Mangled by Mongul featuring Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Wally West & DC Direct’s Infinite Crisis Series 1 Mongul 

So one of my favorite stories from back in the 90’s was a issue after the events of Terminal Velocity. Wally had just returned from the speed force a changed man with new powers and this was the first real look we got into them and just how much more powerful they made Wally. Even though Mongul is usually a villain reserved for Superman and/or Green Lantern I had to get him to commemorate this issue. 

-Flash Johnson

Mattel’s DC Club Infinite Earths Signature Collection The Flash III (Wally West)! 

So yeah as you saw in my Return of Barry Allen: Clash in the Flash Museum photo I couldn’t wait and had to order one of those Wally West showing up on eBay. The actual release of Wally won’t be until May and yes, I plan on picking up the official version as well.

As for the figure itself, I think it is just about perfect. The head sculpt captures Wally’s expression and skin tone from back in the 90’s books perfectly and the suit itself is kind of a combination of the 90’s suit with a little bit of Justice League Unlimited thrown in there. You can see the JLU elements in the cowl wings while the rest is pure 90’s Flash. They even captured the metallic sheen that Flash sported throughout that period giving it a totally different vibe than the red and gold All-Star Barry Allen release from a couple of years back that a lot of people have been using as a stand-in. 

Wally will represent the completion of the Grant Morrison-Era JLA (one of my personal favorite incarnations) and will be another addition to the Justice League Europe roster from the 90’s. 

You can look forward to a few more comparison and action shots featuring Wally West in the next few days. May still can’t come soon enough. 

-Flash Johnson

The Return of Barry Allen: Clash in the Flash Museum featuring Mattel’s DC Signature Collection Wally West! Yeah I couldn’t wait until May. More pics to come soon.

The idea behind this picture was pretty much remaking the classic showdown between Wally West and Eobard Thawne from way back in Flash volume 2 #79. Since people often compare DC Direct and JLU action figures to statues I used them as my Flash Museum display creating a few exhibits showcasing the Fastest Family Alive. I strewn some weapons about the floor because in my version both Wally and Thawne would be searching for an edge and I don’t think either one of them are above using the Rogues’ weapons. Of course one has to wonder why a public museum has working weapons on display but whatever. I do like the idea of hiding the Cosmic Treadmill in plain sight. Looks like a display but surprise suckas, it’s a time machine!

Stay tuned for more pics, and don’t worry Mattel will still be getting my money in May.

-Flash Johnson

DC Signature Collection Mirror Master Comparison Pictures!

Mattel’s latest Flash-related release, Mirror Master has arrived! Last week I showed you pics of him on card and loose, now we are going to check out some comparison pics. DC Direct Mirror Master from way back in 2001, DC Signature Classics Jay Garrick and the other Rogues that have been released through this line and the line formerly known as DC Direct (now DC Collectibles).

As you know DC Direct and Mattel have released several different variations of the Master of Mirrors over the years, but only one other full-size action figure has been released. Back in 2001 courtesy of DC Direct we received two (official) members of the Rogues, Captain Cold and Mirror Master. Captain Cold was an excellent figure; the sculpt top notch, the goggles were removable and he just looked like he was ready to kick butt. Looking at him immediately brings to mind one of my favorite Flash artist, Scott Kolins, version of Leonard Snart.

Mirror Master, not so much. For lack of a better term Mirror Master looks fairly dopey when compared to Cold. The head sculpt lacks any emotion whatsoever, they used funky shades of orange and green when designing him and his overall body sculpt just looks stiff. The only good part about the figure is the laser pistol which is detailed and colored quite nicely. Only one setting though.

Jay Garrick was the only other Flash-related release in Mattel’s Club Infinite Earth’s Subscription program and came out a couple of months ago. You can see pictures of him on this site on card and loose. Both figures look great. The likenesses for the most part are spot on and they fit in flawlessly with the rest of the Mattel Flash figures from DC Universe Classics. The only thing is as I’ve mentioned before Mirror Master looks more like Sam Scudder than Evan McCulloch to me, but it could just be me. 

