My Top 5 Modern Superman Action Figures

To Celebrate Superman Day this day, I'm rolling out my Top Five Superman Action Figures. First, the qualifiers: This list will only include those in the 6-7 inch scale. So no Hot Toys and the vintage 5 inch ones from Kenner. Listing will be from 5 to 1 with 1 being the best in my opinion. The list will also be limited to those that I have. So Mezco is out of here as I did not mind purchasing one as the "doll" like appearance does not quite appeal to me. No Movie Figures will also be included, so no NECA Christopher Reeve or DC Films Henry Cavill Superman. So with that settled, let me roll out my Top 5 Modern Superman Action Figures.

5.) DC Direct Justice Superman
He has to be put here because aesthetically he is still the best Superman Action Figure for the simple reason that it is a perfect 3D Rendition of Alex Ross' art. However, movement articulation is what puts him down on my list. But the strength alone of Alex Ross designs' made him reach my list. It was also during this period where DC Direct began releasing comic book artist design centric action figures. Some of the comic book artists that were given the action figure rendition was those by Joe Shuster, Curt Swan, Frank Miller, Ed McGuiness, Jim Lee, Phil Jimenez, Ethan Van Sciver, Adam Kubert, and Gary Frank among others. There was also a re-use of this body using a new head which I call the John Byrne Superman. For some reason I wasn't able to do a review of this Alex Ross Superman but the John Byrne one is similar to this, so that should suffice for the time being.

4.) DC Essentials Superman
Perhaps being on this list is a case of recency bias? I don't think so. DC Essentials movement articulation wise is one of the best if not the best well articulated Superman action figure ever. But the too much articulation kinda sacrificed the aesthetic of the figure. For one, collectors are complaining about the "gorilla" arms that this figure sports. That double jointed elbow seems to be the culprit. The smallish cape design also takes away the grand majestic look of Superman. I've done a complete review of this action figure which can be accessed here.

3.) Mattel DC Superheroes Superman
Mattel has been battered by Toy Collectors for the longest time because they seemed to be steps behind when compared to rival Toy Manufacturer Hasbro who holds the rights to the Marvel Legends franchise. And just recently, Mattel also lost the DC license to produce action figures in 6 inch form to McFarlane Toys. Effectively ending more than 2 decades of DC action figure releases. But despite all the criticisms, Mattel's role in the modern action figure evolution remains to be a significant part of action figure history. And their DC Universe Classics (DCUC) line will still probably stand as the most expansive DC Universe Action Figure collection of all time. And their very first rendition of the ultra articulated Superman via the DC Superheroes toy line (which was a pre-cursor to DC Universe Classics) is still one of the best Superman action figures of all time. I even put this Superman on top of the recent improvements done on the DCUC version. You can read my full review of this figure here.

2.) McFarlane Toys Superman
Despite being new, McFarlane Toys Superman deserves to be this high on the list and this is just not another case of the recency bias. Everything seems to be going right with this figure. It features very strong aesthetic features. The movement articulation are all very well thought of. The paint works are very strong. Its only the weak ankles which kills this figure's chances to be the best. And yeah, the scale too since this is more 7 inch rather than the 6 inch scale which most old time collectors prefer. But there's nothing much you could knock from this figure. And if you are new to toy collecting, then this is a great starting point as I see McFarlane Toys still coming out with a very strong assortment of DC Action Figures. You can read my review of this action figure here.

1.) DC Direct Superman
And the best modern Superman Action Figure of all time in my list is none other than the DC Direct Superman. And despite being in existence for almost 2 decades, this Superman figure is still very hard to top even with the dearth of new Superman Action Figure releases utilizing modern production technology. The movement articulation in this figure coupled with strong aesthetic designs is still top notch and never gets old. I know that there are newer action figures out there with more improvements on the articulation but I still can't see them topping this. I also like the paint colors of this figure specially the lighter blue hues on his suit than the generally modern Superman colors of a darker hued costume. Everything just looks perfect to me. This figure's body was also re-used with two other versions featuring a different head sculpt (although I don't remember which of the three was released first.) You can access my complete review of this figure here.

So who's your pick? Do hit me some thoughts. Happy Superman Day!