Tag Archives: McFarlane Toys

#3899: The Fortress of Solitude with Superman Robot

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE with SUPERMAN ROBOT

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

Economies of scale and drifting interests in the world of action figures have almost entirely robbed us of playsets in this day and age.  They just can’t justify themselves most of the time.  Sure, we still get the odd TMNT lair, and there’s a bat cave every so often, but that’s really about it.  McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation has aimed to recapture a lot of the vibes of the vintage line, which has included a decent helping of vehicles to go with the figures.  The only thing they *hadn’t* gotten to was playsets, but they’re swinging for the fences on their last run before handing the license over at the end of the year.  Taking advantage of the hype from the new Superman movie, we’ve gotten a new Fortress of Solitude playset, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE TOYS THEMSELVES

The Fortress of Solitude Playset is part of the Superman movie tie-in portion of McFarlane’s Super Powers line.  There are two different versions of the set available: a standard release and a McFarlane-exclusive Gold Label release that includes an exclusive Superman Robot figure.  The one seen here is the Gold Label version.

The Fortress is a rather large thing, both in the movie and the comics, so there’s obviously a scaled down approach taken here.  We get sort of a slice of the Fortress’s main area, as seen in a number of the movie’s key sequences, mostly focusing on the computer area.  There’s a mixed media approach, with some sculpted elements and some cardboard pieces mixed in.  While the bulk of the crystalline structure is just cardboard, a surprising amount of the rest of it’s sculpted.  The whole central console, the base it plugs into, the chair, the two free-standing columns, and the two end crystals are all plastic.  The central console is certainly the coolest part of the whole thing, with is various buttons and screens all detailed.  The chair just sort of sits there, not actually attached, but I suppose that gives you a little more variety in how exactly you set it all up?  There’s nothing gimmicky or particularly play-related about the set, though.  It’s really just a large display for your figures, but it does that well enough.

Available only with the Gold Label release is the Superman Robot figure.  Specifically, it’s “4”, the Alan Tudyk-voiced robot that serves at the lead robot in the movie.  He’s certainly a noteworthy character, and is present in all of the film’s Fortress scenes, so his inclusion makes a lot of sense.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  His sculpt is all-new, and it’s a decent recreation of the general vibe of the design from the movie.  He’s definitely a little bit clunkier than the in-film design, but it works with the overall style of the line.  The design lends itself to toy form quite nicely, and I love how sharp the detailing is.  His paint work leans heavily into the metallic side of things, which is perhaps not truly “vintage,” since he would have almost certainly been vac metalized blue like the original Brainiac, but it does look pretty nice.  I dig that there’s a variety of different shades of blue, and I quite like how the robotic eye has been rendered.  His only extra is his little blue half-cape, which fits the vibe of the line well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t do much with playsets these days, because space is a premium and all, but I’ll admit the standard Fortress *almost* got me when they showed it off.  I came very close to pulling the trigger, but held off.  I was pretty glad about that when the Gold Label version got leaked, because I absolutely needed a 4 figure, and this let me get him in my preferred style.  The Fortress set-up is neat.  Perhaps a bit pricey for what it is, which is just a large accessory, but that’s kind of where we are.  4 is super cool, though, and I’m glad to have him.  Perhaps the only thing that could have made this set better is if they’d also included a Krypto.

