JLA Pocket heroes: Day 2 - Martian Manhunter with JLA Conference Table and Chairs

There was quite a bit of time between my purchase of the JLA box set and this beauty, because I just didn't know about it. The fact that I hornswaggled it for a cool buck makes the victory a sweet one that'll rot my teeth for years to come.

So that's where's the Manhunter form Mars went! I was going to say it would be mental not to include the charter members of the Justice League in either one of these sets.

Oh wait, aquaman is...
I think that...
It's rubbish is what it is.

But, he's got a seat at the table, and that's pretty cool. 8 chairs to go around, and each chair has the logo of the hero it's meant for.

You've got J'onn, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, and of course, never one to be left off of anything... The Atom.

You might ask, where in the mighty hell do Batman and Superman sit? Well, not at this table. How this came to be I'll never know. Is it possible the powers that be figured those two had been on enough and it was time to slap the logo's of some of the other schmucks on something?

It's just a very cool little piece (actually, it's much bigger than I had expected it to be. It certainly won't fit in any pocket of mine).
I don't even mind that Ray's chair is the same size as the rest of the lot (although with them throwing in "bonus" Atom stuff, I would have guessed The Batman would get his normal chair, and they'd shove in a lil Atom seat as a "bonus" for lucky folks!). I don't mind that if you try to sit any of these members in their respective seats, you must do so with their legs straight out. And if Ray is in attendance, he'll be so standing up in his chair.

To recap, I was and am very happy that Ray got to be a part of this JLA set. I look forward to that happening more AND more down the line.

JLA Pocket Heroes: Day 1 - Box set

Awesome picture, I know. Not an easy one to find online. Stare directly into the light.

This is the Pocket Heroes JLA box set, released in 2003 from the wonderful DC Direct, blessing us with quality toys since... whenever they started making them.
I do enjoy me some Pocket Heroes. I've heard people complain about them, that they're ugly. But it's what is on the inside that counts.
I just think they're really cool, throwback-ish figures. They're nearly worthless for a child to play with, but as it's more important to make toys for collectors then it is for kids, we're all good.

5 out of 7 founding heroes. Hey, that's not bad. We'll find out what happened to the other 2 tomorrow. It would appear that Ray is blue and orange there (supporting the Mets during a playoff run /choke?) but he's not. At least the one I have is appropriately colored.
Maybe he was originally painted this way because they didn't know what his getup looked like due to lack of merchandising! (zing)


Now, I'm going to complain. Slightly.

Well, we'll see.

The Atom included in a JLA box set. Great anywhere, everywhere. He's rarely included in anything other than art as far as JLA anything goes, so it's great to see and have. It's cute too, because you see... he's smaller than all of the other figures, which are already small to begin with.

Ray doesn't have another, separate packaged pocket hero figurine(Al does), so this is him represented here.
As a bonus.

Hey, spend your hard earned cash on this box set of heroes that have appeared on anything we can mass produce, and we'll throw in the little guy that stands on people made from left over aqualads.
I understand he's generally smaller than everyone else, I do get it. So it makes sense to make his figure "life-sized" as they say. I still would have liked to see him get his own. Package it with a Chronos?
Now I'm pushing it, I know. Still a little pocket slap in the face. Thanks for the bone throw guys!

Things improve tomorrow with the highly anticipated, award winning JLA Pocket Heroes: Day 2!

Atom Pocket Super Hero

I've got Sword of the Atom coming up, but I need to get one of these pocket heroes on here. Let me just say, I love these things. Love them. They're just seriously cool little figures (cool is in the eye of the beholder) from the ever so giving DC Direct.
That said, I do have a gripe with the pocket heroes line. A complaint. It's in the ball park of what I normally complain about. But I'll save it for the big Pocker Super Heroes extravaganza.

