They finally wore me down. It was nearly five years ago that I reviewed the Medicom MAFEX Batman (Hush Ver.) action figure and concluded that it would probably be the only figure I’d get. Then along came Superman. As a kid, I liked Superman well enough. I think the first pair of superhero themed pajamas I ever got were Superman ones. The films were pretty popular, but once Batman hit in 1989 Superman took a back seat to the caped crusader, who then took a backseat to the mutants from Marvel. I moved on, though when the Man of Steel toyline showed up from Kenner in 1995 I did dabble in it to get the flying Superman figure which is most notable for featuring the new mullet design of the hero. I think my thought process at the time was I should have at least one Superman in my vast action figure collection and I may have even planned on getting a villain, but it would be my only figure from the line. And for much of my life afterwards, I felt like I didn’t need a Superman in my modern figure collection until I laid eyes on that Hush Superman from Medicom.
When Jim Lee took over the Batman books it seemed like the goal was to get his take on as many characters as possible as fast as possible. The Hush storyline included a ton from Batman’s rogues gallery and also managed to sneak in an appearance from the man of steel himself. In it, Superman gets possessed by Poison Ivy and Batman has to deal with him armed with his Kryptonite ring. The storyline was fine, but I did really dig Lee’s take on both Batman and Superman so an action figure based on his looks obviously appeals to me. It’s just that MAFEX releases are so expensive and I wasn’t blown away by Batman. I was able to resist the call of Superman despite how good the figure looked. Then it came back and I was able to do so again, and again, and again. Well, I don’t know what reissue we’re onto now, but I finally caved when yet another reissue went up for preorder early this year.
Superman has the typical Hush packaging and stands at approximately 6.375″ to the top of his head. He sports a very serious expression befitting his look in the book that borders on a scowl. The colors are slightly muted compared with a typical Superman. The red is just a little bit darker and the blue a little deeper. It’s most apparent on the yellow portions of the costume where the yellow is so pale it’s bordering on off-white. The hair is black but hit with blue highlights while the paint on this face is crisp and clean. The sculpt of the boot tops is present, but soft, giving them a painted-on appearance. The cape is soft goods and permanently affixed to the chest. The yellow shield is present on the rear of the cape and the printing is clean. The one blemish on my figure is on the right pectoral where the yellow in the “S” logo is scratched exposing some of the blue beneath. It’s a real unfortunate eyesore and in a tough place to touch-up with an equally tough shade of yellow to try to match to. I wish I had been able to see it before opening the box so I could have attempted an exchange, but he’s also sold out so it may not have done me any good.
In terms of sculpt, there’s actually quite a bit of reuse here when compared with Batman. It makes Superman an interesting case in how perception can be altered in subtle ways. I don’t like how skinny Batman is. Jim Lee’s take on the character is built like a tank, but his figure is most certainly not. Much of the arms and legs are shared with Superman with the only differences being the forearms to remove Batman’s “fins” and the boot tops which have a slightly different shape to them. Otherwise, the main difference is all in the chest. Superman has a much fuller, broader, chest which really adds to the aura the figure projects. The abdomen may even be the same as Batman’s, though Superman’s sculpt looks more defined so it could be different. The chest plus the smaller cape seems to be all it takes to make him look more imposing compared with Batman and his narrow chest and massive cape.
Accessories included with Superman are somewhat light. He has just the one alternate portrait which is red-eyed and angry as it represents him when he’s under Ivy’s control. To better sell the effect he also has some leaf garland to wrap around his neck and forearms which looks fine enough. Out of the box he comes equipped with fists, but he also has a set of flat palms, relaxed hands, open hands, and fists with a small gap between the thumbs and fingers that can hold the edge of his cape. There’s also a bonus right hand for Batman that’s a fist with the Kryptonite ring sculpted onto it. A solid inclusion, though it will only look right on the blue and gray Batman as opposed to the black and gray that followed it. Swapping the heads and hands is pretty painless so that’s a plus. Also included is the usual MAFEX stand which is always appreciated as it is a pretty good one. I just wish we got a smiling portrait or an effect one like laser eyes. I get why the Ivy parts are included, but I’ll honestly never use them.
Articulation for Superman is the same as Batman. It’s a fairly robust list of articulation points: head, neck, shoulders, butterfly, bicep, elbow, wrist, diaphragm, waist, hips, thigh, knee, ankle, and toe. The head has pretty good range with its bent double ball peg approach. He can’t quite look all the way up using just the head and neck, but a little tweak of the diaphragm joint will accomplish that. The forward crunch will mostly come at the waist as the chest is a bit too bulky. There’s tilt there and very few restrictions to be found in the upper body. The hips are those pesky drop-down hips, but they’re smoother than the ones on Batman The thigh swivel works well and is completely hidden as all of the rotation happens at the ball joint. I don’t know why Bandai and Tamashii Nations can’t figure this out as they keep giving us those horrid things in their Dragon Ball line. The ankles don’t get much forward range, but going back works well and they even swivel. The ankle rocker works well and there’s the toe hinge if you like it. The only joint I have an issue with is the knee. It looks fine and the range is good, but when it’s bent all the way the kneecap pops out slightly from the thigh and gets stuck. I have to push it back in from the front before bending it back. I guess the lesson here is don’t bend the knee all the way, though it should work. The cape is also wired and it’s all in the sides. It’s a nice, light, material so it works just fine as intended and it’s not so big that it needed more wires throughout like Batman’s.
I finally gave in and dropped $100 on a Superman figure and I would say he is mostly worth the wait. No, I’m not convinced any figure in this scale is truly work the ask of $100, but compared with Batman I would say I’m much happier with this Superman. He just looks fantastic and the articulation is more than sufficient to hit a lot of Superman-type poses. Truly, my only real complaint is with the paint as the scuffing on the chest of my figure is unacceptable at this price point. I probably could have received some compensation from Big Bad Toy Store for this, but I knew they didn’t have any stock left so I didn’t bother. It’s not their fault Medicom provided them a scuffed-up figure. The accessories could also be better or more robust at this price point. Removing cost from the equation and, yeah, this is a great Superman figure to own. Especially if it’s going to be the only Superman figure you own. And for me that’s almost certainly the case.
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