I'm sure some might say that I enjoyed doing that to a Superman figure. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I'm just tired of my favorite character being given such terrible merchandise. From those terrible Mattel Superman Returns Figures to that recently released DC Direct 1/4 Museum Quality statue he's been on the receiving end of such terrible products. It's a frustrating process that leaves this one Superman fan expecting the worse instead of hoping for the best.
And now I give you this. The first DC Direct 13" Superman. I could write an opus on what is wrong with him but I don't wish to waste any more of my time on this. In all honestly I don't know what some see in this figure. Is it because of the accessories? That's all I hear people talk about. No one talks about the sculpt, no one talks about the articulation. He doesn't come with anything that's actually high quality. People just talk about the extra set of clothes (which I guess for some is a good substitute for quality). I've come to notice that 2006 was the year of the acceptance and praising of mediocrity and this figure fits right in with that. Sadder is that it's not even at the level of mediocrity.
Feel free to click the image above to take you directly to the gallery of the worst 1/6 of the year. Sadly enough I look at the recently released Aquaman and Batman and I can say that they don't look too bad. Definitely a step or two above their first 13" offering. In March they plan on releasing this doll again with a different head. The head is a huge improvement over the original one. But if the QC is just as bad then what's the point?
I believe it was the vastly Superior Beast Wars version of Megatron that said "New packaging, same product. Loser." I think that sums up my feelings well enough.
*EDIT: Apparently he came out just at the end of '05. And to that I say he's bad enough to represent both years. He's not escaping that easily.'
Photos by Gatack