#3895: Ultraman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ULTRAMAN

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

While a lot of Superman’s plot and character choices were pretty straightforward and without any crazy surprises, early set photos showed a figure clad entirely in black, with a full-face mask, whose identity was unknown.  It was eventually revealed that the character’s name was “Ultraman,” a name associated with Superman’s evil Earth-3 counterpart from the Crime Syndicate in the comics.  Rumors about the identity of the person under the mask flew about, with lots of ideas, some straightforward, and some far-reaching.  At the end, his identity is pretty straight-forward and probably the most obvious choice.  Anyway, he did get some toy coverage, so let’s look at a bit of that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman is the final single-release figure in Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, which is an entire movie-based assortment.  Ultraman is slightly quirky in his release, as he wasn’t actually shown off or put up for order at the same time as the other four figures, but he did end up shipping in the same case as the rest of them.  Perhaps it was a secrecy thing.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He’s built on the first Superman base body, which I usually have issues with the sizing on, but Ultraman had some definite bulk going on, so it doesn’t seem to out of place here.  Still not crazy about how it makes him pigeon-toed, but I’ve made my peace with that.  He gets a new head and belt.  They’re both on the simpler side, as is the style of the line, and it helps keep them batter matched up with the base body they’re placed on.  It means he’s definitely a lot more streamlined from the movie’s design for the character, which had a lot more padding, pouches, and stitching.  It makes him a little less visual interesting, and a bit more plain-Jane, but it also ends up a bit more in-style with the rest of the line.  His paint work is rather on the simple side.  In terms of coloring, they play up the slightly purple hue of his costume in the movie, which does read a bit better for vintage design than going more for black.  There’s a some minor paint detailing for the broad stroke elements of his costume design.  He gets no accessories.  An alternate head would have been cool, but also feels like it would have been impossible for a pre-film release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I ordered the other four when they first dropped, but Ultraman didn’t go up with them, so I didn’t get him immediately.  I actually forgot about him until the other four arrived, at which point I double checked and saw he was in stock and jumped on him then.  He’s…fine.  He feels more like a space filler than anything.  The character in the movie is more a plot element than anything, and I would have liked to see just about any other major character take his place here.  But, I can hardly say I dislike the figure, and I’m at the point of being happy to get any additional Super Powers, especially from a movie that has become one of my favorites in the genre.

#3891: Metamorpho – Movie

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

METAMORPHO — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

Have I mentioned how much I liked the new Superman movie?  Well, I’m gonna mention it again, because it bears repeating.  It was really, really good.  Just start to finish.  Few films have understood the DC characters the way this one did.  That extends to the quirky odd-ball characters, which includes Metamorpho, who makes his live action debut in the film, portrayed by Anthony Carrigan in his third live action DC role.  He gets to be sufficiently cool and likable, to the point that he was a favorite of both my wife and son, neither of whom knew the character prior to the movie.  I guess maybe the guy that made Rocket Raccoon a household name might have a way with quirky odd-ball characters.  Metamorpho’s been getting a definite marketing push from the movie tie-ins, which includes getting a Super Powers figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Metamorpho (Movie) was released in Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line.  He’s the fourth of the five single-carded movie tie-in figures.  Like Guy, this is Metamorpho’s second Super Powers figure, following up on a comics release from last year.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He uses a lot of parts from the comic Metamorpho, specifically the torso, arms, and lower right leg.  He gets a new head, upper legs, and lower left leg, as well as a new belt piece.  The movie’s design is ultimately pretty faithful to the classic comics look, so the re-use is pretty sensible, and the new parts help to bring him more in line with the movie’s adjustments.  I actually find myself preferring the head sculpt on this one to the comics version; it’s just got a little bit more character.  As with all of the head sculpts from these figures, the likeness isn’t really a match for Carrigan, but it’s close enough to sort of suggest him.  Perhaps the oddest part of the mix of old and new parts is that the texturing on his face disappears when you get to his neck, but other than that, things work pretty nicely.  The color work on this Metamorpho is notably a bit more desaturated than his comics counterpart.  It still very much reads as Metamorpho, though, and I’m glad that this time they did a better job of consistent paint versus no paint on similarly colored sections.  There’s a little bit of slop on the change-over from his right leg to his shorts, but otherwise the application is pretty clean.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was ultimately a little bit let down by the comics Metamorpho.  Like, he wasn’t bad, but he felt a bit more middle of the road than I’d expected.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to go for this one, since he’s a bit similar, but I opted to get the whole set, and he was along for the ride.  I’m glad I did, because not only did I thoroughly enjoy the movie’s take on Rex, but I also think this figure turned out a little bit better than the prior one.  And here I live, in this world where I have two different Super Powers Metamorphos in my collection.  Who’d’ve thunk?

