DC Classics.Com Nekron Week!
Collect & Connect Nekron Review

NoisyDvL5

Also, Nekron was selected by a fan poll. I hate fan polls – not because my favorites don’t win, but because the winner is almost always obvious from day one. The Question. Raven. Nekron. Metron. Mattel/DC/WB did a horrid job at placing equally popular characters in their polls. Nekron was one of the worst examples. Voters had to choose from a 70s/80s Batman villain, a 70s JLA villain, an 80s Titans villain, a 90s Superboy villain, a short-lived Flash villain, or the hot, currently appearing villain in a top-selling mini-series! You know how they do those polls for “Best President” and the most recent ones are usually over-represented? This one was like that. Looking back, I wonder if the results would’ve been any different further removed from Blackest Night or perhaps if we had known then that the winner would be the last ever Collect & Connect?

Nekron did get the benefit of a 100% tool and the 4H did some nice work on the figure, but when you compare him to the DC Direct figure, you can’t help but feel like the Four Horsemen had to take a restrained approach to the “Lord of the Unliving” to meet Mattel’s expectations or to possibly ‘kidify’ him for the major retailers. There were some other odd changes too: the robes have lost their hood, the exposed back is now covered by the robes, the belt is reshaped (likely to accommodate the waist connection), and the hand symbol on his forehead has been altered. Some of these changes could be explained by artist interpretation in the comics. I think the only place the forehead symbol made the “crown” was in a few panels of Blackest Night itself and on the DC Direct figure. Some of the other changes appear to be odd choices though.

A quick note on the height. Nekron can control his height, so, like Swamp Thing, he’s a figure that Mattel can’t technically get wrong in terms of scale. With that in mind, what height you want him at is really a personal preference. Some folks might want to see him even larger, but I don’t really want him at this size. I would’ve been happy with 7-8″. I think that would’ve been more in line with most of the time he spent in Blackest Night.

The paintwork on my Nekron was well done though some of the colors chosen also don’t match the comics. The wrist wraps and the crotch piece below the belt should be black instead of silver while the heart should be much darker, almost black. Nearly all the little details are painted well though and that helps diffuse the odd color choices. There’s a great, dirty overspray on the bottom of the robes that looks really nice, but it does make me wish for a more dirty look to the bright silver areas to match.

As an original sculpt, Nekron received the extra articulation that was present on new 2011 figures: the double-jointed elbows and knees and ball-jointed wrists. It’s cool that he has the extra articulation, but he doesn’t terribly need it. The long robe restricts the leg articulation and the hands – sculpted for an accessory that he doesn’t come with – don’t really have an inherent, good-looking pose in them. What’s more, the soft plastic used in the middle of the knee joint combined with the tray to seriously warp my Nekron legs. He’s better in these pics, but it was almost comical when I opened him up. In addition to the added 2011 joints, Nekron included the standard complement of articulation for the line.

So, here’s the part where I can’t really do anything but nag at Mattel. I understand they’re a business. I understand the figures have to come in under budget. I understand that Warner Brothers and DC Comics don’t exactly engender a wide audience that would help move a lot of units. But, knowing all that, I can’t believe they made Nekron without his scythe! I accepted, long ago, that this line is accessory light. Usually, though, we got accessories that were absolutely needed for a particular character. Penguin got his umbrella. Captain Cold got his gun. Guardian got his shield. Starman his star rod. So on and so forth. So, Nekron not getting his scythe is actually a really big deal. A raw deal. This is like removing Superman’s cape to fit him under budget. You just don’t do it. There’s a beancounter out there that needs smack on the forehead!

While a good chunk of C&Cs have included accessories, this isn’t the first time that a C&C has lost accessories though. Grodd lost some years ago, but they weren’t really crucial to his character. Kalibak lost his Beta club, which some (me included) would consider crucial, and the 4H/Mattel got it to us just a couple waves later. Therein lies the rub – when could we possibly get this scythe? There is no later. It’s highly unlikely that it will come along anywhere in the 2013 line – why would it? There’s the subscription, but the 2012 version is being done so cheaply that I doubt they have it planned for there either. Mattel needs to file this one under collector goodwill and figure it out though. I’d be happy to be wrong, but I don’t believe they will.

