Here we have Red Tornado in-hand, which is a retool of the Rebirth era version of the character we got early on in the line, to my understanding. Being closer to the Bronze Age of comic books that many people would rather have, we get simpler comic details rather than having ones raised in relief, or at least ditching the belt in favor of a cross in the midriff. We also have no deco on the sides of the legs, but we have it remaining on the arms. What was once gold is now yellow (ironic because the gold is on a release that is called "Gold Label", but there may be a version of this with the mark as well, so who knows what is going on). I don't have much else to say with a simple character in solid red with yellow here and there, but apparently, the legs are supposed to have yellow stripes down the middle. I mean, some comic art has them but others don't, so either the promo art is inconsistent or the toy designers went the easy route. Whatever it's supposed to be, people need to make up their mind.
Head sculpt is possibly the same as the original, with not much else to talk about with the sculptwork when it is a blank bald man head with a yellow arrow pointing at the bridge of his nose, and some eyes with eyeliner around them to make them stand out. It's one of those head designs that is summed up with "does the job fine". His articulation is the standard affair for the DC Multiverse line, as everyone has 22 points of articulation. Same range, same blank bodies, you know the drill.
His sole accessories are the alternate hands that are gesturing at what may be yet another huge problem with this figure: the lack of bendy wires! It's already bad enough that New 52 Superman doesn't have this issue, and it's also no better when No Man's Land Batman has no wire implementation, but HOW MANY MORE FIGURES ARE GOING TO HAVE THEIR CAPES WITHOUT BENDY WIRES?! If you're not going to add one, then don't sew small spaces meant for them to go through! And don't use a ribbon material where it won't flex that easily for a vanilla pose! AND DON'T USE A FUCKING WIRE FOR THE COLLAR AND NOT ADD ONE FOR THE CAPE YOU CHEAP ASSHOLES!!!!! I wouldn't even mind them not adding a bendy wire if they went with including the tornado stand that fits the character, but nope! Minimum effort.
As for Blackfire, this figure is a reuse of the Collector Edition Starfire, which is a retool of, you guessed it, Knightfall Catwoman! While the sleeves and boots at least made sense for the younger sister, not removing the ridges for the boots and gloves results in the discrepancies in what should be a spandex suit. Another issue I have with the figure would be the lack of stability when standing her without the base. Her heels are a pain in the ass to keep her from falling over, and with the shape of her shoes, she ends up being a bitch to stand up. Not helping is the hair on the figure, nice as it may be, has a bit of weight that contributes to her toppling over at times. As for positives, the metallic paint job is beautiful, from the shiny, chrome-like silver to the colorful, petroleum-esque blue that has a slight rainbow effect under the light. And while the lack of retooling to remove the glove and boot ridges may be annoying, the proportions of the build fit the slightly older Blackfire than her sister.
Head sculpt is more or less similar to Starfire, what with both of them being sisters and all that. I like that the orange paint on the skin tone pops along with the red used for the lips and eyebrows in addition to the green eyes. I also like that the silver on her head set is picked out without any skimped areas, even with the luscious hair. Her articulation being similar to everyone else means we can go straight to her accessories: two effect parts she dubbed blackbolts, not to be confused with the Marvel Inhuman. They merely rest over the fists and don't have spaces tight enough to stay in place. You'll have to figure that out. Honestly, while not as frustrating as Red Tornado's cost cutting, Blackfire's balancing issues and retool incapabilities still hold her back. The metallic deco is nice, but you may be want to get Starfire since she has a flight stand (even if the other accessories are more or less the same).
Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Red Tornado)
⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Blackfire)
