Evil Doppelgangers Abound!

Ok before I get to today's Biz(arro)niz, I wanted to share with everyone the sheer joy I had when I found Mongul and the figure we'll be looking at today, Bizarro.

So here I am at the end of that DC Superheroes rainbow:


Yes, folks. If you're looking for DCSH Mongul or Bizarro , you can find them at Suntec City Toys 'R' Us for the low, low price of S$9.80. But they've only got 3 Bizarros and 2 Monguls left by my count, so hurry if wanna get 'em.

Ok, now on to--Bizarro!

To describe Bizarro simply, he's the imperfect opposite of everything Superman is. He originally came from Bizarro World, which is a square planet called Htrae (Earth spelled backwards).

Imperfection there is viewed as beauty, hence his ugly (Bizarro translation: handsome) mug. So in Bizarro theory, he's better looking than Superman. Heh.

And while the figure of him reflects this "beauty," and may only have a face that a mother could love, it's nothing short of awesome!

Usual 21 points of articulation for this series, no belts or accesorries in the way of his joints, and even a semi-open hand to hold whatever it is you might want him to hold. ;)

Check out the paint and detail on Bizarro overall:

























His skin is a nice Frankenstein's Monster grey, and his suit is actually a dark matte shade of purple grey--much less shiney than it actually turned out in the pictures. His molded cape is also a deeper shade of red compared to Superman and I just love the ratty-tatty holes he has in them.
Oh and he comes with his wonderful "Bizarro #1" bling chain as well which is competely removeable. Such a small accessory but a very, very nice touch.













And check out the detailing on the face, yellow eyes, shading and all:

The backwards "S" on his chest is also perfect! I mean imperfect! (Don't want to insult Bizarro.)





So this is how I rate him!:

Poseability: 0.5/10 - He poses just as badly as Supes, his cape gets in the way of his shoulder rotation-that's great! And his waist turns 360 degrees, way worse than Mongul. The ab crunch joint allows Bizarro to stand up straight, or hunch as he is wont to. And the thigh cut joints allow him to stand as if he were really knocked-kneed. And of course, he poses well with Superman, Supergirl, and a large chunk o' Kryptonite!

Aesthetic: 0.5/10 - Yeah how ugly and imperfect can one get? Not much more with DCSH Bizarro. From the face, to the eys and to the skin, every thing is just painted so exquisitely (bad). Look at how well he measures up to the other 3 DCSH figs below. I'd say he's just the (im) perfect height in this line.
















Overall: In Bizarro fashion, I give him a 0.5 out of 0 (Which translates to 9.5 out of 10 on Earth). :) I just love a good mirror bad guy who's everything a hero is not. Optimus Prime has Nemesis Prime, Hulk has the Red Hulk, and Superman has Bizarro.

And I think all of us can agree with DCSH Bizarro on this one thing:

Yellow Bastard

That, my friends, best sums up what Mongul is!


He'll kidknap you for sh**s and giggles just to fight on his gladitorial arena planet, War World, as he did Superman in the Justice League Series.

And also never invite this guy to your birthday party. he'll come anyway and beat up your friends.

Just look at how pissed off he is!

Now this guy has some serious issues.

For example: He just likes to beat up on Superman. And he also just likes to beat up on Superman. So of course, he appears in the DC Superheroes "Superman" range just so he can beat up Superman.

Yeah, and he won't hesitate to smack Superman upside the back of his head!













But what an awesome action figure Mongul makes! The detail on the skin and face is awesome, with his yellow skin washed and shaded just right. And just look at the expression of sheer anger and contempt on his face.

He's even got red eyes.

And just look at those teeth and gums!

What I really like about this figure is that he's got the standard 21 points of articualtion for a DCSH series toy, but you can hardly see the joints! Just look at this arm for example.

You see the elbow joint and a little of the bicep if you look closely enough. But the Shoulder and the wrists are completely concealed by Mogul's metal bands at the shoulders and wrists.







Similar situation with his legs:

The single jointed knees are obvious, but the double hinges at the top of the thighs are mostly hidden by his belt.

The thigh cut is concealed cleverly below his metal thigh band, and the ankles are well-hidden by his funky metallic pink space age boots.





And there's no denying the ab-crunch joint as well. Cleverly hidden in the lines of his costume and his ab detail.

The ball-joint at the head too, is so well-hidden. But in this case it might be hidden too well. For some reason (perhaps the thick neck) his head can only tilt up and down a little. But thankfully it has 360 degree rotation.

Which brings me to the small problem this figure has--his waist articulation. I mentioned the fancy-schmancy belt he wears. Well, it gets in the way of him rotating his upper torso quit a bit. So he only has a quarter turn there tops. I think you might be able to shave the soft plastic off the parts of the belt which restrict this movement, but I don't think it can be done without compromising the detail on the belt.

