Superman Through the Ages! Forum

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FIRST APPEARANCE SERIES 3: COMPOSITE SUPERMAN ACTION FIGURE

When a lightning bolt bestowed all the combined powers of the Legion of Super-Heroes to janitor Joe Meach in 1964's WORLD'S FINEST #142, the villainous Composite Superman was born! This figure features multiple points of articulation, includes a base and a mini-reproduction of the comic in which the character first appeared, and is packaged in a 4-color deluxe blister.

- In stores May 25th, 2005.

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CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SERIES 1: SUPERGIRL ACTION FIGURE

During Crisis and the all-out assault on the Anti-Monitor's realm, Supergirl gave her life so the multiverse could survive. The Supergirl Action Figure features multiple points of articulation, includes a CRISIS-themed display base, and is packaged in a 4-color blister.

- In stores June 22th, 2005.

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KINGDOM COME: SUPERMAN, HAWKMAN AND RED ROBIN STATUE

The first in a series of multicharacter statues direct from the pages of the best-selling graphic novel KINGDOM COME, designed by Alex Ross! This statue features Ross's striking visions of an older Superman, more bestial Hawkman, and an adult Robin! This limited-edition, hand-painted cold-cast porcelain statue is sculpted by Tony Cipriano and measures approximately 6.75" tall x 6" wide x 4" deep, includes a full-color Certificate of Authenticity, and is packaged in a 4-color box. Limited up to only 2500 pieces!

$89.99 - In stores July 6th, 2005.

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SUPERMAN/BATMAN SERIES 1: PUBLIC ENEMIES: SUPERMAN ACTION FIGURE

Based on the art of Ed McGuinness! The Man of Steel unites with the Dark Knight when longtime enemy Lex Luthor accuses him of a horrible act against mankind. This figure features multiple points of articulation and includes a Superman/Batman logo base. Packaged in a 4-color deluxe blister.

- In stores August 17th, 2005.

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MICHAEL TURNER SUPERGIRL STATUE

Fan-favorite artist Michael Turner took the DCU by storm with his critically acclaimed run on SUPERMAN/BATMAN, as he reinterpreted the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight and helped introduce a brand-new Supergirl! Now Turner's unique vision of this Earthbound angel on a mission to protect mankind from evil can be yours with the stunning SUPERGIRL STATUE!

Designed by Turner and sculpted by Tim Bruckner, who brought to life Jim Lee's vision of Batman and Superman, this statue measures approximately 10" tall x 6" wide and 9" deep and is packaged in a 4-color box.

$195.00 - In stores February 2nd, 2005.

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DC COMICS CLASSIC ANIMATION MAQUETTE SERIES: SUPERMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES: SUPERMAN

The landmark SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES developed a bold new style for the Man of Steel. Now, that instantly recognizable design has been created as a beautifully sculpted MAQUETTE!

This limited-edition, hand-painted cold-cast porcelain MAQUETTE measures approximately 9.25" tall x 4" wide x 4.375" deep, includes a full-color Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a 4-color box.

$89.95 - In stores February 2nd, 2005.

Wow. Everything looks pretty cool, although now that I get a good look at it the Public Enemies Superman does look a bit silly. All those Ed McGuiness muscles don't translate all that well into an action figure. Makes you wonder how poor Kal can even walk that clenched. ;)

 -Def.

The funny thing is that he really toned down the giant muscles since his actual Superman run!

They should have called him Superthighs!  And isn't his head a little bit too big?  

All of the toys capture the eras exactly --although my faves would be the composite and animated Supes.  Surprisingly I like the Alex Ross set --his art works much better in 3-dimensions.

TOY FAIR 2005

Superman related toylines:

Krypto - The Superdog
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=668

Crisis on Infinte Earths
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=672

Superman/Batman Public Enemies
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=673

JLA
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=676

Justice by Alex Ross
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=677

13" Superman
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=678

First Appearance Series 3
http://69.93.119.2/photosSHTC/showgallery.php?cat=685

The cardboard cut-out from the Crisis series makes it look like there is going to be an Earth-2 Perez-style Supes.  Have there ever been any Earth-2 Supes figures before?

So much neat stuff, so little cash...  Overtime, here I come!  :D  

As far as I know, Telle, unless you count the First Appearance Superman (great figure, by the way), there hasn't been an E-2 Supes yet.  

