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Toys of Steel Review - Mattel: DC Universe Classics Superman

By Jasper Lloyd Tan

Mattel made their second go round of a highly detailed and articulated six inch Superman action figure through the DC Universe Classics toy line. Since they had already released one before via the�DCSH line, Mattel opted to release the long-haired Superman version (post Death and Return of Superman) with the Black Recovery Suited Superman as the variant one (or is it the other way around?) instead. But due to the demands of the DCUC fans, Mattel eventually released the regular haired one, first via a two pack set with Brainiac with Superman sporting red eyes, and then as part of the 5-pack Gotham City Box Set with Batman, Lex Luthor, Catwoman, and Riddler with this one featuring the normal eyes. This figure was also released in the future as a single pack in the re-issued wave called DC All-Stars wave, as well as in a two pack with He-Man for the DC Universe versus Masters of the Universe two packs.

So is this the best 6 inch Superman figure? Maybe and maybe not. But for sure this has got to be the best highly articulated 6 inch Superman in my collection. Saying that is a no-brainer because DC Direct's figures are not as durable nor as articulated as Mattel's. Mattel also improved their Superman by fixing the wide-legged stance of the near perfect DCSH Superman. But what makes me love this figure more is that the Four Horsemen (the main sculptors of the DCUC toy line) might have taken inspiration in creating this Superman from Dan Jurgens' Superman art. I'm not sure if this is so, but personally for me, this is the Dan Jurgens Superman in my collection.

Now let me state this again, Dan Jurgens is my all time favorite Superman writer/artist. Yes, being a fan of the Modern Age Superman, John Byrne should have been the most logical choice, but I've always liked Jurgens' Superman stories better. His stories are always action packed and were more suitable to my tastes. He is the creator of the DC Superhero known as Booster Gold and was also the man responsible in creating Doomsday (the brute force that killed Superman) and Cyborg Superman (a.k.a Hank Henshaw). Jurgens was one of those who took over the Superman titles from John Byrne and was one of the main architects of Superman's stories post John Byrne. He is responsible for giving us such classic stories as Superman: Panic in the Sky, The Death and Return of Superman, Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey, Death of Clark Kent, DC Crossover Series Zero Hour, Superman Blue/Red, Superman vs. Aliens, and a number of other Superman stories, spanning a 10 year career as both Superman writer/artist. In fact, the bulk of my Superman collection is from him. I even bought his entire 6 issue run of the New 52 Superman (even though I hated the rebooted Superman) because I wanted to check out his take on the New 52 Superman (Superman might have appeared different, but his writing style is still very much the same).

The Action Figures:

DC improved this Superman largely when compared to the DCSH Superman (check out my earlier review of that figure). Among the changes; the wide-legged stance is gone, the "S" shield on Superman's chest is now smaller, the head sculpt looks less chiseled, and he also now comes in a darker shade of blue. This change in color hue is due to the fact that this figure was originally released as the long-haired Superman. Superman sported the darker shade of blue after his return from death. This may have been to parallel the costume colors of the live action Superman TV series at that time called "Lois & Clark". This exact Superman figure (short haired one) was released so many times that I've now lost count. But there were only two significant versions released featuring this figure.

It was initially released sporting red eyes as a two-pack with Brainiac and followed with a regular-eyed one in the Gotham City 5-pack box set. There was a significant third one but it went unreleased. That third one could have been the perfect Superman action figure in 6 inch scale. It shared the same exact head and body sculpt but it sported a lighter shade of blue (see picture of the comic book here), reminiscent of the Pre-death of Superman costume. I'm kicking myself now for not buying that one when I once saw it on the overrun bins. I thought that it would eventually be released as a two-pack with Bizarro as per Mattel's original plans. But alas, it went unreleased. What keeps both the DCSH and this DCUC Superman from being perfect is the costume colors. DCSH had a purplish color on his costume�while DCUC had the post Death of Superman costume.

