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As I've said in the profile page for HOT TOYS Superman, the HOT TOYS Clark Kent figure is another Limited Edition action figure released for the Superman Returns movie in 2006. It was made by the Hong Kong company HOT TOYS for their 'Movie Masterpiece' line. It is a Hong Kong exclusive figure, meaning it goes for inflated prices on eBay and via re-seller shops online. HOT TOYS secured the rights from Warner Brothers to produce a Superman and a Clark Kent figure bearing the resemblance of the new Superman actor Brandon Routh. Both figures, Superman and Clark Kent, have been very popular since the day of their release. I like the idea of making two figures for Superman's two identities;
his superhero one and his civilian one. HOT TOYS Superman was limited to 1200 pieces and Clark Kent to 1000. Both are very Routh-ish in appearance, indeed HOT TOYS
went as far as make a special action figure body that looks like Routh's, made especially for these two figures. And to be honest, it really, really helps sell the resemblance!
The unusually strong tighs, the shape of Brandon's long (a swimmer's) torso and facial features especially are mini versions of the real thing.
This limited Clark Kent comes with an extra "Superman hairstyle" head you can switch to if you want to pose Clark as if he's "transofrming" into Superman and he's still in his work clothes but has ditched the glasses already. The Superman head also has a different hairstyle, obviously, so he's halfway to becoming Superman. :) He only needs to remove the clothes and whooosh he goes! You can have fun with that by opening his white shirt because there's the S underneath, though it's just a tight blue shirt and not a complete Superman costume. You have to get the HOT TOYS Superman for that. Clever, eh? ^_~ The default Clark Kent head has removable glasses, too, but it's fun to have two heads because the sculpts are actually a bit different! The grey suit, stripey tie and comfortable coat are just like the movie version and very well-made. They are worn by Brandon Routh as he first comes to Metropolis and the Daily Planet after he crashes back to Earth in Smallville. This is before the breathtaking airplane rescue and it's also my fave outfit of Clark's in the film. Who doesn't get boosebumps when Clark Kent, ace reporter, is finally back after 5 years of absence and the Daily Planet is busting with co-workers and he just can't help but bump "incidentally" into a few along the way (muttering "Sorry... Sorry..."), holding his old-fashioned suitcases and basically acting like the good ol' mild-mannered self? The first goofy grin of his we see seals the deal - Brandon Routh is Clark. There are no words how much I love his Clark Kent and when I first heard of a Clark Kent figure of this excellence coming out, I knew I had to get it. I even planned on getting it before the Superman one! The reason Clark Kent's work clothes are so non-descript is because he doesn't want people to recognize them when he has to leave the stuff behind in Daily Planet elevators
and phone booths and God knows where else, when he has to turn into Superman and fly off. It was a decision by director Bryan Singer to give him bulkier clothes that
seem a size or two too big for him, so he can hide his muscly frame more easily. And it works!
Boring it may be by itself, the outfit on this great action figure is well-made and the colors of the fabric are just like in the movie. And honestly, nothing could ever look boring on Superman! To a Clark Kent fan like myself, a figure like this is the coolest thing ever, you can really appreciate the good sewing work and how nice it makes Clark look. To those who have the HOT TOYS Superman already, I recommend you get Clark Kent, too! The headsculpt, as I've already mentioned in Superman's profile, is very much like Brandon's and the
resemblance to the actor is closer than on any other figure available. It's probably a wee bit closer than on HOT TOYS Superman, even, that has yet another sculpt, so in
total there are 3 sculpts: Superman has one and Clark Kent has two, aka one Clark head and one Superman head that is not the same head as on HOT TOYS Superman.
Weird! The extra Superman head sold with the Clark Kent figure actually has dark brown hair like Brandon Routh while the Superman figure has black hair (which isn't like in
the movie if you're being really, really picky *laugh*). I've seen a lot of people getting the Clark Kent figure just for the extra Superman head, some see this headsculpt as the more
accurate version of movie Superman than the default head on the HOT TOYS Superman figure. It's nice to compare all the three and see which one is closest to Brandon
in your eyes! ^_^
Yes, they could have cost less but I just tell myself it wouldn't be profitable for HOT TOYS to make figures in such low quantities (1200 and 1000 units) and sell them for lower. A figure like this can be a big money-maker. You also can't blame eBay and greedy re-sellers for inflated prices. The demand is still pretty high for these two, now Clark Kent goes for $150 on eBay while it was still possible to get him for about $100 a few months back (in spring 2007). The more time passes, the more expensive they'll be. It's now over a year since the release of the movie. I actually have yet another Superman head that I got on eBay from someone selling parts of the Clark Kent figure (made more money than selling it as a complete figure, honestly!). I'd like to customize/re-paint it to make it resemble Brandon even more, basically a version that's somewhere in-between all these Superman/Clark Kent heads by HOT TOYS. My very own Superman. My hero. ♥
Clark Kent: "Yeah. Well, you know, things change. I mean, of course things change, but sometimes
things that you didn't think would change... could... change. Take Lois. A woman like her, I never thought she'd settle down."
Jason White (son of Lois Lane): "Who are you?"
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