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Toys of Steel Review - Hasbro: DC Superheroes Superman

By Jasper Lloyd Tan

Before proceeding to the glorious Mattel and DC Direct produced six inch Superman Action Figures, Hasbro had its first taste in producing DC Comics related characters in action figure form for adult collectors. Hasbro is well known for their 3.75 inch GI Joe and Star Wars toy lines and is currently the licensee for action figures of DC Comics' rival comic book company Marvel Comics.

Way back in 1984, a toy company called Kenner Products was awarded the exclusive license to DC Comics properties for action figures. They spawned the highly popular DC Super Powers toy line (as well as toy lines such as Ghostbusters, Robocop, Silverhawks, and Centurions among others), which was based on the highly popular cartoon series called DC Super Friends. Kenner's involvement in producing action figures for DC was legendary (Mattel at that time, after losing the DC Comics franchise to Kenner, hooked up with Marvel Comics to produce their own Secret Wars toy line based on Marvel Superhero characters). The DC Super Powers toy line is still until to this very day the standard for Superhero action figures. From the mid 80s to the early 90s, Kenner's stronghold of the DC franchise earned them the right to produce various DC Comics toy lines (most notably the Batman Movie Franchise of the 90s). They were also responsible in bringing to us the Superman: Man of Steel toy line as well as the highly successful Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series toy lines. Kenner had exclusive rights to DC Comics characters up until the Batman: Total Justice toy line (sometime in the mid 90s) before rival toy company Hasbro bought them. Two years later, Hasbro produced the DC JLA series as an off shoot of the Batman: Total Justice toy line.

Curiously though, in 1999, Hasbro shifted gears and went on to produce 7 inch toy lines composing of Superman and Batman related action figures. Toy collectors who were a fan of the Total Justice/JLA series were dumbfounded to know that these newer releases were no longer compatible with the old line (as the old lines were in 5 inch scale). Somehow the toy market was not yet ready to embrace the bigger lines (although at that point DC Direct was beginning to produce 6 to 7 inch action figures). With sales slowing down, Hasbro decided to kill the line. All in all, Hasbro was able to produce seven 7 inch scaled action figures (Superman, Superman Blue, Superman Red, Shazam, Batman, Knightfall Batman, and Joker) for their DC Superheroes toy line and a number of Batman related figures for their Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight action figure toy line. Not soon after, Hasbro lost the DC franchise to Mattel. Hasbro though went on to acquire Toybiz (who at that time owned the Marvel Comics action figure franchise). Currently, Hasbro's foray in the 6 inch adult collector market is mainly sustained by their highly popular Marvel Legends line (a line that was originally started by Toybiz). Mattel on the other hand went on to produce their own highly popular 6 inch adult collector toy line called DC Super Heroes/Universe Classics (as well as a 6 inch Batman toy line which was the precursor to the aforementioned toy line and other various DC toy lines).

The Action Figure:

The Hasbro DC Superheroes Superman is actually just like an upsized Kenner Total Justice action figure. The Total Justice toy line has been heavily criticized for being too exaggeratedly posed. Though I fell in love with the Total Justice toy line and was bent on completing them, but this bigger figure of Superman looks so ugly. The awkward pose is clearly a distraction. You also could not actually display him in a decent pose not unless you're going to pose him in a flying pose. The figure has decent paint applications. The articulation is also better compared to the Kenner Total Justice toy line. The figure features a ball jointed head, swivel shoulders, pivot elbows, pivot hips, pivot knees and pivot ankles. Compared to the DC Direct action figures of the same year (1999), this Hasbro Superman features better articulation as those DC Direct figures were more statue like. The cape is also removable just like the Total Justice figures. I got this figure because it's a key piece of history as to the evolution of 6-7 inch scaled Superman action figures. It is also a nice addition to my Hasbro Marvel Legends collection because it shows how far Hasbro has improved since this failed toy line. Below you'll seee more photo comparisons of the evolution of the 6 inch Superman Action Figure as well as Hasbro's own evolution of their 6 inch toy lines.

Hasbro JLA Superman and Hasbro DC Superheroes Superman

From left to right, Hasbro Superman, Superman from the 2003 Mattel Batman toy line, Mattel DC Superheroes Superman, DC Direct Superman (I chose the best articulated DC Direct Superman figure for this comparison shot), and the Mattel DC Universe Classics Superman.

1999 Hasbro Superman and their most recent 2013 Marvel Legends Hyperion (a Superman pastiche)

Hasbro got a big boost in their 6 inch toy line when they acquired Toybiz. Hasbro's strength is primarily in the 4 inch toy lines (GI Joes/Star Wars). They did try to come up with a bigger sized GI Joe type articulation toy line in the late 80s called�C.O.P.S.�and Crooks. Many Marvel Legends fans though preferred Toybiz produced action figures than Hasbro's version of Marvel Legends. But I think each year Hasbro is improving by leaps and bounds.

Defining Comic Book in my collection featuring this figure:

I don't think this Superman figure is based on any artist's illustration. In 1999, Superman comic books had a rotating set of artists, ranging from Jerry Ordway, Steve Epting, to Mark Millar. So this figure probably is a generic Superman figure. But I would like to think that this figure is based on Jerry Ordway's art. For me, Ordway is one of the illustrators who defined Superman in the late 80s to early 90s (the others were John Byrne and Dan Jurgens, though I put him behind the former and latter). Superman stories in the late 90s kind of lost their luster after the Electric Superman Blue/Red debacle. It also didn't help that after a decade, a burned out Dan Jurgens (my favorite Superman writer and artist by the way) continued to write Superman stories heading into the new millennium.

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

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