Super Friends Wave 6 McFarlane DC Retro Figure Reveal

McFarlane Toys has revealed Wave 6 of their DC Retro Super Friends line, and while the three figures shown look great, the wording of their official post has me a little concerned. The reveal, showcases The Joker, Apache Chief, and The Atom, all in that familiar 6-inch scale Super Friends style, with preorders set to go live September 4th at select retailers. Now here’s the thing…previous waves in this line have typically featured six figures, but McFarlane’s post specifically says the wave “features” these three characters, and there’s no mention of additional reveals to come. If this really is a three-figure wave, that’s pretty disappointing, especially when you consider how many key characters are still missing from the Super Friends roster. Fans in the comments were quick to point that out too, with names like Scarecrow, Solomon Grundy, Gorilla Grodd, and Giganta all getting called out as glaring omissions. I’m holding out some hope that maybe McFarlane is just revealing these three first and will follow up with the rest of the wave closer to the preorder date, because that would make a lot more sense for what many collectors assumed would be a full six-figure assortment. But if this is it, and if this turns out to be the final wave, leaving so many iconic characters on the table feels like a missed opportunity for a line that’s been doing a solid job filling out the Super Friends universe. I guess we’ll know for sure when September 4th rolls around and we see what actually goes up for preorder.

Wave 6

McFarlane brings The Atom, The Joker, and Apache Chief together for Wave 6, and I really like how cohesive the trio looks while still preserving the very different designs of their Super Friends animated counterparts. The Atom sticks closely to his clean red and blue costume and classic heroic proportions, while The Joker adds a burst of personality with his exaggerated grin, purple suit, yellow vest, and green hair. Apache Chief rounds out the group with his long black hair, orange headband and sash, brown vest, and muscular bare-chested design. Seeing all three side by side really shows how McFarlane is continuing to lean into the simple shapes, bright colors, and unmistakable Hanna-Barbera aesthetic that defines this line.

The Atom, Ray Palmer, was a recurring member of the Super Friends who used his scientific knowledge and size-changing abilities to shrink himself down to microscopic proportions while retaining his strength. McFarlane’s figure pays very close homage to his animated appearance, recreating the simple red and blue costume with the large red triangular chest design, red gloves and trunks, blue boots, and matching blue cowl. I really like that they resisted the temptation to add a bunch of modern detailing here, because the clean costume lines and straightforward color blocking capture the Hanna-Barbera design nicely. Even the portrait has that squared-off, clean-cut Super Friends look, while the small atom symbol on his forehead gives the figure one of the character’s distinctive details from the cartoon.

Apache Chief was created specifically for the Super Friends cartoon and joined the team in 1977, with the ability to dramatically increase his size and strength, typically growing to around 50 feet tall by speaking his transformation phrase. McFarlane has done a nice job sticking closely to that Hanna-Barbera appearance, with the figure sporting his long black hair, orange headband and neckpiece, brown open vest and loincloth, wide orange sash, wristbands, and tall brown boots. I especially like how clean and simple the sculpt is because it preserves those broad animated proportions, including the muscular bare torso and squared facial features, making him look like he stepped right out of the cartoon.

The Joker was one of the recurring villains of the Super Friends universe, bringing his familiar arsenal of jokes, tricks, and elaborate schemes into the Hanna-Barbera series. McFarlane really captures his distinctive cartoon appearance with the purple suit and gloves, yellow vest, green shirt, oversized black bow tie, chalk-white face, bright red lips, and slicked-back green hair. I especially like the head sculpt here because the exaggerated eyebrows, wide grin, pointed chin, and swept-back hair translate the animated portrait surprisingly well into three dimensions. The slightly oversized jacket and straightforward costume detailing also keep him firmly rooted in that wonderfully simple Super Friends aesthetic rather than making him look like a more modern interpretation of the Joker.