Packaging - ***1/2
This is the same package as the previous wave, but this time there's no problems with bent ankles or knees due to the inner tray. On top of that, they get special consideration for no twisties OR rubber bands - not a one!

I included a shot of the packaged Nite-Lik even though I reviewed him as part of the first half. If you take a close look, this one includes two extra bone necklaces, something that the first Nite-Lik I bought (who was packaged as his partner) did not included them! Watch for that when you pick yours out.

Sculpting - Stel ***1/2; Medphyll, Star Sapphire, B'dg,  Dex-Starr, Despotellis, Nautkeilo ***; 
The most complexity here is in the Collect and Connect figure of Stel. There's a ton of sculpt detail in the mechanical limbs and armor, and while the head itself is pretty basic in it's old school Cylon-esque design, the overall effect is one that works for me.

Medphyll looks like a big cyclopean vegetable. Sort of like James Arness in the original The Thing, only wearing a green costume. It's a bit of an odd look, but you can't argue that it's unique.

His partner, Nautkeilo, is a fish in a tank. He has the same hands, so it's only a head swap. The sculpted fish head looks great, but the head doesn't fit on the post quite as well as I'd like. It pops off with the slightest movement.

Star Sapphire has a pretty face, with sculpted mask and collar, as well as a sculpted edges to her entire revealing costume. There's a few annoying mold lines, but she's one of the prettier females in the DCUC series in awhile.

The small animals have finely detailed fur, and the dynamic expression on the Red Lantern cat looks good with or without the red energy bolt. They all stand fine on their own, and are in the same 6" scale as the rest of the line. Obviously, the animals are much smaller, and Despotellis is only about an inch tall. I've included a group shot so you can get a feel for the overall scale from Despotellis to Stel.

Paint - Stel, Medphyll, B'dg, Dex-Starr, Nautkeilo ***1/2; Star Sapphire, Despotellis,  ***;
Most of the paint work here is solid, with some nice use of color and small detail.

You may notice some variation in the green on the outfits in the photos, but in person it's almost impossible to notice. The variation is caused by the lighting, and isn't much of an issue under normal circumstances.

The cut lines are very clean on most of the figures, although there is some slop on Star Sapphire. That, along with a cross eyed gaze, is what brings her score down below the rest of this set.

On the rest, there's lots of great detail work. Medphyll has his leafy dome, and the tiny teeth and nose on B'dg are just about perfect. The spots on Nautkeilo's head are excellent, and the metallic sheen on Stel's robotic outer armor looks fantastic. Overall, it's very nice work.

I also knocked little Despotellis a bit, largely because there's not much in terms of 'paint'. He's cast in a translucent yellow, which is a good look for him - but it's pretty simple and straight forward.

Articulation - Medphyll ***1/2; Star Sapphire, Stel, Nautkeilo ***; B'dg, Dex-Starr **1/2;  Despotellis *;
Medphyll - and his partner in package, Nautkeilo - use the standard DCUC base body that we've seen over and over with this series and others. There's the ball jointed neck, shoulders, cut biceps, wrists, waist and thighs, pin elbows, knees and ankles, ab crunch, and hinge hips. 

Medphyll gets a slightly better score than Nautkeilo because of the neck joint. It works great on Mister Vegetable head, but fish face has almost no movement because of the sculpt of the tight fitting aquarium helmet.

Star Sapphire has the articulated female bodyl, with similar joints. The hips aren't quite as useful on the ladies as the men, but the rest of the joints work pretty much the same way. There's a ball jointed neck, but like Nautkeilo there's very little movement due to the sculpt.

Dex-Starr and B'dg have identical articulation. There's a ball jointed neck (and they both work pretty well, with some good tilting), but the shoulders, hips and tail are all just cut joints. You can get them both to stand well, but that's about it.

The big Stel has more than the usual articulation for a Collect and Connect figure, especially in the legs. The joints are all here, similar to the smaller figures, although some of the joints have a better range of movement. Unfortunately, the hips are very loose, as are the knees. The legs pop off pretty easily, and flop around quite a bit.

