Mafex Medicom Superman - Batman Hush

 

Superman in Batman Hush plays in another bizarre event in the comics. Amongst all of Batman's rogue gallery, all of whom are acting strangely, Superman adds to the list. Poison Ivy has managed to use her pheromonal control and is manipulating Superman into killing Batman. Batman notices that Superman is subtly resisting Ivy's control, and after a classic Batman v. Superman fight, triggers him into wrestling control back. He gets Catwoman to drop Lois off a building. Jeez. Anyway, so he breaks free from Ivy's control to save her, so good thing that worked! 

I only own a few Superman figures, but this is my favourite. It has all the classic look with lots of poseability, a wired cloth cape, and a few different head sculpts. The proportions are nice, and the paint is really clean. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Superman - Dark Knights: Death Metal

In the Dark Knights: Death Metal storyline, Perpetua is freed from her prison and takes over the Multiverse. Many DC heroes are locked up in New Apokolips, Superman being one of them. As Wonderwoman comes to rescue him, she finds him changed. The Dark Father has imprisoned him to power the sun, whilst using the Anti-Life equation to weaken him. Normally Superman is resistant, but with a constant drain on his powers, while being used as a human battery, he is vulnerable. It isn't explained very well, but it seems he has absorbed or taken over by the Anti-Life equation, making his arm undergo some metamorphosis. 

This changed version of Superman only lasts for the comic run, at which point the multiverse is restarted, kicking off the ending and the Future State storyline. I do like his design and rocker aesthetic that goes well with Death Metal Batman and Wonder Woman. I do think that because of some missed paint areas and a head that is perhaps too unSuperman looking, he is the weakest figure in the Dark Father set. It's a mix of just off painting and sculpting with it kind of not being impressive enough on its own. I'll be honest, I wouldn't have bought this. My main reason is I wanted 3 out of 4 of the wave and figured one more would allow me to build the figure, which, might as well if you only need another couple of pieces to complete! 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse : Infected Superman - Batman/Superman Vol 2 (2019)

Following parallel storylines with the Dark Knights: Metal stories, The Batman Who Laughs has created batarangs for some of DC's heroes with a Joker Toxin that creates corrupted versions of these heroes. These are for Blue Beetle, Jim Gordon (why), Donna Troy, Shazam, Supergirl, and Hawkman. The members infected, like King Shazam, soundly beat the snot out of Superman and Batman in a feat of cunning that is not usually Shazam in nature. In order to infiltrate these Secret Six, Superman purposely infects himself with the toxin to learn of The Batman-Who-Laughs plans. You can see how this isn't a great plan! 

The figure is great though. I don't know how close this is to the Superman #1000 from McFarlane produced at the beginning of this line, but I like it! It's got a very solid, bulky chest, and proportions that scream superman. The cape is plastic and pretty solid (oh well), but the look is awesome. I'm tempted to get the 1000 Superman just to compare notes and to have a non-Dark knights metal Superman for him to face off.

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?