DC Universe Classics Series 1 Rex Mason (The Element Man)

by Tom
February 03, 2008

Appearance
Metamorpho (The Element Man) has a new sculpt that he doesn’t share with other figures because of all the different details such as the armor and mud. The upper body isn’t quite as large as the BA Batman from this series, so the proportions seem a little more realistic. There’s a lot more detailing on Metamorpho than any of the other figures, which makes up for having the smaller C&C (BAF). There are swirls and bumps in the orange area, scales in the purple, layers in the brown, and silver/translucent for the left leg. He is an eclectic figure, but it’s probably the orange/purple combination that makes him stand out the most on display. There’s no paint wash on the orange or purple, so close up the figure can look a little plasticy, but from more than a foot back the most important visual factor is the contrast between the different colors and the details sculpted in. Combined on Metamorpho he looks just as good as if he had been given a lot of paint and a paint wash because there are no large flat areas of color.

The style and detailing on the sculpt are excellent, and I don’t have any problems with them. The accessories are also highly detailed; the arm extensions in particular look like natural parts of the figure. The hammer though could have benefited from a dark wash, because the large flat areas of silver draw attention away from the more detailed areas. The face sculpt is good, although the features aren’t very distinguishable compared to other figures like Etrigan or Penguin. Also the head is darker than the neck, which looks odd although not too noticeable because of the color transitions all over the figure.

In general the figure looks good. There seems to be little paint problems on this figure except a few problems around the belt. Both the fists and the accessories look good on display. In style he goes adequately with DC Direct figures done in a realistic style. Metamorpho’s stance is a little wide, which is common among these figures. His arms can hang down at his side though, which is a major plus. Overall, my appreciation for this figure hasn’t grown with time as with other figures in this series. I think a facial expression with more depth to it could have gone a long way on this figure. In general, he captures my impression of the character excellently. He could use some paint wash, but he still manages to look great.

Articulation
Metamorpho has articulation that was standard on DCSH figures. Unfortunately the range of motion in the head wasn’t improved for this figure, and he can’t look up very far. The arm accessories snap on and off easily, and I’ve had few problems with him not being able to support them. Everywhere else he’s got a standard range of motion for DCSH and DCUC figures.

Poseability
Stylistically Metamorpho displays well with DCSH, DCUC, and a lot of DC Direct figures. His balance is good, even with just one arm accessory. With the accessories he’s got a lot of excellent poses he can do that make him unique standing next to other figures. I’ve had some problems with the legs base. It is hard to position him in there well, and its not as impressive as the arm extensions. The head not being able to move up can be a problem, but usually its not, especially with the leg accessory. One of his legs tends to slip out easier than the other, but it hasn’t been a problem either. Overall, how well he poses in nearly as impressive as the quality of the sculpt.

Final Judgment: 7
Judging this figure is fairly difficult. He’s got a quality sculpt and good paint job. But Metamorpho could benefit from some paint wash and a better facial expression. Judging him overall, with the accessories, the sculpt details, and the number of poses, Metamorpho deserves the score of an excellent score despite areas he could be improved. Far from not having any glaring problems, in most areas Metamorpho’s quality shines.

SCALE

10. My favorite possession.

9. My favorite action figure.

8. One of my favorite action figures.

7. An excellent action figure.

6. A good, but not exceptional action figure.

5. An adequate action figure.

4. Not worth the money I spent.

3. I'll give it to somebody's kid.

2. I'll give it to somebody's dog.

1. It's going to lose a fight with my car.
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Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )
Titan - 2008-02-15 @ 2:25 am

I love the way the DCSH/DCUC joints are designed. I prefer their crotch/hip joint to the ball joint of MLs....

My gripe with my Metamorpho figure was that I had to boil his torso and then use an exacto knife to cut away at the excess purple paint that had fused his ab joint....

Riker - 2008-02-11 @ 4:46 pm
I'd suggest taking your time getting these if you're not in a hurry. Check for paint errors, etc to make sure you get good figures. The drawback of online ordering is you can't check them before hand.

Oh yeah I agree the figure sculpts do look amazing... but the paint apps look very messy.

I am just scared with how little my area gets in DC stuff that Series One will be gone before I get a chance to pick them up!

TomE - 2008-02-11 @ 4:41 pm

I'd suggest taking your time getting these if you're not in a hurry. Check for paint errors, etc to make sure you get good figures. The drawback of online ordering is you can't check them before hand.

Riker - 2008-02-11 @ 3:47 pm

Thanks for the info guys!

I saw these last night at a Target and they all look great hoping to pick them up soon after I am done completing some of my other lines!

Cloud - 2008-02-11 @ 5:25 am

The Fed 6th Mattel FAQS on Fwoosh said that Series 2 will be in March.

syd - 2008-02-10 @ 2:21 pm

i saw a bunch of these at local targets and toys r us' the other day. i picked these up early january so now i'm just looking for the modern red tornado.

i'm wondering how soon series 2 will be out around here since they finally started stocking a good amount of series 1 figures on shelves.

Riker - 2008-02-09 @ 6:24 pm
I'm (pre) ordering DCUC from CornerStoreComics. I haven't had any problems with them so far, and at the moment they're selling cases of these at retail price. The only drawback is that you get a 6th figure (which isn't a problem for series 2 since there's red and blue superman). I have seen these at Targets though. Marvel figures I generally always wait to find in the store, but not these.

And thanks for the compliments .

CSC! Cool...

Do you know if these are being sold anywhere at retail? Which stores?

Or just comic book shops?

