Super Friends' Green Lantern Action Figure

DC Comics Toys
Super Friends' Green Lantern Action Figure
By Hervé St-Louis
May 25, 2003 - 13:33

THE SUPER FRIENDS GREEN LANTERN/SINESTRO TWO PACK

Whereas the Super Friends' Sinestro action figure by DC Direct is extravagant and awesome, the Super Friends' Green Lantern looks as plain and boring as ever. Fortunately, the blame cannot sit on DC Direct ‘s shoulders this time. The Super Friend's Sinestro and Green Lantern are each other's ying and yang. One is great, the other hapless.

There are many interpretations of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Gil Kane came up with the original Paul Newman's look that Murphy Anderson and others heavily inked. Still Gil Kane had a dynamism that could be seen in his later work on the character. His lines were loose and much closer to say Moebius and Geoff Darrow.

When Neal Adams helped reboot Green Lantern, he didn't just reinvent Green Arrow's visuals along the way. He also brought back the dynamism that was missing from the Silver Age Green Lantern's look. Green Lantern's costume is not designed like that of most super heroes. The look is such a classic that it has been updated for Kyle Rayner. However, if there is one design where Alex Toth screwed, this is it.

This action figure reminds me of the way Hal Jordan was drawn in the Hostess ads of the seventies and eighties. This is why people have held for years that DC was conservative and boring and Marvel the House of ideas. Now, as a fan of action figures, The Super Friend's Green Lantern is a reminder of what we came from while Sinestro what we should expect.

THE SUPER FRIENDS' GREEN LANTERN

Likeness

As mentioned above, this is the way Alex Toth created the model for the television series. This is a square jaw character with a seventies hair cut who represents order and authority. He also looks dumb. This Green Lantern is not threatening. We can see his eye lids through his mask, just like all Alex Toth designs, the shape of the overall shape of the character reigns over details and muscles and veins.

Many fans had issues with DC Direct's black paint on Green Lantern's mask. Although it is based on the cartoon design, they felt it made the Character look stupid. Based on what I've seen, it would have made his small face look narrower. In the end, DC Direct removed the black from the mask.

Sculpt

A worry of many upon hearing about the release of the Super Friends' Green Lantern and Sinestro Two Pack, was that DC Direct would reuse the sculpt of the Silver Age Hal Jordan Green Lantern action figure, released a few months earlier. Well, they share the same torso, although, the Super Friends' was probably sanded to remove the muscle definition and details.

They also share the same legs, although the thighs of the Super Friends' version are slimmer. His boots are the same but were chopped from the top. The legs of the Super Friends' Green Lantern are not as wide apart as the Silver Age's. The head and the arms are new moulds. The new parts are responsible for the lacklustre look of the figure.

The arms are inexplicably too short when compared with those of the Silver Age Green Lantern. The biceps end well before the reach the height of the character's waist. The arms have almost no definition. It's as if this Green Lantern never went to the gym. Both hands are closed as if the character was ready to fight. Notice, when you bend his elbows, how much he looks like a Super Powers' action figure.

The character's head is the killer here. It is too small. In a previous review, I mentioned how the Silver Age's Green Lantern head was very large. Considering they share the same torso, this is weird. The mask is square like, not round like other interpretations. This Green Lantern even has a double chin. But then, this is based on the Alex Toth design.

Paint

DC Direct has experimented with lots of greens since they started producing Green Lantern figures. This time, they went for the khaki-military fatigue green. Though many fans complained about the colour, the green on the figure was used in the cartoons. A brighter green would have cause havoc in the safe colour chart used in television. The paint application is plain. It's one thick layer of paint covering the figure.

The quality of the application is very poor. The Green Lantern symbol on my figure has black spots. Green Lantern's eyes have white spots within the eyes, like Japanese cartoon characters that make him look like his high. His boots, gloves and mask have some polish.

Scale

The Super Friends' Green Lantern is much smaller than the Silver Age one, although they share the same torso. The Super Friend's calves are shorter. The Super Friends' Green Lantern is shorter than the Hard Travelling Hero Green Lantern. Of course, The Super Friends' Green Lantern looks great next to the Super Friends' Aquaman, though he is shorter.

The Super Friends' Green Lantern, unlike the Super Friends' Aquaman, does not look too much like a cartoon figure. He fits well with the Silver Age Batman and the Silver Age Flash. They are about the same size and have the same small proportions. Of course, the Super Friends' looks great with Sinestro. They are so different that they mesh perfectly. They also have the same slender body proportions.

Standing upright

This figure can stand on its own well. However, it can easily fall on its back because of the way the weight is distributed on the figure. Using the Super Friends' action figure stand that comes with the figure does not help very much. The figure leans in either backward or forward depending on the way his knees are bent. This is very noticeable after a few days. He needs to be readjusted often.

Articulation

This Green Lantern comes with nine points of articulation at the neck, the shoulders, the elbows, the hips and the knees. He has ball-jointed shoulders. A feature lacking is rotating wrists that would help the figure mimic his ring wielding action. Unfortunately, the figure's head cannot nod. Therefore he cannot be posed as if he were flying. Like recent DC Direct figure, he has a well hidden T-shaped crotch.

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Rating: 10/10