Superman naturally reuses the CROE body, as with nearly every comic version of the character we've had. The blue is of the darker variety, though it isn't exactly the same as the Godzilla 2-pack version; the shade of blue is more of a regular one usually associated with Superman, compared to the classic sky blue and the darker blue you'd see in the DCAU. As for the logo, it's more of the t-shirt variety, where they keep the black outline rather than not fill it in; I know some people don't care about it much when it comes to including the black outline, but it's pretty inconsistent all around more than it needs to be. Thankfully, it stands out a bit less on a darker blue than on Silver Age Superman, and at least he has painted belt loops. He comes with the same pair of fisted hands and open hands, but the head sculpt he comes with is based on the 90s JLA run after his resurrection. I want to like it, but I think I'm more used to the one that came with that Return of Superman retool (inexplicably reusing TDKR Supes) that came with Krypto; this isn't an awful head sculpt, but it feels slightly pinched in and doesn't look as good as the mulleted Action Comics 1000 head. The skin tones on this one are a little darker than on the Godzilla version, meaning part swapping has to include the neck via using hot water or a hairdryer. You may as well take the neck off because the cape is not only made out of that ribbon-like material that feels less appropriate for Superman, but it's also missing a bendy wire! What is this trend of figures coming with the wire or not, McFarlane? We've been able to stray away from plastic capes for a good while, and it was great to see these on accessible figures, so what the hell happened here?! This isn't even the first time the figure came with the sculpt, so why penny pinch to this degree?
His comic book, the fourth issue of Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, was an exciting read for sure as a continuation for Crisis on Infinite Earths, but didn't we already have a general continuity reboot with the prior story arc? At least with this one, it's not as massive a refresh for a majority of continuity reboot for most of the titles they published at the time, with only Legion of Super-Heroes and Legionnaires getting a reset while other titles either ending (Teen Titans and Justice League International) or launched after Zero Hour (Starman, Manhunter, Extreme Justice). Also, seeing all the various Hawkmen is reminding me I need to get a version of him ASAP.
For a comparison with the Superman I use, on the left is the Godzilla 2-pack version with a spare Action Comics 1000 head, a reminder for anyone wondering why he isn't screaming like David Cornsweat talking about what makes him "human". As you can see, their shades of blue aren't exactly the same, the logo styles are slightly different (with the Zero Hour version being more of the traditional aesthetics and the Godzilla version seemingly based on the Alex Ross style), and their capes were handled differently (one has a bendy wire even at its bottom while the other clearly lacks wiring, and that's ignoring the material types). I was hoping to use the Zero Hour version for some added synergy for a non-mullet and mulleted Superman, but the things that hold it back aren't doing it any favors for a version of the character that needed its mouth closed.
As for The Joker, this is yet another standard retool of the Clown from Three Jokers, and it only makes sense we would continue reusing that mold. While he may seem similar to the Silver Age version, there are a handful of differences we'll get to, but first, he mostly comes with his revolver (that could be held in the hand better), but in addition to a retooled head with a fedora on top, he comes with a coat that matches the color of said fedora. I never got my hands on the Killing Joke version of the character, so this might make for a decent alternative. The coat is made of cloth goods, but unlike the ones that come with Hasbro figures it doesn't make the figure look too baggy or clumsy, since the material is at least thin enough and on a slightly taller scale where it won't look oversized. The stitchwork is also good enough without being too cheap, though I bet a bendy wire would help make some poses even better.
His included comic is issue 9 of Crisis on Infinite Earths, made just in time for what was the 50th anniversary of DC Comics at the time. You can see just about so many villains from the cover alone, and I bet we only have about half of what is represented, if not less! Anyways, seeing the DC villains get their plans unfold bit by bit in time for the story arc proved how much our heroes struggled with not just grappling with them but also tackling the multiverse collapsing into itself. Cheetah comes with the same comic in case you're wondering.
Here he is with the Silver Age version of the character, and the differences between both of them are more plentiful than you'd think. Beyond the head and accessory count, we now feature a slightly brighter shade of orange for the outer shirt, a lime green inner shirt with a black tie rather than a matching purple one, lavender hands instead of white ones, and stripes on the pants. You can theoretically swap their heads if you want your Joker to come with the stripes on his pants, but I haven't had any luck when one figure's head managed to leave its ball joint on the body while the other is stuck with it in its head.
And now we shall cover Cheetah. This figure is a retool of Knightfall Catwoman, which has been a commonly reused figure that McFarlane goes for with some female characters. In a way, it almost makes sense because of the feline thing, but one common issue is that some characters continue dealing with would be the bicep-high gloves remaining in the sculpt, and while one could argue that at least it helps for the bicep rotation, the thigh-high boots left on the figure aren't doing her any favors. We're already getting a hard-to-find version of the character because she's a Red Platinum for some stupid reason, so why not retool her a bit further? The torso doesn't have a zipper, thank god, and with this being a simple onesie with a tail added on the back, I'll always appreciate the good that Todd does. I also appreciate that the torso is double-ball jointed instead of what happened to Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, where she has a weird skirt-like thing instead of something like this. Some will say her head is undersized, but with how oversized a lot of Marvel Legends heads are, I guess this isn't as bad in comparison? So what we do have is mostly good, and I like the cheetah pattern even if it'snot continued on the back of the legs, but we can go a bit further, right?
Her head sculpt may be small, but I like that the faceplate-swapping feature at least makes a seemingly natural separation between her face and the headset with the admittedly cute little ears; it's easier to do this rather than painting one instead of the other. Thankfully, there is a bit of blush to the face to make her skin tone somewhat naturalistic, and the face likeness is appropriately stern and predatory for a chick wearing a cheetah onesie.
Her alternate parts include regular hands with her claws retracted, as well as two alternate faceplates: a smirking face and a snarling face that looks decent, though I know some will say that it looks a bit uncanny. I've seen worse when it comes to faceplates with the lips parted, and this is not one of them. I'd easily prefer teeth gritted over open-mouth faces like with Guy Gardner and Godzilla Superman. As for a size comparison, this almost makes me think of when Glenn Webb (RIP) put his scrapped custom House of M Mystique next to the X-Men Classics Air Strike Wolverine (also in the same comic series' costume). What I mean by that is how undersized Cheetah comes across next to Wonder Woman. At first, that may seem like a huge problem given how oversized Diana came off next to some versions of Superman and Batman, but here's where it gets interesting: Wonder Woman's height measures at 6'2" while Cheetah, specifically the Priscilla Rich version we have here, measures at 5'4", therefore making the scale easier to tolerate this time around. Honestly, I like Cheetah the best out of the three figures we have, but that may boil down to finally getting some Wonder Woman villain rep after we mostly get focus from the Superman and Batman rogues gallery (with a few additions from Flash, Green Lantern, etc), and the fact that it took nearly 5 years for her to pop up shows how things would have went smoother if the earlier waves would be if they weren't just too focused on Batman stuff. I wish the figure didn't have the Knightfall Catwoman tooling for the gloves and boots, but at least it's nothing bad like the Gold Label Supergirl, I guess. Good luck getting her because of the demand for a character whose only other toy we got of her from McFarlane being a goddamn Superfriends figure, where the legs don't move out for some reason.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Zero Hour Superman)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Crisis on Infinite Earths Joker)
⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Cheetah)
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