#3887: Guy Gardner

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GUY GARDNER — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

I’m writing this review from the…well, okay, it’s not the distant past, but it’s a few days removed, at the very least.  What it mostly means is that I’m writing this review just a few hours after having seen Superman at the theatre.  It’s good, guys.  It’s really, really good.  The film boasts a truly impressive supporting cast, and the most colorful of that cast is the Justice Gang, which includes James Gunn regular Nathan Fillion finally in the role of Green Lantern in live action.  Of course, it’s not Hal Jordan like we’d all campaigned for, but rather Guy Gardner, making his live action debut.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guy Gardner (Movie) is part of Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, the third of the five movie-based figures in the assortment.  This is Guy’s second time in the line, following up on his comics version from last year.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s very similar to last week’s Mr. Terrific figure, using the same smaller base body and jacket piece.  The two definitely have rather different builds in the movie, and Guy should ideally be on a larger body.  But, of course, then he wouldn’t be able to share the jacket with Terrific, and that would be extra difficult, I suppose.  He gets a new head and belt as well.  They’re not bad.  The head is like the others in this set, where it doesn’t have a direct likeness, but it also doesn’t look *unlike* Fillion, so it works well within the established style and also looks unique from the non-movie Guy.  The new belt gives him his Lantern insignia belt buckle, which is a fun little touch.  Guy’s paint work is actually pretty decently handled, capturing all the main elements of the costume design, while also giving him a pretty sharp application on all the painted elements.  Guy is without any sort of accessories; the traditional extra for this line is a power battery, but he doesn’t have one in the movie, so the omission’s understandable.  That said, he does still feel rather light, especially given how heavy he is on the parts re-use.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As much of a GL fan as I am, I’ve never been much for Guy Gardner, who I am on record as stating is my least favorite Earth Lantern.  So, I didn’t get around to snagging his standard comic figure from this line.  But, I do like Nathan Fillion, and I do think Guy works in the appropriate setting.  The movie certainly put him in the appropriate setting.  The figure’s not anything tremendously ground breaking, but he’s still pretty fun, and I really have no major complaints.

#3883: Mr. Terrific

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MR. TERRIFIC — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE TOYS)

“Mr. Terrific wields his trademark T-spheres – small, multi functional metal orbs the size of tennis balls which he controls with complex hand signals.”

The JSA’s coverage in the vintage Kenner Super Powers line consisted of exactly one figure, but McFarlane’s continuation’s done a really good job of getting those numbers up.  Today’s figure is *technically* a continuation of that, in the sense that it’s Mr. Terrific, who *is* a JSA member, but also he’s a movie figure, and a modern JSA member, contrasting the otherwise Golden Age membership up to this point.  Personally, I’m taking what I can get.  I’m hard-pressed to complain about getting any version of Mr. Terrific.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Terrific (Movie) is part of Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, which is a whole assortment based on the Superman movie hitting at the end of the week.  Terrific looks poised to be a notable part of the movie, so he’s a very sensible choice.  He’s also one of two movie figures to not have a comics-equivalent already in the line, but his costume design is close enough that you could certainly use him as a comics stand-in, were you so inclined.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Terrific’s using the smaller Flash-based body, which is a decent enough match for him, at least in terms of just basic build.  It’s not a bad base body, so I can’t really knock it.  He gets a new head, jacket, and belt.  The head, much like the Superman head, has a resemblance to Edi Gathegi, but not really a proper likeness.  It’s a bit on the large side again, and I do wish that there was any sort of texturing on the hair, but it’s generally an okay sculpt.  The jacket and belt are more on the basic side, but both sit well on the body.  In terms of coloring, the figure’s got a fair bit going on.  It’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of how well things work.  I do like the logos and writing on the torso, jacket, and arms.  An unfortunate downside of this figure’s assembly, namely the visible pins at the knees in contrast to the way Kenner did it, means he winds up with rather obvious black pegs on the inner knees, which isn’t great.  I was initially going to complain about just painting over the boots as if they weren’t there, but that’s accurate to the movie, so good for them on that one, I suppose.  Accessories aren’t standard with these guys, but a T-Ball would have been cool.  As it stands, if you want anything to go with him, you’ll have to buy the T-Ship for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a fan of Mr. Terrific in general, regardless of which version.  While I was low-key hoping for a Terry Sloane to go with the other classic JSA-ers, I also don’t mind getting Michael in the slightest.  He was definitely one of my primary interests jumping into this set.  He’s perhaps not the most outwardly showy and impressive figure, but he’s still fun, and he’s a more unique design for the line.

