The next figure up for review in the DC Universe Classics Series 5 assortment is everybody's favorite little man, The Atom. Ray Palmer is a great character that's one of my favorite JLA members of any age and this figure is a nice simple version that suits the character well, but Mattel made one big mistake: not including a miniature version!

Sculpt

  There just isn't a whole lot to say about Atom sculpt. Like most characters in the DCUC line, he's using a basic buck body. Mattel just uses 3 standard bodies for 80% of the characters, and we see one here. That isn't somthing that bothers me, because this is just a great basic body sculpt. It has accurate muscle proportions, looks good from all angles and works for a variety of costumes. The only unique thing about Ray's sculpt is his head, which is a nice piece as well. He has a welcome expression with a dimbled chin and a slight smirk. His mask is also actually sculpted instead of just painted which is a good touch. His ears also look great. 

Sculpt Score: 7 / 10 - Really basic body sculpt that works well despite simplicity. Great head sculpt with perfect expresison for the Atom.

Paint

The Atom has a relatively simple costume featuring only two colors. It's one of my favorites because it's so simple and still manages to look good. This figure carries that over straight from the comics with a great color pairing. These super dark or super bright colors like some DCUC characters have and they both look great together. The blue is a little bit lighter than normal and just looks great. The applications are generally pretty good with tight lines at his boots and gloves, but there is some color bleed on the point of his chest, making an almost purple color where the edges meet. His face is painted well with delicately done eyes and good mask coloring. His ears are skin colored and stick out of his costume which is fine for the right ear, but there is a bunch of slop near his left ear where it's overpainted. 

Paint Score: 7 / 10 - Great colors, generally good applications and face work. A little bleed on the chest and some slop on the ear.

Articulation

This figure was another welcome respite from all the terrible articulation woes Mattel has been plaguing us with. Every single point works nicely on The Atom, even his hips. There is a pretty decent number of points as well allowing him to pose and play in a variety of ways. He doesn't have insane articulation but it gets the job done like most other DCUC figures. The one great thing about his articulation and DCUC articulation in general is that it doesn't destroy the sculpt's appearence. Some articulation just ruins sculpts yet they've managed to balance him nicely, still retaining articulation and looks. 

Articulation Score: 9 / 10 - Plenty, although not excessive number of joints, everything worked smoothly, doesn't mess with sculpt.

Fun

The Atom would be a super fun figure if he could actually shrink somehow. Considering we're probably a few hundred years away from that technology, I would have settled for a miniature version of Ray. Something less than an inch with no articulation would've please me. A few different sizes would have been even better, so you could simulate him shrinking. I guess we could pretend he actually came packaged with an atom sized version, just that no one has been able to find it. Pull out your microscopes! He's just a standard human character that won't scream fun to a kid and he doesn't offer anythig new to a collector. A total lack of accessories doesn't help either. The only thing making Ray a little more fun is his articulation, but even that can't turn around a boring character. 

Fun Score: 6 / 10 - Okay costume design, just a boring human, no shrinking powers (or even tiny versions), no acessories, great articulation is always fun.

Value

Atom is just a standard sizes figure, and for $12 that alone might not be enough. He doesn't include any accessories to up the value, but he is very well made with high quality control (I wouldn't bet they're all that way) who does include a big piece to a huge build-a-figure. Since that means you're getting 1/5th of a $20+ extra figure, Atom starts to look worth it a little more all the time. He's a solid, durable feeling figure, and I wouldn't hesitate to spend $12 on him again.

Summary

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Overall Score: 74 / 100 - This is a Good Toy

The Atom is a character I love and this figure manages to almost do him justice. With strong articulation, and pretty solid scores across the board he is worth the money and his spot in the DC Universe Classics line.

-The Articulated One