Someone over on the DC boards has found a link to some leaked pics.

http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thre ... 1&tstart=0

Holy !@#$, these look great!

Yes please! I'll have all of those.

Never knew the Silver Age Green Arrow was such a beefcake, though.

Yeah, I'm not wild about Silver Age Ollie being that muscular, but I'll put up with it since we're finally getting Blue Devil and the Paul Kirk Manhunter.

In addition, if you look around the site, there's also a solicit for a Legends of the Dark Knight box set, which will include repaints of Enemies Among Us Batman, Rogues Gallery Two-Face, Hush Joker & Hush Jim Gordon.

I have to give DC Direct some credit here. Besides the 13" line, when I looked at and ultimately left the latest Secret Files: Rogues Gallery figures sitting at the store, I though I was done with the 6-7" line. Heck, considering all the 13" figures have been movie related lately, it feels like I am done with those too!

But the Perez History of the DCU line looks well done. It looks like they are making an effort to compete with Mattel. Is that a Ab joint I see there? The new hips, first seen on the "SUPERMAN BATMAN SERIES 7" figures look like a huge improvement and possibly ball-jointed (gotta be careful with DCD, sometimes what looks to be a ball-joint, isn't). Hard to tell, but Batman even looks to have a cut joint at the shin. And those might be articulated wrists of some sort too. Another quick look shows forearm cut joints on Manhunter.

The main problems, besides scale, is that Green Arrow is too buff and Batman might be too. If Batman turns out to be a bit leaner in the torso and with all the articulation that looks to be there, this Batman may turn out better that DCUC Wave 1's Batman, which I like, but is just too big in the chest.

Either way... okay, DC Direct. After ignoring your 6-7" line since late last year and not buying anything in that scale besides my two long ago placed pre-orders --the last being the last Justice Series -- I may just take the plunge with a pre-order on these. I am always willing to give one more chance, but this may be it for me & DC Direct.

Just saw the pics and I gotta say I love the character selection.

My concern at this point is that with all of these figures in the "George Perez" style ... isn't this treading a bit too close to what Mattel is offering with their "4H/house" style? I know DCD is making "comic accurate/artist specific" figures while Mattel is making a "classic" universe but it seems that distinction is becoming marginal at best with these figures.

Don't get me wrong, I am stoked to be getting Manhunter and Blue Devil, but I wonder just how long this will last (add on the point of DCD killing waves just as they are nearing the point of completion)...

Well, since Mattel is the mass-market line and DCD is specialty these really aren't infringing on Mattel's deal.

I think the line is really intended to address a lot of the complaints DCD has had over the last few years. While these are "artist specific" to Perez his style is classic and not so stylized that certain characters are going to look "extreme" next to others. The line is also intended to be on-going which (provided sales are there) should address the complaint that DCD stops short with character selection. Just from seeing the first wave you've got an A-lister, a B-lister (though I would've prefered the Adams designed costume to this) and two fan-favorites -- this should get a lot of highly requested characters out to comic fans. Now if DCD can just keep the scale on this line consistant I think that they will have a real winner here.

Granted, I don't normally buy DCD, but I can see myself grabbing a few here and there that Mattel may not get to like Manhunter (but after they announced Killer Moth I'm not so sure that I can be concerned with that anymore).

HOLY CRAP! I've not bought a DCD figure in a very long time. This may change very soon. I hate they are taller than DCUC but I want some SA Green Arrow and doubt we'll get one from DCUC. Blue Devil will fit in with DCUC though

These look pretty cool.

I do think it is a strategic mistake for DCD to make these bigger than the DCUC stuff though. If they intentionally made them fit they could be complementary lines in a way that would probably drive more sales to the the DCD stuff. I have no problem mixing my DCD and my DCUC when it works (i.e. Blue Devil will probably work, and I like the alien GL's), so why not go that route? It seems most people do not want to have two lines of the same characters that are in just slightly different scales.

I hope they use Perez artwork straight from the book on the cardbacks.

That Paul Kirk Manhunter is very cool.

Real quick:

I know there was a big ToyFare article that listed a bunch of characters that were planned for inclusion in the line. I seem to remember Captain Atom, Black Lightning, and...that's about it.

Anyone care to help a brother out?

I think it's interesting that the 4H haven't made their love of Super Powers a secret, and how the DCUC line will feature a lot of Super Powers choices...

and the first series of HOTDCU from DC Direct features two of the unmade Super Powers figures!

It's probably just a coincidence, but still...

J.

it may be the pictures, but these look much better articulated than anything DCD has done before. I might have to get a few of these is scale is consisitent.

Indeed.

It looks like they actually have ball jointed hips like the first JSA Hourman and Dr. Midnite did. (I think it was Hourman and Dr. Midnite....)

And they seem to share the same rather large torso, so if there is a base body, they MIGHT at least be in scale with themselves...

They certainly look better than pretty much everything I've seen from DCD in a long time...

Spy

I wonder how many waves per year they will release for this line? I definately see me getting some things DCUC won't be giving us (SA stuff in particular)

Off the top of my head, and not including the four we just saw:

BA Black Lightning
SA Brainiac
Creeper
Nightwing
Flamebird
Elongated Man (purple)
Prof. Zoom
SA Martian Manhunter
Superman
Flash
Captain Atom (with possible original costume)
Deadman
E-2 Robin variant possible

That would be a hell of a list, if they all make it-- DCD has made too many promises and unfinished lines to accept all these as certain. Throw in a wave of females and I would be astonished.
E-2 Robin variant possible