LEGION TOYS: Ultra Boy (DC Direct 2003)

When he's not on the run for murder, Jo Nah of the planet Rimbor a.k.a. Ultra Boy is usually a pain in Clark Kent's behind. Always screwing up his dates with Lana Lang thanks to his Penetra-Vision. This is why we can't have nice things like Emerald Dragon action figures,  Jo Nah! Gosh!

Sculpt:
While most DC Universe Classics are around 6.5 inches and fit within the 1/12 collector scale, typically adult-sized DC Direct (and now DC Collectibles figures) fall into more of a 7 inch scale. Having said that, Ultra Boy is more of a teenage-sized figure and comes in exactly at 6 inches. Although the Mattel practice of buck re-use doesn't always come into play in these lines, you can see that Ultra Boy shares some parts with the DC Direct Star Boy and Ferro Lad. Like those figures, Ultra Boy has a pair of closed fists. Also, he has a rubbery girdle similar to the one worn by Star Boy. The head sculpt is an original piece, and the hair has lots of nice waves and curls in the sculpt. The face sculpt is fine, but I think expression or lack of expression makes the figure seem pretty lifeless.  If the Invisible Kid face sculpt is the ideal and Mon-El's face sculpt goes too far in a goofy direction, then the DC Direct Ultra Boy goes too far in the serious or non-expressive direction.



Articulation:
DC Direct figures are better known for their sculpts then articulation. There are 11-points of articulation that I count on Ultra Boy. The head is on a swivel joint and can move 360 degrees. It cannot tilt, nor move up or down. Arms can only rotate at the shoulder, up or down, in a circular fashion in 360 degrees. Arms cannot move out to the sides, but there is a 90 degree elbow cut, so the arm can go from being straight to a 90 degree angle. The closed fists can also rotate in a in 360 degree circular fashion. There is a "T-Crotch" which allows for only forward movement of the legs at a 90 degree angle. If needed, Ultra Boy could be seated. Finally the knees also articulate from straight to a 90 degree angle.

 

  

Paint:
The flat red on the shirt and arms is well done. The flat green on the pants and cuffs match and have no noticeable bleed. The flesh tones, eyes, eyebrows and brown hair are also good. The black on the boots is glossy, while the black on the arm cuffs and "T-Crotch" is a flat black paint. The lime green on the tampo emblem and the girdle do not match up for a variety of reasons. The flat red underneath the emblem tends to darken the lime green hue. It's more of an avocado green than lime. The green on the girdle is more glossy and shiny due to the rubbery material used. The black rectangles are shiny, but not as much as the black boots. All-in-all, I like the paint application on Ultra Boy, but the inconsistency in the blacks and lime greens sort of breaks up the visual just a bit.

Overall:
I like this figure okay. The Matty one is still better IMO. The DC Direct one doesn't look as much like Jared Padalecki. Again, if there was a DC Direct Phantom Girl, maybe it'd accentuate this interpretation of Ultra Boy.