Mattel: DCUC Superman Blue and Red

Mattel DCUC Superman Blue and Red

After DC gave Superman a new look (Mullet Hair), it did not take them long to do an even more drastic change. DC introduced a Superman with new costume and new powers. This "new" Superman caused an uproar in the comic book community as the familiar Blue/Red and "S" shield went missing. In place of it was a newly designed blue and white containment suit that would contain Superman who was now made of pure energy. Mattel gave this controversial version an action figure that looks cool beside the other Superman figures. Read on below for more about this controversial Superman.

Superman Blue

Superman (who just had his wedding and honeymoon) goes on a mission to restore his powers after it was drained away from him during the Final Night event. He enlists the help of the Legion of Superheroes, The Guardian, and a couple of human scientists when all of a sudden, the New Gods appeared and asked for Superman's help without them knowing that Superman had no powers. The New Gods helps Superman get his powers back by sending him to the sun's core. A full powered Superman enjoys a brief dalliances with his classic powers when all of a sudden he goes through another transformation. This one, more shocking and drastic.Superman loses his physical attributes and transforms into pure energy, needing a containment suit just to maintain his humanoid form. I don't know how this transformation came about but it must have been something to do with his power loss and then the subsequent return. In time, Superman learns to turn his powers off and revert to his human form but was now entirely powerless once he reverts to being human. In the next succeeding issues, we would see Superman getting a crash course on how to use his new powers. Gone were the classic heat vision, and in place were electrical energy attacks. Longtime Superman fans went on an outburst when they learned of these changes from DC. Dubbed by DC and fans as Superman Blue, the Superman editorial board forged on to develop this character for a year despite the backlash from the comic book community. Many thought that this was another gimmick created by DC in order for them to arrest the declining sales of Superman comic books. Whether true or not, DC went on to continue their story direction. And it got even more crazier when they introduced another Superman of the same nature, Superman Red.          

Superman Red

Superman Red first appeared in a one shot DC Special Superman Red/Superman Blue comic book (more on that later). Superman Red was an offshoot of Superman Blue when Superman Blue was captured and threatened to be dispersed by splitting his energy form into a hundred pieces. This causes Superman Blue to split his energy and from there another Superman was born, Superman Red. With two Supermen now existing in the DC Universe, DC decided to give both of these Supermen two different set of personalities. Superman Blue was the more patient and contemplative one. He would rather think his way out of his battles and uses his mind more than face his battles head on. Superman Red was the more aggressive one. He would storm out in the battle with fists and powers blazing. These set of differing personalities was also evident during their human form as the readers were also treated to two Clark Kents. Lois eventually kicked both Clark Kents out of their house and have the both of them figure it out among themselves on how to settle their differences. This would further cause the two to drift apart to the point that both considered that it was better to be separated from each other than to find a way to fuse both of them back together. Both Supermen finally met their match when they fought against the Millennium Giants, as it would take the both of them to make the ultimate sacrifice in order for them to beat the Millennium Giants. Both energy based Supermen's energies were dispersed, what followed was a very vague explanation (off panel) but the classic Superman emerges from it and returns.      

Superman Blue and Superman Red

The Action Figures: Superman Blue and Superman Red was one of the most controversial Superman story direction during it's time, so it became such a huge surprise for me that Mattel gave honor to these Supermen by producing action figures based from them. But this actually was not the first incarnation of these Supermen in action figure form. Years back in simultaneous with their run in their DC comics, Hasbro produced figures of these Supermen through their Hasbro JLA toy line and their 7 inch DC Superheroes toy line. Warranted that those were produced right at the time when they were featured prominently in their own comic books, it's a huge surprise for me that Mattel opted to let us remember these Supermen after a decade since they last appeared. I'm not complaining though because even if this was a period when most Superman fans would rather opt to forget, these latest incarnations from Mattel looks so cool. Superman Blue was the regular figure released with Superman Red serving as the variant figure. Superman Red's body is a straight repaint of Superman Blue's with Superman Red getting a new head sculpt which features a nicely done angry expression. Both figures stayed true to their comic book counterparts as the facial expressions on these figures highlight both of these Supermen's differing personalities. Superman Blue sports a more relaxed look in opposite to Superman Red's angry looks. Both figure also shares the same standard DCUC articulation (a ball jointed neck, ball hinged shoulders, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, pivot torso, hinged elbows, knees, and ankles, and double pivot hips). I pretty much like the accessories that came with these figures. Both figures have these removable sculpted energy flames that is attached on their wrists, and a non removable energy flame that is attached on their back (though I removed this energy flame from my Superman Blue's back). These energy flame attached on their back features the Electric Superman logo (see photo below) which is nicely done by the sculptors of these figures. The paint colors (white) blends nicely with the blue/red plastic colors, giving us two action figures that are very much faithful to the comic book designs. If you are getting these figures, it is important that you get both as these figures compliment nicely with each other. It is as if they were made to be together. Mattel should have opted to release them as a two pack than offering them as singles with the other one as the variant. A true blue Superman fan should get these figures no matter how obscure they are in the place of Superman's history.      

