Official solicit:

DC Universe Classics Superman variant

When the menace known as DOOMSDAY came to Earth, it fell to SUPERMAN to battle him to a standstill… and the DEATH! Though it cost him his life, THE MAN OF STEEL saved his adopted homeworld. SUPERMAN’s death activated THE ERADICATOR, an entity from KRYPTON, who assumed SUPERMAN’s identity and placed the body of the fallen hero in a suit designed to reignite the spark of life in THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON!

DC Universe Buy all 5 figures to build your COLLECT & CONNECT KALIBAK figure!

JANUARY 2009
MSRP 11.99USD

That’s right, MULLET SUPERMAN!

After that whole debacle Death of Superman storyline in the 90’s happened, Supes came back to life with a snazzy new Mullet haircut, to really let the world know he meant business. Other than artistic license, I think it may also be the first time in Superman history where his hair was changed to reflect current times. Problem was, the boobs in charge of the comics back then were about as uncool as it came, and should have consulted a stylist before trying to redesign the mane of one of the world’s most recognizable characters, but that’s a tirade for another post…

I got Supes here on trade for some work done a few months back, and planned on using him to build a little JLA shelf in the Murdershow HQ offices, who’ve long been lacking a proper Superman. DC Direct has put out plenty of versions of him recently, but none of them are articulated enough to even scratch their own heads, and you know how I like me some poses! Having had more than my fair share of problems with Mattel action figures lately though, I had my reservations, so lets see how that played out, yeah?

Packaging for Superman is pretty standard for the DCUC line. The wave 6 COLLECT & CONNECT figure is Kalibak, son of Darkseid, and you get his left arm and battle mace thingy with Supes.

It should be noted too, that technically this is the variant version of Superman in this line. The main figure is actually Vietnam Superman, in his black regeneration suit from the Death of Superman storyline. I have absolutely no interest in that figure or design though, so you won’t be seeing any comparison shots of it here.

Out of package, Superman stands tall at the standard DCUC height of 6.5 inches. Since most of the figures are based off the same body type, they’re all about the same size and dimensions overall. His cape is made of a soft rubber, and features the yellow S-shield symbol on it as well.

The sculpt for this, by the Four Horsemen folks, is, as with all the other DCUC figs, spot on. Again, we’re basically looking at a recycled body type for all the male figures, with some minor mold changes to fit each character, but still - you know exactly who this is when looking at him. His face isn’t too stylized or angular, his hair, while being a doofy mullet, looks like hair. And his cape is parted and flowing perfectly.

My only gripe here, and with a bunch of the DCUC figs actually, is that too many of them come with closed fists. Superman can’t do much but punch things, no stealing weapons or being able to hold anything for this Kansas farmboy. It’d be a nice feature to have some alternate hands, like the way Revoltech of some of the NECA figures lately have had, so you can swap out a different fist for an open palm in flight mode etc etc. I’d take those sorts of accessories over any Build-a-figure extra piece any day of the week.

Articulation, as with all the DCUC figs, is impressive. With something like 19 points of articulation, these figures can achieve a full range of human-level movement. The rubber of the cape is light enough in weight too as to not affect Superman’s stance at all, and doesn’t hinder any arm movement either really. The only thing Superman can’t do is sit down, but why would he, after all he is a MAN OF ACTION!

I’m really impressed with this figure, not being a big Superman fan, but it really strikes an impressive posture. I had hesitated on getting Mullet Supes due to the haircut, assuming that Mattel would eventually release a version down the road with more normal hair, and sure enough - they are! Swapping out the head of the Eradicator mold from the Wave 5 Walmart exclusive line, the new version will be a 2-pack with a new Braniac figure. I suppose I could swap out the heads myself, but since I’m morally opposed to and have only even been in a Walmart twice in my life, the odds of that happening are plenty slim.

Paint apps are minimal on Superman, as the figure is molded out of blue and red plastic. His S-shields are tampo’s printed right on, leaving just some reds around the boots/undies, the flesh tones and hair colors. Which, if you look at the far right pic, will see aren’t very good. Looks like Superman’s Ronco™ hair-in-a-can got away from him some - eek. There’s lots of overspray on this figure in fact, around the calves where the boots meet the legs, not a very good job at all, but easily overlooked if you’re like me and own a paintbrush and some Testors Acrylics.

I’ve been pretty harsh on Mattel lately, and with good reason, but there are signs they are turning the corner this year. Already, the DCUC figures distribution has been doubled, and there are plans to rerelease some of the earlier figures from Wave’s 2 and 3 that were impossible to find for those of us who don’t feel like getting completely raped for them by ebay scalpers. Not to mention the news of upcoming Ghosbusters figures and even more DCUC waves (that Green Arrow will be mine!), assuming things continue, and they step up their QC, it may end up being a good year for Mattel after all.

Not as good a year as it will be for Hasbro, but all things considered, Mattel can’t complain.