Overall, I’m just not that impressed. I’m surely bringing along some baggage from the line ending, from my tiring of Geoff Johns influence on the line (though the fans did vote this GJ-creation in), from my displeasure at how quickly he was dispatched in Blackest Night, from the knowledge that the only so-far-revealed oversized subscription figure is a giant, inaccurate piece of crap… but I digress. This figure just doesn’t do much to overcome any of that either. I don’t like his size. His sculpt is nice, but I think it’s beaten hands down by the DC Direct version. The odd paint and design choices create inaccuracies that attract my attention. And his trademark accessory is just up and missing. Nekron just feels incomplete. And that’s the last thing Mattel should want us to be feeling when we look back on what they did with DC Universe Classics.

Reverse-Flash
Hawk & Dove (Vault)
Sinestro
Red Arrow (Vault)
White Lantern Flash
Green Arrow (Vault)

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83 thoughts on “DC Classics.Com Nekron Week!
Collect & Connect Nekron Review”

  1. Nekron actually has his power battery built into his scythe…at least he does, if you bought the DCD version.

    1. Yes! I cleaned that sentence up a bit to be a little clearer. What I’ve been wanting DC Direct or Mattel to do make the traditional lantern in all eight colors. The Indigo tribe had a design early on that matches the others that I’d love to see (but will likely never happen), but I’d take the standard lantern molded purple too.

      Similarly, I want to see one in black separate from the scythe. DC Direct finally got the white one, so they’re closest – if any of the Black Lanterns had just had one apocyrphal accessory thrown in, I’d be happy!

  2. I forgot how warped my Nekron legs were until you mentioned it in the review. I posted a picture of them somewhere in a thread on AFI but I can’t find it. Anyway, they basically made an O shape when I laid them side by side. My Nekron barely stands up on his own. Another factor that made this wave disappointing.

      1. That’s about what mine looked like too. Just bend it in a little bit more and we’ll be even.

  3. Boy, am I glad I picked up the DCD version last year! It truly boggles the mind that Mattel would not include the scythe. It’s like Capt. America without his shield! Batman without a batarang (or bat-something). WTF, Mattel?

    Hey, were you referring to Rocket Red as the over-sized piece of crap in the sub? I don’t think anyone will be able to unload that thing for even the amount paid for it. So much for the “value” of sub figures. ) :

    Even without a 6″ line around, I’m sure Mattel will find a way to get us those Hal Jordan repaints in Indigo & Star Sapphire garb. I don’t think Nite-Lik or SC Batman v2 have appeared in the comices, yet, after all. So why not? The only accessory I need with an Indigo Hal is a surfboard. Yes, really. It makes perfect sense when you think about it… , bitches!

      1. At some point, my joke brain takes over and I don’t mind if Mattel were to repaint Hal into the other corps. I imagine we’re still for Blue & Red Lantern Hals sooner or later for sure…

      2. Where? I’m assuming Red Lanterns title? (which I passed on for my dwindling pull list) oh, and if you aren’t reading Stormwatch, Skallox appears there this month, but ***SPOILERS*** it doesn’t seem like he’s going to stick around much longer? and Arkillo is now the only(?) SinCorps member left in New Guardians???

        I saw RR on the ‘bay this weekend, which I now find even more sadly hilarious, as they insisted on pushing this design over the classic RR BRIGADE or even Dmitri’s ugly apokaliptian armor, then rebooted the whole damn universe and ***JLI SPOILERS!*** killed off the only currently known guy wearing that look. @_@

        DC IMPLOSION 2012 is upon us!

        1. In the Red Lanterns title yes, but he appeared somewhere else before that. Just can’t remember where it was now.

        2. SPOILERS

          Yeah, Arkillo is the only surviving Yellow Lantern! It’s crazy. I’m enjoying New Guardians, though it took a bit, but that book is already suffering from the “home” titles. We lost Bleez for the RL storyline and now had to make excuses for Arkillo because of the GL storyline. That book feels doomed.

