Before McFarlane Toys acquired the 6-inch action figure rights to DC Comics gallery of characters Mattel Toys held the license for quite a number of years.
Mattel turned out some of the best DC Comics figures ever produced up to the point before the license switched over to McFarlane Toys.
One of the best sets of action figures Mattel created was the Superman line, specifically Superman’s villains.
I’ve selected a few key Superman villains figures to review-the ones I consider the best.
Brainiac originally started out as a green skin alien with several electrodes/ports on his head.
He roamed the galaxy collecting various alien cities that he shrunk to keep in bottles.
Superman discovered one of Krypton’s (Superman’s home planet) cities in one of Braniac’s bottles, complete with shrunken Kryptonians.
Many Silver Age adventures brought Superman to visit the shrunken city. It now resides in his Fortress of Solitude until he can figure out how to return it and it citizens to full size
The new Brainiac is more machine than organic.
His sole purpose is to study alien worlds and plunder them for cities to shrink and keep in his collection.
His incredibly powerful brain has allowed him to almost defeat Superman a number of times.
The Mattel DC Superheroes Superman Brainiac 6-inch figure captures the look of the villain perfectly.
The highly-articulated figure is painted silver and gray and looks every bit the machine.
His humanoid frame has powerful motor driven legs and arms.
His transparent cranium reveals his supercomputer brain. His skull-like head with its deep-set eyes and twin power cables on its sides remind me of a modified Terminator.
The cable-like neck attaches to a huge metal chest complete with power adapters and various equipment on its back and front.
At the shoulders additional clear areas reveal Brainiac’s inner workings. Both arms end in powerful steel claw hands.
Back cables attach to hip mounted energy packs that power Brainiac’s mobility.
Articulation is hidden amidst the circuitry and metal parts reminiscent of a robot.
The figure stands independently on its own.
Included with the figure is a special Superman comic book and the figure is cradles in a bubble cocoon for protection and easy viewing.
Mongol has been a thorn in Superman’s side ever since he first encountered him in DC Comics Presents #27.
A ruthless despot who rules Warworld Mongol has a deep-seated hatred for Superman (the last Kyptonian.)
Mattel Toys recreates the massive, maniacal and mad Mongol with a 6-inch Mongul figure in its DC SuperHeroes series of toys that includes a Diorama instead of a comic book.
The menacing Mongol figure is bulging with muscles that are barely contained in his purple, plum, silver and light blue body armor.
Mongol’s bald head with its huge brow accents his deep-set eyes, small nose and large grimacing mouth. Only the deep yellow flesh of his head and hands are visible.
Mongol wears a silver headpiece that covers the back of his head and ears.
A large purple collar tapers down into his plum colored tunic that covers his chest, lower torso and most of his arms.
Silver metal straps with rivets wrap around his shoulder joints, lower arms, waist and upper legs. Large light purple boots with accented ankle reinforcements and heavy boot treads cover his feet.
His silver metal belt is studded with control panels and buttons.
The figure is impressive, especially in the torso and various riveted components.
Color separation is precise with no flow over areas and articulation is well hidden and tight making the figure easy to pose.
Mongol’s face is a real study in fury and his large clenched fists accent his anger.
Meet the madman dictator who rules Apokolips and is by far the most deadly villain in all of the DC Universe: Darkseid.
Darkseid was created by Jack Kirby when he worked for DC Comics in the early 1970s as part of his Fourth World series of comic books.
Darkseid has been a constant threat to Superman (and the Justice League) for 50 years and there looks like there is no end in sight to his diabolical plans.
Totally ruthless, the evil despot has one goal: to discover the anti-life equation and put all of existence under his rule.
The Darkseid figure by Mattel totally captures the look of the massive, maniacal and merciless monarch.
His granite-like gray skin, massive frame, chiseled angry features and his sheer power are all there.
Just look as his muscles strain against his blue tunic barely contained by the massive metallic belt he wears.
Large blue gloves and knee boots bulge under his powerful hands and thunderous feet.
The granite face fanatic’s cranium is covered by a blue skullcap. A special Superman comic book is also included with the figure.
Darkseid hold a Mother Box (an intelligent computer) in his right hand. The device allows Darkseid to create Boom Tubes (portals to anywhere in the universe.)
Articulation is masquerading as cracks in his stone-like skin and the figure easily stands and poses without any assistance form a stand.
Darkseid rules!
Doomsday has the distinction of physically killing Superman in an epic battle where the monstrous gray skin killing machine pierced Superman’s heart with one of his bony body protrusions.
Clad in torn green pants the giant monstrosity bristles with dozens of sharp bone pieces coming from his shoulders, chest, arms and hands and legs.
His snarling face is peppered with bones around his chin, over his eyes and along the sides of his head. A long strand of gray hair grows on the top of his head.
The monster still wears the remnants of the armor meant to hold him captive. Pieces of it wrap around his thighs and waist. Green boots cover his legs to just below his knees.
It took a lot of effort to sculpt the many bony protrusions on the monster’s body and to cleverly include articulation.
The figure also comes with a Superman comic book depicting the epic battle between Doomsday and Superman.
All of the figures have excellent coloring, tight and well-hidden articulation and superb sculpting.
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