Here we have Cyborg Superman in-hand, who is a heavy retool of the Hush Superman body. This is my first version of the mold, and while I felt he was a little wider than usual with the original version, I think it works a bit better with the Cyborg version. Granted, with the new parts that represent the non-robotic portions of the figure, I would love to see them on a vanilla Superman even more than the softer musculature of the COIE buck, but the execution here adds to that 90s comic aesthetic with how dynamic the character looks, especially from making the era Hank Henshaw was introduced. Reign of the Supermen was definitely experimental with how we depicted the Man of Steel's various spiritual successors, with Superboy visually contrasting the classic boy scout with a more biker gang look to him with the jacket and shades; meanwhile, the Eradicator added some black to his costume and had a visor that gave him a more futuristic look. Steel was a dude inspired by Superman and wanted to fight for good while inspired by him, and Hank was turned into a cyborg version of the superhero after receiving some of his DNA scans. He claimed to be the real deal and fooling many people in the process until Kal-El shows up in his regenerative costume. Some may comment that he should have some black on the logo and possibly an S-shield on the cape, but I find that he could use a few more silver paint on the robotic parts that are left unpainted. Regardless, I love how the robotic parts turned out, especially with how easy it could have been to make the parts look chalky with the wrong paint or left in marbly plastic like with many Hasbro Marvel of Legends.
His head sculpt has a prominent shred of Terminator skull on the left side of the head. The right side is possibly inspired somewhat by the Action Comics 1000 head with a few tweaks added to match the rest of the facial structure. I love the red eye with a glow in the pupil, adding an uncanny vibe to this design. His articulation is the standard affair for the McFarlane DC Multiverse line, so I shall mention how he has a right pointing hand and an open left hand. He also has a wired cape that adds to the photogenic potential of a character that usually flies. It's a bit early to get to conclusions, but I have to admit this is the best version of the Hush tooling McFarlane made, and the cybernetic parts as well as the paint applied make this a slam dunk in spite of maybe needing a flight stand or some extra weapons.
As for the other side of the McFarlane quality spectrum, what the fuck happened with New 52 Superman?! I'm not saying this to slander the costume design, as I think it does a decent job at modernizing the look of the character, but the execution McFarlane gave us is woefully flat. Literally, as the costume details are smooth on him when there should be panel-lines as well as a raised chest emblem. It's very baffling when you remember how the Lee Bermejo version of the figure had an embossed chest logo while Action Comics 1000 was the classic Superman costume with a few embellishments many nicknamed McFarlanizations. None of those are present here, and the black outline on the chest logo somehow feels worse than on the Silver Age version. And don't get me started on the triangles painted on the hands. Sure, we get more proportionate hands that were oversized somewhat on the Page Punchers/DC Classic version, but the painted triangles that tried to simulate the costume doesn't work in the slightest. It was either add them in weirdly to preserve articulation or hinder the wrist joints somewhat. The S-shield is added on the back of the cape, and that may very well be the sole positive of the cape. The boots being stylized while the body is flat and basic just results in what looks like a poor kitbash.
His head sculpt feels wrong. It's less New 52 Superman proper and more like a comic version of Cornsweat with how non-heroic he looks. It's like if the likeness to New 52 Superman was done via memory rather than from using the reference material. I get that he is meant to be slightly younger in the New 52 comics, but the result looks more like someone else than New 52 Supes. Articulation is the same as before, but you may notice he still has the same hands attached. Despite the DC Classic Superman having a pair of flat open hands and more gestural claw-like hands as well as a flight stand, nothing of the sort was brought over with this figure. Even if they had the same paint app weirdness like on the fists, at least we could have them carried over with this figure. To make matters worse, the cape has no bendy wires implemented! What the fuck is going on with the cape consistency at McFarlane Toys?! Is the license making them go back and forth with what capes use it and which ones don't?!
For a Superman comparison, here we have both of them with Silver Age in the middle. I honestly like the shade of blue and the embossed logo on the Cyborg Superman, and even the musculature looks convincing on him. Not saying Silver Age is bad, but there are some benefits that Cyborg Supes gains compared to New 52.
There is a Target variant of Cyborg Supes with a red costume and may yellow replaced with a black. Suspiciously, it was released around the same time as a red Strange Lives of Superman figure that was also sold at Target, so does that mean the retailer prefers the Man of Steel in red? Of course I kid, as New 52 and the regular SLoS versions are in blue.
Overall, Cyborg Superman is a huge recommend due to the heavy retooling elevating the character out of the commonly reused Hush buck. It makes me want to see a Superman with that level of musculature and with an embossed logo, but I doubt McFarlane would give us one as the license is close to expiring. New 52 Superman, on the other hand is the one figure that could have had those McFarlanizations more than any other character, and the fact that this is the best we're gonna get from him in terms of superposeability is downright sad. Unless you're a HUGE New 52 fan, you don't need this version. Not like it matters since pre-New 52 comics and Rebirth-current designs have been present while New 52 gets jack squat.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Cyborg Superman)
⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (New 52)
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