Review of Lord Naga, the Atom, and S.T.R.I.P.E.
DC Universe Classics wave 19 action figures

Introduction

With wave 19, I had a little trouble coming up with the full set in a single shot. Instead, they dribbled into a local Target, and I split my review up into three sections instead of the usual two.

The first review covered Hawkman and Magog, while the second looked at Sandman and Stargirl. Tonight I'm wrapping things up with Lord Naga, The Atom, and the Collect and Connect figure, S.T.R.I.P.E. I already know that I'm going to get very tired of typing that name out every time.

So who are these guys? Well, S.T.R.I.P.E. (or 'stripesy', which is easier to type out) is Pat Dugan, former sidekick to the Star Spangled Kid and the stepfather of Stargirl. He was a golden age character, but back then he was just a guy in a patriotic outfit. It wasn't until recent years that he built this armored Ironman-like suit to help protect Stargirl.

You best know who The Atom is in general, but there's been five different versions of the character through DC history. This version is the golden age character Al Pratt, a hero for the short man. This version was a physicist, but didn't have any sort of super powers.

Technically, this Lord Naga is really Kobra, the silver age villain. He was the leader of the Cult of the Kobra organization, which was eventually just called Kobra, and I suspect he started going by his alias Lord Naga more to avoid confusion. I think this costume is more old school Kobra than modern times Lord Naga, but when has anything in the DC world ever been clear.

You can find these guys at Target right now, although I'd expect them to start showing up at other retailers soon, including online shops. I paid about $15 each for them (minus some of those handy MattyCollector $5 off coupons), but I've heard some reports that Target is raising their prices to $20 on DC Universe Classics. Ouch!

Packaging - ***
I threw in a packaged photo this time for those that may have a short memory. Nothing really new here, but on these two I didn't have any issues with the interior bubble putting any awkward strain on the ankles or knees.

Sculpting - Naga, S.T.R.I.P.E. ***1/2; Atom ***
All three of these are good sculpts, capturing the intended costume and period with the right amount of detail. Sure, there's still plenty of re-used parts (particularly with Atom), but they have enough unique aspects to make them stand out.

I particularly like the scale pattern on Naga, and the mechanical details on Stripesy look good. There's some additional details on Atom that probably should have been sculpted, like his boot edges and the edges of what is supposed to be straps on his V neck, but these are minor nits.

Scale is good, and these fit in properly with the rest of the series. Again, Atom seems a little tall (this version was short in and out of the costume) but considering the need to re-use body parts, I can't say I'm surprised.

All the figures stand great on their own, and the hand sculpts for Naga are designed to hold the accessory. Stripesy and Atom's hands are done as fists, which works fine since neither has any accessories to hold.

Paint - Atom ***1/2; Naga, S.T.R.I.P.E. ***
The paint work is decent, with bright and consistent colors. They match the general comic book look, and most of the smaller details are nicely done.

There's still some sloppy cut lines though, and there is some areas on Naga's armor that looks like the paint was put on too thick and ran a bit.

These slop issues are more prevalent on Naga and S.T.R.I.P.E., at least in my case. Atom looks pretty damn good, but I have a sneaky suspicion that these figures vary quite a bit. Make sure you check them out carefully on the peg if you can.

Articulation - Naga, Atom ***1/2; S.T.R.I.P.E. **1/2
All the usual articulation is here with Naga and Atom - ball jointed neck, shoulders, swivel hips and biceps, pin elbows, knees and ankles, cut waist, hinge hips - it's all here, and it works quite well on both of these figures. You can get them to easily stand in a number of excellent poses, and they remain tight and upright. They could use swivel ankles to allow the feet to remain flat on the ground, but that's fairly minor.

Stripesy doesn't fair as well. The neck is restricted to a simple turn, and without any cut thighs, the legs are far less poseable than the usual DCUC figure. He can't take very many poses, and is pretty much restricted to standing straight, looking formidable.

Accessories - Naga ***; The Atom **;  S.T.R.I.P.E. Bupkis
S.T.R.I.P.E. doesn't have any accessories, but as a CnC figure, that's not surprising. It would be the exception if he did.

The Atom only comes with the CnC part for the big guy, and that's only valuable if you're looking to complete the figure.

Lord Naga comes with his snake staff, which is a slightly different sculpt than other Mattel snake staffs we've seen. It fits in one or both hands easily.

Fun Factor - ****
Sure, none of these figures is going to be instantly recognizable to your average 8 year old, but all three are cool designs. Kids love robots in general, and Naga has an excellent evil mastermind look. He can easily fit into another 6" scale line as a villain.

Value - Naga **1/2; The Atom, S.T.R.I.P.E. **
I suppose I have to accept the $15 price tag, and with Naga, you're getting one accessory along with the CnC piece. But Atom lacks that extra accessory, and is a pretty basic figure, even if he does look good. 

And while S.T.R.I.P.E. is technically free, you have to spend a pretty hefty chunk of change to get all the parts, probably buying at least one or more figures you aren't all that interested in. If he were a great CnC figure, that'd be fine, but for me he lacks a certain pizzazz.

Things to Watch Out For -
With DCUC, it's always a good idea to watch for improperly positioned figures inside the tray. This can lead to pressure on the ankles and knees that warp and damage them.

Overall - Lord Naga ***1/2; The Atom ***; S.T.R.I.P.E. **1/2
Naga is a solid addition to the series, even if he isn't the most recognizable character. The detail work on the sculpt sells him, at least for me.

Atom is a true classic, and this version helps round out the golden age DC heroes. He's wasn't on my must have list, but he's a reasonable B character considering how far we are into the series.

For me, the same can't be said or S.T.R.I.P.E. He's not even in the same ball park as a must have figure - in fact, had they never produced him, I would have never thought "gee, I wish they'd done a Stripesy". As CnC figures go, he's not going to be on my Best Of list for 2011.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Naga, S.T.R.I.P.E. ***1/2; Atom ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - Naga, Atom ***1/2; S.T.R.I.P.E. **1/2
Accessories - Naga ***; The Atom **;  S.T.R.I.P.E. Bupkis
Fun Factor - ****
Value - Naga **1/2; The Atom, S.T.R.I.P.E. **
Overall - Lord Naga ***1/2; The Atom ***; S.T.R.I.P.E. **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has a case for $135, the set for $100, or the singles for $18.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other DCUC reviews include:

- I started this wave by looking at Hawkman and Magog,. then Sandman and Stargirl.

- just before that were the series 17 part 1 and part 2, as well as series 18 part 1 and part 2.

- other recent reviews covered the new Green Lantern waves: wave 2 part 2 and part 1, and wave 1 part 2 and part 1.

- Series 16 was split up too, into part 1 and part 2.

- I finished off wave 15 in two parts, one here and one here.

I have pretty much every wave before that covered as well, and you should also hit the Search Reviews page to find them or in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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