Hot Toys Superman

The Superman I know was introduced to me only through comics and animation. I've watched a couple of the old Superman movies before, but to me they are pretty forgetable. Still, if you were to ask me which actor played the definitive Superman on screen, I'll say it was Christopher Reeves. Hot Toys did a marvelous job sculpting his head for this 12" figure, which was the main reason why I bought it, even though my favourite superhero is Batman.

I didn't take a photograph of the box that Superman came in, because in my opinion, the box and diorama display base are a huge waste of cost and space. Well, more on the base later. The only thing I found interesting about the box design was how the Superman diamond shaped symbol can actually carved out of a square, by slicing a corner off. Haha... an minute intrigue in its geometry.

While the uncanny likeness Reeves' headsculpt forms the most impressionable feature of the figure, attention must also be paid to the body that lies hidden under the blue spendax. Overall, I think Supes figure has been captured just about right, without being overly muscle-packed, nor too skinny. The material used for his costume is also well chosen, being suitably elastic but never too creasy. The diamond shaped 'S' symbol is also well printed on his chest (and on his cape), to the right proportions.

The cape trimming has concealed wires that allows the cape to be poseable. It's good for flight poses, to simulate the scarlet fabric billowing in a constant wind. But if you want to pose Supes standing still in still air, with all the cloth falling straight under the effect of gravity, you're in trouble, for the hidden wires are almost impossible to straighten fully. Perhaps HT could've provided an alternative normal cape for such displays.

The figure's fine and darn near perfection in my opinion, but as if that is not enough, the manufacturer included a diorama display base that looks like an architectural element from the caped crusader's secret hideout in the Arctic, the Fortress of Solitude. It is a sizeable display, and I wonder which came first: the huge ass box or the huge ass base? Either way, I think they're both pretty redundant. The icicles stemming from the snow patch in the display don't attach well to the cut-outs in the base. Hell, even the snow patch doesn't sit perfectly flat on a horizontal surface. If HT offered collectors a choice on the figure-only or figure-with-base-and-extra-costs-for-its-elaborate-box-design-and-size, I think I would've opted for the former.

Superman and Batman, the strongest of their species. Supes being the unbeatable crazy powered omega level alien from outer space, Bats being the representation of the epitome of human abilities assisted by kick-ass technology. Between the two, Bats always had a stronger appeal to me. These two are quite the classic comic characters that have been emulated by comics publishers, such as Wildstorm's Apollo and Midnighter (gay-fied), or Marvel's Captain America and Iron Man. Still, none really tells a story quite like DC's Superman and Batman.

Posted in: Toy Review