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Toys of Steel Review - DC Collectibles: The Dark Knight Returns

By Jasper Lloyd Tan

I missed out on this version of Superman when it was initially released as singles. He's kinda hard to come by nowadays. Luckily, due to the recently released The Dark Knight Returns animated movies, DC Collectibles decided to re-release the figures in this series as a movie merchandise tie-in. This review unfortunately won't be Superman centric. But I'll still give Superman some ample time as this is my third entry in this series of reviews.

Frank Miller's Superman

This Superman is the bulkiest incarnation among all the different illustrations that has ever been created. This Superman appeared in the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns comic book limited series. Written and Illustrated by Frank Miller, he was written to become the U.S. Government's pawn in a dystopian future set in an alternate DC continuity (this continuity is set in the same continuity with the All-Star Batman maxi series). In the limited series, superheroes and vigilantes are now banned by the U.S. Government from performing their usual vigilantism activities. This decree made Batman and the other Superheroes decide to hang up their costumes.

Superman on the other hand, in order for him to resume his Superhero activities, cut a deal with the U.S. Government to work in secret and aid the government when the need arises. But when mayhem and violence continues to strike Gotham City, Batman decides to don his cowl once more and set things right. Embarrassed by Batman's successful war on crime, the U.S. Government enlists Superman's help to take down Batman. In the ensuing battle, Superman tries to talk things over with Batman at first but is ambushed by Batman and the Green Arrow. Superman tries to fight back but the Kryptonite tipped arrow (courtesy of the Green Arrow) that explodes before Superman weakens him, giving Batman the upper hand in clobbering and almost defeating Superman (sorry Bat Fans, but I kept on reviewing the comic book and the animated movie, Superman was far from being defeated, he held back because he knew Batman was dying from a weakened heart) in a weakened state before Batman suffers a heart attack. In the closing pages of the comic book, it was revealed that Batman faked his own death with Superman realizing this when he visited Batman's grave as he heard Batman's heartbeat. He lets Batman off the hook with his stunt. In the sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, it was revealed that Superman's Bottled City of Kandor (a miniaturized inhabited Kryptonian City in a bottle) was held hostage by the U.S. Government (which was actually ran by Lex Luthor behind a puppet government), thus forcing Superman to become a pawn of the U.S. Government.

The Action Figures:

Superman

Like the rest of the figures in this box set, this figure is a straight repaint of the original singles released Superman from The Dark Knight Returns toy line. The paint colors used in this figure is kind of muted compared to the first release. Personally I think the colors used on this figure is more faithful to the source material than the initially released ones. Frank Miller put a darker tone to his illustrations in the comic book series to match his storytelling, thus we have Superman with toned down costume colors. What I hate about this figure is that it does not come with the accessories (Batman's cowl and Green Arrow's Kryptonite Arrow) that came with the original release (though it retained the interconnecting bases). Articulation is pretty much standard DC Direct. We have a swivel head, ball jointed shoulders, pivot elbows, pivot hips, and pivot knees. The figure is a great representation of Frank Miller's art of Superman in the comic book. The sculpts are spot on, giving us a faithful rendition of Superman as seen in the Dark Knight Returns comic books. Though Superman's extra added bulk is kinda exaggerated and does not look as good as other Superman illustrations, this 3D representation nevertheless gives us an imposing Superman in our display collection. He's a great addition in the toy shelves of Superman collectors.

Batman

I don't know what got into Frank Miller's head when he wrote The Dark Knight Returns but his idea of an aging Batman is one of the most brilliant takes on Batman. While he wrote Batman as an aging superhero, he also bulks up Batman, giving him a hulking muscular look despite being pegged as Batman in his early 50s. His dark take on Batman enhanced Batman's standing in the DC Comics mythos as one of the grittiest heroes in DC's roster. This figure is also a straight repaint of the originally released one. DC collectibles should have chosen to retain the colors from the original release though. This Batman with muted colors pretty much reminds me of Tim Sale's Batman illustration colors. Though there is no denying that this figure looks so much like Frank Miller's illustration, I think giving the figure darker colors (like the original release) makes it more faithful to Frank Miller's version of Batman. The figure comes with a batarang and an interconnecting base. It shares the same articulation with Superman except that this figure has swivel wrists. The highly detailed sculpts are spot on and faithful to the source material. But his awkward pose leaves much to be desired. I'm sharing this box set with my brother (who's a Batman fan by the way), so this Batman (along with Robin and Joker) will shortly be joining his collections.

