Here we have the Eradicator in-hand. The one on the left is the recent version while the one on the right is the previously released Shockwave version. Differences include black for the neck and face, a darker blue, and a presumably different shade of red. The reason why one of them has more black is because it represents a version of the character that served as part of Zod's family during the Rebirth era of DC. It's funny how the classic version is the true definition of a repaint, and one that is more desirable than the original version since we can see his face. Both figures are retools of the Hush Superman buck, itself a retool of the Rebirth version. Traits of this include the wider upper body, the molding for the boot tops (which shouldn't be on this toy btw), and an embossed chest symbol. The logo is sculpted to be less squished at the bottom tip, and while I would like to see some lines to designate where the blue stripe down the middle of the costume goes, the deco is mostly clean...apart from the visible black on top of the blue within the diaper piece. Both figures gave a cape sculpted to look dynamic and flowing in the air, yet while it helps make for great photography, it will always look awkward for anything else. In fact, it only ranks second to most display-specific cape next to the optional one that came with Night People Batman. I guess having it be wired and cloth goods is possible, though how good it would look depends on the execution, especially given how specific the way his cape attaches works compared to any other Superman. Retooling is possible after all. As for the head, boy is the jawline wider than normal. I never liked how the face on Hush Superman looked, and this is even worse when viewed from the front. He's less Eradicator and more Square-radicator; it stands out worse on the painted face version than on the Shockwave version. One positive is that the shades are painted gold, and they did at least try to continue the detailing on the sculpted parts for the hair. Some would say that they should be clear to make the eyes visible, but in some panels, the shades were drawn opaque, so it makes sense McFarlane Toys went with what was already available to them.
The articulation is the same for both figures, and while they both come with alternate open hands, Shockradicator has his painted to simulate his powers. They look more like amateur attempts at a custom flesh tone paint job, and they make me wish he had glowing energy effect pieces like the ones that came with Starfire. They also have a third variant of the character made in the form of a Platinum translucent plastic version, with bone white skin, a purple cape and logo, a two tone blue look, and opaque joints that may look out of place but thankfully do not make the figure fragile. I heard this was an issue with a digital version of The Flash, and it sucks to hear what happened to those who had their copies' ankles break. This appears to be a made up repaint at first, but it could be based on the retro DC toylines Kenner used to make. I wish they clarified that much like how they should have done with those Task Force figures to explain the video game decos.
As for Superboy, this figure is a retool of the 2023 version, with a more classic look to his body this time around. Whereas the previous toy was more based on his Rebirth look, this is how he appeared in Reign of the Supermen proper. The yellow on the forearms, belt, boot tops, and right thigh are painted on, and the logo is also tampo'd on. While the paint apps are thankfully crisp and have no alignment issues, I can't help but wonder if making the details painted on is due to McFarlane not wanting to make any new tooling. And of course, we need to mention the lack of a leather jacket. That piece of clothing is one of the signature design traits of the character, but he has been seen without the jacket at times. I do wish that the black on the shoulders went down further to fill in the subtle seam line.
His head sculpt is mostly good, though I wish he had some optional shades to wear like the ones that came with the Retro Card Peter Parker. Just remove the white paint and put them on him after adding a shiny coat of black for the lenses! Also, I get that he has a bit of a fade at the bottom area of his hair, but would it have hurt them to make it look less like a sharpie job? His alternate hands, aka the sole accessories he has beyond the stand and trading card (which we'll go back to), is the right thumbs up hand and a left fist. For some reason, the right hand is painted despite already being molded red plastic.
As for the comic book he comes with, it is a reprint of Superboy Vol 4 #1, and you can already tell what's missing from the figure it comes with. I always preferred this version of Superboy more than I did the concept of Kal-El being a superhero before he got the name Superman.
This comic has the same vibes as a anime beach episode, from the slice of life elements mixed with a bit of plot relevancy thrown in. No doubt many bikini drawings of all the babes in the story, including Roxanne Leech, were hidden by using Hawaii as an excuse to for a setting in the Superboy comics. If you set aside the curves, cleavage, and even sneaky butt crack of Roxy, you'll be able to read the story and focus on the Superboy World Tour going haywire as a villain named Sidearm targets the boy of steel and his group. Sidearm has a cybernetic arm with firepower for anyone still distracted by the fanservice.
That being said, the card art we got for him is reused from Rebirth Superboy instead of a reprint of the comic cover. Sadly hurts that it is another reminder of his lack of a jacket. That and the hair not being 1:1. The figure comes with a Platinum variant based on his appearance in the New 52. Honestly, with the tooling applied on Rebirth Superman, he may not be entirely 90s accurate, but you could stick with him if you're fine with how he turned out compared to the deco-only details on this Superboy.
Here we have Eradicator and Superboy with Cyborg Supes and the original Man of Steel. They all have shades of blue that don't match the version of the character I use for my display, so you may want to stick with the Hush version and do some part swaps if you're interested in some consistency. Honestly, Eradicator is the better of the review duo, what with the traditional Superman colors and some paint for the face going a long way to fix a figure's presentation. He could still use an S shield in the cape, or at least a wired cape like with the Cyborg and Monsterverse Supermen. Superboy could have been a slam dunk if they just gave him either three dimensional tooling instead of paint apps or an optional leather jacket he can wear like what we got with Captain Boomerang. At least the comic is still better than the Supergirl one. Now to get Steel, even if his design is more modern.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Eradicator)
⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Superboy)
If you're still here, allow me to go over a neck swap if you want your Eradicator to have a less square face. I also have Batfleck here so we can shorten his neck. I know I don't need the McFarlane version anymore if I have the one made by FondJoy, but those that only collect McFarlane should use these two for a fix.
The heads have to be removed, and the neck pegs are next. The black peg on Eradicator matches Batfleck, and those who fear his gray peg won't match the Superman look-alike will sigh in relief knowing that the head will conceal it without issue.
And there we go. Eradicator should have a more visible neck (and hopefully have a less square jawline), while Batfleck's head shape and neck are more accurate to the movie. Idk if I would do the same to Shockwavicator, but only if I get the Justice is Grey version that comes with the Snyderverse Batmobile despite me not funding for it (because I never funded for any toys by either Hasbro, McFarlane, etc).
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