          1. I dropped it after 6 issues I think. I don’t see how they can sustain that book but I wanted to give it a try for Kyle.

    3. Yes, I mean Rocket Red. I saw this picture on AFI’s Forums today:

      Whether it was all DC/WB dictated, Mattel opting for an oversized slot and DC changing the look, or whatever – I hate that thing. It immediately drops to the worst list with Little Sinestro, Uni-boob Starfire, and pre-teen OYL Robin. I don’t regret subscribing, but I wish I didn’t have to buy it!

      2. Atrocitus doesn’t get the RL boots? what??

        Rocket Red looks embarrassingly out of place. Again I must ask: WHY didn’t they use the Freeze/Lex Armor body for the RR base? This figure looks like MANUTE BOL!
        Even Iron Cow would have to look up to this guy in real life and he’s SEVEN FOOT TALL!

        at least Jay and Thom look okay.
        (which I just jinxed them, didn’t I?)

        1. We campaigned for taller shins to get Atrocitis some height. Martel obliged, but we lost the boot tops. If he’s taller, it’s a win.

          Jay & Starman have some issues, so the jinx was already in! 🙂

          1. It looks to me in that pic like Thom and Atrocitus are about the same height? Possibly even Jay, but he’s further back in the line-up, so it’s hard to tell.

      3. I still want an updated Starfire, but now that would mean getting a “duplicate” figure in a slot more suited for a new character.

  4. One of the biggest excitments of this line for me was assembling the C&C figs. Even having seen pics online and on the packaging, there was something particularly fun about holding the assembled character in hand. Sure, there were some scale issues along the way, but the figures were still awesome enough to make me smile.

    Nekron just couldn’t do it for me. He does have some nice detailing on his robes, and in the chest cavity. But his open hands needed something to hold onto. His slender build needed that scythe to make him look more powerful. His colors could have been a bit darker. Perhaps worst of all, I had to run multiple hot water runs on his legs to get them close to straight. He never could have stood up otherwise. I wanted to like him, and in a way I did and do. Still, he was a let down after so many other really enjoyable C&C’s. Being the last of them sure didn’t help him either.

    Well, I guess now in terms of DCUC reviews is when we say “so long, and thanks for all the fish!” Thanks for the many great reviews! I look forward to the all-star and signature series (or whatever they’ll both be named) in the coming months!

    1. Hopefully, Mattel will get Jay Garrick to me quickly. We waited so long to do Nekron, there’ll hardly be an interruption in DC coverage! LOL

      I loved the C&Cs too. For me, the high point of the line was with Chemo & Giganta. Once the C&Cs all ended up being about the same size, it wasn’t as fun anymore. Hopefully, not all future oversized figures won’t just automatically end up at a de facto 9″.

      1. Giganta would have been more fun if many of us could have completed her.

        My top C&Cs (that I have, completed. There’s a couple nice ones I’ve never managed to complete), in no particular order, would be Kilowag, Grundy, Arkillo, and Stel.

        1. I thought about that I typed it! It’s a shame, because she really is a nice one.

          I did enjoy Kilowog & Arkillo. I also liked Brimstone! But that’s because I’m Brimstone’s only fan…

        2. Atom Smasher, Grundy, and Kalibak were some of my favorites. Chemo was nice too because he was just so big. That one really felt like they got past their restrictions on size, even though they didn’t.

        3. I saw someone was selling Giganta head casts on ebay the other day. I would hope they made several as well as the crotch piece, as other crotches won’t work.
          (does that sound dirty to you, too?)

          I didn’t save the auction, as I thought it was the full figure and it clarifies in the description that it’s a head casting ONLY.

          1. My problem with Giganta and a few other of my CnC’s is the loose ankle. If the figure leans forward at all, that ankle will give and it falls over.

  5. The Black Lantern ‘mark’ is a HAND?! Well, OK, huh. Never guessed that. Guess I’m just dumb.

    So now I know what Nekron is all about. I have ZERO memory of him and I was still reading comics 30 years ago, altho… nope, not so much. Pretty much Supes, Legion, couple other things and a fair amount of indy titles.

