Paint for this wave has been decent throughout and that’s mostly true here. Cyclotron has clean paint lines just about everywhere. The only noticeable area where things are less than perfect is the belt. The green paint simply doesn’t fill up the recessed area. There’s a few other odd issues like the dark tan of the forearm versus the normal hue of the bicep, but most of the work is clean and somehow the arms manage to blend in for me unless I’m looking for the paint difference.
Negative man required very little paint. The white triangle on the chest is sharp on both. The paint on the boots and head are similarly well done on both figures. The only problem area is again the belt, the regular version of Negative Man has some slop around the ‘D’.
Articulation is standard for the line and both figures include the now one-piece ankle/foot. Cyclotron is a bit of a bobblehead – as are Vault’s & Rant’s, so I assume it might be more widespread than just ours. He has full swivel and a little bit of up and down, but the head tends to revert to center because of the bobble. Negative Man’s head has full swivel and can look down slightly. That’s more than I expected with the addition of the neck piece.
And, lest we forgot, these figures included buttons. Neither of these figures got buttons that feature them. Cyclotron’s is taken from a Super Powers poster by José García-López while Negative Man’s is a random Batman cover that I’ve been unable to identify (Mattel’s been kicking my butt on that with this wave).
Cyclotron is the stand figure for this wave and doesn’t include a piece of Trigon. But Mattel finally got around to including Super Powers stands with their Super Powers figure. This was first promised for Wave 11, was partially implemented for Wave 12, but is finally in full force here. I’m not a fan of the stands, but they do look 10x cooler with the SP logo on them. Mattel should be offering the SP stand in bundles on their site.
Overall, Cyclotron is going to be a favorite of mine because I can view him as a cool update to a cherished childhood toy, but that may not be true for everyone. Plus, I’m simply excited to have one with his face plate again! The bobblehead is annoying and the paint could be a little better, but the sculpt knocks the figure out of the park and lessens my concern with the other areas.
Negative Man is simply a faithful recreation of the original design and looks great next to Robotman. His variant is a gimmick variant, but it’s still a cool one and has suckered me into an extra figure purchase. I’m excited for finishing the Doom Patrol and am hoping to see Elasti-Girl join the DCUC ranks soon – although part of me wants her at normal size more than as a C&C, but I doubt that’s going to happen. And, of course, after we get Rita, we’re going to need the Chief.
For more DCUC reviews, check out our DC Classics Collector’s Guide.
Negative man variant skull head looks great!Nice review Noisy5.
Thanks, Gildeft!
Cool review – managed to track down both Negative Men. That is one sweet-looking skull. Noisy5, are the holes beneath his eyesockets for the masktabs?
The sidetabs are located on the edges of the mask, you can see the small tabs and their sockets when Cyclotron is admitting his defeat for coolest face removal.
The ‘holes’ beneath the eye sockets are really just divits in the sculpt representing the little canal in your skull for arteries, veins, and nerves to get to your face.
Hey, I learned sumthin’ today!
Great review as always! Is it bad that I laughed hardest at the disclaimer?
The variant Negs looks like a time I might not mind the gimmick variant, but just because it was executed so well. The face & skull match up perfectly.
Thanks! Nah, I just threw that in there because I didn’t want folks to get the wrong impression about what he could & couldn’t do.
The skull is excellently done.
Yeah the alt head is cool, but Mattel could make these with swappable heads and avoid this whole buy a figure twice deal. Though DC might not like swappable heads on their toys. It ruins the brand to have Batman’s head on Superman’s body, don’t ya know…
That’s too much control. LOL
I do agree about the pack-in head (and hands for that matter). If they’re claiming to really sell to the adult collector, then let’s drop the two-fist, accessoryless, buy a new figure for a second head routine.
The bandage head looks great. Is a Hush in our future??
If they get to Hush (And they should, Prometheus too) I’d like to see him have a different head. I know it’s silly to think about the Negative Man, Hush, the Unknown Soldier, etc all utilizing different heads, but I’d like it.
I love the fact that Kenner just willy-nilly through in new characters. I don’t think that’s even allowed on licensed product anymore. Mattel refuses to do it for MOTU and they own it!
I just want the Super Powers characters over and done with. They’re taking up slots of characters like Poison Ivy and Captain Marvel, Jr.
Haven’t seen either of these guys at the stores, but thanks to the wonderful world of the ‘net I scored them not too long ago. Cyclotron, whom I didn’t care about, turned out to in fact be one of the best in the set. Negative man is, like you said, simple but still an awesome figure. I lucked out by getting the variant and I appreciate finally seeing the skull in all it’s glory! Still want the regular release though- so it’s the waiting game for me.
Great review on two otherwise unnoteworthy figures.
The original Cyclotron could hold his mask, but once again the doubles fists have struck.
Love the review! I am also one of those collectors that like the Super Powers figures in DCUC. There aren’t that many left, so those that don’t like ’em won’t have to deal with them too much longer. Unless, of course, they warm the pegs for months to come, which I’m afraid may be the case for Cyclotron (and possibly Golden Pharoh) if wave 13 (and wave 15) ever hit retail like waves 6 and 7.
As for the variants, I am also like you in that the last couple waves have had variants that weren’t necessary, but still turned out pretty cool. I like the variants that are different versions of the same character (classic and modern versions such as the upcoming Starman, Cheetah, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, etc. or significant costume changes like Mary Marvel) or different characters all together (Mr. Miracle/Dr. Impossible and Wonder Woman/Artemis). The variants that are just a gimmick don’t excite me, even though they turn out pretty cool (Deadman, Spectre, and Negative Man). For Deadman and Negative Man, I would have preferred the variants as the only release, but I’m sure some would not have liked the glow in the dark and translucent versions. For me, those are the only ones I needed (though I bought them all). Negative Man’s variant is very cool, but unnecessary (IMHO). Big Barda and Wildcat’s variant were just unnecessary as it was. Barda would have been great in her bikini costume, but just a hair change was a bit of a dud. Wildcat would have been fine in just black or blue, but did we really need both. Of course, these were cost effective variants and understandable given the new tooling required for other figures in their waves.
I’m loving DCUC and hope it lasts long enough to make those variants that were better choices for waves than what was chosen (but still understandable reasons):
Modern Donna Troy (which would have put 5 female figures in a single wave if you count the 3 Cheetahs)
Changeling/Beast Boy (Wal-mart wave 10 w/o variant)
Perez Zatanna (Wal-mart wave 14 w/o variant)
Classic Black Lightning (Wal-mart’s wave 5 and Target’s Public Enemies)
Bikini Big Barda (cost effective variant)
Modern Black Canary or Red Arrow (cost effective Wildcat variant was used instead)
But of course, for every mistep they put in great surprises such as the Super Powers and classic versions of Parademon, Mantis, and Steppenwolf. And of course, we’re still waiting on Super Powers Penguin and modern Red Tornado that should have been in Wave 1. 🙂
Comedy gold, Noisy!
I’m kind of glad Cyclotron doesn’t come with a Trigon piece–most collectors will see him as unnecessary making it easier for me to find him.
What I love most about Cyclotron is his lack of real backstory. You know who Batman is, you know who Superman is; you can’t really pretend they’re a different character. Cyclotron doesn’t have that “preexisting condition” so he can be whomever you want.
Initially, I really wanted the variant Neg Man, hub couldn’t find either one at retail. I finally ordered the regular version from Amazon, but I may still buy the variant if I ever spot him in-store. I think he’s got the “creepy-cool” vibe working for him. Great review(s)!