Superman Blue's Energy Flame with the electric S insignia

Superman Blue and Superman Red together

Flight of the New Supermen

Fighting for Lois' affection

Special Edition 3D cover of Superman Red/Blue 1

Defining Comic Book in my collection featuring this figure: I really would have love to feature the last adventure of these Supermen but up until now, I'm still looking for that Millennium Giants story arc. So I'm settling for this Superman Red/Superman Blue one shot which featured the birth of Superman Red. In this story, as Superman continues to deal with his new powers, Superman villains Toyman and Cyborg teams up to hatch a plan on finally destroying Superman. Building an energy containment chamber, the villains traps Superman Blue in it and activates a device that could fatally drain Superman's energy form with the possibility that his energies disperse to death. But instead of dying, Superman Blue splits into two beings, with the other one becoming Superman Red, a more aggressive version. Superman Blue takes down Toyman while Superman Red foils Cyborg with both not knowing the existence of the other. As the story came to a close, both Supermen reverts to their Clark Kent alter ego, revealing to us readers that there are now two Supermen and Clark Kents. I don't have the entire run of the whole "Electric Superman" saga as my access to comic books at that time were limited but I religiously followed his story in Superman Homepage. It was my curiosity for this sudden change in Superman's powers and appearance that led me to discover the existence of Superman Homepage. Up until now, I visit the site daily just to get me updated on Superman stuffs. To get the whole low down on the "Electric Supermen", visit Superman Homepage's official Electric Superman FAQs here. I'm still hoping to get the whole Millennium Giants story arc one of these days, and maybe also build the whole "Electric Superman" run. More photos below

DCUC Superman Blue escapes from the containment chamber

Superman Red's first appearance

Superman Blue and Superman Red based on the art of Ron Frenz

That wraps up the last of my Mattel DC Universe Classics Superman. The upcoming reviews will feature artist centric DC Direct Superman action figures as Superman returns to the classic costume that we all know and love. See you in my next entry.

Apocalypse (Marvel Legends)

Marvel Legends Apocalypse BAF

When building the ML Apocalypse, never commit this mortal sin of buying all the action figures without checking the build-a-figure pieces that comes with it, because there are two versions of this guy- the original (blue) version and the black version that came months after the original one. What's more terrifying and apocalyptic is when you make a mistake of joining a blue piece with a black piece, and realize that it can't be undone (sorry bud, I guess you have to go all the way back to square one). A friend of mine almost pulled his hair off and offered me $6.00 for a blue-black upper & lower torso when he made this mistake. Out of curiousity, I considered the offer and tried dry brushing the ball-jointed hips with royal blue that can match Apocalypse's colour. Although you might notice it as you look closely, but it isn't really bad.











Marvel Legends Apocalypse (Series 12) is one of those big build-a-figures by Toy Biz; just standing an inch shorter than the ML Sentinel. Also, he's one of the exciting BAF's I have completed in my toy collecting experience. Like any other BAF's, you need to buy the action figure that has the correct part in it: X-23 (Upper Torso & Head), Bishop (Lower Torso), Sasquatch (Right Arm), Maestro (Left Arm), Iron Fist (Right Leg), Astonishing Wolverine (Left Leg).

The first thing you'll notice and that's unique with this figure are his two super bendable cables that go from his back to his elbows. The cables doesn't impede with any arm movements you make on this guy, which is great! The sculpt on this figure is not really that bad. Personally, I wished he would looked more like a body-builder (bulkier legs and arms) than a sprinter but I think he looks fine. He got a pretty decent paint app with some black shading over his blue uniform, which adds emphasis to his muscles. And of course, my paint-customized hips stand unlike anything else. One minor issue though is the sculpt on his fingers, and it's odd to look at these "gorilla hands" when you have those palms opened.