    Saying that, reading the history of Nekron, it now seems 100% the right figure for the line to go out on.

    Because, see, the total tanking of the GL movie line(s) may well have been a factor in robbing Nekron of his staff, so once again Hal defeated Nekron. Circle of Life, baby. Circle of Life. 🙂

    1. Black Hand was the original Avatar of the Black Lanterns, and they incorporated his updated sigil into the zombie Black Lanterns, like BL Kal-L’s cape and Deathstorm’s (BL Firestorm) chest design. They got quite ingenious with it for a while, there.

  6. this dude appears in bad need of a dark wash or two… but that’s no where near the only thing he needs. the DCD version is just a better execution of the character… what a shame. giant space zombie should have been an easy sell. once again, on behalf of mattel, i apologize to DC fans.

  7. The scythe thing makes me mad, seeing how the case pack out has one of those “best of” shiny Hal Jordans in it. They could have easily packed the scythe in pieces as well ( a la Terrax), seeing how the figure packaging has a ton of free space in it.

    1. When they announced that all seven figs would be needed to build ol’ Nekron, I figured one character would come packed with the scythe. What gets me, though, is that we did get Trigon’s staff without any worries. Were they that tight on their profit margin this time around?

      1. My favorite is Sinestro who has the huge packaging and Nekron’s head just hanging out in the sea of emptiness.

        This whole wave seems especially cheap, so I do think the budget was lower than normal. In 2010, we were getting waves with 80-100+ newly sculpted pieces, but throughout 2011 that number keep dropping. This wave featured two full repaints and four figures with new heads and a little bit of development costs. A lot of tooling was spent on Green Arrow and Nekron, but no where near as much as we used to get. It was definitely time for Mattel to change things up.

      2. Trigon did lose his cape though, in favor of a cloth one. That may have just been that the cap couldn’t be broken up in to the packaging though.

        1. And that cloth cape is horrible! I really wanted to throw it away but instead I just kept in a box somewhere.

  8. I still have hopes that the line can pick up again even if it is in 2013. Even if its not DCU, something comparable at least.

    As far as Nekron, you just have to look at it as every character has their due. At least he’s a unique characther that hadnt been done yet. And not a one-off like the deputies. Though the lack of the scythe does hurt.

    I like the links to the other figs in the wave at the bottom of the review. Little bits of functionality like that really make a site.

    1. I think we’ll be getting compatible stuff next year like they see. The gems may just be fewer and farther between.

      I need to get the related posts plug-in installed again. I forget why I removed it…

  9. I had initially purchased Sinestro, Hawk, and Dove from this collection, saw their Nekron pieces, and opted to buy the rest because of how impressed I was with the CNC. I gave him my DCD’s scythe, and I think he looks pretty slick on the shelf. Guess it’s just me, but I’m pretty happy with how the last line turned out.

    1. I’m sure it’s not just you. This guy did win the fan poll!

      Though I don’t think Nekron looks good with the DCD scythe! The DCD figure deserves to keep it! 😀

    1. We might get some new tools for the first couple 2013 slots. And even if that sub fails, we’ll get those figures one way or another.

  11. Quite a few things I prefer about the DCUC headsculpt, but overall the DCD is the clear better version of the character IMO.

    Not a BAD Wave to go out on I suppose, but definitely not up to the standards DCUC once promised.

    I would say it’s a shame the online stuff means the demise of the C&Cs but as fun as those were to piece together it seems Mattel became a little exhausted on them creatively. (No more smaller C&Cs with tons of accessories a la Metamorpho? No attempt at vehicles or playsets? GL Movie Parallax disaster, buck overuse, etc.)

    So yeah, I think sticking to well-made versions of truly in-demand standard figure characters is the way to go for a while at least.

  12. I’m gonna agree with Lay Ze-Man I actually like the DCUC head a little better, a friend has the DCD version and I was never super impressed with it. Maybe It would help if I cared about lanterns at all.
    Sad way to end the line really…but at least like always you did a great job on the review and pics!

