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What do you get the man who has everything? The burning desire for even more!
The new orange Power Ring seeks out Lex Luthor for his avarice and lust for power - much to the dismay of Larfleeze. The two Orange Lanterns battle, oblivious to the carnage around them, and Luthor loses himself in the seduction for all the rings of power.
When he heard that the dead were coming back to life (during the Blackest Night crossover), Lex holed up in a heavily fortified safe room because he was terrified that everyone he'd killed or had killed over the years would come looking for him. That may seem egotistical - to think that he was so important that people would care about him even after death - but he was right, and soon his vault was under siege by an entire army of Black Lanterns. Lucky for him, they'd just broken through the door when the Orange Lantern power ring found him and saved his bacon.
True to form, the first thing Lex did with the ring was re-create his power armor. He loves that stuff. The design isn't the same as the classic version, so this isn't just a repaint - that would be lazy. Orange Lantern Lex was sculpted by James Shoop, who's done a quite nice job. The limbs are ribbed and riveted, as usual, but the loincloth is angular rather than blocky, and he has the Orange Lantern Corps symbol on his chest. It's always hard to appreciate the sculpted details on translucent plastic, but at least this is mainly geometric, not anatomical.
The only bit of the figure not made from translucent plastic is the head,
so it's our best opportunity to talk about the paint, as well. Lex is sculpted with a truly maniacal grain on his face, and he's grinning so hard the wrinkles go past his ears. The face seems to be based on a single panel of Doug Mahnke artwork from GL #50, and it looks superb! His eyes glow a greedy orange, and the wrinkles on his forehead have been given apps so they'll stand out. The skintone doesn't look plasticky or fake, which is a point in his favor, as well. This is work to be proud of!
Orange Lantern Lex is a big figure,
standing 7¼" tall. He's also very well articulated for a DC Direct figure, with 21 points of articulation: balljointed head and neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinge elbows, swivel wrists,, balljointed torso, T-crotch, swivel thighs, hinged knees and balljointed ankles. The biceps seem a bit too large to match up properly with the shoulders, but that's hard to see in most poses. Having two balljoints for the head seems like overkill, especially since the high collar on the armor renders the head nearly immobile. It's really nice to be able to turn the torso, though - this is even better than a waist! Lex comes with the same lantern and base as Larfleeze, but sadly, no orange minions.
This figure was solicited before Mattel announced they'd be releasing an Orange Lantern Lex Luthor of their own, or else I wouldn't have ordered DCD's version. If I hadn't, though, I'd have missed out on one hell of a figure. Killer sculpt, above-average articulation... Mattel's going to have a hard time topping this!
-- 01/29/11
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