Here we have Sinestro in-hand, who reuses the same style of textured Lantern body buck I believe was first used on the Plastic-Man BAF-wave version of John Stewart. It's been used mostly on other Lantern characters, and even a different take on Hal Jordan Green Lantern with a classic suit despite there being a Digital version using the Blue Beetle body buck. The blue and black costume combo may not be what some would expect from a Yellow Lantern, but it's mostly from the time when DC had yet to establish which colors go with specific emotions. The suit he wears here was later retconned into a civilian outfit, which makes the texturing more fitting than the Lantern suit. That being said, while I appreciate that the paintwork isn't fuzzy or faint on the black when applied onto the blue upper body and shoulders, I think the points may not be as fully symmetrical as I would hope. Proportions are fine,n though the shoulders do appear a little big compared to the torso. Either that or it's how high the head sits in top. Thankfully, the belt, despite being painted on, isn't sloppily applied.
Head sculpt is looks pretty good, and I love that they didn't make the skin color too dull or oversaturated. The eyebrow deco at the outer side could be better painted if you look up close, though. At least the head appears to be new rather than reused. As expected, the articulation is the same as with almost every McFarlane DC Multiverse figure since the beginning. The effect part set up is new to my knowledge, so it can be either with the part covering the left arm where the Lantern ring is worn, or it can be accompanied with a swoosh effect part where he can punch or be in mid-motion with a glowing attack.
Like most Lantern Corps figures, he comes with a lantern that holds his power, this time cast in clear yellow plastic. Almost looks like a pitcher full of lemonade from the distance, but it can be piss if you're that nasty...and suddenly, I'm reminded of when ForrestFire101 had Hal Jordan say he stays hydrated so his urine stays clear given yellow is his weakness. Annoyingly, the handle is a bit more flexible than I'm comfortable with, and getting it in his hand isn't that easy given the trigger finger grip of said hand combined with the necessity of flexing the hand somewhat for it to go in. Even then, it doesn't feel that secure given how much it likes to flop around. Next to his former student, he appears to be slightly taller than Hal Jordan. The scale seems right to me given the villain himself is a few inches taller than his rival in-universe. For what it's worth, I find Sinestro to be a fairly good purchase. Some alternate hands would be appreciative, but at least he has accessories unlike his fellow Legion of Doom member in this same wave...
As for Brainiac, he is a reuse of the Blue Beetle body mold, and is in his classic yet goofy design from his Silver Age debut. This includes hot pink, black underwear, and bare legs with as much skin showing as on classic Dick Grayson Robin. If Superman really wanted to defeat him, giving him an atomic wedgie or bullying his outfit would have scarred Brainiac, yet that wouldn't be following the "Punkrocker Code of Hopecore Conduct" now would it? The colors seem to be at least accurate in terms of the right shades associated with the classic comic art, and at least he comes with a new collar and belt, the former thankfully not being reused from someone like Plastic-Man. That said, other than the color scheme, not much else to say about him compared to his later redesigns.
His head sculpt has a lot going for it; while I love the deco around the bald cranium's cybernetic headpiece, but something about the face makes him look more realistic than normal. I guess they wanted to match the comic cover where he shrank Superman and his friends, the same one where he appeared slightly more detailed in terms of facial structure. Maybe it's the alien nature of his head combined with the eyebrow thickness that makes him appear realistic, but it fits the uncanny nature of him. Articulation is same, but having no accessories is beyond lame. It's one thing if this was Azbat, who was at least a decently intricate sculpt and was able to carry himself without accessories, but this could have come with a shrink ray device or some other kind of weapon associated with him! Maybe a handful of shrunken characters based on that same comic cover I mentioned would be great, especially knowing we have a tiny Superman from the old Page Punchers line that came with Godzilla! As it stands, he ponders why McFarlane shafted his value for money compared to everyone else.
It is cool that this comic cover is used, complete with the text bubbles with lengthy dialogue synonymous with this era of comic writing, but seeing how Brainiac used a defense layer to keep Supes from punching him, I bet Todd used this as an excuse for people to not be mad at the lack of accessories. Other than that, I am grateful to have the McFarlane weapon accessory pack, but I know not everyone has that set. I hate to say this, but screw them for making this figure feel like a filler release meant purely for completing a Legion of Doom display than making it worthwhile by itself!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Sinestro)
⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Brainiac)
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