McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Superman figure review

A lot of collectors have been anxious for the start of 2020. Not to get back to the gym, clean up our cluttered figure rooms or catch up on some of their favorite Brian Michael Bendis Superman comics. No, the start of the year marked the first opportunity for us to see and get our hands on the new DC Multiverse figures from McFarlane Toys. Even for an impatient collector like me, the wait wasn’t that long from the reveal on Jan. 2 to today when I found my first figure — The DC Multiverse Superman — on shelves.

Naturally, there was no better one to start with than Superman. (Also because Batman wasn’t on the shelves.) Let’s see how this version of the Man of Steel flies.

Packaging: The packaging isn’t anything special and is pretty consistent to what we’ve gotten from McFarlane Toys’ other lines. There’s a wide window to show the figure with a blue insert of various DC Comics covers. It contrasts nicely with the black packaging.

The side indicates the inspiration for this particular figure, in this case, Action Comics #1000. There’s no bio on the back, but we do get a breakdown of some of the other available figures in this initial wave.

Likeness:  If you’re like me you’ve got a lot of Superman figures in your collection, but few that really capture how he should look. DC Classics never quite managed to get him right. The DC Icons one was OK. It comes down to the DC Essentials figure as coming the closest, but I think we’ve got a new king of the Supermen.

The headsculpt doesn’t have him smiling, but it’s neutral enough to go from smiling to angry, which is an ideal middle ground. The cape sits about right on his shoulders and the S-shield is nice and big. McFarlane added some weird lines around the shoulders and sides, but they’re not that obvious unless you’re looking for them.

Superman’s S curl is leaning to the right like it should giving it a point over the DCE version. As this is the modern take on the costume, Superman’s cuffs are angled and lined. It’s a very minor concession to get back to the mostly classic appearance.

Scale: Did you know this line was 7-inches? Kidding, but this has been a major bone of contention from 85% of the collector community who wanted to blend this incarnation of DC Multiverse with their Marvel Legends or Star Wars collections.

He fits in decently enough with younger characters in the Mattel version of the DC Multiverse line.

Seven inches is more in scale with what DC Collectibles is doing with its DC Essentials line meaning if you started on that line last year you don’t have to completely start over again.

Superman looks solid and fits in fine with that line. The only issue is the Essentials figure really come off bad next to Superman. Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Batman couldn’t stand up thanks to that weak knee ankle joint setup while Superman calmly waited the five minutes it took for me to get them all to stay standing. It was an ordeal.

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Paint:  Some folks prefer a lighter blue shade for Superman’s costume. I like more of a bold electric blue. The DC Essentials figure had the most classic colors, but this one features my ideal tone.

I also love how the shield pops with the metallic red and flat yellow. Unlike the DCE version, the underwear belt portion is painted. The belt is the one area that needed a bit more care, but otherwise the paintwork is solid. The right hand got a scratch and seemed to have been an issue before I opened the figure.

Easily the weirdest part of the paint job is the ball joint wrist being painted blue despite it being after the point where the cuffs end.

Articulation: The figure boasts 22 moving parts according to the package. Superman’s articulation is pretty good and he can accomplish most of the Superman poses I wanted even though he could stand to have a bit more clearance in his head for flying poses and would benefit from double-jointed elbows.

The joints are nice and tight so there’s no sense of collapsing and struggles to find the stable point (cough DC Essentials cough).

DC McFarlane Superman has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle
• foot

Accessories: Superman comes with an alternate set of fists and a flight stand.

In an era where collectors are used to getting alternate heads, additional hands and weapons as well as a Build-A-Figure piece that seems a little underwhelming. Wait, I did forget the Action Comics #1000 cover card. It’s a little something.

The flight stand is fine, but it’s not quite the same as getting say a heat vision alternate head.

Worth it? Despite the larger scale, McFarlane Toys kept the line at the $20 price point. That’s good as collectors won’t have to adjust their spending habits to get in with the basic version of the Multiverse line.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Give this guy a few more accessories and this is a promising start to the Multiverse line. It does seem like a bad call not to have any villains for him to fight though.

Where to get it?  Everyone is getting this line from Target, Wal-Mart, GameStop, Amazon and Entertainment Earth. I found Superman at Target so that might be the best starting spot.