Package Description
When the menace known as Doomsday came to Earth, it fell to Superman to battle him to a standstill…and the death! Though it cost him his life, the Man of Steel saved his adopted homeworld. Superman’s death activated The Eradicator, an entity from Krypton, who assumed Superman’s identity and placed the body of the fallen hero in a suit designed to reignite the spark of life in the Last Son of Krypton.
Appearance
Superman’s sculpt is the large male DCUC body with a new head and cape. Even though a classic Superman was made in DCSH, the deeper blue and bright red are enough of a difference on the display shelf. The bright red and yellow give him more of a comic book appearance than the more natural tones on the DCSH Superman. Superman also doesn’t appear to be as wide as the other Superman because of the smaller chest symbol. One problem though is that the yellow of the chest symbol isn’t bright enough because it was painted on the blue plastic. Another layer of yellow may have made this figure look even better.
At last Superman can stand with his legs together in a natural stance. The color choice is great, and there’s even a dark wash on the blue areas. However, the legs look like they should be a little larger to be in proportion with his chest and arms, but the regular black Superman doesn’t share this problem. In addition, I saw four Superman’s in the store, and all four had some paint problems either on the chest symbol or on the face. On the classic Superman I picked up, there is a little bit of pain slop on the underwear line, and the eye paint is slightly off. Overall though Superman is a great looking figure on display by himself or with other figures.
Articulation
The articulation is standard for the line. The head doesn’t look up at all because of the hair, which is a drawback for flying poses. His torso can bend forward and backward nicely though. The cape only slightly limits range of motion. The cape is hard, but Superman has surprisingly little trouble balancing.
Poseability
Balance is good despite the cape. A flight stand can poke right under his cape to hold him up, although the limited range of motion in the head is still a factor. I actually didn’t like his dynamic poses much. The cape and limited head motion make his poses seem a little unnatural compared to some figures. Nonetheless he looks good fighting Doomsday or standing with other members of the Justice League. Style wise he definitely has an 80s look, and for once he might not look good with some DCUC figures. Superman’s biggest limit on poseability is actually going to be whether or not you like the style. If you like it though, he looks great on the shelf.
Final Judgment: 7
We have another great classic Superman out of Mattel, but we do not yet have a perfect one. This Superman definitely has an important place on the display shelf, but if you’re not a fan of the mullet it may be worth waiting for a re-issue. A different head and brighter yellow on his chest may make the perfect Superman someday.
SCALE
10. My favorite possession.
9. My favorite action figure.
8. One of my favorite action figures.
7. An excellent action figure.
6. A good, but not exceptional action figure.
5. An adequate action figure.
4. Not worth the money I spent.
3. I'll give it to somebody's kid.
2. I'll give it to somebody's dog.
1. It's going to lose a fight with my car.