That Krypto stuff looks great!  I'm DEFINITELY getting me a Krypto!  ;)

There never has been an Earth-2 Superman fig, at least not marketed as such.

Some folks are a bit miffed that it's going to be the older, gray-templed version as they'd like a youthful Supes to display with their JSA figs.  Personally I think they're daft!  I loved the idea of an older Supes and I especially like the fact that Perez differentiated him from the Earth-1 model with more than just gray hair.  Perez' Kal-L had blunter features, a stockier build and was I imagining it or did he look more than a little bit like George Reeves?  

Anyway I'm excited at the prospect of a Superman figure that will look different from all the others.  Especially since the "First Appearances" Golden Age Superman looks like modern Supes with a retro suit on...certainly he doesn't look anything like Joe Shuster drew him (well, his face doesn't anyway).  In contrast, the FA Batman looks just as Bob Kane drew him (or more accurately, as one of his ghosts drew him while he sat back and counted his money).

Agreed.  There was something exquisitely different about the older Earth-2 Superman.  I never was consciously aware of the George Reeves resemblance in the Perez version, although the last time I regularly watched the Reeves Superman was in the mid-70s.  I don't actively collect new figures (more passively, if I happen upon one used somewhere, and then I shyly sneak it into a drawer in my desk) but I would seriously consider getting this one.

The first wave of Crisis on Infinite Earths figures have just been released.
 
Supergirl is a very nice sculpture, and unlike early photos of the prototype (such as the first post) her red shoulder trim doesn't stop at the joint but extends down her upper arms. However, be advised that there is considerable unhappiness on the DC Direct boards about poor paint jobs, so inspect carefully. I was lucky that there were only two insignificant errant brushstrokes that were easily remedied by tiny dabs of touch-up paint. The face and shield design were perfect, though. (This seems to be the center of many complaints.) I did find some glue drips on one boot, but CAREFUL scraping with an x-acto blade worked fine.

She seems to be in scale with the young Supergirl figure that's in the Superboy/Supergirl box set, though it would be slightly odd displaying them together -- you couldn't go back in time and meet your younger self in the Pre-Crisis days.   :wink:

Oh, and those who dislike the new Kara's skirt for being too short better not lift the Crisis Supergirl's cape!   :shock:   Then again, it's rather obvious that she's wearing a leotard and that pleated "cheerleader" miniskirt was merely for decorative effect, somewhat akin to a ballerina's tutu.  :wink:

The Anti-Monitor will be released later this year. I wonder how many Supergirl fans will pose their smiling Kara triumphantly stomping "Anti's" ugly face into the ground.  Twenty years is a LONG time for payback... :twisted:

"...Oh, and those who dislike the new Kara's skirt for being too short better not lift the Crisis Supergirl's cape!..."  

HEY!  You stole my joke, DTO!  LOLOL  

You can see it here!  ;)  

http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000031772&tstart=25  

Gernot...

Gernot, you had FOUR DAYS to post on this board about Kara's undies.  I thought I gave you sufficient time.   :wink:

Actually, I just found (and promptly bought) the Supergirl figure on Sunday afternoon.  I don't usually check the DC Direct boards, but I did later that same day and saw your thread.  Had I known about the quality control issues, I would have inspected my purchase more carefully.  Fortunately I lucked out.

And in the DC Comics boards there have been long criticisms about the new Kara's skirt length in both the Supergirl and Superman/Batman forums.  My post here was only slightly modified from my original message on the DC boards, thus the reference to the skirt issue.

So since YOU had more time to examine this Supergirl figure, Gernot, what's your review?  I wasn't a fan of the Crisis costume, but because of its historic significance (Kara's final uniform, and one that was originally destined for Helen Slater), I've grown to like it over time.  And the headband is SO 1980s -- I'm reminded of aerobics or "Jazzercise" every time I see it.  Thank Rao DC never gave her legwarmers...  :wink:

I actually feel the same way YOU do about the costume, DTO.  I didn't like it when it first came out, but I also grew fonder of it as time went on.  

I'm STILL hoping we eventually get a "hot pants" version of Supergirl, though.  Heck, they could make TWO.  One with boots, and one with the little slippers (elf shoes) she wore briefly.  One could be a "chase" figure!  LOL  

I like the figure I got, but I DID have to switch the one my guy held for a better one.  I think that's the first figure I really had any sort of problem with re paint apps.

