The Flash III

Wave 12 marks the first time that the anchor character in the set is the Collect & Connect figure, the cruel despot of Apokolips, Darkseid. Darkseid is clad in his usual blue sleeveless tunic with matching high boots and gloves. Darkseid also comes with his “Killing Glove,” which I guess was designed by DeSaad and used in a plot to reignite the war between Apokolips and New Genesis. It’s quite detailed with a lot of dangerous-looking electrical components and a metallic finish in gold, silver, orange, and blue. I didn’t like it at first and had it earmarked for somewhere else in my collection:

“Anybody need a hand?”

But I think it lends itself to better poses than the plain glove. Speaking of the blue glove, it is somewhat open and designed to hold the Mother Box, which also attaches nicely to a peg on the back of his belt:

The thought of a massive Darkseid amongst my DCUC figures frankly made me a little giddy, and I packed up the DCSH version of Darkseid that I had displayed pretty much the day I read the confirmation of the lineup. Naturally, I dug him out for comparison:

First off, The head sculpt has changed quite a bit, as you can see here:

The new Darkseid’s head is a little more triangular and they made a point of emphasizing his large brow. His expression is a little more passive, with a straighter mouth than the frowning DCSH Darkseid. The head on the DCUC version is also in correct proportion to his body, as the DCSH figure suffers from a bit of pinheaditis.

The other main differences appear to be in the length of his tunic, the coloring of the belt, and the overall color of the figure. When I put them next to one another, the length of uniform below the belt is roughly the same, making the new Darkseid look like he’s wearing a mini skirt. The wash on the new belt is a pristine, gleaming silver as opposed to the burnished finish on the DCSH version. I, for one, don’t feel like Darkseid is the kind of guy who’s worried about whether his belt is polished or not. The new Darkseid is a few shades of grey lighter than the old version, and I have to say I prefer him darker. The paint and wash on the DCSH Darkseid also gave him an appearance of being stone, whereas the new version features fissures that are filled in with black. Once again, I prefer the old figure.

Overall, I’m very excited to have a proportional Darkseid in DCUC and I’m glad that they didn’t simply rerelease the old version with a new accessory or something. That said, I’m not as crazy for the figure as I thought I’d be. I want to think he’s one of the best figures in the line, but I don’t. His tunic is too short, his body is to wide and straight, his skin is too light, and his arms are so massive you can barely bend them at the elbows. In the end, he’s just a little better than average.

Grade:B-

Wave 12 Report Card

Copperhead B
Dr. Mid-Nite B-
DeSaad A-
Mary Batson D+
Eclipso C+
The Spectre C+
Iron A
Darkseid B-

Wave 12 Grade: B-

Darkseid + Killing Glove + Gleek= Every Comic Purist's DCUC Dream

"What now my Digipet? Feed you? Water you? No! Punish! Shock! Kill!"