Now for the action figure proper, DCUC basically shares the same articulation with DCSH except for the rocker ankles. The same features can be found here; a ball jointed neck, ball hinged shoulders, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, pivot torso, hinged elbows, knees, and ankles, and double pivot hips. Mattel must have thought that the rocker ankles were no longer needed because it can already stand straight. Whereas compared to the DCSH Superman, the wide legged stance made it difficult for the figure to stand without the rocker ankles. The head sculpt is also much more refined compared to the DCSH Superman because The Four Horsemen decided to do away with the more chiseled look that DCSH had, giving this Superman figure a much more smoother appearance. The cape is also significantly shorter than that of the DCSH Superman. The DCUC Superman's red colors also looks much closer to the comic books when compared to DCSH Superman's maroon hued colors. I really wanted this to be the perfect Superman figure but his darker shade of blue prevents me from calling this as the definitive 6 inch Superman. If only I bought that unreleased DCUC Superman with the lighter shade of blue...(more comparison photos and action shots below).

Defining Comic Book in my collection featuring this figure:

I decided to review this figure ahead of the long-haired one because I wanted to put him in sync with perhaps the most shocking comic book event of the 90s, The Death of Superman. The Modern Age Superman (after making it through the half decade mark from the relaunch) was killed by his writers and editors. The Superman editor and writers at that time decided to kill the Modern Age Superman when their story direction hit a dead end. Since the late 80s, DC and its writers and editors were building up a story plot centering on the progressing romantic relationship between Superman and Lois Lane. The 90s was supposed to be the marked date for their imminent wedding, but the highly successful Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV series ruined their plans. Time-Warner TV executives already made plans to have Lois and Clark/Superman get married on their TV show, leaving the DC Comics Superman editorial board in disarray. With no other existing story lines to choose from (and with the Superman comic books losing their appeal), the editors and writers decided to just kill Superman. And the plotting was on. Superman writers Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Karl Kesel and editor Mike Carlin plotted on a multi year event that would bring about the Death, the World Without, and the eventual Return of Superman.

For the past few years (since John Byrne left), the world had been taking Superman for granted, so the writers and editors decided to write a story about a world without Superman. Kicking off that event was The Death of Superman. Jurgens created a brute monster called Doomsday as the main adversary of Superman in his battle for his life. Doomsday had little to no back story at this point. He just came out of nowhere (in an underground prison) and began a path of destruction. Laying waste to anything within reach. The Justice League of America (at that point was mainly composed of lower tier superheroes such as Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Bloodwynd, and Maxima) responded to a distress call and went up against an unstoppable force, with them being thoroughly destroyed easily by Doomsday. Superman responded to the League's call for help and went on an interstate slug fest with Doomsday. Key structures and organizations in the 90s that the Superman writers established such as War World and Cadmus were not spared as Superman and Doomsday's battle left these organizations in shambles. The destruction though had to end in Metropolis (Superman's adopted city). With Doomsday reaching the Metropolis city limits, Superman decided that it was time to give it his all. With his family and friends watching, Superman made his final stand and engaged Doomsday in an all out brawl. Matching the monster's fury against his own. Mustering all their strength, Superman and Doomsday delivered death blows against each other. Both died on that day. But more than Doomsday's death, it became the day that Superman died.

The Death of Superman was mostly acknowledged as a comic book company's gimmick of killing its Superhero to garner sales (a line of thinking that I guess came from bitter comic book value speculators). The Death of Superman brought in curious non-comic book readers to speculate and buy the comic books thinking that these copies would someday be worth something, but they got it wrong. The Death of Superman nearly brought the Death of Superhero Comic Books (which is actually apt because Superman started the whole Superhero genre). Speculators (who should have speculated on stocks share than comic books) went on a buying spree, speculating on the next big thing. The Death of Superman sold more than 2 million copies, many coming from speculators. This sales volume made DC, Marvel, and Image comics produce comic books catered to the speculator market. They started to overproduce from the normal volume. This overproduction caused a lot of comic book shops to lose money because of the unsaleable copies/inventories that they carried. The comic book industry nearly went bankrupt because they could no longer sell their overproduced copies, because suddenly, the speculator market realized that there weren't any money making opportunities in the foreseeable future that could be taken from purchasing comic books. History would judge the Death of Superman as a money making gimmick. But for me, The Death of Superman was what got me started to seriously collect and read comic books. And I certainly do not agree with how history has judged The Death of Superman. It was not DC's fault that overeager speculators ventured into comic book investments, they merely whetted the speculators' mistaken appetite. But for all intents and purposes, it was written to show us what a world without Superman could be.

Visit Jasper's personal blog for more action figure reviews.

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