So you've got original incarnation Al Pratt here complete with bikini bottom, packaged along with Dr. Mid-Nite, which I thought was pretty cool. I mean, when they're just sitting there on the shelf, alone, while variations of Batman, and Superman, and Superman's family, and Krypto, and the GL squad go flying off the shelves... at least the Doc can see in the dark. So they won't be scared.


Very cool figures and DCD made pretty much any hero you would want, so if you haven't already, track yourself down a pocket hero. I personally have my geekfest unopened ones, and then loosies who hang around causing trouble.

First Appearance - DC Direct: Ryan Choi

No Adam Cray?

This is the toy world we live in now. It took Ray Palmer decades upon decades to get his own action figure. Think of all those kids in all those countries from all those years gone by who have longed for an Atom to call their very own. To rest upon the shoulder of some name brand hero, only to find Golden Pharaoh and Cyclotron (I'll never stop complaining).
And here we are today. Ryan Choi gets a cup of coffee as The Atom and no time is wasted in creating his very own action figure!
Series 4 was released in April (maybe) of 2007, and it featured the Atom, fancy hair and shoulder pad Aquaman, sharp and pointy monster Blue Beetle, Warlord (sure), and extremely miffed J'onn J'onzz.
Mine has yet to leave his box, but here he is ready for action: Pretty nice figure from DC Direct (would I ever complain about ANY Atom figure?), although there's little sign of the goofball Choi actually is. It'd be nice to get one with his now famous (famous?) "bangstick" that he flies around with. Soon, soon.

The more the merrier. How about Al Pratt?

The Red Tornado Shrine: Minimates!

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Red Tornado shrine!

What ever do you mean, "what the hell am I talking about?"

All right fine. This isn't the Red Tornado shrine, but as the world's finest champion (welcome challengers) of those heroes behind the heroes whom the guy on the street knows, it's time to break these things out.
Once a week (or something like that) I'll bust out with some non-Atom related merchandise, just to keep things out of control. Because that's how we roll here. So prepare yourselves for random Red Tornado, Mister Miracle, and whoever else I have gobs of stuff for sightings!

Unless everyone hates it, in which case you may file a grievance with the provided electronic mail address.

There's a fair share of John Smith figures out there, but I've chosen to start with the minimate. Why have I chosen the minimate?

I've had the same discussion several times since their inception, and it always leads back to the same question: How did they not make a "minimate" for the world's smallest superhero? It's just dumb. Hey, I love the RT mini, but does he and Ma Hunkel really make more sense then a Ray Palmer and Al Pratt pack? Sure, Ma Hunkel figures are fun. It's funny to make a Ma Hunkel figure.

In case you've just tuned in, DC direct put out minimates for everyone and their Ma Hunkel, cept for The Atoms.
This is my grievance, and it's been filed.

Aside from the whining, these little guys are pretty cool, although nowhere near as awesome as the Pocket Heroes which I'll dive into one of these days.

John Smith! Put it in the books!

DC Direct's JSA Atom action figure

Al Pratt was promised and Al Pratt was delivered!.

These are actually some very cool figures from DC Direct as they did all Atom's serious justice in the action figure world. It's a shame there isn't more Al Pratt stuff out there (or any Atom stuff for that matter), and I 100% think his Golden Age costume would have made a fine boxed plastic apron Halloween outfit.
You get both versions of him here, and it gives you a chance to see in hand held detail why his first costume is a creation for all time.
His second version of the costume is more towards the "superhero" get-up than the skinfest he was originally running around in.

Pick these up for your yourself, your child, or a fellow hobbyist, and spread the joy of fist solving justice.

Making the world a better place: With Benton enjoying the first costume's mask, and my brilliant idea of combining Al Pratt's costumes into one beast, I got all crazy. Because I know some people just can't picture that first mask on that second costume. Just can't do it. "There's no way it could work!" some would yell.
So I expertly (quality speaks for itself) cut Al Pratt 1's head off and professionally (almost looks human) pasted it on to Al Pratt 2, to show the world that it can AND will work. It already has...Nuklon? Damage? Anyone...