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. (more…)

Like many of DC Comics most iconic characters, The Spectre received his first story during the Golden Age of comics way back in 1940 in More Fun Comics #55. The Spectre was a hero that one could not help but root for, a slain police officer who returns as the Wrath (or the Voice) of God to seek vengeance for injustice. The Spectre was even popular enough to gain admission into the Justice Society of America. Over the years he’s had several reinterpretations, a retcon or two, and has even possessed Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

For DC Universe Classics Wave 12, there are two variants of The Spectre. The first is the subject of this review-the standard Spectre. There’s also a glow in the dark variant, which doesn’t seem as much like a variant since I’ve seen it more than the standard version at retail. Other than the glow in the dark plastic skin there are no differences between the two versions.

(more…)

The Metal Men were created as a last minute filler feature and proved to be popular enough on their own right to get their own title. Each of the Metal Men, artificially intelligent robots, inherited their traits and abilities from their namesake metals, so whereas Iron is super strong, Lead is slow-witted and can block radiation, and Gold is their leader with the ability to stretch himself almost infinitely. As the first of the Metal Men to receive the DCUC treatment, lets see how Iron stacks up.

Professor Will Magnus invented the Responsometer- A microcomputer capable of imbuing pure elements with a semblance of life, intelligence and emotion. Implanting samples of gold, iron, lead, tin and mercury with their own responsometers, Magnus watched the metals take on humanoid shape and personalities. Iron quickly emerged as the backbone of the team. In all the challenges the Metal Men take on, Iron’s super strength and ability to withstand tremendous punishment put him on the front line of action. (more…)