I have to admit, I've been waiting for the perfect Superman toy for most of my life.
And DCSH Supes has got to be it!
He's got 21 points of articulation (correct me if I'm wrong! :P): a ball-jointed head, ball joints at the shoulders, biceps, elbows, and wrists. Hinges at the ankles and knees, cut-thigh joints, and double hinge joints at the hips that allow him to do the splits both ways, except his cape gets in the way of the front ways split. ;) He's also got full rotation at the waist, and an ab crunch joint that allows him to stand up straight with his chest out. Har!
Poseability aside, he' painted really well, with the detail on his face, especially the eyes, nice and neat.
And the black and red "S" on his chest is just perfect.
Check out his heat-vision look as well as his trademark spit curl:
And you would expect no less from a sculpt by The Four Horsemen. What's surprising, though, is that this Supes comes from a line that is at least 2 to 3 years old, making it way ahead of its time--some of the action figures released recently can't even match up to this Supes' poseability, let alone his fine detail and wonderful sculpt.
Size-wise, he's also perfect next to his little cousin.
And interestingly enough, he's also the perfect size for the chunk of kryptonite that comes with Justice League Unlimited Superman!
That nasty Lex Luthor...or could it be...Batman? (Who keeps a chunk of that stuff on him just so he can keep Superman in check should he need to for some reason. Heheh.)
Boy does Supes hate this stuff! :P
Here's how I rate DCSH Superman:Poseability: 9.5 - Would be a 10 except for his cape getting in the way of his shoulder rotation and his knees being single jointed, and therefore not being able to bend all the way. But hey, the cape's long enough that it helps him stand, even on tippy toes!
Aesthetic: 9.5 - Four Horseman sculpt (need I say more?), great muscle detail as well as paint applications. His red is not too bright too, which is a good thing considering his "S" has a black background. One thing though: He doesn't have the standard yellow "S" on the back of his cape. But I don't mind that too much. No, not too much at all.
Overall: 9.5 - Even the new DC Universe Classics Superman I don't fancy as much as this one. For one thing, the new fig has got long hair, which I seriously dislike on Supes. I haven't had the chance to look at that Supes yet, but I don't figure the articulation can be any better than this dude.
If you're a Superman fan and are looking for the perfect Supes toy, you won't find it here. But if you're looking for the best one out there ever, you'll do yourself some good getting DCSH Supes, in any incarnation--regular, black "S", Black Suit/Silver cape, or even the DCSH Kal-El figure if you're desperate. That figure is Superman except for some extra head gear and being shiny.And one pump of the fist from Superman in agreement.
