When Alex Ross paints comic book characters, he makes them larger to life to the point that they look like real people. The attention to detail is amazing and well researched on Ross’ part. So it comes as no surprise that eventually DC Comics decided to capitalize on Ross’ particular style and make a toy line out of it.

Alex Ross' Justice League Series 1 continues as characters from the Justice limited series, as envisioned by Ross, comes to life. And, of course, no hero is complete without villains to contend with and there is no one more dangerous than the renegade Green Lantern, Sinestro.


The Thin Yellow Line Means Death

Sinestro was once a member of the fabled Green Lantern Corps, and a very efficient one as well. In fact he was considered one of the greatest Green Lanterns protecting his homeworld, the planet Korugar. He was also assigned to instruct the newly recruited member, Hal Jordan. But his was on Sinestro’s world that Jordan realized that Sinestro was abusing his power ring and maintained a dictatorship over his people. Sinestro’s reasoning was to maintain order through his iron-fist rule. The Guardians of the Universe got wind of this, stripped Sinestro of his power ring, and banished him to the “anti-matter” universe, specifically the world of Qward. They hoped to humble him by putting him on a world ruled by evil. Unfortunately, this strategy backfired on them.

Sinestro came back a yellow power ring fashioned for him by the Weaponers of Qward. He quickly became a dangerous enemy to the Green Lantern Corps as their power rings cannot directly affect anything yellow.

Alex Ross’ interpretation of him in the Justice limited series is closely similar to how he looks in the old Challenge of the Super Friends cartoon. Right off the bat, there is a huge distinction to Sinestro’s body type as compared to the rest of the figures in this series. He is a very lean and mean fellow. Sculptor Tim Bruckner has taken Ross’ model sheets and really put his own stamp on it as well to show that not everybody has this great generic, chiseled-from-marble body.

The face is extremely well-sculpted showing that, even though he is humanoid in appearance, Sinestro is still an alien. His forehead is larger than most with incredibly detailing on his face and hair. The expression on his face does look he’s spaced out in some respect. He also has 11-points of articulation that seems to be the standard for this series.

The rendering of his costume is great as well. It looks simple in nature but adding little nuances such as the cummerbund around his waist gives the body a bit more definition. I also like the colouring job that’s done with even the smallest detail shown to its fullest capacity. This even means that his yellow power ring is coloured yellow. Sometimes it’s very easy to overlook such a small item on a hand but they job was done right for this figure. And his flesh tone is a nice salmon pink, a great contrast to the flesh toned colours used for the human figures. Again, this is indicating that Sinestro is an alien so there is no confusion about that.

What surprised me the most was the accessory that accompanied this figure. I would have expected yellow constructs from his power ring as acceptable accessories for this figure, if any extras were going to be included at all. Instead, Sinestro comes with a mega-rod. This is the most perplexing piece of weaponry that could ever be included for this character and it didn’t make sense to me at all. That is, until I read the comic book and then I understand why he has it. But for those who are not up-to-date with the story line, having this extra, as great as it is, will cause more eyebrows to be raised with question marks dangling over the head.

As always, I complain about the display base. They are big, clunky and very awkward. However, with this figure I’m making the exception, mostly because he actually fits on the base without any problems. No posing is needed and no fighting to get him on properly is required. Put him on the little peg and he’s set. Sinestro may look more statue-like compared to the rest of the figures in this series but at least he fits on his base. All these figures have great durability. Just keep in mind that Sinestro has a small piece of accessory that can get lost if care is not taken.


Villains Galore

I always love good villains and Sinestro is one of the best in the bunch. The Legion of Doom from the Challenge of the Super Friends cartoon is being presented in a more realistic manner, and sometimes that jarring to see unfold in front of my eyes. It’s also quite scary as to how menacing they look when all of them are put together. That is one group you do not want to meet anywhere at anytime.

Alex Ross' Justice League series is an incredibly detailed, hyper realistic vision comes to life in three-dimensional form and there is no arguing how lovely these action figures are to behold in person. He was also tried to present the iconic versions of these characters and has done a tremendous job of capturing that magnificence. In a sense, he really is creating a mythology out of this line. When it is all finally completed, this is going to be one series that will not disappoint at all. Luckily, it has only just begun.



Related Alex Ross Reviews
Artwork
Absolute Kingdom Come || Kingdom Come: The Novel || Superman: Peace on Earth || Batman: War on Crime || Shazam! Power of Hope || Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth || JLA: Liberty and Justice || The World's Greatest Super-Heroes || Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross 2006 Calendar || Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross 2007 Calendar

Action Figures
Alex Ross' Justice League Series 1
Cheetah || Flash || Superman

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 12.00
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older