    1. seriously? what world did you two grow up on where a less detailed, more generic facial expression, coupled w/ a distorted and oversized logo on the forehead, makes for a better head sculpt? even the proportions are off, the BAF head is too small for that massive torso! i try to, sometimes, account for taste, but i will openly say, the two of you really have me confused on this one.

      1. Well, mind you I haven’t read any of these comics so I’m no way an authority on his “correct” look or anything.

        The 4H head is way more elegant, and it comes across as creepy and menacing while the DCD has the dreaded (and pervasive in villainous/angry headsculpts) overstraining constipated look that I’m not down with.

        And I don’t mind the forehead logo. If you didn’t know it was supposed to be there and what it’s supposed to look like, on the DCD it fades in too easily as just more wrinkles/details on the skull.

        So yeah, for me: 4H head and general articulation of the DCUC combined with everything else about the DCD version would make for the coolest fig IMO.

      2. I just dont care for the scult on the DCD version at all. A friend of mine has it and its jsut ugly and gross (I know thats kinda the point) if I wanted that I would buy mcfarlane statues. I like DCUC for its clean look so thats prob why I like the DCUC head better

  13. Woah, spoiler alert! I hadn’t seen any pictures of Armin Zola besides an arm or a leg…

    Yer a herrible person.

    Also, I will now be buying Marvel Legends wave 2. You just hurt Marvel Universe. They’re crying now. They’re crying, and you don’t even care.

    😛

  15. Another great review! And yeah, I’m pretty much over the Space Odyssey that Hal’s been on for the past 5 years, as well. But i’m afraid the days of giant catcher’s mitts have gone the way of the Dodo, my friend.
    As for this being the final wave, I actually like all of these figures (with the exception of Gray Lantern Flash, which i needed about as much as a hole in the head.) GA was kind of unnecesary, but at least he looks really cool. But yeah, Nekron…talk about “flavor of the month.” And unfortunately, he’s being offered a year after anyone cared. Mattel shouldve just scrapped the CNC figure for this wave the second they realized they couldn’t make the damn scythe. Maybe that would’ve knocked a couple bucks off the retail price. A 9″ space zombie with a gigantic scythe would make an awesome display piece whether you like the character or not. Without it, Nekron just looks like a malnourished Eddie from Iron Maiden. Maybe someday Toy Guru can include one in a DCUC weapons pak. We can dream, right?

    1. GA definitely overcomes his lack of demand by being a cool figure! Some of the others in the wave, not so much.

      It just occured to me where they can include the Scythe – Black Lantern Swamp Thing!!! LOL 😀

      Shoot me now…

  16. I picked up the TotGLC mini when I started collecting comics, so it was an introduction for me to many of the Corps, like Arkkis Chummuck, Katma Tui, and Arisia. No, Kilowog wasn’t even created until later, when the main GL title hit v1 #200 and added “Corps”.
    (side note: googled spelling on AC: arkis = 4 hits, 3 here. arkkis = 8 hits, 6 here, actual: gave up and went with GLC @ dcwikia.)

    As for these Nekron figures, I much prefer the DCD one, and the Mattel is a poor copy. the only advantage he has is height. My legs are bowed, as well, and the lack of paints and “kiddified” (as you put it_ sculpt, doesn’t do him any favors. Maybe if this had been for the GL:TAS line (cancelled?), but not for the DCUC….nah, he fits right in with the buck system overused here.

    The scythe IS as necessary to the character as the Power Battery is to the GL characters, but, oh wait, the “we can put these perennials into any case” All-Stars GL DOESN’T COME WITH A FREAKING LANTERN!!! So many FAIL, Mattel.

    You asked if there actually was a regular Black Lantern (battery), and outside of Nekron’s scythe, I think the only time we saw one was the Master Power Battery that Anti-Monitor was trapped within in it’s first appearance. The Black Rings were created by Black Hand and I think Nekron coughing them up, but some may have come from the Black Lantern, itself? There was just a point of Information Overload and the story jumping the tracks at some point around Blackest Night 5-6 and I stopped caring. Nutlich’s pandering to Johns didn’t help matters, any, either.

    here’s more: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Lantern_Corps

    1. It was actually Batman’s corpse that coughed up the Black Lantern rings. Remember, Batman was dead at the time.

      If you lost interest in Blackest Night around issue 5-6, you made it a lot further than I did.

