DC Universe Classics Wave 9 Guardian and Wave 10 Forager

I am so psyched to have Forager gracing my Cosmic Cube (my affectionate nickname for my Cosmic Odyssey shelf) that I almost titled this article “Forager and another guy with a shield” – but that would be a huge disservice to comic fans who have been anticipating more classic comic characters in DC Universe Classics.  Yes, they both have shields, but what makes this pairing special is that both the wave 9 Guardian and wave 10 Forager are creations of the great pairing of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon.  These two also created another guy with a shield you may have heard of – Marvel’s Captain America.

A ginormous thank you to VeeBee of the Fwoosh (who omitted Forager from his First Look at DCUC wave 10 so I could have him) and Mattel for making this review possible.

Guardian

For those of you paying close attention, the first thing you may have noticed is that Guardian is a bit different from the paint scheme that was introduced at New York Comic-Con.  That version featured some gold paint apps on his helmet and shield, as well as a larger yellow section on his upper torso that extended onto his shoulders.  What ended up hitting shelves is a much simpler paint scheme that is all yellow – with fewer paint apps, I presume this was a cost-saving choice.

Still, the deco that remains presents a vibrant representation of the classic Guardian, but not going all the way back to his first appearances in Star Spangled Comics where he had a smaller helmet and was pretty goofy looking by today’s standards.  I do think he would be more visually striking if the gold had remained, as it would call out that the helmet and shield are metal and would match the modern interpretation of the classic character more closely.  There’s also a lack of any airbrushed shading on the blue plastic.

Where they did have to apply paint, it’s clean, with no discernible overspray.  In particular, I think the eyes are very well done.  I’ve noticed on some of the figures with larger masks and painted eyes (like the his fellow wave 9 Wildcat) that there’s a tendency for the eyes to look crosseyed, but that’s not the case here.  Guardian comes with his shield and the right leg of the Collect and Connect Chemo.

Sculpt and articulation is what you’ve come to expect from the Four Horsemen.  There weren’t any frozen joints or mismatched parts.  One thing I did notice is that there’s very little up or down movement in Guardian’s head, lending credence to the theory that Mattel has changed the barbell in the neck.  It is almost as limited as a simple swivel now, and I hope this isn’t a permanent change.

One thing that struck me as I set up to take pictures is that this version of Guardian, Jim Harper, is rather lonely in the Classics line.  He needs some other Golden Age characters to keep him company, perhaps the classic Vigilante and some of the other Seven Soldiers of Victory.  With a headswap, perhaps from the upcoming John Stewart, he could stand in as the Mal Duncan Guardian that was teamed briefly with the Teen Titans, but we’d need a Dick Grayson Robin and others to keep him and Kid Flash company.  It would be a larger endeavor to convert this to a Manhattan Guardian from Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers.

With the number of connections that he’s got in DCUC right now, though, I wonder if Guardian will be a peg warmer for wave 9 – luckily, some people have talked about picking him up for a conversion to the half-helmeted classic version of Dr. Fate, while others see the customizing potential in a relatively blank base body.  We’ll have to wait and see how he does as wave 9 starts to hit en masse.

I do think his inclusion in Classics is a good sign for those wanting characters from the Golden Age.

Forager

Those of you that know me may know that I am a big fan of Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola’s Cosmic Odyssey, and I am absolutely thrilled that Forager makes his appearance in DCUC in the Wal-Mart exclusive wave 10.  Even with the New Gods push that we’ve had in Classics, I thought Forager might have been a bit too obscure for inclusion.

The execution of this figure is outstanding.  To represent Forager’s tunic, Mattel has included soft rubber pieces that cover the upper torso and go around the waist of the figure.  In hindsight, this approach might have better served the Ultraman that we got in the Battle for Earth 3 two-pack.

Sculpt and articulation, again, is what you’d expect, and has the same up/down limitation in the neck.  He comes with the head and crotch of the Collect and Connect Imperiex, as well as his trademark shield.  The shield is one point where I would want a little more just to make this figure perfect.  While it fits extremely well on his left arm, the way that Mattel has implemented his straps doesn’t allow you to strap the shield to his back, and it also precludes having an acid pod on his left arm.  While there were no stuck joints on him, his right ankle is a bit loose.  There’s also a slight difference in reds between his thighs and lower legs.

I’ve gotta say, though – these nits are far outweighed by my complete amazement to have such a great representation of Forager on my shelves.

What else can I say about him?  He fits in great with the existing New Gods.  He fits in great with with Cosmic Odyssey.  He looks great standing in a vanilla pose, and he looks great in action shots.  I’m in love.

However, adding him to my Cosmic Odyssey shelf does bring up one glaring omission.  We’ve got John Stewart coming in wave 11, but where oh where is the last character I need to call that shelf done – J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter?  J’onn is the only member of Gardner Fox’s original Justice League of America to not see plastic in DCUC.  He’s a key member of Justice League International and Grant Morrison’s JLA.  C’mon, Mattel – make him already!