword and sheath are great but the revolver doesn't fit its holster very well. Deathstroke is a classic complex villain that you love to hate and his current series from DC written by the great Christopher Priest is one of the few DC titles I'm currently following.