*Words by Pablolobo, pictures by Ibentmyman-thing
We’ve been reviewing some older DC Direct Superman figures — Modern Superman, Silver Age Superman, and Modern Cyborg Superman — as part of our tribute to the Man of Steel’s birthday and movie release. Ibentmyman-thing was kind enough to supply pics for this review as I’m having technical difficulties with my photo setup.
This bad man of the Superman universe first appeared as a teen version in Superboy in 1958 and then later as an adult in the Superman comic strip. He’s been introduced and reintroduced throughout the years, but always as a Superman clone gone bad, sometimes a villain and sometimes just a wrong comical version of Superman. This figure represents a version drawn by Ed McGuinness who penciled Superman back in the early 2000s. Another amazing sculpt by Tim Bruckner, this figure was part of the DC Direct Superman line from 2003.
The figure is more or less a straight reuse of the Superman from the line with a new head sculpt and some some new paint and a “Bizzaro #1” necklace. And, yes, he has the same chest problem as Superman. What I like about this design is that it is a throwback to the Silver Age Bizarro when he physically looked like Superman with his skin a bit different than Superman’s. The old classic Bizarro had some funky skin, kinda all squared. This version doesn’t share that quality, but it is grey and it does sport an ugly head — a cloning gone horribly wrong.
Bizarro’s been depicted like this lately; McGuinness’s version is a clear version of that, and, around the same time, Bruce Timm designed a similar-looking Bizarro for Warner Brother’s Superman cartoon. I like the more “Frankenstein” look to Bizarro, and I do like Timm’s oversized, bad proportioned version that Four Horsemen Studios eventually made into reality in the DC Superheroes line (and eventually DC Universe Classics). But nothing beats the subtle classic look where, from afar or from behind, Bizarro just looks like Superman. That is, until you get close enough to see his face and realize that he ain’t Superman. Then by that time he’s chucked you through the stratosphere.
As with Superman from this line, Bizarro has all the necessary articulation and then some. But he suffers from the lack of a good ball hip or hinged hip to allow for that extra articulation. Otherwise, he’s golden and a heap of fun to play with. The articulation breakdown is:
- hinged ankles
- hinged knees
- thigh swivels
- t-crotch
- swivel waist
- ball shoulders
- bicep swivels
- hinged elbows
- hinged wrists
- swivel wrists
- ball head
As with Superman, and much of the DC Direct product from this period, the painting is just spot-on. I love the purple colors and the reversed “S” on the chest symbol. The paint on the head also came out perfectly.
There’s a ton of fun to be had with this figure, and you can easily fit him into your DC Universe Classics lines, or cross him over to Master of the Universe Classics and even Marvel Legends for good fun. Or you can just have him beat up Superman for a few hours, until Supes gets smart, starts acting like a father, and treats him like the child that he is, resulting in his sitting and crying like a baby. Or you can just put him on a shelf to admire as one of the best figures sculpted. It’s up to you.
You can still pick this figure up on Amazon.com for a much more reasonable price than Supes or Cyborg Superman. If you have the opportunity, head over and pick him up; he is one of the best figures still on shelves.
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