Superman II and the DC Multiverse General Zod action figure review

Takara Microman versus the DC Multiverse General Zod

Took me quite a while to write a follow up to my previously reviewed Superman: The Movie entry. I guess I couldn't quite find the right action figure to accompany my review of Superman II. I also got kind of bummed that someone criticized me for reviewing a lame custom action figure I created which accompanied my review of Superman: The Movie. So this entry will thus have two action figure reviews. The first one, a DC Multiverse General Zod action figure review. And a second review which is supposed to be the original action figure review that accompanies my Superman II movie review. I guess it's only fitting since I will also be touching on the original Superman II: The Richard Donner cut movie version in this entry. Read on!

Superman II

During the filming of Superman II, Richard Donner (the director of the first Superman Movie) was booted out by the producers due to differences in the approach that the producers wanted for the sequel. Producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind wanted to have more camp/slapstick and a lighter tone to the movie to make it more accessible to a larger audience. They brought in Director Richard Lester, who was known for his work on the Three Musketeers movies, to replace Donner. Despite more than 70% of the movie already been filmed under Donner, Lester would reshoot several scenes just enough to make it as a requirement in order for him to be credited as the film's director. Nevertheless, critics praised the film for its surprisingly coherent production despite being helmed by two directors and a reshoot of several key scenes. Critics hailed Superman II as perhaps the best movie in the Superman franchise under the Salkinds. This however did not stop Warner Bros. from releasing the Richard Donner version some 26 years later. Michael Thau, who was the editor in charge of restoring the Superman: The Movie film to DVD, became interested in coming up with the Donner version as he stumbled across some of the old footages that Donner filmed and was never used in the Richard Lester version. Thau was in the process of extracting Marlon Brando's Jor El scenes for use in the upcoming Bryan Singer's Superman Returns movie. Under the supervision of Richard Donner himself and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz, Thau would recreate Superman II utilizing Donner's original version of the film by using almost all of the scenes that Donner shot while utilizing less than 20% of the scenes shot by Lester. This version of the film would serve as a supplemental movie to Superman Returns as Singer would acknowledge that Superman Returns is an indirect sequel to Superman II, writing off the events that happened in Superman III and IV.

The Phantom Zone criminals (from left to right) Non, General Zod, and Ursa

Superman II begins by recapping the events in Krypton days before it blew up. General Zod (played by Terrence Stamp) has led his crew to attack the Kryptonian Council as a form of rebellion to the regime. Unfortunately for Zod, he was defeated and was sent to the Phantom Zone by Jor El. But not before promising Jor El that he would make his heirs pay for what he did. Back on the present time, Superman saves Lois Lane from terrorists in London by hurtling an elevator equipped with hydrogen bomb to space. The explosion of the hydrogen bomb in space would set free General Zod and his crew as the Phantom Zone was hovering near the detonated bomb blast. General Zod and his crew would encounter space astronauts from Earth which would then point them to the direction of Earth. Upon arriving on Planet Earth, General Zod and his crew would gain the same super powers that Superman gained from the yellow sun, utilizing it in terrorizing the citizens of Earth as he searches for Kal El/Superman, the son of Jor El.

Superman battles General Zod

Meanwhile, Superman continues to fall madly in love with Lois Lane that Superman readily gave up his super powers and his alien heritage for a chance to become a full blooded earthling. Superman takes Lois with him to the Fortress of Solitude (and later makes love to her), where a special chamber under the Artificial Intelligence of Lara (Superman's mother) takes Superman's powers and transforms him into an ordinary earthling. As Superman (under his Clark Kent alter ego) and Lois makes their way back to Metropolis, Superman encounters a fight in a bar which left him bloodied and beaten up to a pulp. This makes him question if he made the right decision in giving up his powers. Superman also sees in a television broadcast of the President of the United States of America pleading for his help as the White House is under attack by the Phantom Zone criminals with the company of Lex Luthor. Superman goes back to his Fortress of Solitude and regains back his super powers setting the stage for their final showdown with General Zod and his crew. The battle was first held in the streets of Metropolis where too much destruction forces Superman to flee from the battle and retreat to his Fortress of Solitude. Lex Luthor takes the Phantom Zone criminals with him as they locate the Fortress of Solitude with Lois as their captive. Superman battles the trio (Zod, Ursa, and Non) using the very same Red Kryptonite radiation that took away his powers earlier. With the trio powerless, Superman manages to beat all three and sends Lex Luthor back to the prison. Back at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent/Superman kisses Lois Lane and takes away all of her memories of what had happened in the past few days, effectively making her forget that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Some 26 years later, Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner's version of the film was finally released as a supplemental movie to Superman Returns. In Donner's version of the film, the opening scenes of the film were a direct continuation of the climactic scene in the first Superman Movie that instead of the hydrogen bomb releasing the Phantom Zone criminals, it was the rocket missile that Superman diverted in the first movie which was responsible in releasing the Phantom Zone criminals. Some Richard Lester footages were also replaced by Richard Donner's original footages even to the point of using some screen tests of Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder when they auditioned for their parts in the first Superman Movie to fill in the gaps of unfilmed footages. This version also took away the slapstick humor scenes found in the Richard Lester version, making this film more serious in tone and a much more coherent sequel to Superman: The Movie. Just like in Superman: The Movie, this version also uses the Superman spins back the Earth power to erase key events that led to the release of the Phantom Zone Criminals, effectively erasing all of the events that happened in this movie, including Lois knowledge of who Superman was. Now as to which version of the two (Super Kiss or Spin back time) is much lamer with regards to Lois losing her memory of Superman's identity is left to the audience to judge. Superman II is a great sequel to the first Superman Movie where in the first movie we were thrilled to be introduced to Superman's amazing powers, Superman II gave us more thrill as we finally get to see Superman fight some super powered bad guys. The action scenes itself is worth watching as we finally get to see Superman use his plethora of super powers against bad guys of equal or if not greater super powers. Until to this very day, Superman II is the measuring stick for all Superhero Movie sequels. As to which version of the two movies are superior to one another,  I personally view both films as separate versions that could stand on their own as prequels to the succeeding Superman movies. Richard Lester's version could pretty much be succeeded by the campier Superman III and the Superman IV disaster. While Richard Donner's version could pretty much be succeeded by Superman Returns as Bryan Singer had said in interviews that Superman Returns is set in the same timeline with Richard Donner's Superman movies. A convoluted plot thread however hangs between the two as how did Lois Lane birthed Superman's son in Superman Returns if Donner's Superman turned back the clock, effectively erasing the possibility that Superman impregnated Lois during their Fortress of Solitude love making. Somehow, Lester's Super-Kiss would have worked. Ah, but the intricacies of this Superman franchise should be left to the viewers imagination. This does not diminish the fact that Superman II is perhaps the best Superman Movie before Zack Snyder's the Man of Steel reboot happened.  

General Zod

The Action Figure: I was actually reluctant to get this General Zod action figure since I'm not quite a huge fan of 4 inch action figures. But there were only two choices to choose from for a Terence Stamp General Zod. This one, the Mattel DC Multiverse General Zod, and a 12 inch Movie Masters General Zod also from Mattel. I couldn't quite find that Movie Masters figure so I had to settle for this smaller one. I'm bummed though that Mattel continues to snub  6 inch versions of these classic DC Superhero Movies. To the uninitiated, DC Multiverse is a toy line from Mattel which focuses on releasing different action figures based on the DC Superhero movies and video games. So far, this toy line has touched on the successful Batman: Arkham video game series, Batman movies that starred Michael Keaton (they had released a Danny de Vito Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman, Michael Keaton Masked and Unmasked Batman), and of course the Christopher Reeve Superman (Superman and General Zod). So far DC Multiverse has stopped releasing newer figures and I'm guessing the line might not have the same success as let's say Mattel's 6 inch lines. Being a huge Superman fan that I am, I was supposed to get the DC Multiverse Christopher Reeve Superman but I just couldn't pull the trigger with the selling price that I saw (P800 or close to $20). I however got General Zod at around $10 (though Mattel is selling them at $2.99 at a recent warehouse sale). So is the General Zod action figure really worth it at the price that I got him? Read on...      



Between Superman and General Zod, Zod actually has the better articulation count. General Zod comes with a ball jointed neck (but works like a swivel neck), ball hinged shoulders, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, hinged elbows and knees, and double pivot hips. Superman on the other hand lacks the swivel biceps. Pretty good for a 4 inch action figure actually but still falls behind when compared to Hasbro's G.I. Joe and Marvel Universe 4 inch action figures. The figure's likeness to Terrence Stamp however looks quite accurate. The same could not be said about the Christopher Reeve Superman however. I'm still hoping that someday we get to see a 6 inch version of this General Zod. NECA recently had been releasing 7 inch action figures based on 1980's Movie Icons that began with Robocop, Terminator, Rocky, and Predator. It made waves to DC fans when NECA released a 7 inch Michael Keaton Batman (bundled with a DVD), which set the stage for this year's NECA Christopher Reeve Superman (also bundled with a DVD). It seems that since Mattel has the sole license for DC Superhero action figures, NECA had to make it look like that their DC Superhero action figures are bundled by Blu-Ray/DVDs so that they could circumvent some legal issues as to why they were able to release Batman and Superman action figures. It isn't as if Mattel couldn't release one. They somehow managed to release 6 inch versions of the Adam West Batman series (though NECA's version is far superior), but failed to give us 6 inch versions of the Michael Keaton Batman. Maybe someday down the line we'll get to see Mattel's version for Christopher Reeve Superman? Check out more photos of the DC Multiverse General Zod below (pardon the use of the Microman Superman, he seems to be in scale with Zod and had to be made as a stand in to the DC Multiverse Christopher Reeve Superman).

Comparison Shots (L-R): Man of Steel mini-statue, General Zod, Microman Superman, and DC Infinite Heroes Superman

General Zod and some comparison shots of the 4 inch Man of Steel General Zod and Namek basic figures. 

General Zod takes flight

Kneel before Zod

The End for Superman?

Non?

So whatever happened to the DC Direct Commander Kal El body after I took his head to create my version of a 6 inch Christopher Reeve Superman? Well I had to make some random Kryptonian bad guy. I was hoping to come up with a 6 inch Non action figure to accompany my DC Direct Last Son General Zod and Ursa action figure. It puzzles me to this day why they neglected to release Non when he also appeared in the Last Son storyline. I dunno if this random Jakks Pacific Wrestler would fit the bill as Non's lookalike but I'm using him in my display anyway. And I'm having fun displaying him alongside General Zod and Ursa, this somehow completes the Phantom Zone criminal triumvirate. I however won't be reviewing this figure here as it shares the same body with the Commander Kal El figure. So this is the figure which I was saying earlier that I will be featuring along with the DC Multiverse General Zod. So a double Superman II movie feature and a double action figure feature for this entry. How cool is that? Lol! Check out more photos of this figure in action below.

Non!

General Zod, Ursa, and Non from Superman: Last Son

"Care to step outside?"

Super Brawl!

Superman v.s. Non

Superman v.s. Ursa

Superman v.s. General Zod

Kneel before Zod!

Superman triumphant!

Next up, Superman III. But my entry may take a while, I'm still waiting for my NECA Christopher Reeve Superman to arrive sometime next month. Got lucky that I managed to get one! I'm not sure if I should open it though LOL! See you guys in my next entry!