Beats spending money on crack.
MEANWHILE, today we have "A Tale of Two Bizarros" with two much-needed figures added to my collection!
First up, we have the original
DC Direct "Superman" Series Bizarro!
This figure is very historically important, as it was the very first ever Bizarro figure based on the comics, and only the second one ever released after the one based on "Superman: The Animated Series" a few years earlier. You'd think that such an important character with such a long tenure would have had more proper action figures, but you'd be wrong! As such, this figure was VERY popular when it first came out, which is how I always missed picking it up until now. I have the rest of the "Superman" series except for Steel, who also keeps slipping through my fingers, but when this one first came out it was never around when I had money and so it's been a big hole in my DC Direct collection ever since. Until Now!
It's essentially a repaint of the Superman figure from this series, with a new head, but that still makes it an awesome figure. These figures were among the Very First in 6-inch scale to boast "21 Points of Articulation!", so they're historical for that as well. Mass-market retail lines adopted the standard soon after, but these initially broke down the door... even if hinge-jointed wrist joints suck sh*t and often break. But they were getting there!
Likeness is great; it's definitely "inspired by" the then-current comic book artwork of Ed McGuinness without being a total 1:1 likeness (the "actual" Ed McGuinness Bizarro figure they released a few years later looked much different, but still similar in the face and coloring). It's like halfway between McGuinness and Dan Jurgens, and the end result is truly spectacular. This is a great figure!
This was the third DC Direct Bizarro figure I've owned (fourth overall, including the Mattel "Multiverse" one from a couple years ago) despite being the first released. I've had the Adam Kubert-inspired "Last Son" Bizarro and the Ed McGuinness "Superman/Batman" one since they originally released; they're all great, but this one MIGHT be my favorite.
Of course, it immediately had some stiff competition, because the
Mattel "DC Super-Heroes" Bizarro ALSO came in the mail today, and is also great from a different direction!
Right off the bat, you have the coloring being more red-and-blue rather than shades of purple; mileage always varies on this but I do kind of like that better, sometimes, depending on the artwork. The "red" is the same sort of burgundy they used on the initial Superman from this series, but it fits Bizarro much better than Superman. They did later re-release this figure in his more contemporary comic book "purple" colors (and "Bizarro #1" necklace) for a later Wave, so whichever your style preference Mattel had a Bizarro for you. I got this one first because I'm mostly trying to complete the Waves more or less in release order, and also this one is just plain easier to find.
Another great face; like most Mattel DC figures (and the DC Direct figure), it's halfway artist-inspired and half-generic. Once again, the McGuinness inspiration is clear but it also goes its own way, and it looks really good. This one lacks pupils to give it a more "menacing" look; later re-releases in other Waves did have pupils, if this look doesn't work for you. He kinda looks like Frankenstein's Monster, which makes sense.
It's hard to see in the picture but he also has a tattered cape, which is another nice touch. Most Bizarro figures just use the same cape as the Superman figure they mimic in whatever line they're in, or at least a similar one, but here they went the extra mile and that's honestly a nice touch.
Mattel never released a "real" Bizarro figure for the "DC Universe Classics" line - they did re-release this figure in a two-pack with "Classics" branding, but many purists will point out that the scale and articulation between the two lines is different in several ways, some more prominent than others. Still, this figure fits in great with that line, better actually than most of the DCSH line does with Classics, and better than the Mattel "Multiverse" figure does as well. So if you're a Classics collector, by all means add this Bizarro to your Classics display with confidence.
Both of these figures are awesome, and this brings my Bizarro collection up to five figures, all great. I can't pick a "winner" between these two but I'm glad to finally have them both. It's pretty cool that they both came on the same day, too!