Nekron Week is running a little behind. DC Universe Classics Wave 20 has been a difficult assortment to review. It’s my least favorite wave. It featured the only C&C I didn’t want. It ends the line. Ugh. To combat all that, I’m kicking off with my favorite DCUC20 figure: the Reverse-Flash!
I love the Reverse-Flash. Well, scratch that. I love the Reverse-Flash’s costume. I enjoy his various characterizations to various degrees. As a warning, Reverse-Flash is complicated. No one-paragraph back story this time. You might want to skip to page two if you’re only interested in the figure. Sorry.
In his 1963 origin, by Broome & Infantino, Eobard Thawne was a thug from the 25th Century that found Barry Allen’s costume in a time capsule and used it to gain super speed. I don’t recall exactly what he did to the costume to extract the “speed force” (there was no speed force at the time, but that’s essentially what happened), but it did reverse the costume colors and gave the Reverse-Flash his trademark look. This version would plague Barry more than once over the years and ultimately murdered his wife, Iris. Barry would get his revenge, breaking Thawne’s neck, and putting into motion a series of events that would ultimately lead to Barry’s role in Crisis on Infinite Earths
Post-Crisis, Thawne’s origin was a little more complicated. Thawne was now a 25th Century Flash aficionado, but far past what most of would call healthy. He had plastic surgery to look like Barry Allen, he experimented with chemical baths until he found one that would replicate the Flash’s powers, and then travelled back in time to meet (stalk?) his favorite hero. Unfortunately, and this is where it gets a might complicated, he travelled back a point after Barry had already died. To make matters worse, he also discovered that he’d been to the past already as a Flash Rogue. The revelations make him go a little crazy, well crazier than he already was. Wally (remember him, right?) and the Flash family stopped Thawne, erased his memories of the event, and sent him packing to the future…
…where he would find Barry Allen’s costume in a time capsule. Yeah, see, it’s a little wonky but makes sense once you wrap your head around it. To me, that’s what was cool about Reverse-Flash. No matter what happens, no matter when he shows up, the last thing he always does is get his neck broken by Barry Allen. All of his appearances, whether he showed up to plague Barry as Reverse-Flash or Wally as Professor Zoom, will ultimately will lead back to the earlier one where he murders Iris and is killed for his trouble. It’s an interesting take on a villain that wages on, but can’t change his own fate. Unfortunately, it never really gets explored or exploited as much as it could’ve been.
All of that was more or less erased though in recent years, and not by DCnU. Geoff Johns, who had a great run writing Wally West, slowly dismantled the Reverse-Flash. Brightest Day reanimated the Reverse-Flash, so his impending death was no longer a concern. Under Johns, Reverse-Flash also took on his epic time-travel campaign to hurt Barry Allen. He had killed his wife already of course, but he also pushed him down a flight of stairs as a small child, he left a gate open so his dog would run away. Y’know, all those important super-villains moments. And during all that time travel, Reverse-Flash altered his own past too, so much so that I couldn’t really tell you what happened anymore. Thawne also ended up being the guy that kicked off Flashpoint as one more way to punish Barry Allen. And, thanks to the subsequent Relaunch, that means Thawne ended up punishing the lot of us too.
So, that’s the gist. And here some of you might’ve thought he was just the Flash in reverse colors! In some ways, he was almost simpler as just an evil Speedster. So many of the Flash Rogues were great because they were just evil. Thawne and his campaign is interesting, but it hasn’t always led to the best stories. That’s why I say I love the costume more so than the character. Broome & Infantino kept it simple. Waid added some layers that were interesting and some that weren’t. And well, Johns has made me not want to read more than a few characters I used to really like, so that’s nothing new. Let’s go talk about the figure, shall we? Continue to Page 2…
Great Job!!!
Love the blurry pic
Thanks, Doc!
Dammit, I should have bought him!
P.s.: The blurry pic is hilarious 😀
Thanks! He’s the highlight of the wave for me.
I know it might get me flamed, but the much-hated Captain Boomerang should be in that last picture too…
This really makes me want a Wally/Hunter 2-pack though. We’ve got them in Action League.
Its a bittersweet wave, but thanks for the reviews as always,
Jo
LOL! You’re right! His omission wasn’t intentional, I simply forgot about him. He’s in the extras box and not on display.
I’ve never been as big a fan of Zoom, but I’d be down for Wally & Zoom as TRU 2pk.
I have yet to buy Cap’n Boomerang. Those horrendous, horrendous legs keep putting me off.
I wish I could muster the same excitement I used to have for this line. Up to the Rainbow Lanterns wave I have every single figure, including the variants (‘cept modern Cheetah). I haven’t been able to muster the urge to pick up most of the characters since then (I did break down and buy Sinestro Scarecrow and the new Sinestro). I guess it’s just burn out, since in the past year I’ve gotten way into Transformers and G.I. Joe.