The articulation on this guy is simply outstanding and I never had such a big action figure with this high level of poseability! It's actually him and Giant Man (another big guy) that have articulations this great.


These articulations include:
- ball-jointed neck
- ab crunch
- bicep swivels
- single-jointed elbows
- hinged wrists + swivel
- finger articulations (to the knuckles)
- ball-jointed hips + swivel
- double-jointed knees
- calf swivel
- hinged ankles
- ankle rockers
- hinged toes





I wouldn't expect him to be taller than the Marvel Legends BAF Sentinel. Apocalypse has a humble height of 14 inches; just in scale with his fellow Marvel Legends figures and can blend pretty well with the Selects.

Like the Sentinel and Giant Man, this build-a-figure is a must have for every Marvel Legends collector. Eventhough I already got this BAF Apocalypse, I am still looking forward to completing the black version just for the thrill of it.

There will be more action figures that I'm gonna be dealing next year and hopefully everyone will have a 

peaceful and joyful 2013!

Leia Organa (Bespin Gown) (ESB 1980-82)

Ah, Leia. What must be in your closet? And where in the heck is it? Does she just keep picking stuff up along the way or does Han have a special cargo container in the Falcon for her outfits?

This is the outfit she wore on Bespin (duh), sometime after she landed and before she was captured by Vader. She comes with the same pistol she did in her white gown. The figure comes in two variations – one with a neck painted to match the gown and one with it flesh-colored. The flesh-colored is more accurate to the film. The vinyl cape on the figure is pink with designs, whereas the one in the film was a grey/off-white. She also comes on 3 cards – two different ESBs (they have different background photos) and an ROTJ. Most self-respecting boys did not get this figure because it was as close to Barbie as you could get.

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:

1. Most self-respecting girls would get this figure.

2. It ain’t a dinner party without some Force-blocked blaster bolts and Leia in a dress.

3. poster girl for Braids ‘R Us.

4. The only time you will get an SW figure with a print on their vinyl cape.

5. Re-create the smooth moves Lando puts down for Leia. Oooooh, yeah.

Background

Leia changes her outfits many times, and her hair as often.

Want more? Leia's full Wookiepedia article 
100th in alphabetical order!


 

DC Direct Showcase: Curt Swan Superman

Curt Swan's Superman

So I'm back with my second blog post for my own countdown to the Man Of Steel movie. In this entry, I'll be doing a review of perhaps the definitive Superman representation of the Silver Age and the Bronze Age of Superman comics. 

Super Lion?

Superman writers in the Silver and Bronze Age took a more fantastical approach to Superman as they incorporated outrageous elements in their stories. With the Golden Age stories establishing Superman as a more grounded hero, the Silver Age stories dwelled on the extreme scientific approach to Superman. Superman was powered up to the point that it seemed nothing could harm him. Writers also expanded Superman's cast by coming up with his Kryptonian cousin Supergirl, and even the Super Pets. Superman stories in this period bordered on extreme scientific ideas to downright ridiculous. But despite these directions, readers continue to read the Superman comic books because these crazy ideas were plain fun to read (even though it boggles the mind to no end). A lot of elements from his Krytponian origins were also touched upon on his stories. As Superman became more and more unstoppable, different colored Kryptonites were introduced in the stories. This gave the writers different ideas on how to slow down Superman.

Super Ant?

So how crazy was the Silver Age? Pictured above and the photo on the right are two of the  transformations that Superman underwent because of the Red Kryptonite. I never had a copy of the stories featuring both of these transformations but from what I know, these aren't the only transformations that Superman underwent. Even Superman's friends were not spared from acquiring "super" powers. Since Superman's growing powers were too much for any mere villainous mortal could handle, writers didn't have any more recourse but to come up with over the top aliens, pranksters, war mongering invaders, and would be world conquerors. Comic book continuity were also put to a stop as writers began resorting to imaginary stories just to keep the Superman stories coming without straining away too much from the original premise of Superman. One of them is the story about the Future Superman called Ultra-Superman (pictured below) who hails from the year 100,000. The Superman origin story was also given a more detailed take. It retained the basic origin story about Superman as a baby was rocketed by his parents (Jor El and Lara) from a dying planet called Krypton. He arrived on Earth and was found by an old loving couple (Jonathan and Martha Kent) and was raised as their own son and named as Clark Kent. The writers added the story that Superman started his adventures as Superboy during his younger years. This move opened up the creation of the Legion of Superheroes, a group of adolescent super heroes who came back in time to recruit Superman but erroneously ended up going further back in time and decided to recruit Superboy instead.

