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Over the last couple of years, the DC Universe has gotten quite a bit more... colorful. Where once the Green Lanterns shone brightly, the emerald hue has been joined by several others: the yellow of fear, orange of avarice, blue of hope, indigo of compassion, violet of love, and last but not least, red of rage! Each has its own Lantern Corps, along with the undead Black Lanterns, the menace of the current Blackest Night event. The leader of the vicious Red Lanterns is Atrocitus, the last survivor of a space sector accidentally exterminated by the Manhunter Robots, the first servants of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Filled with rage, the mighty creature created the first Red Lantern and set about starting his own army to take part in the War of Light.
The new Blackest Night series by DC Direct picks up where the Green Lantern line left off, chronicling the iconic heroes and villains of the incredible story. The first series includes members of four different Lantern Corps: Red Lantern Atrocitus, Blue Lantern Saint Walker, Alpha Lantern Boodikka of the Green, and Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman.
As with most DC Direct figure lines, each member shares the exact same package, in this case a tough clamshell. The insert behind the figure is decorated with the Black Lantern symbol over a green background with the name of the series at the top. A very cool distinctive marking is the individual figure’s Lantern Corps symbol on the outside of the front of the package.
The back of the insert shows the four figures in the current wave, with brief bios of the quartet. That insert unfolds to show the next three series of Blackest Night figures (with Series 4 Wonder Woman still only a silhouette...).
Atrocitus is big, bad, and ugly, a member of the horrifically monstrous Five Inversions. The most humanoid of the bunch, he has a somewhat skeletal appearance with skull-like head and bony hands. The Atrocitus figure is huge, standing over 7 ¼ inches tall. He’s outfitted in his Red Lantern uniform, essentially a bodysuit with additional components. His sculpt is very cool, and it works on several different levels. The body is fairly standard, with a good amount of musculature under the bodysuit. The suit’s gauntlets and boots are raised and textured, as are the chest and back segments. Surrounding Atrocitus’ head is a large collar piece. The real highlights of this figure are his head and hands, intricately sculpted with gruesome detail.
Next up is paint, and in that field Atrocitus really (and literally) shines. Again, there a few different things going on here. The black bodysuit is a smooth, clean matte. The boots, gauntlets, and chest and back parts are a highly reflective metallic blood red that looks outstanding. Atrocitus’ hands and head are a darker hue of red, accented with lots of black shading. The face is dominated by the huge white teeth, which turn yellow at the gums. Atrocitus’ eyes are a solid bright yellow, and if you look closely you can see a smudge of shiny red on his right hand representing his red Power Ring. The large collar piece is yet another shade of maroon that doesn’t exactly match the rest, but it still looks good.
Fans of DC Direct figures know not to expect too much when it comes to articulation, and so it should come as no surprise that Atrocitus is not very poseable. He is articulated at the neck, ball-jointed shoulders, elbows, wrists, T-crotch, and knees. On the surface that doesn’t sound too bad, but it does get worse. The huge collar severely restricts the movement of the head and the shoulders, and the combination of overhanging gauntlets and inward-facing hands prevents full range of the wrists as well. There’s not much you can do with the legs either, since just the standard pose is stable enough to stand on its own.
However, while there may not be any great shakes in the articulation department, Atrocitus does come with two extras. The first, a display base, may not seem like a big selling point, but the guys at DC Direct have finally figured out that fans want the different Lantern Corps symbols there (in the last series of Green Lantern figures members of other Corps still came with Green bases.) So, this is the first Red Lantern base, and it looks great. Also included is a genuine Red Lantern which Atrocitus can carry in his left hand. This accessory is very cool, done in a similar shiny metallic red and featuring a moveable handle.
All in all, this Atrocitus is a good figure. The height and shiny red really make it stand out, and the good sculpt and accessories put it firmly in the "recommended" category. Of course, more articulation would have been nice, and I’ve always envisaged Atrocitus as being a lot more bulky, but those are nitpicks for a quality DC Direct figure. Until (and if ever) Mattel gets around to tackling the King of Rage, Green Lantern fans should definitely give Atrocitus a chance.
For more images of Atrocitus, CLICK HERE!
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin