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Toys of Steel Review - Mattel: DC Superheroes Superman

By Jasper Lloyd Tan

In 2006, Mattel decided to release an action figure toy line to rival that of Toybiz/Marvel Comics' highly detailed and articulated six inch action figures from the Spider-man toy line. Mattel had been enjoying their own success with their 6 inch Batman toy line, but Toybiz beat them to the punch by offering action figures featuring multiple points of articulation that was never before seen in six inch form. Mattel's DC Superheroes became their answer.

When their six inch Batman toy line began featuring�Superman in their�Batman/Superman two pack, it was inevitable that characters that belong to the Superman family (Supergirl/Linda Danvers, Supergirl/Kara Zor-El, Clark Kent, Steel, Battle Suit Lex Luthor, Robot Brainiac, Bizarro, Doomsday, Darkseid, Parasite, Mongul, and Cyborg Superman) would make an appearance. Superman was released with repaints that featured his different costumes (post "Our World's at War" costume that featured a red and black S shield, all-black-costumed Superman Prime, as well as a variation of the "Hunter Prey" Superman costume) during the 2000s. Batman also shared this toy line as his rogues gallery were also released through this line. This toy line proved such a success that DC decided to rebrand this toy line as DC Universe Classics and even expanded to include the whole of the DC Universe. This figure quickly became one of the best Superman figures that I ever had. I've never held such an awesome Superman action figure that has a full range of articulation that can give you hundreds of action poses. I'm not sure though where they based this Superman figure from. He looks like a generic Superman figure. The latter part of the 90s saw a number of rotating artists, as Dan Jurgens was on his way out. This was released in the mid 2000s, but the Superman comic books of the 2000s only saw success when Jeph Loeb started writing the stories and Ed McGuinness' bulked up yet cartoonish Superman became the defining image of the 2000s Superman.

With that said, being a generic representation of Superman, nothing about this figure is really "generic" or representational of Superman during the 90s. The latter part of the 80s saw John Byrne establishing his visual representation of Superman, those who succeeded him when he left retained an almost similar illustrating style. The quintessential Superman of the 90s was mostly defined by Jerry Ordway and Dan Jurgens (along with Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, and co.). Both of these writers/illustrators steered Superman's story direction in the same way that John Byrne handled Superman as both writer and illustrator. Jerry Ordway was one of the main architects of the revamped Superman along with John Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman. Wolfman's departure paved the way for Ordway to start writing Superman stories. This kind of setup he would share with John Byrne as both of them handled the writing and illustrating duties. Byrne's departure meanwhile paved the way for Dan Jurgens to take over as both writer and illustrator for one of the Superman books. Significant events of Superman in the 90s such as his revelation to Lois about his dual identity as Superman and Clark Kent, Clark's marriage proposal to Lois, the Superman lead DC Universe epic crossover "Panic in the Sky", and the highly controversial "Death of Superman" was mostly co-written by Jerry Ordway and Dan Jurgens (along with Roger Stern and co.). These stories defined the Modern Age Superman.

The Action Figures:

I initially was able to purchase the single pack Superman but would later dispose of it in favor of the Superman/Clark Kent two pack. One of the main problems collectors have with the single pack Superman is the wide stance that it sports. It is annoying as it makes it appear that Superman is doing a leg split stance. Luckily, Mattel would rectify that problem in the Superman/Clark Kent two pack. I initially didn't take notice of that problem until I began reading in toy forums about that problem.�And also, getting a Clark Kent figure was on top of my priority list.�So upgrading my figure with the two pack was a no-brainer. While I fell in love with the first 6 inch Mattel Superman from the Batman two-pack (which I actually did not buy at that time), this one for me was the more perfect one. Of course more articulation is the primary reason. This features a ball jointed neck and shoulders, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, pivot torso, hinged elbows and knees, double pivot hips and ankles. This type of articulation became the standard articulation for Mattel's 6 inch toy lines that were a spin off of this toy line. What keeps me from making this the best Superman in my collection is the costume colors. I always preferred Superman's costume with a lighter shade of blue. Actually there is no one perfect Superman figure in my collection because each one of them has problems. Currently, it has to be a toss up between this figure, a DC Direct JLA Series 1 Superman (hated the head sculpt but they got the right costume colors), and the DC Universe Classics Superman (which sports a darker shade of blue costume that he wore during the post death and return mullet haired period). There could have been one, but Mattel pulled the plug on releasing that one.

Clark Kent is included in this review because he came with this figure as a two pack. I'm actually glad that I was able to acquire this one because he seems to be rare nowadays. Clark shares the same articulation with Superman except that he has no torso articulation. The business suit obstructed that articulation. This body type was re-released in the DCUC toy line for figures that sports a business suit (Two Face and Riddler). This could have been a great Clark Kent figure except that Mattel made him look too skinny. When displayed side by side with Superman, it makes Superman's transformation to Clark Kent impossible. How can he hide those muscles in this fitting wardrobe? But nevertheless, I'm glad Mattel did make a Clark Kent figure. Except for the overly skinny body when compared to the DCSH Superman, this Clark Kent is spot on. The eyeglasses are not removable though. He is also much better when compared to the Bruce Wayne figure that Mattel previously released in the Batman toy line. That Bruce Wayne sported the same articulation with the Zipline Batman. It's disappointing though that Mattel never really made a Lois Lane figure. But hey, being a Superman fan, It's only fair to be disappointed when you don't get to own a Jor-El, Lara, Pa Kent, and Ma Kent figures. It's a good thing that DC Direct was able to release action figures of the Daily Planet staff (Silver Age versions of Lois, Perry White, and Jimmy Olsen) as seen below.

Defining Comic Book in my collection featuring this figure:

There were notable stories in the early 90s that need mentioning. There's "Exile" (Superman exiles himself from Earth), there's "Eradication", the Kryptonian artifact Eradicator's attempt at making Superman more Kryptonian than human. There was the Supergirl Saga, which introduces a new Supergirl, Clark's marriage proposal to Lois, the time traveling adventure "Time and Time Again", and others. But one of the best story arcs before the famed "Death of Superman" storyline was "Panic in the Sky". Here, Superman assembles DC Universe's finest heroes as they ward off Brainiac's Earth invasion. The story is epic in proportion because we get a first glimpse of the Modern Age Superman's leadership. Of course there were already crossover stories preceding this, but those were not as Superman centric as this one. I initially missed this collected trade when it first came out. It took me 20 years to finally acquire one. In this story arc, Brainiac takes control of Warworld and sets his sights on Earth as his new target for his collection of alien civilizations. Outnumbered by the sheer volume of Brainiac's army, Superman enlists the help of various DC superheroes as well as his arch nemesis Lex Luthor. Brainiac had several of the heroes under his mind control, creating one epic clash pitting superheroes against superheroes. In the end, Superman and his allies proved victorious as they successfully defeated Brainiac, but at the cost of the life of Draaga, a former Superman foe who inspired by Superman, changed for good in this story arc. A lot of the major plot points during the close of the 80s and the opening of the 90s were resolved in this storyline. I'm glad that after 20 years, I was finally able to own this trade paperback collection.

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