Ultra-Superman

This time period also introduced the reader to the art of Curt Swan. Curt Swan helmed the Superman art chores for more than 30 years, encompassing the Silver Age and Bronze Age period as his Superman became that generation's definitive Superman. Curt Swan's art featured a more barrel chested Superman which reflected very well with the stories that he was involved in. But it was not his art of a bulked up Superman that endeared him to DC and the Superman fans. Swan masterfully created a Superman that had an identifiable range of emotions, making his Superman real like with the way he evokes his emotions. Readers raved about how his art bring out Superman's emotions to the readers. When Superman is sad, the readers can actually feel Superman's sadness by just looking at how Swan evokes that emotions through the way he drew Superman's facial expressions and body language. Swan also broke the the barriers between Superman and the readers. From time to time, Swan would draw Superman winking at the reader, making it seem that Superman is actually communicating with the real world. Most Superman Adventures that were illustrated by Swan brings the reader into the comic book itself as his art on Superman makes Superman involve the readers in his adventures.

Kryptonite Nevermore HC

As the Silver Age Superman stories went out of hand, the Superman books underwent an editorial change. Relaunched and under the stewardship of the new editor Julius Schwartz, Superman's overblown powers were trimmed down to bring Superman closer back to Earth. This brought about the Bronze Age of Superman comics. This depowering kicked off in the storyline Superman Kryptonite Nevermore which was written by Dennis O'Neil with art chores provided by Curt Swan. Through the years, Curt Swan's illustrations became more sophisticated, with Kryptonite Nevermore providing the perfect launching point of his more realistic illustration of Superman. The story arc dwell on the destruction of all Kryptonites as Superman became invulnerable to it's radiative effects. As the story progressed, Superman's powers were sapped by a mysterious Sand-Superman, leaving him in a de-powered state. The major villain, the Sand-Superman pretty much reminds us of the third installment of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies where Superman/Clark Kent faced a sadistic version of himself. The story arc can be fairly summarized as The Man in Superman versus the Super Powers of Superman. This story successfully brought Superman back to the street level almost as similar as to his adventures during the Golden Age. Of course battling natural disasters and strange creatures were still in abundance. But alas this "Down-to-Earth" Superman would not last as the writers after Dennis O' Neil decided to go back to the more outrageous Superman of the Silver Age. But despite the turn of events, O' Neil was able to give the newer readers a glimpse of the Superman that up to this day is the most popular and more generally accepted. This version would later inspire another relaunch for Superman in the Modern Age.       

The Silver Age Superman

The Action Figure: This Action Figure features a representation of those crazy stories as this figure comes with interchangeable heads and hands which would re-imagine the time period where Superman was transformed into different forms of animals or insects because of Red Kryptonite. What I love most of this figure is that it faithfully bears resemblance to Curt Swan's earlier Superman illustrations. Though his more realistic art of the later years looks quite good as well, I prefer this version because it represents the Silver Age and Bronze Age quite nicely since Swan's improved versions can be easily topped by the modern illustrations of the Modern Age artists. What is unbeatable in Swan's art works though is his mastery of drawing out emotive illustrations of Superman. This figure pretty much feature standard DC Direct articulations. It features a swivel neck which is also interchangeable, ball jointed shoulders, pivot elbows, swivel and interchangeable wrists, pivot hips, and pivot knees. The sculpt of this figure makes a great 3D incarnation of Curt Swan's illustrations. The barrel chests and the huge body sculpt screams Silver Age goodness. I do hope though that DC Collectibles would release a newer Curt Swan figure that would take it's sculpt from Curt Swan's last epic Superman story, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"     

