Review > Eclipso (DC Universe Classics)

Eclipso made his debut in House of Secrets #61 in 1963. Over the years he has caused trouble for none other than Batman, The Outsiders, and The Metal Men. In the ’90s, Eclipso was retconned as his own character with ties to The Spectre as an embodiment of the wrath of God pursuing revenge. Finally, although never referred to by name, Eclipso made a special cameo appearance on a Justice League animated series episode titled “Eclipsed.”

Long ago The Spectre defeated the Spirit of Wrath, exiling its physical manifestation to a black diamond called the heart of darkness. And so it remained until Dr. Bruce Gordon found a fragment — and was possessed by Eclipso, the Earthly incarnation of the Spirit of Wrath. During a lunar or solar eclipse, Gordon’s alter ego would grant him superhuman strength, light-powers and use him in its ancient schemes for control over all mortal beings. Since then, Eclipso has possessed others, and is ever ready to tempt and corrupt both superhumans and ordinary people.

Packaging: Eclipso comes in the new DC Comics’ 75th Anniversary packaging, highlighting some of DC’s finest heroes and villains. Also displayed prominently on the front of the package is the collector button featuring classic DC artwork.

Design & Sculpt: The Four Horsemen did a fine job on the head sculpt, he really does look like a mischievous trickster up to no good. His triangular collar does look a little cheesy, but its no worse than what we’ve seen with past figures (I’m looking at you, Ultraman). They also did go the extra mile by sculpting his belt instead of painting it on, although it does look like a bit of a paunch, but it helps break up the monotony in a sea of figures with the same torso. Finally, along with The Spectre, Eclipso gets spread-open right and left hands. Held in Eclipso’s right hand between his thumb and index finger is the fragment of the Heart of Darkness, a nice detail to have added.

Plastic & Paint: Eclipso may have one of the more detailed paint jobs out of Wave 12. Overall the paint work is very sharp, which is fortunate because its an area that could have killed this figure. The paint work on my figure’s face is clean, most of Eclipso’s face is blue, which is meant to represent his transformation. The flesh color is nicely done The tampo chest symbol looks great, and the white trim on his shirt, gauntlets, and boots is nice and clean.

Articulation: Eclipso has the standard DCUC articulation: ball jointed shoulders and neck, swivels at the head, biceps, waist, wrists and thighs, and hinges at the elbows, torso, knees and ankles, with some excellent side-to-side movement on the ankles as well. The legs are the usual H-hinge joint for ball joint-like movement. Out of the Wave 12 figures I have experienced thus far, Eclipso benefits the most to whatever “fix” Mattel has promised us, you can rock his head back and forth a bit, but not enough.

Accessories: Wave 12’s Collect & Connect figure is Darkseid, a larger version than the one released in the DC Superheroes Line. Eclipso comes with Darkseid’s left arm.

Quality Control: Glad to say no big problems to report, other than a minor blemish on Eclipso’s belt.

Overall: When the DCUC Wave 12 lineup was announced, I was only interested in a couple of the figures, but overall I was more excited about the Darkseid Collect & Connect. There’s nothing wrong with Eclipso, and he’s not by any means a bad figure, but I just can’t seem to get myself excited about him. I’m sorry to say, but unless you’re a huge fan of the character or a DCUC completist, you’re basically just buying yourself a $15 Darkseid arm.

[raven 2.5]