Review – Black Lantern, Earth-2 Superman

“The former Man-of-Steel from the parallel Earth-2 is the first to be revealed as a member of the Black Lantern Corps. The members of this corps share the standard of the Green Lantern villain Black Hand by symbolizing a total absence of emotion and life.”
— from the card back

While I haven’t read any issues of DC’s Blackest Night series — I just haven’t bothered to pick up the comics as they’ve come out — I have been keeping an eye on the progress and I’m waiting for the trade paperback so that I can read the entire story in one sitting. What I did grab during a recent visit to Austin Books, though, is one of the DC Direct Blackest Night action figures. The Black Lantern, Earth-2 Superman just looked too cool in his package to abandon him at the store.

Unfortunately, I really should have left him behind.

Packaging

You know those clear plastic clamshell-like packages with the crimped edges that you see used for scissors, knives, screwdrivers — you know, sharp stuff that would help you open the damned package? Well, that’s exactly how this Blackest Night: Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman* action figure has been packaged. I hate these packages. Fortunately, I already had scissors so a few snips and Black Lantern Superman was ready to evil up the place.

Once opened, a folded sheet of paper that created the header’s front and back reveals photos and some information on upcoming waves of Blackest Night action figures. (Black Lantern Martian Manhunter looks fantastic.) Overall the graphics are merely okay and the package does its job, but there’s no real artistry displayed in the packaging design for the toy. It’s all functional, but not really fun.

Creepy Sculpt!

The card back gives sculpting credit to James Shoop, and James can be quite proud of the job that he did because this Black Lantern Superman is one awful-looking monstrosity. And when we’re talking about a zombie-like Superman action figure saying it’s “awful-looking” is intended as an ultimate complement. Everything about this sculpt — from the claw-like hands to the decayed face to the cut of the cape — is beautiful. If you’re going to display this action figure on a shelf and admire it’s superior sculpting then you can stop reading and go buy yourself a copy.

This toy looks great.

Paint

And in an unexpected twist, not only is the sculpt great but the action figure’s paint also looks good. There’s not much in the way of color here, but the paint is applied smoothly and cleanly, and the slight wash over the skin helps bring out the shape of the corpse-like flesh. I would have liked to have seen a darker wash applied to the skin, and some greenish-yellow dry brush work, but for an out-of-the-package action figure this is great. There’s a little slop on the silver lines on the backside of his legs, but nothing all that obvious or terrible.

In the Blackest Night Series One action figure review at Newsarama reviewer Troy Brownfield writes:

“The paint apps on all four figures really pop, particularly due to the metallic effect that DC Direct employs.”

You know, he’s right. The metallic silver and glossy black of the wristbands really does contribute a lot to the figure’s look, but we really shouldn’t overlook the clean lines; too many times we see action figures with paint outside the right places and finding a figure with hardly any mistakes at all is always a treat.

Warning, Articulation Sucks (and breaks)

The first thing I heard as I pulled Black Lantern Superman from the package was something hitting the counter. Looking down, I saw just a tiny nub of plastic the same color as the figure’s skin; the plug in the left elbow joint had fallen out. With a little work I managed to snap it back in, but the instant I moved the arm the plug fell again and, this time, was lost forever.

The photo below shows Black Lantern Superman’s arm with the missing plug. At least it was just the plug and not the pin; the arm is holding on and still works, but I’ve gotta be careful with it. He’s going to work great as a display piece but I’d be worried about playing with him too much.

Not that he’s really all that exciting or playable as a toy. Black Lantern Superman has some poseability issues, with poor choices in his articulation. In a review at Comic Impact Simon Daoudi writes:

“His head moves side to side but not up and down. there is no motion in torso. His knees do a cool trick, they bend and rotate a full 360 degrees.”

In addition to those points of articulation, Black Lantern Superman has has hinged knees (the rotating articulation Simon mentioned is just above the knee hinge) and elbows, the left wrist rotates 360 degrees, the arms are ball-hinges at the shoulders, and the hips are t-jointed. That’s it, folks. No ankle articulation, no waist articulation, and that right wrist is forever locked in place.

Between the Marvel Select action figures I’ve looked at recently (Ultimate Iron Man and Captain America Unmasked) and now this guy, it looks to me as if the comic company direct action figures are more about mini-poseable statues than they are actual action figures. It’s not a terrible thing, but it’s important to know before buying a figure from either DC Direct or Marvel Select.

Closing Thoughts

If it wasn’t for that broken part I’d be recommending Blackest Night: Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman to anyone who loves zombiefied superheroes. The toy’s sculpt is amazing, the paint job excellent, and he even comes with a simple display stand (that he doesn’t really need since he stands just fine on his own, but it’s nice that the stand was included). His articulation isn’t great, but it’s adequate for anyone who is going to stand this guy on a shelf (and he’d probably look really good in a display with several other Black Lantern action figures).

But since he came out of the package broken I’m going to say: think very hard about your reasons for wanting a Black Lantern Superman action figure before buying one. If you’re just a collector who loves to have action figures posed on the shelves at home — or maybe even your office — then this guy will work. If, like me, you take your toys down and play with them — even if it’s as simple as just changing the poses every few weeks — then I say give this a pass. Between the limited articulation and chance of breakage there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be unhappy with this Superman action figure.

I think I’m done with the Blackest Night action figure series. Well, maybe. After all, the Black Lantern Martian Manhunter and Black Lantern Firestorm action figures both look great. And I bet all three of these posed together would make an excellent display arrangement. If I only had the room . . .

*Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.

Philip Reed now wants to see if he can hang Black Lantern Superman in the game room to look like he’s hovering over one of the toy shelves. That would be neat.