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

Defining Comic Book(s) in my collection featuring this figure: So I kinda was in a fix if which comic book should I be choosing as the defining story for Curt Swan's work. I don't own any Silver Age Superman comic books, but I do have a few (as in very few) Bronze Age comic books. Though this figure is based from the Silver Age Superman, I'm featuring a Bronze Age story since it is also illustrated by Curt Swan nevertheless. Eventually I kinda cheated as I sneaked in Kryptonite Nevermore in this post too, which makes two Curt Swan illustrated stories for this entry. Besides, it does help explain the transition from Silver Age to Bronze Age. On the other hand, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" is perhaps (on a personal level) the most emotional Superman story in my comic book collection. Written by Alan Moore (of Watchmen fame) this two part story arc is the last Bronze Age Superman story before he faded into the light (literally), setting up the stage for the Modern Age relaunch of Superman. "Whatever Happened..." tells the tale of Superman last adventure before he disappeared from the general public forever. Superman squared off against his more prominent adversaries which in the end was revealed to be the machinations of the mischievous imp from the Fifth Dimention, Mr Mxyzptlk. Alan Moore crafted a very dark story which featured many deaths of both Superman's friends and foes. The way the story was written was very reminiscent of that period's (1986) dark and violent themes (see Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns). Allan Moore was also able to cram up all of Superman's significant moments of both the Silver Age and Bronze Age by incorporating in this story some of the defining moments of both periods. Curt Swan's illustrations in this comic book on the other hand broke down Superman's different emotions, illustrations that tugs the heart of longtime Superman fans.

The story began when a news reporter sought out a happily married Lois Lane during the eve of the 10th year anniversary of Superman's last adventure and his consequent disappearance. Lois tells Superman's last adventure as if it was just yesterday. Consecutive attacks on Superman and the subsequent tragedies that befell Superman's most prominent villains as well as the death of his childhood friend Pete Ross drove Superman to gather all of his closest friends (Lois, Lana, Jimmy, and Perry and his wife Alice) and brought them to his Fortress of Solitude for protection. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is taken over by Brainiac as Brainiac executes his final assault on Superman on the fortress, picking along the Kryptonite Man and the Legion of Super-Villains to help them in their quest to destroy Superman. The combined might of the Super Villains' siege on the fortress claimed the lives of Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen, and Krypto the Superdog. Leaving Superman broken and in deep curiosity as to how this turn of events happened. Mr Mxyzptlk eventually revealed himself but instead of being the "mischievous" imp, he appeared to become more evil. In a desperate attempt to stop the madness, Superman uses the Phantom Zone projector on Mr Mxyzptlk, causing the imp's death. With his vow to never take a life broken, Superman in penance decided to strip himself of his powers by using Gold Kryptonite on himself and wandered out into the arctic cold powerless. This was to be the last appearance of Superman as the public assumed that Superman without his powers would never survive the arctic wastelands. In the final panels of the story, it was revealed that Superman didn't die, but now as a mere mortal, he took on a different identity (Jordan Elliot). It is then revealed that he and Lois got married and lived happily ever after. The story ended with Curt Swan's fabled trademark, Jordan Elliot/Superman winking at the readers.   

This story arc nicely wrapped up Superman's Golden, Silver, and Modern Age adventures, paving the way for the Modern Age relaunch of Superman. This relaunch will be tackled on my next entry, John Byrne's Superman!

Wampa Snow Creature from HOTH (ESB 1980-82)

Another in Kenner’s line of monsters-that-tried-to-kill-Luke, the wampa is available by himself. This, in itself, is kind of lame. The wampa is not big, like the rancor. You cannot fit someone in its mouth, like the rancor. He has no accessories – well, neither does the rancor, but you can put someone in its mouth!

The “Wampa Snow Creature from HOTH” (or “Hoth Wampa” on later boxes) came in an ESB box, and featured spring loaded arms that could be pulled back to…swing. Presumably this was to knock Luke off his tauntaun. It sported short,stubby legs, which were neither fear-inspiring nor menacing. Due to the many different versions of the wampa prop (they tried stop-motion, a guy in a suit, a puppet, etc) Kenner might not have gotten this exactly right, and it may be more of a hybrid of body parts.

Why should you get this creature? Five reasons:

1. You’ve got the tauntaun. You’ve got Hoth Luke. Now get yourself a freakin’ wampa!

2. No one scars Luke like a wampa.

3. Your tauntaun numbers are getting out of hand. A predator helps control the population.

4. Best catcher on the baseball team. Look at those mitts!

5. Those dreamy vacant eyes.

Background:

Wampas were indigenous to Hoth, and fed mainly on tauntauns, but would eat other creatures as well. Mainly solitary hunters, they would only eat when hungry, but hunt and store prey in their cave (like Luke) for later consumption. Echo Base came under many attacks by these creatures, and there was even a deleted scene from ESB where C-3PO rips a warning sign off a wampa room, and some unaware snowtroopers run into it.

Want more? Its Wookieepedia entry

172nd in alphabetical order
 

Saelt-Marae (Yak Face) [POTF2]

...with BATTLE STAFF.

With. Battle. Staff. What are we, Master of the Universe now? When every Star Wars figure seems to have a clearly defined weapon, and one you can look up, Kenner gives Yak Face a "battle staff." No, Wookieepedia has no entry for a battle staff (unless you count a specific one for the Wookiee Merumeru). No, apparently we get a generic battle staff granted by the powers of Castle Grayskull. Whatever.

Saelt-Marae is much more detailed than his vintage figure, that only a handful of Americans ever got to see. Yak Face was the last of the original Power of the Force line, and was only released in Europe, so it was long-sought after by many here in the states.

Five reasons to own this figure:

1. If you had some mistaken notion that getting this was like getting that rare vintage Yak Face. It's not.

2. Get the only "battle staff" in the Star Wars universe. Is it magic? Is it made-up? Who knows?

3. Give him some respect - for years no name, only known as Yak Face. How degrading.

4. His facial hair reminds you of your douchebag friend in high school.

5. Official Jabba's palace drunkard.

Backstory:

Yak Face's was named Saelt-Marae sometime after ROTJ, a Yarkora and long-lived at that. He spent 200 years alone just wooing his mate. He was a con man and often an informant for both sides of the Galactic Civil War. He was an informant for Jabba and managed to escape the Sand Barge (and steal a few secrets) before it blew up.

Want more? His Wookieepedia article

Squid Head (ROTJ 1983-84)

Now, even being a minor character - in the film, very minor - you have to admit that the action figure for Squid Head is actually pretty well done. The head, the bulky hands, the figure-trimming metal corset (or whatever the heck that thing is).

Squid Head comes with a blaster pistol that is grey, but is the same mold as used for the Lando and Bespin Guard figures. Squidee (as his friends call him) was only released on a ROTJ card, but was one of the first ROTJ figs released. Squid Head had some nice cloth robes, and the metal "corset" could be removed.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. As therapy reference for those things that used to abduct you at night.

2. The best representation of a squid in head form...ever.

3. Again, as said many times before, your Jabba diorama is not complete without this figure. At least until your girlfriend makes you take it down.

4. C'mon - the name? So ridiculous you have to get him.

5. The patron figure of accountants (see below) and Cthulu fans.

Backstory:

Squid Head is a Quarren called Tessek. Quarrens actually originate from the same planet as Calamarians (Admiral Ackbar), Mon Calamari. Tessek had to flee his homeworld after an Imperial invasion. He ended up as an accountant for Jabba, and, like many of his acquaintances, planned the Hutt's death. He didn't get the chance to kill Jabba, but he did manage to escape the sand barge just in time.

Want more? His Wookieepedia article

152nd in alphabetical order

DC Direct: New Krypton Commander Kal El

DC Direct Commander Kal El

So I might be down to my last review before Man of Steel hits theaters everywhere. I actually still have a couple more Superman action figures to review but unfortunately time constraints won't allow me to finish them on time before the Man of Steel hits the screens. I'll eventually do them in the coming days however. As for this entry, Superman takes a leave of absence on his Superheroing on Earth to settle down in New Krypton. Read on for more about this story.

New Krypton Commander Kal El

When Geoff Johns took over the Superman titles, Superman fans were in for a wild ride. Beginning with the storyline Brainiac, Johns establishes Superman's Kryptonian roots and brought into the DC Universe the existence of a Kryptonian civilization trapped in a bottle. For his next act, Johns brings this civilization on Earth as one hundred thousands of Supermen (now restored to their original life size) emerged from the shrunken bottle. An all out action ensues as Superman had to deal with the growing uneasiness and restlessness of the human civilization who sees these Krytponians as a threat to their security. Caught in the middle, Superman leaves Earth to join and police the Kryptonians. By the end of the story arc, James Robinson, Greg Rucka, and Sterling Gates took over the titles from Geoff Johns and gave us a Superman story that has more political intrigue and mystery compared to the traditional Superman stories that were released in the previous years. All of these tense build ups however would lead to an epic battle between Superman and the Kryptonian race, as they were now being led by General Zod. A lot of changes happened in these multiple story arcs, we even see a depowered Superman living amongst the Kryptonian race. This self exile however, along with a new unrecognizable military type costume that Superman donned as a member of the Kryptonian army, would only fuel the excitement of the fans the moment Superman returned to Earth (after a year of absence) in his traditional costume via the War of the Supermen story arc.