One consolation is the belt is soft enough at the bottom so his thighs can still move quite a ways forward, back, and sideways.

But overall I really like this figure. I passed up the chance to get him and Bizarro for S$9.80 at the Toys 'R' Us warehouse sale at United Square a month back, thinking it would be silly to get them without having Supes first.

Then when I went back to China Square Central to grab the Supes I'd seen selling for S$20, it was gone...until it somehow showed up again a week or so ago in the same shop. So I grabbed him, and black skirt Supergirl from a shop next door. And immediately regretted that I'd passed up Mongul and Bizarro, cos they were nowhere to be found.

I searched all the Toys 'R' Us' determined to find where they'd moved the stock, and
then lo and behold, they show up at Suntec City for the same low price of $9.80. :)

And the best part is this: I'd called up customer service at TRU and they refused to tell me where the toys had gone, claiming that once the sale is up, the stock "mysteriously" "goes away". They didn't even take the time to enquire what exactly I was looking for. Wouldn't it have been easier to ask me, let me know if the items in question are still on sale (or not), and then point me in the right direction?

Ah well, personally, it just made locating these 2 figures all the more enjoyable. The only thing better than tracking down some rare, hard-to-find figures is coming to the end of that journey and discovering them for a nice, low price. ;)

Oh and yes, now Supes has someone to fight/pose with. :)




































Oh yes, his ratings!

Poseability: 8.5 - The limited wiast hurts--torso movement is crucial for lots of basic action poses, such as punching and turning. Major points lost here. There, and the stiff head. Other than that, Mongul's legs are fabulous for a large-sized figure!

Aesthetic: 9.5 - Just awesome. From the detail of his costume to the painting of his face and features. He's so good you really don't even need to look for a "good one" on the shelves. You just grab one and he'll be good. ;)

Overall: 9.0 - Great, solid figure. Excellent villain for Supes, too. Playing with him just reminds me of the Justice League episode of War World where he gets his ass kicked by Supes. The best part is: he was voiced by Eric Roberts in the series--this I didn't know!!!

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...

DC Superheroes Variant Black "S" Superman!


I have to admit, I've been waiting for the perfect Superman toy for most of my life.

And DCSH Supes has got to be it!

He's got 21 points of articulation (correct me if I'm wrong! :P): a ball-jointed head, ball joints at the shoulders, biceps, elbows, and wrists. Hinges at the ankles and knees, cut-thigh joints, and double hinge joints at the hips that allow him to do the splits both ways, except his cape gets in the way of the front ways split. ;) He's also got full rotation at the waist, and an ab crunch joint that allows him to stand up straight with his chest out. Har!

Poseability aside, he' painted really well, with the detail on his face, especially the eyes, nice and neat.













And the black and red "S" on his chest is just perfect.

Check out his heat-vision look as well as his trademark spit curl:

And you would expect no less from a sculpt by The Four Horsemen. What's surprising, though, is that this Supes comes from a line that is at least 2 to 3 years old, making it way ahead of its time--some of the action figures released recently can't even match up to this Supes' poseability, let alone his fine detail and wonderful sculpt.

























Size-wise, he's also perfect next to his little cousin.

And interestingly enough, he's also the perfect size for the chunk of kryptonite that comes with Justice League Unlimited Superman!

That nasty Lex Luthor...or could it be...Batman? (Who keeps a chunk of that stuff on him just so he can keep Superman in check should he need to for some reason. Heheh.)

Boy does Supes hate this stuff! :P

Here's how I rate DCSH Superman:

Poseability: 9.5 - Would be a 10 except for his cape getting in the way of his shoulder rotation and his knees being single jointed, and therefore not being able to bend all the way. But hey, the cape's long enough that it helps him stand, even on tippy toes!

Aesthetic: 9.5 - Four Horseman sculpt (need I say more?), great muscle detail as well as paint applications. His red is not too bright too, which is a good thing considering his "S" has a black background. One thing though: He doesn't have the standard yellow "S" on the back of his cape. But I don't mind that too much. No, not too much at all.

Overall: 9.5 - Even the new DC Universe Classics Superman I don't fancy as much as this one. For one thing, the new fig has got long hair, which I seriously dislike on Supes. I haven't had the chance to look at that Supes yet, but I don't figure the articulation can be any better than this dude.

If you're a Superman fan and are looking for the perfect Supes toy, you won't find it here. But if you're looking for the best one out there ever, you'll do yourself some good getting DCSH Supes, in any incarnation--regular, black "S", Black Suit/Silver cape, or even the DCSH Kal-El figure if you're desperate. That figure is Superman except for some extra head gear and being shiny.

And one pump of the fist from Superman in agreement.