You might think that itty bitty Despotellis is just a solid piece, but he's not. The mushroom like head has a cut joint that allows it to turn. It looks pretty much the same on all sides, so it doesn't do much for you, but it's still there and worth a star.

Accessories - Stel Bupkis; Dex-Starr ***; Medphyll, Star Sapphire, B'dg, Despotellis, Nautkeilo **1/2;
Stel gets a bupkis here because he doesn't get any extras. Of course, it's rare (although it does happen) that a Collect and Connect figure, truly an accessory in and of himself, gets anything to use. I won't be holding this against him, but it's worth noting.

Dex-Starr, the cat (I think - by this time I'm starting to loose track), is the only one of this set to get anything beyond the extra collect and connect piece, or the other parts and pieces to other characters. He has his bright red energy bolt, which spews from his mouth like a toxic hair ball.

The rest all come with the Collect and Connect piece for Stel, and technically some are two and three packs, making them each an accessory to the other. For example, whether you buy Medphyll or Nautkeilo, you get the head for the other. You'll have to buy a whole 'nother figure to make this useful though, so I'm not really counting it as that big of an addition to this score. I like the feature, but it's not something that boosts the Accessories score of either figure.

Fun Factor - ****
Yep, this line is just as much fun as the rest of the DCUC figures. It helps if you want a broccoli superhero, or a cat that's barfing red, but hey, nothing wrong with a little creative license.

Value - *1/2
These are running at least $15, often $16 or more, and that's a price point that's just too high for what we're getting. While those of us that are completists on the DCUC line are likely to continue to pay it, at least for a little while longer, the more casual collector is likely to be turned off.

Things to Watch Out For -
Nothing with these guys. As I mentioned earlier, my first Nite-Lik didn't come with the extra belts covered in his bone collection, so you'll want to watch for that.

Overall - ***
There's a grand total of seven figures here, and all of them are good - but none gave me that wow feeling. Stel is a good Collect and Connect, but the loose joints pulled him down a smidge. Star Sapphire has the funky eyes, keeping her from being all she can be. The best overall figures are B'dg and Dex-Starr, especially since they come in the single pack together. 

I suspect that had these been around $12 each, like not that long ago, a couple would have managed another half star. But I'm having a hard time getting behind this higher price point.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Stel ***1/2; Medphyll, Star Sapphire, B'dg,  Dex-Starr, Despotellis, Nautkeilo ***;
Paint - Stel, Medphyll, B'dg, Dex-Starr, Nautkeilo ***1/2; Star Sapphire, Despotellis,  ***;
Articulation - Medphyll ***1/2; Star Sapphire, Stel, Nautkeilo ***; B'dg, Dex-Starr **1/2;  Despotellis *;
Accessories - Stel Bupkis; Dex-Starr ***; Medphyll, Star Sapphire, B'dg, Despotellis, Nautkeilo **1/2;
Fun Factor - ****
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy -
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Big Bad Toy Store has a set of 8 for $125.

- Urban Collector has the singles for about $16 each.

- Entertainment Earth has the set for $90.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Previous reviews include:

- I already covered the first half of this wave here.

- the first wave I split into two reviews as well, with part 1 here and part 2 here.

- I finished off wave 15 in two parts, one here and one here.

- and wave 14 was also in part 1 and part 2.

- the SDCC Plastic Man was the previous review.

- I split the wave 13 up into two sections, part 1 and part 2.

- I covered half of wave 12, but it took awhile to pick up the second half.

- prior to that was part 1 and part 2 of wave 11.

- big surprise, wave 10 was before that, with some here and some here.

- you can find wave 9 part 1 here, and part 2 over here.

- I split wave 8 up into two parts, one here and one here.

- prior to that was wave 7 (duh), which I covered here.

- I broke wave six into two reviews, one here and one here.

- no, I never reviewed wave 5, but prior to that was wave 4 which I also broke into this review, and this one.

- of course, prior to that was wave 3.

- 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.

- and while the aren't technically DCUC, the new Public Enemies figures are close enough for most of us. I split the review into part 1 and part 2.

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

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR LOTS MORE PHOTOS!