Also, more GI Joe on IAT!
Just saying. :-p
We will do more Joes! I’ve still got that case. I’m going to try to make it a weekly feature until I burn through that case!
You aren’t missing much with that Boomer. I bought him but a classic Boomer would have been so much better.
And Noisy, you SO could have thrown Boomer in that last pic and made a Seth Green joke because that figure was sculpted from his face.
I was all confused for a minute. I tend to always associate Boomer with Own and not Digger. LOL
I could throw him in, but he’s gotta be pretty far buried in the extras box by now…
I was wondering why you left out Hunter Zolomon. Do you just not consider him a “reverse Flash”? or because he’s now Thawne? Or his name isnt Reverse Flash? Just curious. I know if you did add him to the character synopsis…it would have gone for another 12 paragraphs hehe
I kinda hate the new Zoom because his motivation is ridiculous. It’s one of those ideas that you get and it sounds cool, but then it doesn’t work over a longer period of time.
But, yes! It would’ve taken almost as long to talk about him too. LOL
yeah, a Wally/Zoom 2pk would be so EASY to do, yet…we get five flavors of Barry.
(Blue Barry! hee-hee!)
I bought an extra to blacken the eyes for Zolomon, but just double-checked and he has Wally’s V-belt, too. urf. 😕
I’m actually curious why they didn’t do the best of both Toyguru favorites: Mark Waid’s Kid Lantern, from the “Faster Friends” mini, I believe, where Hal recruits Wally as Kid Flash for help on a mission without telling Barry. (yep, made a DCUC custom!)
Blue Barry was originally unintentional, but I had to leave it!
I’d be fine with a Kid Lantern (could use some new arms though)! The Flash franchise is still ripe for Mattel to pick from and somehow despite all the GL-focus they missed a lot of GL franchise stuff I want too.
THIS is your least favorite wave? Even more than the Rainbow Lanterns?
Yep. I know it’s hard to believe, because I’m not terribly keen on that wave either, but I opened it, built Auntie Em and process the reviews. This wave I barely wanted to order, took months to have BBTS ship, and didn’t even care to open it. I think Nekron being the first C&C I didn’t want is a big part and the fifth Sinestro, Super White Barry, and the Arrow figures just added up to overwhelm the others.
I note the irony that a ‘late’ review of a Flash figure is ironic. 🙂
(but seriously? don’t worry about such things. Nobody is putting a stopwatch to your posting reviews. It happens when it happens, that’s all I care about)
And the standard joke: How can he be called ‘Reverse Flash’ if he has the same speed powers? A TRUE Reverse-Flash would be the Slowest Man Alive, right? Right?
Or the Reverse Flash is only fast when running backward?
When I was a kid, I thought he had to run backwards!
I know timing doesn’t matter, but I’d like to get these up closer to when folks are buying them at least!
The last DCUC reviews *sniff* They’re what brought me here in the first place!
Mirror Master in a few months!
We’ll still get the monthly sub reviews! And there’s 8 retail figures to pick up, but it is conceivably the last theme week.
Excited about Mirror Master after seeing the changes!
Oh and Total Justice RF looks like he got caught in a taffy puller!
We’ve come a long way.
LOL We really have!
I dont really hate this wave at all. I DO hate that its pretty much another duplicate wave parallel to DCD’s Brightest Day line. I’m glad i passed on almost all of the Brightest Day figures. I only picked up Jade, Mera and Aqualad…so picking up this wave wasnt a hardship at all. I thought the White Lantern Flash was a little lame..especially after i picked up the Comic Con exclusive.
You are 100% correct tho. Why did it take so long to put out a Reverse Flash!?! Especially in this repaint crazy line. I did pick up the Total Justice version back in the day. I also grabbed the Flashpoint exclusive. You forgot to mention the McGinnis designed Reverse Flash figure from the DCD JLA Classified. Not too many people care for that style of figure, so i can understand the omission
remind me: was that McG figure Thawne or Zolomon?
I’m thinking Zolomon, but like you said, the sculpt/style kept me from buying him.
(only bought Kyle and PADiator Aquaman, as it was only version since TJ/JLA)
It was Zolomon. I still bought it. I actually have a little mini-shelf of McG figures – Martian Manhunter, Reverse Flash, Kyle, Superman Red & Blue, Batzarro, Kryptonite Batman, Batwoman, and Superwoman. PAD Aquaman was one I wanted but never got around to. After they made him and Kyle I was tempted to assemble Morrison’s Big 7 in McG form!
Yeah, I kinda view this wave as the “Brightest Day” wave. That doesn’t help! LOL
The knew about the McG, but wrong Zoom. I did leave out the Pocket Hero though! I think more people hate those. 😉
Nekron week! Great start buddy!
Thanks, J!
too bad reverse flash isn’t flash enough to bring a nekron scythe forward through time.
Don’t get ahead of me! That’s Friday.
