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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Killer Moth, Mr. Miracle, Superman
DC Universe Classics Wave 6 Action Figures

Mattel
Date Published: 2009-02-02
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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DCUC Killer Moth action figure by Mattel

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Introduction

At the end of last week, I covered the first half of the latest DC Universe wave, including Hawkman, Captain Marvel, and the BAF Kalibak. Tonight I'm looking at the rest of the wave, or at least the rest that I've found - Superman, Mister Miracle, and Killer Moth. Dr. Impossible (a redeco of Mister Miracle) is lurking around out there some place, but has so far proven elusive.

The other variant in the series is Superman. I'm reviewing the variant, actually - the normal suit with the long hair. The regular release is the black suit ('recovery suit') version, but I'm a much bigger fan of the normal outfit. I did use the black Supes though for the packaged photo in the previous review.

I picked these up at Satan's convenience store, Wal-mart, where they are about $12 a pop. However, Target is getting them in right now (I've seen remnants over the last couple days) and have them on sale for $9. Rumor has it the reduced price will last for another week or so, so get hitting those Targets!

DCUC Mr. Miracle action figure by Mattel

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Packaging - ***
These three use the same packaging as every other figure in the DCUC series. It works fine, and the inclusion of the wave number as well as graphic of which CNC part is included on the edge of the bubble is extremely helpful when looking through the pegs.

Obviously, they aren't ' collector friendly', in the sense that to remove the figure you'll have to destroy the package. I also have concerns that they aren't always spending enough design time on the interior trays, because the knees and ankles on some of the figures are coming out bent and warped. Since the issues with the joints seem to be on going, this extra straining on them isn't helping a whole lot.

DCUC Killer Moth action figure by Mattel

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Sculpting - Killer Moth, Superman ***; Mr. Miracle ***
I'm really loving Killer Moth. Who? Yea, you heard me, Killer Moth. Now, my love for all things Batman does tend to color my feelings towards some of the figures based on him and his enemies. But this time, Killer Moth deserves all the love.

In modern times, Killer Moth hasn't been much of a villain, but back in the latter days of the Golden Age and early days of the Silver Age, he was quite the nemesis. And he wore one of the ugliest costumes in all of comic book history.

Most of the ugly comes from the paint though, and we'll get to that in the next section. The sculpted helmet looks fantastic, creating a retro Flash Gordon type look that translates to his insect-like attitude perfectly. The sculpted, hard plastic wings look not like real wings - which they shouldn't - but like mechanical devices, just what they are. The original Killer Moth was just like Bruce Wayne - rich, no super ability, just a guy with skills and toys, who happens to live on the dark side instead of the light. While there's plenty of reused body parts here, this Killer Moth sculpt makes him damn tough looking, quite a feat considering he is, well, Killer Moth.

I would have gone so far as to score Moth with a perfect four, if not for the ugly and obvious mold lines, particularly on the outside of both thighs.

The Superman is fairly standard, but he sports the long hair. The sculpt is a little soft in the face and on the belt, but he's a decent version of the iconic character.

Mister Miracle adds one more to the New Gods line up. With Big Barda coming up (his wife), and other characters like Orion, Kalibak and Darkseid already on the shelf, he makes complete sense to include. He also has a ton of reused parts, but the high collared cape looks great, and the retooled cuffs for the boots and gloves look nice.

My big issue with Miracle is his expression. Put Barda behind him with her hands on her hips disapprovingly, and this guy's expression will work perfectly as the hen pecked husband he was portrayed to be. I'd rather something a bit more heroic than this "somebody shot my dog" grimace.

All three of these figures are in that general 6 1/2" or so height range, fitting in as average sized with the rest of the heroic line up.

DCUC Superman action figure by Mattel

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Paint - Killer Moth, Superman ***1/2; Mr. Miracle ***
Black and yellow might get behind a fellow, but red and yellow sure do cause the paint department conniptions.

There have been reports that the paint ops seem better with this wave - I'm not seeing it, at least with the characters of Mister Miracle and Captain Marvel. The red and yellow combination proves to be too much on both of them, and here we see the red showing through quite clearly on the yellow paint over Miracle's face and head. The yellow is also inconsistent in it's coverage in other areas, with a very thick, almost gloppy coat on the cape chain, and a very thin - almost too thin - coat on the forearms. Some of the cut lines are also weak, with over spray here and there. Mine is not as bad as Captain Marvel, but he's not top quality either.

However, I have to say that both Killer Moth and Superman are very clean. Supes has a little slop on his belt, and painted lips would have gone a long way to adding some depth to the soft facial sculpt, but these are really minor nits considering that these are mass market figures.

And Moth is practically a thing of beauty. Here's a guy wearing the most audaciously colored outfit, and yet he manages to pull it off. From the orange and green tights, to the purple upper body, to the bright orange wings, this guy just screams acid trip. Even the stylized moth symbol on his chest has a passing resemblance to the cannabis plant. And yet, it works. Just look at the very first photo at the top of the page and tell me he doesn't have a perfect Flash Gordon/Buck Rodgers/ Rocketeer look to him.

I almost went four stars on the Moth, but the lines between the orange and green stripes on his legs aren't *quite* perfect enough for me to go that far. Still, he has one of the coolest paint jobs of any of the DCUC figures so far. I love Hawkman, but Killer Moth is going to give him a run for his money on my list of best DCUC figure this year.

DCUC Mr. Miracle action figure by Mattel

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Articulation - Superman, Killer Moth ***1/2; Mister Miracle **1/2
Others have been reporting that their wave 6 figures seem to have put the joint issues behind them as well. That's not been my experience after buying and working with 5 of them.