#3879: Superman – Movie

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SUPERMAN — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE TOYS)

This month is shaping up to a pretty solid one in terms of super hero movie coverage, with offerings from both Marvel and DC hitting in the next four weeks, both aiming to refresh the companies’ respective cinematic universes.  DC is up to bat first, with their latest attempt at bringing Superman to the big screen.  There’s a pretty decent product push for this one, in contrast to the last several DC movie projects, allowing you to get Big Blue and his supporting cast in several different styles.  McFarlane’s got both 7-inch and Super Powers figures, and if you know anything about me, you can probably guess which direction I leaned on that split.  So, without further ado, here’s another Super Powers Superman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman (Movie) is part of the 12th assortment of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, which is an entire assortment dedicated to the movie.  While Super Powers has never done direct movie tie-ins previously, there were plans to do some loosely tied-in items for the Reeve movies in the Kenner days, and both Kenner and Toy Biz would use derivatives of the original molds for figures tying into the Keaton Batman movies, so it’s not entirely unprecedented.  Given the aim of the film to be more classically comic-inspired, it also seems to fit with this movie specifically.  The figure stands a little over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  At his core, he’s the same as the updated classic Superman, which makes a lot of sense.  I do really like this base body, and there’s no denying that it feels like a good extension of the vintage Kenner stuff.  He gets a new head, belt, and boots in order to help make him more in line with the new movie design.  The head is clearly modeled on Corenswet, but it’s not a direct likeness, instead being kind of merged with a more traditional Superman look, for something more “style guide” appropriate.  It does seem perhaps a touch too large for the body, but not to a ridiculous extent.  The new boots and belt modify the body to bring it more in line with the modified suit design, but still keep things a little more stripped down and clean than the actual on-screen design, which I think works a little better for the line.  He’s also got a cloth cape, which I find myself liking a lot more than previous ones; the neck clasp seems to have been made a slightly less odd shape, so it sits in place better.  His paint work is decent enough.  I like the distinct color palette, as it helps him stand out more from the other Supermen.  There’s a little bit of slop/bleedover, but nothing super noteworthy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At this point, I really am just kind of buying all of the remaining McFarlane Super Powers, in part because I just keep enjoying them, and in part because I know we’ve only got so long before there are again no more.  I wasn’t sure about movie figures, but at the same time, I knew I wanted figures from the movie, and I also knew that I’d want new Super Powers, so I guess it does sort of work out well.  Since Clark himself sold out almost immediately most places, I resorted to ordering him from GameStop, who have remained my most reliable source for these guys.  He’s neat, and I like him a lot.

#3875: Adam Strange

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ADAM STRANGE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

Behold, the original super hero adjacent hero whose last name is inexplicably “Strange!”  How about that?  Introduced in 1958, Adam Strange is a bit like John Carter in spandex, a play on a lot of classic sci-fi adventure tropes.  He’s one of two science-fiction heroes commissioned by DC that year, the other being Space Ranger, a character that just didn’t have the same staying power.  Adam, on the other hand, has remained something of a cult fixture since his creation.  He’s been sort of sparse on the action figure front, but not entirely absent, since he does have a pretty killer look.  So, let’s look at one of those figures now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Adam Strange is figure #33 in the Collector Edition sub-line of McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line.  As with most of the other Collector Edition figures, there are two versions of Adam available: a standard and a platinum edition in “stealth” colors.  The one seen here is the standard.  The figure stands just over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Strange is built on the base body that originated with the Blue & Gold boxed set, which seen a real upswing in use as the line’s progressed.  It’s a solid enough starting point, and certainly one of McFarlane’s nicest.  And, in the case of Adam, it’s a good fit and doesn’t fall victim to the same inaccuracies as some of the earlier uses.  Adam also gets a lot of new parts to transition the base body.  The box specifically calls out this figure as being based on Strange Adventures, specifically the more classically-inspired Doc Shaner illustrations from the book.  Unlike a lot of McFarlane’s supposedly directly inspired figures, Adam’s actually quite a good match for Shaner’s take on the character, especially on the head.  There are no less than four face-plates for the figure; the two more “standard” expressions really match Shaner’s work.  The masked face is pretty neat, if not exactly standard issue.  The only one I’m not crazy about is the screaming one, but they at least tried something different.  Adam’s color work is quite bright and colorful, and very eye catching.  He gets the extra panelling with the darker red, as seen in the book, and it adds a nice extra bit of flair to the figure.  In addition to the previously mentioned extra face plates, Adam also gets his blaster pistol, two pairs of hands, a display stand, and a collector card.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