Gernot, the "blouse and hotpants" costume had other small changes over the years, in particular the beaded fringe of the hotpants and the belt.  (During "The Krypton Chronicles" it was revealed that the decorative metal disks on Supergirl's belt were chronometers that at a touch revealed both Earth and Rokyn times.)  The hotpants also grew less baggy and more form-fitting -- closer to modern bicyclist shorts.

Also, I believe the cape was later attached to her blouse rather than wrapped around Kara's neck, though she continued to wear a neck ribbon.  (The cape attachment was the only thing I really disliked about this costume.  Even though Supergirl had a Kryptonian windpipe and neck vertebrae, it always looked like she was in danger of an "Isadora Duncan" accident if that cape ever got snagged in flight.  Ouch.)  

As for the "elf shoes", they were originally ballet slippers, but the leg ribbons quickly disappeared.  I'm sure the artists appreciated that simplification.

Unlike her cousin who clung to his "working blues" for decades, Kara was definitely fashion-conscious.  That was probably part of Supergirl's appeal back in her Adventure Comics days.  Supergirl might have been unique in actively seeking out costume suggestions from her fans.  Some even appeared for one or two stories, but both the "miniskirt and hipboots" and the "blouse and hotpants" costumes came from readers.  

The downside is that Supergirl's adventures from the Seventies and Eighties now look very "dated" because her costumes (and to a lesser extent her hairstyles) are TOO closely tied with the times.  Her miniskirt, long gloves and hipboots make the "Mod" Kara look like a Super-Go-Go dancer.  The hotpants are also very Seventies, and I've already mentioned how the Crisis costume looks like an Eighties aerobics workout suit.  I suspect the new Kara Zor-El's bare midriff look will also look dated before long.

The advantage of having a consistent costume free of fashion fads (and avoiding topical references such as contemporary US presidents, celebrities and world events) is that it imparts a "timeless" quality to older stories and doesn't betray the fact that a superhero hasn't aged in decades.  Naturally, Superman's traditional suit is the best example, but so was Kara's original all-blue dress and the movie version that survived in slightly modified form during the Matrix and early Linda Danvers years.  (In fact it's ironic that the general public usually associates this Post-Crisis costume with "Superman's cousin", even though Kara never QUITE wore this design during her lifetime!)

As for future Supergirl action figures, I agree that the "blouse and hotpants" version needs to be represented.  I can do without the "mod miniskirt and hipboots" suit.  Maybe a movie version in 2009 to celebrate the 25th anniversary?  (Perhaps there's enough time to navigate the legal aspects and get Ms. Slater's approval.)  Or perhaps a Post-Crisis Matrix version since it could be retrofitted to resemble the movie outfit.  

Now if we could only get a PVC set of miniature Supergirls tracing her various costumes and incarnations in the same scale...

Since we are going in to so much detail here, I thought all Superman Hall of Trophy fans should check out the following article, written by fellow Canadian Herve St. Louis about action figure care during heat waves.

http://comicbookbin.com/actionfigures01.html



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LOL!!!!!!

Is it REALLY that bad?

Bad is a relative term. :D

There was a great bit on the Conan tonite: a recurring character, allegedly an angry graphic designer for the show, sits in a recliner and tells America that he's mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"  about some issue of National Importance.  

Tonite he went on a tirade about the Justice League action figures: how you have to buy the 10" Batman twice in order to get Wonder Woman (she only comes in a double pack with Bats), how some of the 4" figures don't stand up on their own without glue, etc.  Very funny but also scary because, even though I don't buy those toys, I actually knew what he was talking about!  :oops:  Lots of great details for fans willing to laugh at themselves.  I wish I could find a link to post!

Ah hah!

The segment is called "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage" and Bernard is a real designer on the Conan show.

Apparently, he has the Robotech fan base stirred up!

Background:
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:xxFQGaennaAJ:www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf%3F/base/news-2/110059603651460.xml+Pierre+Bernard%27s+Recliner+of+Rage&hl=en

Robotech (with photos):
http://www.robotech.com/news/viewarticle.php?id=199

Too funny.... :D

Not only is he a real Graphic Designer on the show, but he really is like that in real life.

I think it would be great if he became more of a superstar in the fan firmament.  I wonder if he's been invited to any conventions?