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Toys of Steel Review - DC Direct: JLA Superman Action Figure

By Jasper Lloyd Tan

Since Mattel's release of DC Superheroes, they have actually been beating DC Direct in terms of releasing action figures that actually pack a lot of action.�On the plus side, DC Direct have been known for their highly detailed sculpts.�But on the negative side, their action figures have been deemed by collectors as Mini-Statues with limited articulation. This all changed when DC Direct decided to experiment by coming up with action figures that feature more points of articulation.

In my last entry, I made mention of the premier Superman writers/artists like John Byrne, Dan Jurgens, and Jerry Ordway. For me they were three of the most influential Modern Age Superman writers/artists. But they held no exclusive rights in shaping up the Man of Steel's characterization in the 90s. Writers like Roger Stern, Karl Kesel, and Louise Simonson were as much a part of Superman as the aforementioned people. What differentiated them however was that they were purely writers only, while Byrne, Jurgens, and Ordway were both writers and illustrators. But Stern and Simonson had enough talented illustrators (names like Bob McLeod, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, and Jon Bogdanove were no slouches either)�to support their stories. What amazes me about the Modern Age Superman is that the illustrators that came after Byrne seemed to have taken their cue from him when it came to illustrating Superman. These illustrators almost share the same Superman illustrating profile. Jurgens' illustration of Superman is still for me the perfect Superman. His Superman is not too bulky. He illustrates Superman more proportionate than let's say Byrne, who illustrates his Superman with wide shoulders. Jon Bogdanove (and Tom Grummett?) on the other hand illustrated their Superman with a more defined chin. This action figure I surmise was based on Bogdanove's art because of its defined chin.

The Action Figure:

If it weren't only for the less desirable head sculpt, this would have been my favorite Superman action figure. There's really nothing wrong with the head sculpt, as it gives Superman a more menacing look, but I prefer a less antagonized looking Superman (the head sculpt of the JLA box set Superman below would have been perfect) as my default Superman action figure in my collection. This Superman's body I think was originally released as part of the DC Direct "Return of Superman" toy line. This body was reused three more times (this one, the JLA Box set below, and the Superman/Doomsday Box Set). What I love about this figure is the costume colors. It captures the early 90's Superman costume nicely. I'm not a fan of the darker toned blue tights which was popularized by the Dean Cain Superman (seen on the "Lois & Clark" TV series) and was used in the comic books after Superman's return from death.

This figure tries to rival Mattel's highly articulated action figures. The figure features a ball jointed neck and shoulders. It has swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs. It has pivot elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles. His right hand is also interchangeable with a clenched fist alternative hand. It also has a stand and an American Flag as an accessory.�Versus Mattel, it only lacks articulation on the torso and its legs do not split. But sculpt wise, this is a better looking action figure when compared to Mattel's DCSH and DCUC Superman. He is displayed as my default Superman in my Superman Family display shelf. My DCUC Superman on the other hand, stays with the Justice League shelf (as most of my JLAers comes from DCUC the toy line).

This Superman action figure is actually confusing because of the reissues and its toy line's name. The Superman pictured above is simply called "JLA Superman" (not to be confused with the Ed Benes inspired JLA Superman action figure). It was released along with Wonder Woman, Firestorm, Atom, Aquaman, Kyle Rayner Green Lantern, Elongated Man, and Flash. The Superman action figure pictured on the left meanwhile is from the JLA Box Set which featured Batman, Wonder Woman (same Wonder Woman with the JLA series but with a better head sculpt), Aquaman (hook hand), and John Stewart Green Lantern. This box set is also not to be confused with the Ed Benes one. The parent action figure that sports this body sculpt was from the "Return of Superman" toy line. This was re-issued as a single in the reactivated toy line and also re-released as a two pack with Doomsday. Overall I think there's five of these same bodied Superman action figures, with the two (both that I featured here in this review) bearing unique head sculpts against the originally released one (which shares with the two others). If only they had used the head sculpt of the JLA box set Superman on the JLA Superman, then that would have been the perfect DC Direct Superman. But alas, after this Superman was released, DC Direct went back to their mini-statue like action figures. Check out the different articulation this figure sports below.

Defining Comic Book in my collection featuring this figure:

There were actually a lot to choose from. I believe I didn't touch on the "Eradication" storyline (which featured the first appearance of the Kryptonian artifact Eradicator), the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" (Superman losing his powers), or even the "Exile" storyline (Superman exiling himself from Earth). I eventually decided to choose "They Saved Luthor's Brain" (although Bogdanove wasn't a part of this stoyline). Those aforementioned above will have their day in my future posts. I decided to pick this because it is an important storyline before we head into the "Death of Superman". Casual readers might be surprised as to why during the "Death of Superman" storyline, Lex Luthor looked younger and sported red hair and beard. This younger Luthor was actually a cloned body from the original. The original body was dying from radiation poisoning due to the Kryptonite Ring that he wore for years to keep Superman at bay. Luthor faked his own death by piloting a plane crash and had his brain removed and transferred to the cloned body. The trade paperback "They Saved Luthor's Brain" chronicled all this, giving the readers a younger and stronger Luthor. But this so called Luthor II (who was initially introduced as the son of the original Lex Luthor) did not last long. Cloned bodies had side effects that made their body rapidly breakdown as the months progressed. Lois Lane discovered the truth and finally had Luthor face his crime. But a deal with the demon Neron restored Luthor to his original health (and body), escaping his criminal trial by making an alibi that he was captured by Cadmus and cloned, blaming all of the crimes committed on the Luthor clone.

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