As you can see Mirror Master fits right in with Mattel’s Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang. Captain Cold could stand to be a bit taller and I would love to see more Flash villains than what seems to be the usual five released. Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Gorilla Grodd, Professor Zoom and now Captain Boomerang seem to be getting the bulk of releases among the Flash’s Rogues Gallery. At least when it comes to 6 inch scaled figures. Yeah we have a JLU and Infinite Heroes Heatwave as well as a JLU and Infinite Heroes Weather Wizard but we only have one of The Trickster, arguably one of the Flash’s more recognizable villains (ish). He even had a spot on that JLU episode, Flash and Substance that spawned the releases of Cold, and Boomerang but still, no Trickster. 

Then again I think it is better to focus on what we have rather than what we don’t. There are a lot more characters out there with a lot less focus on them so we should be grateful (to some extent). 

The last pic has the Mattel Rogues facing off against the DC Direct Rogues. While I prefer the Captain Cold on the DC Direct side, I have to give Mattel the edge when it comes to Mirror Master. Captain Boomerang and Captain Boomerang Jr. are two different characters, so I can’t really compare them except to say that the six sturdy plastic boomerangs that came with Captain Boomerang Jr. and actually fit on his person in his jacket are a lot better than the one lousy flimsy boomerang that came with his dad. Maybe DC Direct gets the win after all. 

Stay tuned for more Mirror Master, Flash and the Rogues pics. 

Thanks for reading,

-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson

DC Signature Collection Mirror Master!

Mattel’s latest Flash-related release, Mirror Master has arrived! Mirror Master follows Jay Garrick as the latest the DC Club Infinite Earths Subscription has to offer. For those who are somehow not still in the know, due to poor showings at retail, Mattel has changed to offering a subscription for the more obscure, fan-requested action figures as Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys R Us only want guaranteed sellers (in other words anything with an “S” or a “Bat” on the chest). This year if you didn’t sign up for the subscription, they still offered a substantial amount for sale on Mattycollector.com after the fact.  Mattel promises that it will be much harder for non-subscribers to get their hands on product next year. Hopefully I will find a way. That Wally West will be mine. 

As for the product itself Mirror Master looks spectacular. Definitely happy that I broke through my moment of brief hesitation and bought one. There is a small part on the inside of his left forearm where a tiny bit of paint is missing but overall the paint job is superb. Even the little details like the slightly sparkly headgear pieces stand out nicely.

The extra nice touches come with the sculpted “Hood”(I was never quite sure what that was supposed to be on the back of Mirror Master’s uniform) and two(!) laser pistols, with interchangeable pieces that allow you to display them open/armed and closed, as well as dual holsters. If you have the “closed” piece on you can fit the pistols in the dual holsters. They really pulled out all the stops with this one. Especially when it came to the two different settings of laser pistol. They definitely did not need to add that awesome touch.

The facial sculpt in my opinion, reminds me more of Sam Scudder than Evan McCulloch. His jaw looks much too pronounced to be McCulloch who I always thought had a rounded baby face. In fact now that I think about it even the art on the back and side say “Sam Scudder” to me. It could just be me though, let me know what some of you other Rogues fans think.

Comparison pictures with the DC Direct version, DC Signature Collection Jay Garrick and a few others coming up soon.

Thanks for reading,

-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson

Finally Mattel gives us Wally West!

I can’t put into words how absolutely ecstatic I am over this. Finally something good to look forward to! I’m going to be wearing my Wally West Flash t-shirt all weekend. It features some excellent art by Greg LaRocque the artist who originally designed the suit that still has an influence even today (although I think Greg adapted the converging lightning belt from The Flash TV series).  

In any case, hot damn! I can’t explain how happy I am. Thank you, Mattel and thank you Toyark.com for the great pics.

-Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson