The New Maven Collectibles TITAN Blank Body is now available at Kickstarter!

Fresh off the heels of the success of their female blank bodies, MAVEN Collectibles returns with a monstrous offering. The 1:12th Scale TITAN action figure blank body that will surely knock you off your socks. After seeing the prototype figure in the video of their Kickstarter page, I'm shocked to see that MAVEN collectibles is going BIG time, with a special emphasis on BIG for their next offering. This time, enhanced by their new President and Sculptor Victor Hugo Sousa (does that name ring a bell?), these TITAN blank bodies features highly detailed sculpts and articulations that makes these babies look menacing in every pose.

There's going to be a lot of potential for these TITAN blank bodies for customizers to play with. And right now, I could pretty much name two characters that could be perfect subjects for these TITAN blank bodies. In the video, these TITAN blank bodies features over 30 points of articulation and also features Highly Articulated hands and fingers that reminds us of the old TOYBIZ Marvel Legends days. MAVEN Collectibles, in every offering, just keeps getting better and better!

You can check out their Kickstarter page for more infos about this product, as well as by backing this project by placing your orders in the link below:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mavencollectibles/1-12th-scale-titan-body-9-inch-action-figure-blank/

You can also check my review of the Female Blank Bodies if you want to get to know more about their previous product in this link:

https://actionfigureplanet.blogspot.com/2019/07/maven-collectibles-blank-body-review.html

And oh, about that guy? Their new President and Lead Sculptor Victor Hugo Sousa? Well apart from his works with XM Studios, Iron Studios, and Kotobukiya Studios, well he was the one responsible for this......

Visit https://mavencollectibles.com/ to get up to date infos and details of all their offerings.

The Return of Superman Returns (Part 1 of a 2 Part Series)

With the recent news about the recasting of Brandon Routh as (Kingdom Come) Superman in the highly successful DC TV Universe, I thought of digging out an old article I found in the net about the rumored sequel to Superman Returns. Though Superman Returns enjoyed mild success, it never was given a chance to push the story forward when Warner Bros. decided to pull the plug and rebooted Superman. The resulting reboot was the Zack Snyder film Man of Steel headlined by Henry Cavill as Superman. But the totally messed up Justice League movie has forced WB to totally abandon Snyder's vision for their DC Extended Universe, in effect, putting Cavill in limbo. Now, we are left with one Live Action Superman in the form of Tyler Hoechlin, who plays Superman in the Supergirl TV Series, which is a part of the DC TV Universe (or Arrowverse to be correct).While Hoechlin played a decent Superman, it cannot be denied that by the turn of the Millennium, the three most popular live action Superman came down to Routh, Cavill, and Tom Welling. While Arrowverse fans were rooting for Tom Welling to don the Superman costume (which he disappointedly never did during his 10 season run as Clark Kent in the Smallville TV Series), it was Routh who was given the opportunity to revisit the character that made him a household name. This two part entry will focus on Brandon Routh as Superman, and what we could probably expect for his upcoming role as the Kingdom Come Superman. But before that, let us look back and try to breakdown the Superman Returns sequel that never was. I dug back and scoured the net for that long lost rumored synopsis of the sequel and found them at a now defunct webpage. Below is the long lost "rumored synopsis" to the sequel of Superman Returns.

Visit DC Universe Philippines on Facebook, the Philippines best source for DC Universe related news and stuffs 

Probably one of the best scenes of Superman Returns

DISCLAIMER: Synopsis text not mine, this was taken entirely from the defunct IESB.NET page

Superman: The Man of Steel

Superman: The Man of Steel started just a few years after the incidents that we saw in Superman Returns. Kal-El is doing what Superman does best, Lois Lane is raising her kid Jason, who of course is Superman's child and the world is getting use to having Superman back.

Now there are storyline threads that go back to Superman Returns, one is the on going plot of Superman's original reason of going back to Krypton. He has always wondered if he truly is the last Son of Krypton.

Remember new Krypton that Lex created with crystals he stole from the Fortress of Solitude and Kryptonite that Supes launched into to space that nearly killed him?

Superman visits and inspects New Krypton, the island created by Lex Luthor which Superman launched into space

So new Krypton continues to grow in space and has become an almost perfect sphere. It is now the size of a small moon.

Besides giving Humans something to admire at night, Earth's new satellite has also brought some unexpected attention from a galaxy far, far away.

A massive spaceship arrives Earth's orbit, Superman flies up to meet the spacecraft and we are introduced to our out of this world visitor.

Superman quickly finds out that our visitor is also a Kryptonian survivor who has been traveling the known galaxies and was able to detect Kryptonian technology thanks to our new green/black satellite that has started to orbit the Earth.

Superman and his Kryptonian Buddy?

Superman finally has found a Kryptonian buddy and starts showing him around the planet, a planet full of problems, disease, famine, crime and nations at war with each other.

Our new Kryptonian friend asks Superman why, with all his power, is he not changing the world for the better. Why is he not getting rid of famine, disease and war? Of course fans know that Superman has always been told, or better said instructed, not to interfere with Earth's development.

Superman explains that he is not allowed to interfere but his Krypto buddy tells him that with their powers they are required to "interfere," Superman disagrees.

Krypto buddy decides to take charge and starts "interfering" from day one. One of the first things that he does is get involved in a political mess that is heating up between two third world nations.

War breaks out between these two nations but before any real battle breaks, our Krypto buddy interferes and lays waste to these two Armies.

He declares to the world that he will not allow anymore wars and/or the destruction of our planet. He is declaring a "War Free" planet and for those who disagree, he will have to deal with them.

No more war? Superman aides his Kryptonian buddy to stop the war

The major nations of the planet applaud his actions and all agree to an immediate worldwide peace. In return he promises to share technology, fight hunger, famine and disease.

The population of the world rejoices and any small pockets of resistance is quickly squashed by Krypto buddy or even the world governments.

Superman has now become a pariah, the way the world sees it, he has been here for years and had kept technology that could have saved many of the worlds problems.


Superman starts getting a bit suspicious of Krypto buddy and decides to go talk to him. He goes to his spaceship and has a revelation. This massive ship is full of hundreds if not thousands of identical bodies aboard, yep, clones of Krypto buddy, in stasis.

Kryptonian buddy no more, BRAINIAC is revealed! 

So Superman digs a bit more inside the "computer" system, which is familiar to him since it's Kryptonian technology just like the Fortress of Solitude.

Superman finds out that Krypto buddy is actually an artificial intelligence from Krypton that has evolved since the destruction of their world.

He escaped Krypton just like Kal-El did and his real name is Brainiac. He has been going from planet to planet, taking their technology, helping these worlds reach a relative perfection and then he destroys them and moves on.

Superman also finds out that he was actually responsible for the destruction of Krypton and tries to warn the leaders of the world but is confronted by Brainiac. A massive battle ensues and Superman is about to defeat his foe but right just before, Brainiac downloads his conscience into one of his other clones.

Jason White runs for his life as BRAINIAC tries to capture him

Superman realizes that he must destroy this massive ship along with all the clones aboard. After another massive battle he is able to disable the ship, destroy the clones and the new Brainiac but right before the ship is destroyed the Brainiac main frame does a local search for another body that he could download in to, it has to be Kryptonian, and he finds another one on Earth, Superman's kid Jason White.


So Brainiac uses Kryptonian technology and beams/download itself into Jason's body and this causes causes him to age and grow into a full adult but with Brainiac in complete control.

Superman realizes what just happened and rushes to confront his very own son who is now possessed by Brainiac.

Is Jason still there or is it all Brainiac? It's all Brainiac and Superman knows what he has to do, he must defeat Brainiac at all costs or the planet and its inhabitants will be doomed.

Can Superman save both his son and his adopted planet Earth?

It's a battle between two gods but Superman has already been run ragged and beat down pretty bad in his previous battles of the day. Brainiac has the upper hand and Superman is trying to not to do any permanent damage to Jason's body.

Every time Brainiac is defeated in the past he simply tries to download to another clone and leaves that body completely brain dead but with no other bodies left, will Jason survive? The answer is no.

There is a Christ like metaphor here. Superman has to sacrifice his own son to save humanity.

There are still plenty of holes left in this story, we were not privy to all the details but this is the bulk of the info we received.

While the Bryan Singer sequel was axed, it didn't stop Mattel from releasing a Toyline based on the Sequel as shown here. 

So what do you guys think? Could the planned sequel for Superman Returns would have worked? Remember, Bryan Singer's take on the first X-Men film was a slow build up, as he first tried to establish the status quo of the X-Men. But his sequel, X-Men 2, totally blew everyone away as the high adrenaline action packed sequences and tight plot delivered what I believe is arguably the best Live Action X-Men movie to date! Now basing on the rumored synopsis, the Death of Superman's son is a perfect lead up to how Routh's Superman became the Kingdom Come version. I will be writing my thoughts on the connection to this sequel and the Arrowverse Kingdom Come Superman in part two of this article in my next entry. Hold on. The fun is just getting started!

Superman Returns: A Retrospective

Whether we accept it or not, there are a lot of Critics and Superman Fans who are still hung over from Christopher Reeve's take on Superman. Don't get me wrong, it is a great Superman movie, perhaps even the greatest, but that Superman Classic looks so outdated now by current standards. Singer's Superman Returns was exactly an attempt to hold on to that nostalgia while trying to push the Superman story in the big screen forward. In fact, most critics love Superman Returns more than Man of Steel. And many Superman fans are still pinning on the good old days of the joyful, charming, and brighter Superman as portrayed by Reeve. Nothing wrong with that really. But Warner Brother's meddling and lack of patience has continually hi-jacked any efforts to put Superman back in the big screen as a respectable figure. If they would have been patient enough with Singer, maybe the sequel to Superman Returns would have been bigger and more exciting after establishing the status quo of the present Superman via Superman Returns. If one could remember, Singer's first X-Men wasn't that much of a big movie, but it laid down the groundwork for the sequel X-Men 2 to be a bigger and more exciting movie.

Brandon Routh as Superman

Before the Snyderverse these were who WB was banking on

I personally blame the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy for steering Superman into the "Dark, Serious, and Grounded" territory. While the Reeve and Routh Supermen were more on the wonder and the amazing, Snyder's take (with Nolan's blessing if you could remember) grounded Superman in the real world scenario of a post 911 world. I have expounded on that here. WB thought that the massive success of The Dark Knight Trilogy is something that they should build on in contrast to Marvel's more GP friendly movies. But is that really how to do Superman movies? For those who have been following my posts about the DCEU, I'm a staunch defender of Snyder's vision. I was heavily invested in what his idea was and how he would present his mythology. But the grand scale that he tried to convey with the limited screen time given to him to utilize just couldn't make his vision work. And the Josstice League mangled movie burned Snyder's vision to the ground. But if there's one thing that WB learned from this experience, it is that now they are beginning to treat their Comic Book movies in accordance to the Character's characteristics. And so far, we have Aquaman (Action-Adventure), Shazam!(Comedy-Adventure) and the upcoming Joker (Rated R) movie as our examples.

Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor

Now as for Superman, Singer's Superman after all should have been the right treatment for Superman. Superman Returns generally retained most of the Christopher Reeve Superman's mythology as a quasi-sequel. Part action, part adventure, part romance, and part drama, it had all the elements that made the Reeve Superman a well love classic. But too much reverence and nostalgia for the past Superman film rendered the movie to a fault. The plot basically was a retread of the first Superman movie plus some extras that Singer was building on. Marlon Brando (Jor EL) made a cameo by using old footage and combining it with CGI technology. The Villain (Lex Luthor) was the same, the motivations (Real Estate) of the villain was the same, Superman's action scenes were basically the same showcase of what Superman can do. Even the Superman romance with Lois in flight was a rehash of the Superman and Lois "Can you read my mind" date. Superman drowning in the sea because of Kryptonite was also a rehash of Superman drowning in Luthor's mini-pool because of a Kryptonite necklace. In fact there were a lot more in the film that looked like a scene by scene reconstruction of the old Reeve Superman. But then, Singer's love letter to the old Christopher Reeve movie was his attempt at re-establishing the Superman mythology that most people remembered. And most of it generally worked for those who continue to love the Reeve Superman. But for the new generation of Superman fans, it felt lacking. The advent of technology should have made Superman's adventures bigger and grander. Fans were looking for a Superman that punches (in Superman Returns I don't remember Superman land a single punch, but these fans were overwhelmed by the punching that Cavill's Superman landed though).     

Only Lex Luthor did the punching and kicking

The ending shot to Superman Returns was very similar to Christopher Reeve's Superman ending shot.

Superman Returns had its share of problems. And the 5 year absence of Superman that was established after Superman 2 made him an absentee dad when it was surprisingly revealed that Superman had a son with Lois. Superman Returns wasn't really a bad movie if it was given a chance to continue its story. Singer had established some surprising plot threads that he could have used for the next movie. And in my next entry, I've managed to dig up the rumored synopsis to Singer's Superman Returns sequel.

Maven Collectibles Blank Body Review

Surprisingly, last year I got an e-mail from the guys at Maven Collectibles, asking me if I could feature their product. I gladly said yes, because at one glance of their prototype bodies, I find the company's creations very promising. With that, I did an interview with them to know more about their company and product offerings. Last month, I finally received a package from them, a sampler of their 1:12th Scale Superheroine Blank Body Female Action Figure. This entry will be a review of that product.

The 1:12th Scale Superheroine Blank Body Female Action Figure set consists of 6 interchangeable heads as shown above plus the one attached on the figure above. The 6 heads comes in varying expressions including a mouthless one. 

The set also comes with 6 pair of hands, 2 pairs of feet, 1 knife, and 1 gun. The hands varies in different types of orientation including a couple of hands that can hold the gun and knife. 

6 varying kind of hairdos are also included to help make the figure's hairstyles more dynamic that would suit a customizer's taste.  

The figure features an insane amount of articulation. Over 30 in fact which consists of the following: 

Ball Jointed neck, Hinged Swivel arms, Swivel Biceps, Double Hinged Elbows, Hinged and Swivel wrists, Ball Jointed Torso, Ball Jointed Hips, Swivel Thigh, Double Hinged Knees, Hinged and Ball Jointed Ankle, and lastly, Hinged Toes. That articulation rivals those of Hasbro's Marvel Legends and DC Collectibles recent toy line DC Essentials.  

Speaking of Marvel Legends and DC Collectibles, for my scale comparison, I used a Marvel Legends Thundra and a DC Essentials Superman figures. Thundra is one of the tallest female figures in the Marvel Legends toy line so it was inevitable that I chose her as comparison. I used a DC Essentials Superman on the other hand because I wanted to see how the figure's scale is when compared to Superman because I have plans of customizing this Blank Female body as a Lois Lane figure to pair her up with Superman because there seems to be a lack of Lois Lane figures released. So the figure stands approximately 7 inches tall, probably too big for Hasbro and Mattel's toylines but could really work well with Marvel Select and DC Essentials.

A closer comparison with the DC Essentials Superman shows that the Blank Female Body is slightly taller compared to Superman. Could be a perfect She-Hulk custom, but I would rather stick to my original Lois Lane figure plan.

The figure's plastic material is very sturdy and actually quite heavy for its' joints. That after a few plays and poses, the joints started to loosen up. Something that is in common with the DC Essentials toyline like the Superman above who has flimsy ankles, making him hard to stand. But its sturdiness is a big plus to consider, especially after the general knowledge that DC Collectibles seems to be bad when it comes to the sturdiness of their products.  The figure is still awesome overall and is a customizer's dream blank body considering that the only other blank bodies available in the market are those from Figma, which is built more for the anime types. Below are some more shots of the figure.

I think Maven Collectibles deserves to bag a licensing deal with any of the more popular characters. I think after this, Maven should explore licensing deals. They've got great action figure bodies and just imagine them handling Marvel or DC characters. The possibilities are quite endless with their dynamic figures.

So would I recommend the product? Absolutely! Because the durability and the awesome articulations is very well worth your money. Customizers no longer need to disassemble those other action figures when customizing, they could go on straight ahead with their customizing projects by purchasing the readily available Blank Bodies by Maven Collectibles. I myself is not that good when it comes to customizing and painting but with this blank body readily available, I think I'll give customizing a try. I'd probably post my finished product in the near future. And I'm sticking with Lois Lane by the way. To purchase your figure and to get to know more about Maven Collectibles, visit their website at www.mavencollectibles.com I hope you guys could share your customized Maven blank bodies for me to see.

SHAZAM! Film Review

DC's second post Snyderverse movie has finally hit the Cinemas, and no surprise there, SHAZAM! Has put the "FUN" in Superhero Movies like there never has been before. Or has it? SHAZAM! pretty much felt like a "MARVEL" movie but with tons of steroids. In fact, SHAZAM! pretty much harkens back to the PRE-MARVEL Cinematic Universe superhero movies of the 90's. In case you've forgotten about those films, let me refresh you by throwing some names out here. Does Sky High ring a bell? How about My Super Ex-Girlfriend?, Meteor Man?, still doesn't ring a bell? Mystery Men anyone? Well probably it's because those movies despite being "FUN" and "ENJOYABLE" are just FORGETTABLE. These type of movies were created as stereotypical depictions of the mainstream audience's opinion about comic books (or as they would call it funny books) being childish and juvenile reading/movie materials suited for kids and those who never grew up from these types of fancy. These movies were watched but never analyzed, digested on its merits to bring fun and excitement to audiences and then just be forgotten at the deep recesses of their mind. NO, SHAZAM! never pretended to be anything more than just a fun romp Superhero movie. You won't see any Snyder craziness here to deconstruct a superhero. And this probably is the best decision Warner Bros. has ever made for their DC Cinematic Universe, in spite of what I have said above.    

SHAZAM! basically is one kid's (Billy Batson) quest to find his missing family despite being adopted by a foster home full of adopted kids who are sincerely trying their best to accept Billy as a part of their family. While on the side, dealing with his new found powers like a normal 15 year old would do. The craziness of the superhero part is mixed in with strong performances by the goofy Zachary Levi as SHAZAM! and Mark Strong as his arch nemesis Dr. Sivana. SHAZAM! could have also worked as a drama comedy minus the superhero part but hey, we are after the Superhero part after all right? And SHAZAM! does not fail in the superhero department too. What makes the movie quite enjoyable for me was the tons of easter eggs that director David Sandberg has put into it. The "is Shazam! part of the Snyderverse?" question is vaguely answered as there are tons of easter eggs paying homage to the previous DCEU movies (even Superman made an appearance wearing the exact Snyder Superman suit). And if the Justice League failed you, then probably the SHAZAM! Family can pretty much take its place as surprise appearances by a roster of SHAZAM's extended family graced us in the movie. There's nothing really deep presented in the movie, but the touching running theme about "FAMILY" is the big take away in this movie as not only mortal Billy is supported by his mortal family, but their transformation as superhero themselves would put them in full circle as Billy/Shazam! would no longer have to deal with the real life troubles of the world alone, but he can face them with a renewed strength with his family by his side.      

Did I enjoy the movie? Yes! Am I happy and agreeable with Warner Bros. new direction? Not so fast. BUT! Doing the movie SHAZAM! this way is actually the only way to do it. Not everyone may agree, but I always faulted the SNYDERVERSE VISION to the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy. The crazy execs at Warner Bros. fell so romantically in love with Nolan's "Dark", "Serious" , and "Cerebral" take on Batman's mythology that they surmised that HEY! Let's all make our superhero movies "Dark", "Serious", and "Cerebral". Failing to match the tone and theme to a particular Superhero. While I do get Snyder's vision of a more deconstructed superhero, and his effort to make these comic book characters more than a child's fantasy, I also understood the sentiments of those who were violently against Man of Steel and Snyder's succeeding DC Films. Superman should have been done on a more grander and majestic scale. Not Dark and Brooding, but a cheerful and hope filled superhero. Warner Bros. should have taken that route in the first place. But I guess not everything is too late, judging by the slate of films that are said to be released. Warner probably has learned their lesson by now because as seen in the Joaquin Phoenix starred Joker movie trailer, Joker won't be anywhere near Aquaman and SHAZAM! in tone and direction. Joker will be dark, violent, and probably thought provoking. I'm happy for SHAZAM! I'm genuinely happy for those who thoroughly enjoyed it, especially to the kids who finally have the opportunity to enjoy a DC movie. But, I still haven't moved on from the hangover of the Snyderverse. Waiting for the Snyder Cut of Justice League to be released by now is just pointless. Every DC Movie released starting from Aquaman has started to distance itself from the Snyderverse. But I'm still not losing hope that one day, the mythical Justice League will return to the big screen one day. And when Warner Bros. finally rakes in the money and profits they need to finance this whole damn DC Universe, it still wouldn't be a bad idea to revisit a MOVIE UNIVERSE that will continue to be debatable and an undying topic in forums and discussions in the years to come. The Snyderverse deserves to have its tale told and finished. Then we can all move on from that.