Jay's Toy Shelf : DC Icons - Superman (Man of Steel)

Originally conceived in 1933 and first published in 1938, Superman has been an iconic character in both comics, movies and pop culture in general. He has undergone quite a few changes since his original concept, such as the addition of "heat vision" since 1949 and other powers. Writers ran into issues as they increased the scope of his powers, making it much more challenging to create a real obstacle for Kal-El. His origin story was given a six issue reboot in 1986 titled "Man of Steel". This became the modern reboot until the early 2000's.

All in all, this figure encapsulates the 1986 Man of Steel pretty well. He's got the basic facial features: the hair curly, high cheekbones and chin dimple. The costume is pretty spot on and he comes with Kelex, a robot who acts as caretaker for the Fortress of Solitude. There are some issues with the articulation compared to other figures released previously and after Superman's release.

I'm not usually a big superman fan but I think they did a fair job of this one. Not perfect, but decent. Too bad this one doesn't come with a smile! Issues of Man of Steel show him as a bit more...contented?

Sculpt&Paint: 7/10 Decent. The sculpt and paint is pretty good, but not excellent. He has some paint slops here and there. The eyes on mine have a red tinging issue...and it's clearly not the heat vision! The muscles and body is decently sculpted, but the biceps have a strange form and the face seems like it has strange accents in the jaw area.

Articulation: 7/10 Decent (25 points). He has mostly similar articulation for the DC icons line. The ab crunch and diaphragm swivel isn't the best. The head does move back a bit more than some, but you'd expect more for a superman figure given he should be able to look directly up. He doesn't have any kind of thigh swivel or cut joint, and no boot cut joint either which makes it impossible to turn his legs without making his ankles look odd. His hips also have a fairly ugly gap when standing.
That said, you can still get him into some good poses and his cape is a very soft plastic that doesn't limit any of his arm articulation.

Price/Availability: 8/10 Great! I've been seeing this figure at a decent discount both on Amazon and eBay (30 CAD or lower in some cases) if you're looking to complete your Justice League icons set and don't want the Rebirth 7 Pack version or to wait for an Essentials release of Superman.

Accessories: 3/5 Decent This figure comes with two punching hands, two open hands and the robot servant Kelex along with a stand. Kelex himself is well sculpted and his arms swivel. Pretty decent! If only they included a smiling face for Supes!

Fun Factor: 2/5 Just okay. This figure is definitely a solid looking superman, but it isn't as easy as it could be to pose. I find the face harder to look at up close without seeing all the flaws. Well balanced though!

Verdict: 27/40 Good. While I generally like this figure, it has a few problems that kind of detract from it being the very best it could be. It could definitely have had better head sculpt and paint, as well as better articulation for both the head and legs.