As you know if you read my previous review, Hawkman's leg broke and Captain Marvel's right shoulder was practically fused in place. Add Mister Miracle to the list of figures in this set with joint problems that gloucosemine ain't gonna fix.

Like Marvel, it's his right shoulder. Again, it's pretty much glued stuck in the down position. No forward and back movement, no outward movement. The freezer might fix him and Captain Marvel (I haven't had time to try it yet), but that's still not acceptable.

Otherwise, he has the same intended articulation as is standard for the line. His ball jointed neck is one of the best in the set, with an excellent range of movement. He has the aforementioned ball jointed shoulders, jointed on both sides, as well as pin elbows, ankles and knees, cut wrists, waist, and thighs, and a good ab crunch joint. If he didn't have the stuck shoulder, he'd be getting the same score as Killer Moth and Supes, both of which showed no issues with any of their articulation.

If you're wondering, no, the wings on Killer Moth are not articulated like Hawkman's. In fact, they aren't articulated at all. If they were, he would have easily gotten that perfect four star score. Like Miracle, his neck joint is excellent, allowing you to add lots of personality to his poses.

DCUC Superman action figure by Mattel

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Accessories - Mr. Miracle, Killer Moth ***; Superman **1/2
All three figures come with a piece for the larger CNC figure, Kalibak, who I reviewed earlier.

Superman comes with a Kalibak arm, as well as Kalibak's Power Mace. Normally, Supes would have lost another half star here, since he has no accessory outside of the BAF, but because he comes with not one but two BAF parts, and one of the is the very cool BAF accessory, I cut him a little slack.

Killer Moth does him better. He has the largest of the Kalibak pieces, the entire torso and head. He also has his cool ray gun, with a great retro design. This gun fits perfectly in either his hand or his belt.

Mister Miracle has a Kalibak leg, and includes a couple extras for himself as well. The character has a history as the God of Escaping (except from his wife, Big Barda), and he has a pair of manacles designed to keep him trapped. These pop on his wrists easily, and look good in place.

He also has two disks that attach to his feet, which I believe he used for flight/levitation. I'm not a huge fan of the character though, so my memory may be foggy. They pop on and off nicely, and don't interfere with most stances.

I can't forget to mention his coolest item - he has a removable mother box under his cape in back! Considering you'd never see it under normal circumstances, it's pretty cool that Mattel included it.

DCUC Killer Moth action figure by Mattel

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Fun Factor - ***1/2
The continuing joint issues are all that holds these back from a perfect four in the fun department. If these joints were of the same quality as what we're seeing on Mattel's MOTUC line, they'd get full stars here. It's ironic that the collector aimed, specialty market, online only MOTUC line are better TOYS than the mass market DCUC line.

DCUC Superman action figure by Mattel

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Value - **1/2
At around $12 each, these are going for what amounts to a pretty average mass market retail price right now.

DCUC Mr. Miracle action figure by Mattel

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Things to Watch Out For -
Obviously, you'll want to pick out the best paint you can. While the red and yellow paint schemes of Captain Marvel and Mister Miracle are the most likely to have issues, that doesn't mean that the others won't have similar inconsistent quality over the full run.

And don't forget to handle those joints carefully, at least to start. I wouldn't be surprised if I were you and found myself using the freezer trick to loosen up some of the joints.

Finally, be EXTREMELY careful with Moth's antennae. They are a soft rubbery material, but it's still very possible to break them by pressing to hard. And once broken, these little buggers will be a tough fix.

Overall - Killer Moth ***1/2; Superman, Mr. Miracle ***
I'm a huge Batman fan, and I was only mildly excited about getting a Killer Moth figure. But much like Deathstroke, once I had him in hand and out of the package, I realized just how well the Four Horsemen and Mattel had executed on this figure.

Superman and Mister Miracle are nice to have, but I'm not jumping up and down over either. Mister Miracle will make the overall 'family' of Darkseid, Orion, Kalibak, and the upcoming Big Barda and Parademons all that better, but he does have his paint and articulation issues, as well as a rather pained expression. Supes has less issues, but there's not much to really make this particular version stand out heads above any of the million versions that have came before.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Killer Moth, Superman ***1/2; Mr. Miracle ***
Paint - Killer Moth, Superman ***1/2; Mr. Miracle ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Mr. Miracle, Killer Moth ***; Superman **1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Killer Moth ***1/2; Superman, Mr. Miracle ***

DCUC Mr. Miracle, Killer Moth, Superman action figures by Mattel

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Where to Buy 
You can try the local mass market folks like Target, where these are just starting to hit.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've reviewed quite a few of the figures. Well, other than wave 5 *grumble*.

- first, check for the other half of this review that I posted last week, looking at Kalibak, Hawkman and Captain Marvel.

- prior to that was wave 4 which I also broke into this review, and this one.

- of course, prior to that was wave 3.

- I covered wave 1 in two parts, one here and one at here. It took me so freakin' long to find them, I never did review wave 2, but if you're looking for one, Kastor's Korner has what you're looking for.  

- last up in the DCSH figures were the Clayface and Bruce to Bats figures.

- before that was Mongul, who is also one of the best figures this year and Parasite and Steel

- don't forget the 12" version of the smaller Batman, and the 12" Cyborg Superman.

- in this smaller line, the fourth series was Superman themed, with Brainiac and Darkseid. There's also the Batgirl and Superman from the two packs. 

- there's the guest review of series 3 Batman and Azrael.

- a guest review of series 2 Doomsday, and another of the series 2 Superman.

- my review of the series 2 Bizarro and Supergirl.

- my review of the Batman and Killer Croc from wave 1.

- and finally, my review of Bane and Scarecrow that were released internationally as part of the old Mattel line, and then re-released with wave 1 of the DCSH.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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DCUC Killer Moth action figure by Mattel

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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