|
HOT TOYS Superman is a very realistic and fully poseable Limited Edition action figure from 2006 that was only available in Hong Kong. It is made in the likeness of actor Brandon Routh who plays Superman in the Superman Returns movie. It's a pricey but beautifully made figure and is by now sold out in Hong Kong and can be bought online for even more inflated prices ($150 USD and more is not uncommon). Only 1200 units were made of it. Some sites claim 800 and some 1500 but it says 1200 on the HOT TOYS Certificate of Authenticity where your figure's serial number is shown. Other Superman Returns figures have hit the market when the new movie came out, such as the Medicom Superman and DC Direct Superman, but the HOT TOYS Superman from the great Movie Masterpiece line is considered to have the best outfit in terms of quality, details and how close it is to the original. The headsculpt, too, is very Routh-ish but the paint work and facial details could have been better. This is where customization can really help and I've seen quite a few action figure fans customize their Superman's head. The details that are "off" by the fans' standards (we're so nitpicky, I know, but that comes with being a huge fan!) are the color of his lips (too red, not a realistic color), the too bright eyes (he seems to be glaring at you) that don't have much "depth", the black hair which should have been dark brown like Routh's (some fans customize it by painting brown strakes in-between). In my opinion, the headsculpt is the most accurate of all the other Superman Returns figures. When you have a great base like that, you can take it even further, customize it and make it look amazingly close to handsome Brandon Routh. It takes practice but it's a very fun experience! I was veeeery excited about this process because I wanted a figure that looks like him so badly. I've decided to leave the default head as it is and get another spare one that I can customize to my liking. But even without any touch-ups, the head still looks amazing 'out of the box'. I'm just nitpicky about details. *laugh* To make the figure look even more like Brandon Routh, HOT TOYS went as far as make a special action figure body that looks like his. It was created especially for this figure. 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. It helps make the figure very realistic-looking and beautiful, and I seldom find the BODIES of action figures realistic-looking. Headsculpts, yes, but the bodies? They're often the same from figure to figure! Well, not with HOT TOYS Superman! A great male figure all around. The resemblance is uncanny from certain angles and I've found myself staring at it many times because it reminded me of various scenes in the movie.... The figure comes with an additional pair of 'flying' hands with outstretched fingers, a great black figure display stand featuring 'Superman Returns' logo, and a Certificate of Authenticity with a serial number. HOT TOYS also made a limited Clark Kent figure that comes with an extra "Superman hairstyle" head. Clark Kent is wearing the S shield tee under his shirt and suit, so you can pose him ripping his shirt open and exposing the chest with the famous S. This Superman figure, though, has the complete Superman outfit! :) Obviously... Clark Kent was limited to 1000 pieces, looks just like the movie version and has a well-crafted and beautifully sewn business suit and coat. I have that figure, too, and will post it on the site soon! HOT TOYS Superman may be like a mini version of Brandon with a great costume, amazing boots and S shield and great poseability that makes it fun to play with him... but it is still a too expensive figure! It was selling extremely well from the moment it was released, you had fans traveling to Hong Kong early just so they'd get the figure a bit cheaper before it hit eBay and US/Asian online re-seller stores but the high demand quickly raised the price. A Clark Kent could go for as "low" as $91 months ago but getting Superman for, say, $130 is considered lucky. Outside eBay the prices are always higher. The backgrounds on my photos above are from the promotional posters and shots for the 'Superman Returns' movie. There's the Daily Planet globe, the Daily Planet
rooftop, Metropolis, etc. I wanted the pictures to look as "official" as possible, though I blurred the backgrounds because they're not the focal point of the
photos. :)
The HOT TOYS Superman figure comes in an absolutely amazing, shiny, huge box. It's just fab and very eye-catching! You won't want to throw this one away, no sir-ree. It has a cover that opens like a book and the figure lies securely inside with all its extras... I love the packaging, you can see a lot of thought was put into it. Superman is, hands down, my favourite movie and comic book character. He has been inside my heart since childhood and will remain a great source of inspiration and strength as long as I live. Many people say he is a boring hero that can defeat everyone and everything too easily, that his stories can't have any conflict because of this and that he is too goody-goody and perfect and moral. I say he's someone I can look up to, I can aspire to be more like him, to be a better person. He's such a mood-lifter and source of happiness that there is no way I could ever forget what he means to me or how I felt when I first saw Christopher Reeve on screen and something shifted inside me and I knew I will never be the same again. I was too young then to know what love means but the feeling was amazing, uplifting and heart-wrenching at the same time. He remains my hero and my idol and a huge thanks goes to Brandon Routh for bringing him back to me. Brandon is Superman in my eyes. Superman's a noble character whose strength shines from *within*. Above all I see him as a good, kind man with strength of *character* that would bring others to shame. When he outshines humans, he does not do so because of his super powers but because of his heart. If people were more like him in character, there would be no need for a Superman. That is Superman's wish - a world that doesn't need him. He could live among us then, in a perfect world, as Clark Kent. It's not that he is naive to wish for the impossible. He actually has hope that a world like that can exist. And if Superman has no hope, he is not Superman. This is a big defining point in his character and it's funny to me how some people laugh at his undying optimism. Remove hope and you remove Superman. I can't see why I'd belittle the trait that makes Superman, Superman. In words of Superman's father: "They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be... They only lack the light to show the way." 
Superman: "I read the article, Lois. "
"I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but everyday I hear
people crying for one."
"Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying...
Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel."
| back | |