      1. I finished it! The most annoying part of Blackest Night was that it ended part of the way through issue 8, maybe half, and the rest of the book was really Brightest Day.

        And, don’t forget, it was Batman’s clone’s corpse! 😛

      2. I finished the series, but the last couple issues of the main event barely stumbled through the end, and, as Noisy says, the back half of #8 was really Brightest Day #0.

        Hand did make the first handful of rings, but then we saw literally thousands of rings resurrecting the dead Lanterns and various heroes, there had to be other sources, like clone-Bat-zombie and Nekron, if not his Central Battery when Anti-Monitor was captured.

    2. I didn’t realize the new Hal didn’t have his lantern. That’s funny.

      I think you’re right about the battery being the only one. I still want one was an accessory though!

  17. idk, the execution of this beast just doesn’t seem to gel. i’ve been pretty impressed with all of the C&C’s thus far, but this one is just lacking… something.

  18. I can’t get excited by that sculpt. He looks almost cheap, like he’s the cartoon version of the actual character. Couple that with the fact that I didn’t care for Blackest Night (Johns is good at setting stuff up and really bad at delivering good endings) and this was probably the wave of DCUC that held the least appeal to me overall.

    The missing scythe only pulls down on the figure’s appearance IMO.

    Do you remember what other figures were runnibng against Nekron in the poll? I forgot already.

      1. Well, kinda. He sources where the characters are from but doesn’t directly name them. A recap rollcall would have been more context, because I sure as heck can’t recall.

        1. “The 2010 ToyFare poll differs from the previous two polls in that instead of choosing a regular figure from an upcoming wave, fans got to choose the Collect and Connect figure: Blockbuster, Girder, King Shark, Nekron, Shaggy Man, and Wildebeest. The winner of this poll was Nekron,[12] who will appear in the line’s twentieth wave.[13]”

          Thank you, Wikipedia.

          1. There is no way in Hell that Nekron beat Blockbuster or Shaggy Man in a poll. I’m sure fangirl2.0 (or whatever her name was) conveniently “lost” those poll results, and Matty just made the figure they wanted to make. The “fix” was in on this one, boys.

            1. I dunno, like Noisy pointed out, people tend to vote for whatever is most recent in their minds, Blockbuster and Shaggy Man hadn’t even been active in recent years.

                1. I voted for Shaggy Man!

                  I think Nekron won fair & square. It was an online poll that anyone could vote on. One tweet from Geoff Johns would’ve been sufficient to give Nekron the win.

                  One of IAT’s biggest traffic days was because of one tweet from John Favreau.

          2. I voted for Nekron there for several reasons

            1. I didn’t really want Blockbuster yet.

            2. I still don’t know who Girder is

            3. I would have gone King Shark but I hadn’t read Secret Six yet (regret this vote now)

            4. I didn’t want Shaggy Man, I wanted the General

            5. Wildebeest didn’t appeal to me enough

              1. yep, Aztek, Conner GA, Classic Kyle, WW Hippolyta, General/Shaggy, and several others would be great to see, but DC has now forced Mattel to do DCnU52, effectively cancelling DCUC. 🙁

                and wasn’t BL Swampy in that poll, too?

                1. BL Swampy was in the Metron poll. TG has since labelled him as a figure “no one wants”. Which is sad for the folks that do, but I can’t say I’ll be crying over it anytime soon.

  19. I kinda like Nekron figure (although I must agree with everything NoisyDvL5 said).
    To be honest he was not the figure I wanted in the line as a BAF, but not receiving his scythe is unforgivable. He is an incomplete figure to me.
    To feel a little happier with him I had to sculpt my own scythe with wood and aluminium. With this accessory he looks a little better on my shelves…
    If you guys want to see it, these are the images of the scythe I built:
    http://www.figurerealm.com/viewcustomfigure.php?FID=36217

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