This is bittersweet. And I hope there’s some serious IAT rage in store for the Nekron scythe that wasn’t.
DC Universe may be renewed but I think I lost my chance for a Clock King…
Which version of Clock King do you want?
And, we’ll cover the lack of sycthe on Friday definitely.
Personally speaking I’d hope for a Horsemanized version of the BTAS Clock King.
Bingo. BTAS Clock King.
Which is somewhat close to the Terror Titans Clock King. ‘Cause we need another incomplete DCU team. 😉
That would be pretty cool, but my desired Clock King will always be the Batman: Brave and the Bold version.
No love for the classic Clock face? I do have to admit that I wouldn’t be opposed to the BTAS one. He had a great look!
Love the clock Face!
i kind of hope that SMC is as sympathetic to DCU fans as they are to motucers, and they may craft up the parts for a wicked fresh scythe weapon. since mattel cheap dicked their way out of that one.
i can’t help but thinking that mattel took the cheap way out, and it was wrong. the piece was essential to the character, and it could not have been that expensive to produce. like, only nominally more than the complete waste of deco that is reverse flash’s baton…
a SMC scythe would be pretty killer! I built as close as possible to one with the current parts for my Samhain RAGB figure just for fun
That’s a great headsculpt!
Easily the best part of the figure.
Is this not the villain who is separated from our own timestream, and has “speed” powers by altering how fast or slow his own time line is in relation to our own? Or is that the difference between Zoom and Professor Zoom?
That’s the difference between the modern Zoom and the classic. The modern Zoom was Hunter Zolomon, a friend of Wally’s and a police profiler. He ends up believing that Wally needs a defining loss to become a true hero and goes on a campaign to murder Wally’s wife Linda. His modus operandi influences Johns take on the classic Zoom as well.
I don’t blame Zoom for the DCnU. I blame Barry Allen. Barry’s the one who selfishly used his powers to go back in time and change history (stop his mother’s murder. Because, you know, in time traveling stories, altering history never has any negative consequences), and then, when he tried to fix the timeline, did it wrong and we ended up with the DCnU. Given how many heroes and their loved ones no longer exist post-reboot, I’m calling Barry Allen the greatest supervillain in DC history.
Is this what happened in Flashpoint? I tried to download those stories and read them when Comixology put them on sale but the entire 3 days that they were on sale, there was also an error with the files that wouldn’t allow anyone to download them. The only response I got from the company was that I should try their website instead of their app…guess what happens when you try to download a corrupt file from a different source…IT STILL DOESN’T DOWNLOAD haha.
That’s more or less what happened. It’s complicated and poorly thought out.
What I’ve never understood is that Zoom travelled through time and killed Barry’s Mom or at least caused her to die. Therefore, anything Barry did should fall under correcting the timeline from Zoom’s interference, but it wasn’t written that way, opting to pin the whole thing on Barry as James described.
I guess you could say that Barry tried to change time without knowing that Zoom had altered it, but it’s still crappy storytelling no matter how you slice it.
RIP DCUC. 🙁
The line may not have been much in the last few years (I am not a fan of the hypersaturation of Geoff Johns costume variations and characters) but it was pretty much the only shot we had at “classic” DC characters as well.
Hopefully somewhere down the line the torch can be picked up again, though I worry. If this DC reboot isn’t reversed we might just be getting figures of THOSE designs, and that just isn’t for me.
Either way, Zoom deserved a figure and he got an okay one. Loss of ankle rockers is really noticeable for a runner, but oh well. Good review as always.
Thanks, Sandman.
The rocker ankles will always be a blotch on an otherwise well-articulated figure. It’s a shame Mattel couldn’t cost in the insert molding required after the first year.
We still have the sub figures at least, and we should be guaranteed everything we see at SDCC at the minimum. That means four unknowns for 2012 and potentially four or five figures from the 2013 sub that have to be done to sell it.
Always glad to see when you guys are doing DCUc reviews! Mabye now that the line is (more or less) dead, perhaps you could get caught up on some of those earliest waves you’ve yet to do? Not to pressure you. I just enjoy reading these reviews.
While I do love having this fig, especially as he helps fill out the Flash area of my shelves, he does leave me a bit wanting. Not so much in terms of Reverse Flash, though he’s not a perfect fig. I’m looking at a distinctly Wally-shaped hole that’s left gaping there on my shelf. Sure, Wally was never my favorite of the Flash characters (i’m partial to Don and Dawn), but he certainly was more important in DC history than the Rainbow Barry’s.
I filled mine with Cherry Barry, because he did wear a darker costume for a while. Beyond that, there are plenty DCD Wallys.
I really don’t like mixing in DCDs though. Some do look okay, but I wish Mattel or DC/WB would’ve been more open to Flash figures.
“OH NOES! HE KILLED TEH LIEN!”
Brilliant!!!
lol Thanks, Jim!