Kal El as illustrated by Gary Frank

These multiple story arcs were aptly supported by the art of Gary Frank, Pete Woods, Renato Guedes, and others. Frank's Superman artistic style blew away Superman fans as he brought Christopher Reeve's Superman likeness in the comic books. Reeve, revered for his portrayal of Superman on the big screen in 1978 (spawning 4 movies in total), became Frank's model as he drew his Superman's facila features. I was slightly disappointed though that Frank never had the chance to work with 1978 Superman director Richard Donner for the Last Son storyline. This was rectified however by DC when they pulled out Johns and Frank from the regular Superman titles (thus James Robinson and crew took over) and gave them a new limited series epic called Superman Secret Origins. In this story, Johns and Frank recreates the Superman origin story (including some of the scenes from the 1978 Superman movie) for the new generation as it complimented with all of the Superman stories written by Johns. I highly recommend casual Superman fans to grab a copy of the Superman Secret Origins graphic novel. It's all that you'll ever need in a Superman story. And what more can I say when you have a Superman that looks exactly like Christopher Reeve as he appeared in all of those Superman movies in the 70's and 80's.  

Superman/Kal El

The Action Figure: This was a game changer for DC Direct. For years, DC Direct had been know to feature awesome sculpts but limited in articulation. The New Krypton toy line offered changes in their articulation department (though I think this is not the first time they offered more articulation as that privilege belonged to the History of the DC Universe toy line). The Commander Kal El action figure from the upper waist up sports similar articulations with that of the Mattel DCUC toy line minus the ab crunch. This figure features a ball jointed neck, ball hinged shoulders, swivel biceps, wrists, waist, and boots, hinged elbows and knees, and pivot hips. So play value of the figure is so much better compared to previous DC Direct action figures. The costume looks fairly normal, but it remained faithful to the source material. Awesome detail was given, especially the small S insignia on the figure's left chest as well as the belts and chains sculpted on the figure. But the best part of the figure is the head sculpt, as it features Christopher Reeve's likeness since this figure was based from the art of Gary Frank. A lot of collectors (me included) however were disappointed that DC Direct skipped on releasing a Superman figure in his classic costume based on the art of Gary Frank. It would have been an awesome figure to have as it would certainly become the action figure representation of Christopher Reeve's Superman. That missed opportunity however encourage Superman fans to get creative and create their own Christopher Reeve Superman by using the head sculpt of the figure and creating/customizing a Superman body in his classic costume. My simple creation can be see below and here. I will be devoting a separate entry for my Custom Christopher Reeve Superman in my future entries.

Gary Frank's Superman

Tom Welling, Christopher Reeve, and Brandon Routh

Reeve v.s. Welling

Routh v.s. Welling, Reeve referees

New Krypton Commander Kal El

Superman: New Krypton volume four

Defining Comic book in my collection featuring this figure: The entire New Krypton arc can be accessed thru the 9 part book/volumes (this includes the Brainiac story arc) that DC released as a graphic novel. Superman: Brainiac was the prelude to this epic story line as Brainiac was in possession of the bottled city of Kandor. Superman's Earth father, Jonathan Kent died in this story when he saved his wife, Martha Kent, from Brainiac's attacks. Just when a member of Superman's family dies, a huge number of his fellow Kryptonian race emerges from the bottle and Superman deals with 100,000 more fellow Kryptonians like him (including his Uncle and Supergirl's parents, Zor-El and Alura). 
Helping the Kryptonians' assimilation on Earth, Superman faces a daunting task as these Kryptonians went out of control as they tried to rid the Earth of Superman's enemies. One of these missions caused the accidental death of police officers. This accident enrages the officials of Earth and superhero groups like the Justice League and Justice Society. U.S. Army General Sam Lane (Lois Lane's dad) forms a covert group (which includes Lex Luthor) to battle the Kryptonian "invasion". In their secret mission, they managed to assassinate the recognized Kryptonian leader Zor-El. This caused a full-scale war between the forces of Earth (which includes the Justice League and Justice Society) and the Kryptonians, with Superman caught in the middle. The impending war was only halted when the Kryptonians managed to create a new planet they called New Krypton, which was located at the opposite end of the Earth, hidden by the yellow sun. With no exposure from the yellow sun, the Kryptonians loses their powers. The death of Zor-El would lead Alura to avail the services of General Zod, freeing him from the Phantom Zone (as seen in the events here) and installing him as the lead authority in New Krypton.