TomE - 2008-02-09 @ 2:57 am
The Review of the figure is a really nice review, but I have to tell you how disapointed I am with this builder. When I went to WizardCon in Chicago I saw these and was really excited. Every figure but Orion I wanted, but I was impressed with the fact that they to would be doing a builder so I said cool, I'll get them all. I'm a big Marvel Legends fan and also liked how they seemed like they would meshin well with the Marvel Legends & Legendary Super Heroes Line. When I first found them about a month ago, they had all but The Penguin, so I only ended up buying Demon & Red Tornado, who were the two major pieces that I wanted. I opened the Demon and was so Impressed by him that I almost ran back to the store to get the Batman and Orion figures. I decided not to after opening Red Tornado. His scale was very large, which was alright, but his leg motion was terrible. They all have that stupid flat side motion in stead of the ball and hip joints that Toy Biz/Marvel has managed to make into a requirement for all good motion of toys. For the Demon figure it didn't bother me much but as soon as I put Red Tornado up with the rest of the figures, I noticed that he was shrinking. Every few minutes I would look over and he was getting a little more into doing the splits. His top portion of his body is pretty heavy and was causing the legs to do a little Van Damage action while he was standing on the shelf. Don't get me wrong the figure was a great looking figure but the legs really suck.

So I told you all about that to tell you about this. The leg that came with Red Tornado I had noticed all the little paint hings you made refrence to in your review, but I noticed that it also very light and felt very cheapish. I didn't think anything of it until I finally found a Penguin figure this week at a Target. I figured I would buy the remaining figures and give them all a try and found that Orion although nicely done, still did nothing for me and the Batman figure was actually really nice looking and was a pleasent surprise despite having the same problem as Red Tornado. The Penguin was well woth it though as the face and body were perfect and a must have. So here I am sitting on my couch putting my Rex Mason figure together, checking out all the cool accessories he comes with and as soon as I easily snap him together, I go to pose him and put him on the shelf and his left leg breaks apart at the top near the joint. Granted this is the top of the joint, not the joint itself! At this point I was ready to call and b$%h them out but I couldn't find a phone number. So, do I buy another Red Tornado and hope this one stands better, giving the other one to my nephew or do I just deal with it? Either way I'm a sucker and really want to build the next to characters from Series 2 & 3, not to mention actually like all those characters. I need me some good Grundy. So I guess they pulled a good idea thanks to ML Toy Biz line and got me hooked, but a big thumbs down to this builder. Oh yeah and the range of motion on Rex sucks!!!

I recommend not buying another Reddy, or if you want the variant wait for that to come out. But there are probably other people out there who bought a case with two Red Tornadoes, and I ended up mailing the extra leg piece to another forum member.

As for the range of motion in the legs, I'm actually pretty satisfied with it. While it would be nice to get more of a crouch, I usually display my figures just standing up straight, so its not a problem. The wide stance has always been a problem with these figures, but they're getting better.

The biggest problem I have with these is quality control. And its not problems that you can see with it in package either. I usually don't include that type of thing in my reviews, but you're right.

Storetrooper - 2008-02-09 @ 2:21 am

The Review of the figure is a really nice review, but I have to tell you how disapointed I am with this builder. When I went to WizardCon in Chicago I saw these and was really excited. Every figure but Orion I wanted, but I was impressed with the fact that they to would be doing a builder so I said cool, I'll get them all. I'm a big Marvel Legends fan and also liked how they seemed like they would meshin well with the Marvel Legends & Legendary Super Heroes Line. When I first found them about a month ago, they had all but The Penguin, so I only ended up buying Demon & Red Tornado, who were the two major pieces that I wanted. I opened the Demon and was so Impressed by him that I almost ran back to the store to get the Batman and Orion figures. I decided not to after opening Red Tornado. His scale was very large, which was alright, but his leg motion was terrible. They all have that stupid flat side motion in stead of the ball and hip joints that Toy Biz/Marvel has managed to make into a requirement for all good motion of toys. For the Demon figure it didn't bother me much but as soon as I put Red Tornado up with the rest of the figures, I noticed that he was shrinking. Every few minutes I would look over and he was getting a little more into doing the splits. His top portion of his body is pretty heavy and was causing the legs to do a little Van Damage action while he was standing on the shelf. Don't get me wrong the figure was a great looking figure but the legs really suck.

So I told you all about that to tell you about this. The leg that came with Red Tornado I had noticed all the little paint hings you made refrence to in your review, but I noticed that it also very light and felt very cheapish. I didn't think anything of it until I finally found a Penguin figure this week at a Target. I figured I would buy the remaining figures and give them all a try and found that Orion although nicely done, still did nothing for me and the Batman figure was actually really nice looking and was a pleasent surprise despite having the same problem as Red Tornado. The Penguin was well woth it though as the face and body were perfect and a must have. So here I am sitting on my couch putting my Rex Mason figure together, checking out all the cool accessories he comes with and as soon as I easily snap him together, I go to pose him and put him on the shelf and his left leg breaks apart at the top near the joint. Granted this is the top of the joint, not the joint itself! At this point I was ready to call and b$%h them out but I couldn't find a phone number. So, do I buy another Red Tornado and hope this one stands better, giving the other one to my nephew or do I just deal with it? Either way I'm a sucker and really want to build the next to characters from Series 2 & 3, not to mention actually like all those characters. I need me some good Grundy. So I guess they pulled a good idea thanks to ML Toy Biz line and got me hooked, but a big thumbs down to this builder. Oh yeah and the range of motion on Rex sucks!!!

TomE - 2008-02-09 @ 1:42 am

I'm (pre) ordering DCUC from CornerStoreComics. I haven't had any problems with them so far, and at the moment they're selling cases of these at retail price. The only drawback is that you get a 6th figure (which isn't a problem for series 2 since there's red and blue superman). I have seen these at Targets though. Marvel figures I generally always wait to find in the store, but not these.

And thanks for the compliments .

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