DC Icons The Flash Toy Review

When it comes to iconic heroes, I have to admit DC does it better. Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. These demi-gods of comics have survived through the years to become legends in the comic book world. And what better way to honor these characters than a toyline that perfectly captures their iconic nature!

Enter DC Icons, DC Collectibles' newest line of fully-articulated action figures. I saw their lineup and instantly knew who I was going to get. The one character who's had many toys over the years but none have satisfied me. Until now. I'm talking about the fastest man alive, the Flash, whose figure I will be reviewing today!

The DC Icons packaging is nice and neat and displays the figure with his accessories very well. I actually like the packaging of DC these days. But really, toys like the Flash deserve to be released from this plastic prison!

Out of the box, DC Icons Flash looks amazing. This is the Flash costume debuted by Barry Allen that marked the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books, and the figure captures the look amazingly well. The sculpt is easily one of the best I've seen out of DC Comics, paint is well-applied, and the details are sharp, right down to the little wings on the side of his head! His expression is one of intense concentration, but some angles and the way the eyes are painted make him look a bit dour for my tastes. A sly smirk would have fit his Silver Age personality better, wouldn't you say?

 

DC Icons features a completely new base body for their figures, and it fits the Flash well. It's not as brawny as some of his DC Universe Classics or even DC Direct counterparts, so we have a Flash that looks exactly like a runner should.

Speaking of running, DC Icons Flash gets one of the rarest things to see in a Flash figure: "running" hands! Finally, a fully-articulated Flash figure that looks like he's actually running instead of punching the air in front of him! It's one of the main reasons why I never bought a Flash figure until now, and seeing this figure posed with runner's hands is a sort of a breakthrough moment for me.

He also gets extra hands, one posed and one clenched in a fist, because sometimes the Flash needs to just stop and punch a dude in the face. Swapping out his hands is a bit of a chore, though, as the wrist holes are tight as hell, but I guess better that than his hands wobbling loose on me. Just be careful or you may end up snapping them off in a fit of Red Lantern-like rage!

 

DC Icons articulation looks great and offers a good range of motion, a must for characters as limber as the Flash. Double-jointed elbows, rocker ankles, and the new torso joint design lets you pose Flash however you like and he would look absolutely cool doing it.

 

But while the articulation does its job, it doesn't do it well enough in some areas. Poor Icons Flash can't lift his head to see where he's going while running, and the way the legs are built into the figure's hips makes Flash's legs go up and to the side when bent, so putting him in a running pose looks weird in some angles. But when you look this good, who cares if you look like you're dancing a little jig while you run?

The Flash comes with one weird accessory: the Cosmic Treadmill he uses to run through time safely. While it's quite an iconic piece of the Flash's history and does look great and filled with neat little details, it doesn't scream "must have", know what I'm saying? I would have rather gotten clear plastic "speed" effects (speed punches? Whirlwinds you can attach to his arms? yellow lightning bolt streaks?) instead. I mean, his co-Icon Green Lantern got armor and wings and weapons, and all poor Barry got was this?

 

Most of DC's action figure lines dance the 6"-7" scale, but DC Icons is a little different. Since I mix and match the best figures from all toylines to form my toy roster, I'd want my heroes to look at least in scale with each other. At 6 inches tall, they won't be mixing well with even the sorta-uniform scale of DC Universe Classics.  DCUC Batman towers over DC Icons Flash, but that's exactly why I bought Flash over everyone else; Flash is a lean, mean, running machine, and his smaller stature is a perfect fit beside my Justice League figures.

But really, all I asked for is a decently articulated Flash figure, and DC Icons delivered. It's a gorgeous fig that perfectly captures the Scarlet Speedster at his most iconic, making it quite possibly THE definitive Flash figure. If you're looking to beef up your Justice League roster, go straight for this toy and never look back.

DC Icons Flash is out in most specialty stores in the Philippines, but he's selling out really fast (hah!). You have to look out for misapplied paint around the lightning details on his costume and on his eyes...wouldn't want a wall-eyed Flash, now would we? But if you do see him in your local comic store or toy shop, get him quick before he's gone for good!

I hope you enjoyed my review of DC Icons Flash! Which Icons figure are you getting? Let's talk about it in the comments below. Thanks for reading!