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Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Pros and Cons of DC Universe Classics !!!

Continuing with the Pros and Cons series, this is the first pros and cons article of a discontinued toy line . Even though DC Universe Classics are no more, the DC Multiverse line is like a continuation of the Classics line with the same type of figure molds and articulation . However the Multi-verse line will be analyzed at a later time for now the focus is on the Classics .

                                  The Pros of DC Universe Classics  
                                (  The  Positives ) 

( 1 )  IF  YOU'RE  A  FAN   OF  THE  SUPER-FRIENDS  CARTOON , YOU  GOT  LUCKY -  Because almost all of the main characters from that cartoon series got made into an action figure in this line . They're even some characters to have their first ever figure made of them . Characters such as The Wonder Twins, Apache Chief , etc . Every member of the Legion of Doom has a figure in this line, and almost all of the Super Friends with only Marvin , Wendy and Wonder-Dog missing in the line .

( 2 ) THEY  WERE  SOLD  IN  STORES  AND  EASY  TO   FIND  - Although the " Sold in Stores " luxury is now a former luxury and a thing of the past , however you can still maybe catch a few at your local comic book stores . However the " Easy to Find " luxury is still good today, as you can browse Ebay , Amazon and other online toy stores in search of them .

( 3 )  THE DCU CLASSICS  LINE  DID  " NOT "  MAKE  TOO  MANY  VARIANTS  OF  A- LIST  CHARACTERS   -
Unlike a lot of other six inch scaled toy lines , one thing I really liked about the DCU Classics line is that it did not over-flood us with multiple different versions of the same character . For example there were no such thing as 20 different Batmen , 20 different Supermen, etc . Although the line did have variants of a few characters however they were kept to a minimum . This was a great luxury because it allowed for B- list and C-list characters to be made into figures and not forgotten about because of the big names .

( 4 )  DIFFERENT  BODY  MOLDS  FOR  DIFFERENT  CHARACTERS  -  This is great also because you do not want for example , - " Superman and the Flash sharing the same body mold . Also the teenage characters were shorter with a smaller body mold than the older characters which is another nice luxury .

( 5 ) THE  JOY  AND  FUN  OF  BUILD - A - FIGURES  -  Although the DCU Classics referred to build-a-figures as " Collect & Connect " . Just like Marvel Legends , it was always fun collecting a piece with a figure to build that series BAF .

( 6 )  THE  LINE  HAD  SOME  VERY  COOL  EXCLUSIVES  -  Still does, I'm just speaking in " past tense " since the line has been discontinued .  Plastic Man  , The Wonder Twins , etc .  to name a few . Plus the exclusives came with some nice extra accessories .

( 7 )  THE  BIOS  WERE  INFORMATIVE  -  On the back of the packaging of the figures we got details such as real names , first appearances , occupation , base of operations and special abilities - referring to a character's powers and skills .

( 8 )   THE  FEMALE  FIGURES  HAVE  AB-CRUNCHES  JUST  LIKE  THE  MALES -   Since most of today's six inch scale toy lines have eliminated ab crunches in female figures , DCU Classics continued that trend until the line got discontinued . Just like the old Toybiz Marvel Legends , all of the DCU Classics female figures have ab crunches . This also depends on what us collectors like too  I understand that some of us now like the female figures with no ab crunches, whereas the rest of us wants the ab crunches . However in today's figures , just like the dinosaurs it appears that ab crunches in female action figures is a thing of the past .

( 9 )  DCU  CLASSICS HAD  SOME  NICE  MINIATURE  SUB - LINES / SPIN-OFF  LINES -  The great thing about the DCU Classics line is that it does not just consist of only waves one through twenty, but also accumulated some nice spin-off lines such as Bat-Man Legacy , Bat-Man Unlimited , Club Infinite Earths and DC Unlimited . These sub-lines allowed for a lot more characters to be made into figures . Plus don't forget about the Movie Masters line which is also compatible with the Classics .

( 10 )  SEVERAL  HERO  AND  VILLAIN  TEAMS  WERE  COMPLETED OR  NEAR  COMPLETION  UNDER  THE DCU CLASSICS  LINE   - The Legion of Doom, The Crime Syndicate , The Metal Men , Legion of Superheroes among others such as The Green Lantern Corps, etc . are among the teams that you can have complete or near completion in your collection .

( 11 )  DCU CLASSICS  FITS  IN PERFECTLY  WITH  ITS PREDECESSOR - THE DC SUPERHEROES LINE  -  Also  they fit in nicely with the older Marvel Legend series, just in case you want to have Cross Overs with your figures like in the comics .

( 12 ) OLD  SCHOOL  DC  FANS  THAT  COLLECT  FIGURES  SHOULD  BE PLEASED  WITH  THIS  LINE -
Especially the ones that hate the New 52 Era and prefer old school DC instead . There are lots of classic characters in their original classic outfits in this line .

That's it for the Pros . Unlike the previous Pros and Cons articles I was able to come up with twelve positives instead of ten . This does not mean that I think that DC Classics are better than those lines, I do not think that . It's just that I was able to think of more positives than the others to write about. Now on to the Cons of the DC Classics .

                                The  Cons  of  DC Universe  Classics 
                              (  The  Negatives ) 

( 1 )  MATTEL  DISCONTINUED  THE  LINE  PREMATURELY  -   I'm sure I'm not the only fan that was angry at Mattel for doing this , however the DC Multiverse line makes up for losing Classics , so I'm no longer angry at Mattel however not sure about the other Classics fans .

( 2 )  A  LOT  OF  POPULAR  CHARACTERS  STILL DID  NOT  MAKE  THE  CUT -  I'm still waiting on Marvin , Wendy and Wonder Dog from the Super Friends cartoon . Also waiting on a Granny Goodness figure. May be one day the Multiverse line can finally bring us these characters into figure form .

( 3 )  SOME  OF  THE EXCLUSIVES  ARE  NOW  SUPER  EXPENSIVE -   Make sure you try to save some money if you work only part -time if there are some exclusives you've missed . If you work full-time make sure the exclusives don't get in the way of paying bills . Prices will more than likely continue to be this way as time moves on .

That's it for now folks, I hope you enjoyed the article . But before leaving. below are some pics of some DCU  Classics figures in action , along with a few DC Super Heroes figures , for your entertainment .





3 comments:

  1. Still one of my favorite lines. I'm always on the hunt to fill in gaps in my collection and recently picked up Stargirl, the CnC Bane, Doomsday Unleashed, Starfire, and Reverse Flash. I'm really liking where Multiverse is going and I'm hoping that we continue to get figures that complement Mattel's previous lines.

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    1. Me too. Till this day I'm still adding to my collection from places such as E-Bay on the figures I never saw at stores . Plus I hope that Multiverse can make the figures that Classics missed out on .

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    2. We're getting Spoiler and even though it's a Rebirth Detective Comics version, I think she'll fit in wonderfully.

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