McFarlane Toys is no stranger to reuse, with Superman being the line’s latest. The figure, which is now filling out pegs at Walmarts across the country, is a slightly reworked version of the figure, which launched the DC Multiverse line in 2000.
Superman is releasing another figure that is largely reuse, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. That Green Lantern gets a new head and a shiny paint job, both of which are fine, but Superman is largely unchanged.
The biggest alterations are the removal of the sculpted S-shield in favor of a painted one with a slightly shiny red and, more importantly, a cloth cape. The original release used the traditional McFarlane Toys plastic cape, which looks cool in certain poses but ultimately is just very static and solid and immobile.
McFarlane’s lines have favored the plastic capes for years and still uses them in some places, but Multiverse appears to have pivoted entirely to cloth capes ever since it started pumping out Batman figures inspired by the movies. Recent releases, including Adam West as Batman and Batman Reborn’s Batman & Robin, have featured some genuinely gorgeous wired cloth capes.
The cloth cape does a lot for this figure, which is still regarded as one of the best McFarlane Superman figures produced to date. But it doesn’t cover up the rest of the package, which remains the same as it did in 2020. The trademark lanky proportions, awkwardly painted wrist joints, skinny legs, and single-jointed elbows really date this figure. I think this is really, really close to being a great Superman figure, but the outdated mold is showing its age.
It’s a shame because McFarlane has so many close-but-not-quite Supermen. The DC Rebirth Superman is still the best of the lot for my money, and I would have killed for a re-issue of that figure with this cape (or, even better, slightly retooled to be the much better second Rebirth costume).
The figure does at least come with all the accessories from the original release, including two sets of hands (a pair of open hands, a gripper hand for holding…something…, and a closed fist), as well as McFarlane’s flight stand. The flight stand is always a welcome surprise in these packages and, honestly, is a pretty great stand.
Ultimately, this is still a great Superman if you need one for your shelf. The mold is outdated, yes, but it’s still a really great sculpt, and the cloth cape really gives this a great classic Superman feel. McFarlane has taken a lot of swings at Superman, and it’s just never really managed to land on a perfect one, but this certainly isn’t a bad one.
I doubt this replaces my Rebirth-era Superman on my shelf, but I’ll definitely get some great shots of this guy next to my Knightfall Batman and hanging out with Jon Kent. That being said, if your collection is still missing representation for the Man of Steel, this one’s an easy recommendation.
