(Another one-twelfth of) a Review: DCUC Matter-Eater Lad!

Apparently, I'm buying my Legion of Super-Heroes on the installment plan: last year we saw Timber Wolf from the MattyCollector.com Legion twelve-pack. Today, Matter-Eater Lad!

M-E Lad--real name, Tenzil Kem--is a native of the planet Bismoll, where the natives evolved the ability to eat anything. (Yeah, "evolved" should probably be in quotes there.) Matter-Eater Lad can bite through and eat even seemingly indestructible material, like it says on the label. (Mostly: eating the so-called Miracle Machine, and in the animated series, a bite of the Emerald Empress's Eye of Ekron; damaged his sanity.) He was written out of the comic at one point: his homeworld's political system wasn't based on voting, but a draft, and Tenzil was forced to return home and become a Senator.

Keith Giffen would play with that idea in the Substitute Legion special and the Five Years Later LOSH stories: with his frankly silly powers and irrelevant attitude, Tenzil seemed to be a harmless buffoon, but that may have been an act...at least in part...to allay suspicion and downplay expectations. That and his powers are surprisingly effective; and in different versions he's had acid spit or the ability to eat incredibly fast.

Oh, and the figure? Well, he's pretty standard; with the DCUC smaller, "teen" body. Most of the Legion box set figures had closed fists, one with the Legion Flight Ring, and M-E Lad follows suit. He really could've used an open hand to hold snacks. The head sculpt, though, is one of DCUC's finest, or at least funnest, as he has a bulging cheek like he's got a chaw full going. (Maybe he should've come with a spitoon...) My figure does have a slight stray mark by his hairline, but not bad.

My hodgepodge Legion of Super-Heroes continues to grow! Getting this figure made me wonder if maybe MattyCollector.com should've offered a subscription for the LOSH, but then they might not have got the case and ring...but they might've got more figures than twelve. Maybe? Actually, looking at sales figures at the Beat, Legion of Super-Heroes sales are the lowest they've been in ten years! So maybe I should be happy to have the figures I do...