McFarlane’s been really surprising me with the character choices in the last year with the license, so I can’t say I was expecting this one, but I also can’t say it was completely out of place.  Adam Strange has a fantastic, classic look, begging for some solid action figure coverage, and up until now his figures have tended to just be kind of okay.  This one’s honestly a lot better than “just kind of okay.”  He’s downright good, and the best Adam Strange figure out there.  Just a solid offering all around.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3859: Superman – The Silver Age

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SUPERMAN — THE SILVER AGE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

As we head into a year that will headline the latest Superman movie, we’re really seeing a turnaround on Superman related product.  After several years of some lackluster offerings, it’s kind of nice to see the new direction.  McFarlane’s run with the DC license started off with a heavy bat-focus, but in its final year, the company is really taking some steps to do some more interesting and exciting things for people who like the non-Bat side of the DC Universe.  We’ve been slowly getting some proper classic variants on the heavy hitters, and really the last hold out on that was the Man of Steel himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman — The Silver Age is part of the fourth “Digital” assortment of DC Multiverse figures, alongside Dr. Fate and Two-Face.  Officially, these are all under the “DC Direct” branding, but they’re clearly the same line as what’s coming directly from McFarlane.  So, one thing of note, if I can be a little pedantic for a moment: this figure is billed “The Silver Age,” when in fact he’s clearly meant to based on the artwork of Jose Garcia-Lopez.  That would *actually* make him a Bronze Age Superman, not Silver Age.  I won’t complain about getting a solid classic Superman either way, and in fact I *prefer* a Bronze Age Superman, but you know, call it what it is, right?  Okay, moving on.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  This Superman is another use of the Earth 2 Superman mold from the Crisis set, which has become McFarlane’s new standard for the Man of Steel.  It’s not hard to understand why; it’s a really solid, balanced, and clean Superman mold, and it’s by far the best version they’ve offered up during their run with the license.  This figure sports a new head sculpt, directly based on Garcia-Lopez’s drawings of the character.  It’s quite a strong sculpt.  Previous sculpts based on specific artists have struggled to really capture the feel, instead kind of forcing a bit of a “Todd” style on them, but this one is just pretty straight Garcia-Lopez, and it works really well, and also fits well on the base body.  The color work is quite bright, as it should be, and the paint work, which is mostly confined to the head and torso, is pretty sharp.  I especially like the slight accenting on the hair; it feels very true to this particular take on the character.  Superman is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and flat (same as the others on this base body), and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Look, this many McFarlane Superman reviews in, you guys have to get the general gist of where this one is going, right?  When McFarlane started with the license, and they put out that first Action Comics #1000 Superman, and it was just mediocre at best, I sort of wrote it off that we weren’t going to get a good Superman, and that was true for a bit.  But then, all of the sudden, they just kept getting better.  And now I own four of them, and they’re all great.  This one in particular does feel really definitive, though.  Like, I just look at it and think “yeah, that’s just Superman, as he’s meant to be.”  Which is one heck of a recovery from a company that started with the Superman that McFarlane did.  Crazy to see them get it so together *right* before they lose the license, but if nothing else, they gave us this genuinely fantastic Superman figure.

#3834: Lobo

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

LOBO

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

“Lobo is crude, rude and nearly impossible to kill. The super-tough bounty hunter wanders the cosmos on his space bike, flying from one assignment to another, with plenty of pit stops at local alien bars along the way!”

When I find myself in times of trouble, Todd McFarlane comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, “Super Powers”…. No?  Not working for you guys?  Yeah, I was iffy on it myself.  But, I decided to go with it, and here we are.  Congrats on getting here with me.  Today’s Super Powers focus goes a bit more modern…sort of.  Well, post-original run…sort of.  It’s a bit of a wibbly-wobbly thing.  See, it’s Lobo, who, in the form most people know, didn’t exist until the end of the ’80s.  But, he was introduced, albeit in a rather different form, in 1983.  So, you know, there’s something there, I guess.  Anyway, here’s Lobo.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lobo is the final of the “standard” release figures from Series 10 of McFarlane’s Super Powers.  He’s another new character for the style, and honestly, on the rather short list of proper Lobo figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  First and foremost, this figure is *huge*.  Like, the largest Super Powers figure thus far.  Lobo is traditionally a larger character, but not usually to this level.  I mean, he towers over Darkseid.  That feels a bit off.  But, hardly terrible.  Lobo re-uses the torso from Kilowog, along with an all-new head, arms, and legs.  It’s not a bad sculpt, and it certainly looks the part, but it doesn’t really feel like it matches the usual Super Powers aesthetic.  So, he sort of just exists a bit as his own thing.  I don’t hate it, but it’s different.  The vest is cloth, which is a nifty touch, and is the one thing that definitely feels like it’s trying for the Super Powers aesthetic.  Lobo’s color work is respectable enough.  He’s definitely got some DCAU vibes on the palette, which I definitely don’t mind.  The paint application’s basic and clean, and does generally what it needs to. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been a *huge* Lobo fan.  To date, the only figure I’ve ever owned of him was the Minimate, and that was largely because he came with Ambush Bug.  I do like his DCAU appearances well enough, so I don’t hate him outright.  I wasn’t sure I was gonna get this guy when he was announced, because he doesn’t quite feel like he fits the general vibe of the line.  But, I ultimately decided I’d rather get him and not potentially regret missing him later.  He’s decidedly a different vibe than the rest of the line, but I think it works okay, and he’s still a very fun figure.