Robin

First, a little backgrounder on this once in a lifetime Robin. This is the first instance that Robin was cast with a female alter ego. Carrie Kelley was a 13 year old girl that was rescued by Batman from the hands of evil mutant thugs. The rescue and the close encounter with Batman inspired Carrie to take on the mantle of Robin as Batman's new sidekick. After returning the favor by saving Batman from defeat under the hands of the evil mutant thugs, Batman embraces Carrie as the new Robin (much to Alfred's objections). This figure is kind of limited in articulation, but those limitations are compensated by the accessories. This figure consists of a swivel neck, a swivel shoulder, swivel wrists, and swivel hips. No elbows and knee articulations means that the figure's poseability is not that great. But it does feature removable eyeglasses and a slingshot accessory. I'm not quite sure though if this repaint's colors differed much from the original singles release. The figure also comes with a lamp post accessory that features a glow in the dark lamp. This lamp post is also attachable to the base. Lastly, in the sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Carrie ditched the Robin persona and created a new persona calling herself Catgirl. There is no such Action Figure released yet.

Joker

First, a little backgrounder on Miller's Joker. This Joker went on a crime spree when he learned that Batman is back in action. He has been in a catatonic state at Arkham but mysteriously awakens during Batman's return to the streets of Gotham. He escaped prison and went on a murdering rampage before he was stopped by Batman. In their final confrontation, Batman snaps Joker's neck to leave him paralyzed. With Batman taking control of the situation, Joker committed suicide by snapping his neck further and made it look that Batman actually killed him. This move made Batman a wanted criminal. This figure is the weakest among all the figures in this box set. Though Joker looks quite snappy in his suit and at the same time menacing with his two 45 caliber pistols, I'm disappointed that he is more statue than an action figure. He only possesses articulation on the neck (swivel), arms (swivel), wrists (swivel), and waist (swivel). It's also a disappointment that he does not come with the scarface figurine that came with the original release. The suit colors also could have been perfect if they traded the black and white colors compared to the original release which utilized a plain white suit and pants. Sculpt is pretty much faithful to the source material. I wish they could have given it more articulation though. Not really one of the best Joker figures that has ever been released to the market (and there are tons of them out there).

The Dark Knight Returns

Defining Comic Book (no longer) in my collection featuring this figure:

The Dark Knight Returns comic book mini-series was written in 1986, the year when comic books began catering to a mature audience (it was also in this same year that Watchmen was released). It changed the way comic book companies write their stories.

I've basically touched upon the key plot points of that mini-series in the posts above, so I'd like to touch on Frank Miller's expanded Batman centric DC Universe which was born from this limited series. The Dark Knight Returns served as the precursor to other Frank Miller Batman tales. The Dark Knight Strikes Again mini series was the direct sequel to The Dark Knight Returns. Critics and fans alike though have panned the sequel because it kinda stretches the main narrative of The Dark Knight Returns and makes that narrative seem dated. But as a Superman fan, this sequel cleared out the reason why Superman became the government's (now controlled by Lex Luthor) pawn, because the Kryptonian Bottled City of Kandor was held hostage by the government. It also highlighted Batman's methods as the only way of liberating the people as he trained an army of "batboys" while also convincing past heroes (including Superman) to use his methods in fighting against dictatorship and oppression. Shockingly, it was also revealed that Superman has a daughter with Wonder Woman. There's also a new Joker in town who was hell bent on killing Batman. This Joker was revealed to be Dick Grayson, who harbored hatred for Batman after he was fired from being Robin due to incompetency. This new dynamic in the relationship between Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Dick Grayson would further be explored in Frank Miller's All-Star Batman and Robin, the prequel to The Dark Knight Returns. All-Star Batman was a controversial maxi series because Miller portrayed Batman as a sadistic figure who regularly beats up Dick Grayson as he tries to toughen up Grayson in preparing him for his role as Robin.

I'll end this review by posting some action figure photos that I took that recreate some of the best moments of The Dark Knight Returns as well as the most memorable quotes lifted from the comic book series.

The Dark Knight Returns' Batman and Robin	"Batman. Darling."
"Paralysis, really. Doesn't matter: they'll burn you for this. And they'll never know... that you just didn't have the nerve. I'll see you in hell."	"Bruce, this is idiotic. You're just meat and bone - like all the rest."
"I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you."	The Dark Knight Strikes Again

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

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