DC Collectibles DC Essentials Reverse-Flash figure review
It’s hard to complain when getting a hero’s arch-nemesis, but for a few reasons I wish DC Collectibles went with Captain Cold instead of Reverse-Flash to pair off with The Flash for the first wave of DC Essentials. The basic concept of the character is he’s the opposite of The Flash, but that doesn’t necessarily make for the most exciting addition at this early stage in the new line. But, he’s definitely a character on my wish list and hopefully he’s just the first of many Flash Rogues that get made into DC Essentials figures.
Packaging: I appreciate the cleanness of the DCC packaging even if it’s not the most exciting. While yellow seemed like a more appropriate accent color, the black on the white is striking and helps the figure stand out. I wish the bio had a bit more thought to it besides a quick sentence that barely explains Eobard Thawne’s role in Barry Allen’s life.
I’m glad DCC is going with twisty ties to secure the figure instead of those tiny clips. I constantly thought I was going to scratch one of my DC Icons trying to free them from the plastic.
Likeness: DCC is simplifying things with the Essentials line meaning there’s not a lot of different body parts and paint is going to handle costume designs that were sculpted in the Icons line. Again, this is kind of a weird complaint since this is faithful to his comic look, but Reverse-Flash doesn’t have much to truly distinguish him from The Flash figure in the same wave.
The biggest of course is the sinister, evil head sculpt. It’s not over the top and is completely fitting for the character. There’s no other sculpted elements on the figure. I’m torn if the logo should be a separate part of the costume or a raised, separate piece. In a lot of reference pics I check out, the Essentials figure has it right.
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Scale: Maybe not surprising, all of the figures in this first wave of Essentials are right at the same height. That’s not an issue here since that seems about right, but DCC needs to mix up the scale for Superman and Nightwing.
Paint: Yellow is traditionally a tricky color to apply properly on figures. DCC deserves credit here for getting a proper shade of yellow done and not the orange yellow that’s the norm for Hasbro’s Marvel Legends. Reverse-Flash probably needed one more coat of yellow paint as the base color is slightly visible still.
The logo and lightning bolts along the wrists and waists were fine. My figure just had some minor alignment issues along the mask. Definitely not a big deal, but if you’re able to, you should probably look through the figures to pick the best paint job.
Articulation: Reverse-Flash features 21 points of articulation. That’s not the most on the market, but it allows for some dynamic running poses. One of the biggest surprises in handling the Essentials line is the heft of the figures.
Despite that, Reverse-Flash will stand up solidly and be able to pull off a number of running poses.
DC Essentials Reverse Flash has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: This is the category Reverse-Flash gets hit the hardest. Since he’s almost an exact repaint of The Flash, he really needed something else to stand out. Maybe even his lightning rod from The Flash Rebirth? It’s a big letdown that he or Flash don’t come with alternate hands.
Worth it? At $26, DC Essentials probably need to be about $6 cheaper to enter that good value category. Especially given the heavily reused body parts in this case.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
One more run of the yellow paint and some accessories are about the only complaints I have with this guy. DC Essentials delivers another strong figure for its initial wave.
Where to get it? Start off with your local comic book store. If you strike out there, try Amazon.com or Entertainment Earth.