#3831: Superman – Classic Animation (1940)

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SUPERMAN — CLASSIC ANIMATION (1940)

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

Back to DC?  So soon?  Well, I regret to inform you that it’s *not* Super Powers today.  But, I do think it’s still pretty cool, and it concerns one of my other areas of interest, animation!  I’ve touched only briefly on Fleischer Studios here on the site.  They were a pioneer in the field of animation, rivaling Disney during the golden age, and in many ways beating them to the punch on a lot of things.  They had a great deal of success with their in-house properties, but also got into the adaptation game in 1933, when they began a run of shorts starring Popeye.  In 1941, their main financial backer Paramount had purchased the rights to Superman, and proposed a series of animated theatrical shorts.  Not initially wanting to take on the gig, Fleischer asked for an insane $100,000 a short, but when Paramount countered at $50,000, they accepted.  The result was not only one of the finest pieces of animation to come out of the golden age, but also an incredibly influential take on the title character, inspiring the likes of Alex Ross and Bruce Timm, as well as adding the power of flight to the character’s roster of abilities.  The rights for the shorts have been all over the place, and they ultimately went into the public domain back in the ’60s. Toy coverage for the shorts has been generally scarce. Mezco did a 5Points set a few years ago, and there was a statue from DC Direct. It’s McFarlane that finally gave us some figure coverage, first as a Super Powers redeco, and now as a proper 7-inch figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman is a standard-sized release from McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line.  He’s not a single, instead being rolled into a larger assortment with a couple of unrelated characters.  Though referred to by *everyone* as “Fleischer Superman,” he’s officially titled “Classic Animation (1940),” with no specific studio mention.  In a way, this actually makes him more accurate than you might think, as only 9 of the 17 shorts were actually produced by Fleischer, with the other 8 being done by their successors at Famous Studios after Fleischer dissolved.  On the flipside, though, it specifies 1940, when the cartoons didn’t start their run until 1940.  Also, all the illustrations are specifically comic-based, so the whole thing is likely some sort of legal thing.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Superman is built on the Earth-2 Superman mold from the Crisis set.  He was originally shown on the Action Comics #1000 mold, which isn’t great, but Todd actually listened to fan feedback and moved him to the more recent set-up.  I gotta say, I really like it.  It’s quite clean and the proportions are pretty well balanced.  It also especially works for this era of the character.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is quite solid.  It’s a good match for the animation, not being too simple or too detailed, and it sits really well on the body.  He gets a cloth cape, which is fairly similar to the one on the Reeve Superman.  It’s a solid work, and the wires are quite strong, which is great for posing.  His color work does a pretty respectable job matching up to the colors from the cartoons.  The paint’s a bit minimal, but it does what it needs to.  I particularly like the squinty eyes.  Superman is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and flat, as well as a display stand and a card with decidedly not Fleischer Superman on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a huge Fleischer fan, because, as noted above, I’m something of an animation geek.  The Superman cartoons are really their finest work, and remain favorites of mine.  I almost went for the Mezco figures, but they were out of my price range at the time they jumped.  I got the Super Powers figure, and he’s fine, but not really on the mark.  This one was one I knew I wanted immediately.  He’s genuinely the best Superman McFarlane’s put on the market, though that’s admittedly a more loaded statement than it used to be, because suddenly they figured out to make a Superman right before the end?  I don’t know, but I’m loving it.