Superman joins General Zod and his forces in New Krypton

Commander El garners respect from General Zod

Despite the tensions between Earth and New Krypton, General Zod's involvement with New Krypton would cause Superman to depart Earth and enlist as part of the Kryptonian Military guild and reside in New Krypton in order for him to keep a close watch on Zod. This is where all the political intrigues of New Krypton emerges, with hidden agendas and the like playing out in the whole story arc. Superman, now known as Commander El faces the different challenges of Kryptonian traditions and it's political intrigues. And since Kryptonian criminals were also released from the Phantom Zone along with General Zod, criminal elements existed to wreak havoc on New Krypton. This was part of Commander El's job to apprehend. Political intrigues however causes Commander El to be jailed by General Zod because of treason. But was later freed because of a Kryptonian tradition. General Zod was assassinated during the celebration of that tradition, but a fast acting Commander El managed to apprehend the assassin. His quick actions led a recovering Zod to turn over the leadership of New Krypton to him, just as they discovered that the assassin used Earth made weapons. There was a traitor in their midst, and it was up to Commander El to unmask the traitor. When Zod became fully healed, he demoted Commander El back to commander and he became the General again. Commander El meanwhile successfully unmasks the traitor. And just as he reaps praise from General Zod, Brainiac robots appears all over New Krypton.

Superman's allies on Earth while he was away from Earth

General Zod and his forces captures Superman

Brainiac robots appears all over New Krypton and a full scale invasion is on. Zod rallies his Kryptonian troops to ward off the invasion. Meanwhile, Superman and his allies (Supergirl, Mon-El, Superboy, and the Legion of Superheroes) invades Brainiac's ship to rescue the other remaining bottled cities. Superman seemingly dies in his battle with Brainiac, while Zod and his forces continues to battle Brainiac. It was also revealed that all of these machinations were ran by Luthor under the orders of General Lane. He programs Brainiac to attack New Krypton to create chaos and disorder to give General Lane and the Earth forces an opening for their attack. Zod had Brainiac on his knees and was about to deliver the killing blows when suddenly Superman appears and stops him. Superman was revived by Legionnaire Brainiac 5 using blood transfusion from Superboy/Kon El and exposes him to synthesized yellow suns. Brainiac meanwhile snaps Luthor's neck when he found out that Luthor was sabotaging his ship. This Luthor though was actually a robot created by Toyman. This act by Luthor gave him a Presidential pardon and was eventually set free by the U.S. government. When Zod knew about the human's involvement in Brainiac's invasion, he declares war on Earth and rallies his troops against Earth's forces. Upon knowing this, Superman engages Zod in a battle but was outnumbered by Ursa and Non. The other Kryptonians heads toward Earth as they start their invasion. Meanwhile, a captured Reactron detonates on New Krypton, destroying the planet and killing Alura. Luthor, under the orders of General Lane fires a missile towards the Earth's sun, turning it to red and depowering the Kryptonians, suffocating most of them in space to death. Out of the 100,000 Kryptonians, 73,000 dies, leaving behind 7,000 Kryptonians who were able to reach Earth and wreak havoc by killing world leaders and the likes. Ursa heads towards the White House in search of the U.S. President with Supergirl hot on her trails. Superman on the other hand stands atop the Daily Planet as he waited for Zod's arrival. In the final battle, Supergirl narrowly defeats Ursa, Superboy uses the Phantom Zone projector against Non just when Non was about to beat the Justice League, and Superman defeats Zod with the help of Superboy by sending him back to the Phantom Zone. Meanwhile General Lane commits suicide as he realizes that he went overboard in protecting Earth from the Kryptonian invasion and his role of sparking this war by coaxing the Kryptonians who were living peacefully on New Krypton.    

Superman v.s. Zod, the Final Battle

Although Frank had a good run illustrating Superman, I still find it not enough as I believe Frank could have illustrated more Superman stories. But then again, after the events of the New Krypton Saga, Superman would face an identity crisis as he literally walks all over America to find himself as he answers the question "Must there be a Superman?" The final story arc of the Modern Age Superman would pit him against Doomsday, the monster that had killed him before. But that threat is nothing compared to what would happen next. Superman would face the biggest challenge yet. A change of continuity, the end of the Modern Age Superman. A new Superman emerges, familiar yet strangely different. The age of New 52 thus began!