McFarlane DC Multiverse BvS Superman/Doomsday 2-pack review

How the fuck was a toy version of Doomsday long overdue?! I know there are people who got immensely triggered over his design in the movie and his origins as well, but we could have gotten a BAF of him instead of a Grapnel Gun like in 2016, Mattel. McFarlane takes the much-needed stab at this abominable beast that Lex Luthor dared to recreate, and with the fact that there is an actual Doomsday still out there while Zod is just the modern-day successor against the rules of the Kryptonian Council, it makes me wish we got more of the Snyderverse to see how he would have looked. For this review, we'll be taking a look at the two-pack featuring round 2 in Metropolis.

Let's first cover Superman quickly since he is mostly the same as the Target version of Snyder Cut Superman. The metallic blue and red is nice, the gold pops perfectly, and the proportions are generally good. New to the 2-pack version is the ability to swap out the hands as well as a wired cloth goods cape, which is especially important for a more dynamic version of Superman such as Cavill's. The wrist and ankle joints are still the same however, as is the head. While it looks better painted, especially at the neck, it sucks that this Superman's actor likeness remains outdated given how Wonder Woman got an upgrade...twice...

In addition to a pair of fists and open hands, he has the Kryptonite spear to go with his left hand as well as a pointing right hand. The spear is very flexible, and the hand meant to hold it is not wide enough for it to be held in place. Alternatively, Armored Batman could hold it so he could prepare to kill Superman before the Man of Steel tells him to save Martha Kent, triggering the Dark Knight from his PTSD with the deaths of his parents.

A repaint based on the Heroes Park statue was made as a chase variant, which includes the False God vandalism. I would rather Todd save that look for a non-poseable statue that could better capture the pose while a Snyder Cut Black Suit version was remade instead. Would have worked so much better.

As for Doomsday, I first have to say I question how people would get so mad over a design like this as well as a majority of Fox, Sony, and CW versions of characters yet still defend heavy deviations from the source material like how most MCU characters were handled (Ant-Man, half of the Guardians of the Galaxy) as well as half of the designs for the 2025 Superman movie. Comic book fandoms have the most amusing of double standards, and I know some will say "erm ackshully it's how you do it you darned cultist ☝️🤓" but IDGAF. Does that mean this figure will pass with flying colors? Not really. Firstly, it's got the same shade of blue at its base like with Batfleck, which comes across as weird since I don't remember him being this blue. I know the movie was predominantly in the night during the battle against the Trinity, but it's even more inaccurate than the blue used on Batfleck. He has some weathering to better capture his ugly, monstrous appearance in the movie, but then there's much less or it in the diaper piece, making it even more distracting than it needed to be. Also, for "naked" characters like Doomsday, would it make sense to sculpt normal waist and hips like how most companies do if they're not going to have a costume with trunks? When the diaper piece is used on someone like comic Superman and Batman, it makes enough sense, but on someone like Doomsday, not so much. 

His head sculpt is the best part of the figure, accurately capturing that deformity experimentations that Kryptonians vowed to never delve into again until Lex Luthor defied their rules. If only less of that blue was present on the rest of the figure like it is on here. Articulation is much more limited than with not just most figures in the line, but Megafigs as well. His head can barely look up and down, he had the rotation and hinges combo like with some Hasbro figures in the past but the elbows bend less than 90 degrees, there is only one torso joint instead of two, the knees are single-jointed, a rotation joint at the knees replaces the thigh swivels found on other figures, and the ankles have no rotation and can only hinge and pivot. We don't even get any alternate hands for him to use or a spike that replaced his hand after it was cut for when he stabs Superman after the Kryptonite spear penetrates his disgusting torso. Not even a heat vision head is included! 

Here he is holding his true self, Zod from the Movie Masters line made over a decade ago. I'm still bummed out we've never gotten a living Zod for the Flash movie, not even for some Man of Steel tribute figures. I once again doubt Mattel would go back and remake this character very soon. 

Overall, this set is one filled with missed opportunities, even if I wanted to get it as someone who does like the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman. I wish we had more alternate accessories for both figures as well as updated actor likenesses for Henry Cavill and updated joint aesthetics. I also wish Doomsday wasn't as blue as he was hollow in the chest. I know there was a bit of hollowness in some Megafigs, but none as bad as Doomsday! We don't even get a flight stand for Superman, and what kind of excuse of a pog-looking-ahh display stand would benefit Doomsday's size?! Overall, this is a set I sadly cannot recommend at its current price unless you're a die-hard Snyderverse fan dedicated to making WB continue the story ZSJL left us off at. Otherwise, wait for a sale; you're better off saving money with a set like this like how many are with boycotting a lot of WB movies, especially the upcoming Superman movie.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