DCeased Flash

And you thought real-world viruses spread quickly! As mentioned before, even Lex Luthor recognized that Batman was the smartest person in the world (at least, in whatever way Lex chose to estimate such things). When the Anti-Living plague began spreading via digital communication, the first thing Bats did was switch all his monitoring systems to analog, so he could watch without being infected. The second thing he did was call the Flash family and tell them to sequester themselves, because there's no better vector for a nearly sentient virus that can spread via incedental blood contact than someone who can run a circle around the globe in just a few minutes. (Side note: that's what happened in Marvel Zombies. Mystique got infected, but her shape-shifting abilities let her hide that fact; she disguised herself as Scarlet Witch, drawing Quicksilver in close enough for her to bite him, then he took off across the ocean to nip even more superhumans. Thus, we can assume that Batman has read Marvel Zombies. Nerd.) The fact that Flash is in Series 2 of DC Direct's DCeased figures should probably clue you in that while Batman's instinct was correct, it wasn't a perfect solution. Paul Harding did the sculpting for all these zombie heads, and Flash is looking absolutely haggard. His cowl is ripped, allowing his hair to poke out, and he's got big gashes on his face. The DCeased figures were released as part of the DC Essentials line, which means they generally share a reused body with their costume elements painted on. Flash has never been one for a lot of add-on pieces, so it works for him. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this looks more like the Wally West costume than the Barry Allen one, because that was simply a better design: symmetrical belt, no wings on the boots, and angled stripes marking the gloves. The body is perhaps bulkier than a runner should be, but superheroes are often drawn as giant chunks, regardless of what their powers are. There was a normal Flash in the Essentials line, but this one would be distinct even without the howling head. The red of his costume is darker, dirtier, worn through a world where death (or at least anti-life) is spreading quickly. He's not as bloody as the other figures have been, but doesn't that make sense? Not that he's avoiding the blood, just that it doesn't show up on a red costume the way it does on green or grey or purple. There's no ignoring that big dark stain running from his throat down the right side of his chest, though! Like all the zombies, Flash gets the hands with the fingers splayed to claw at flesh, rather than plain fists or anything. His articulation is sufficient to get him into some good running poses, though we do kind of wish he had hinges in his toes so he could really look like he's pushing off. What joints does he have? A balljointed head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged chest, swivel waist, balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, swivel shins, and swivel/hinge/swivel ankles. He doesn't have any accessories, but a display stand would have been nice. DCeased Flash is one of the figures un-cancelled by McFarlane Toys, which is the only reason you can read about him today. We've always said that Barry Allen was a more interesting character dead than he ever was alive, and this toy bears that out. -- 06/22/22

Tweet