Review of Red Son Superman
One:12 Collective Exclusive Action Figure

Introduction

One of the better ideas from DC Comics was Elseworlds, a comic imprint started in 1989. For more than a decade they did unique and interesting 'what if' stories with their characters under this banner, working with concepts outside the normal DC continuity.

One of these was a three issue story called Superman: Red Son. It posited the question "What if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union?". Like most successful comic runs, there have been action figures based on the unique designs released in the past, including those in the old DC Direct Elsworlds line.

Mezco decided to produce the title character in their One:12 Collective series, and made it a Previews exclusive. That means you can pick it up at most comic shops, but not through Mezco themselves. Like most exclusives, he'll run around $80.

Packaging - ****
This is one of the 'tin can' exclusives, coming in a very large, very heavy, very red metal container. Inside are two layers of plastic trays that hold the figure and accessories. Everything is collector friendly of course - no damage necessary when freeing the figure or his extras.  The tin looks terrific, and these containers are some of the few that can last a lifetime and be useful for storing all sorts of goodies.

Sculpting - ****
Unfortunately, this exclusive only comes with one portrait. That happens occasionally with the exclusive releases, but I'm hopeful we never see this reduction creep into the regular line up.

Fortunately, the one portrait is really, really good.  It's everything a strong, stoic, determined Superman should be, with a square jaw, tight musculature, and single curl. You might assume they'd use the exact same head from the classic Superman they released earlier - they did not. I do think it's the same base, but there's some minor modifications, most notably in the eyebrows.

Other sculpted areas look terrific. The hands work with the accessories and various poses, and the hard plastic pieces of the costume, like the belt or collar, look fantastic.  This is another top notch design, taking the Red Son concept and tweaking it just a bit to make it their own.

These are 1/12 of course, and Supes comes in just short of 6 1/2" tall, fitting in with the rest of the series.

Paint - ***1/2
Another great job by Mezco on the production paint. Let's keep in mind that this figure is 1:12 scale...that's mighty small. My macro photos can find any issue, and there's not many to find.

The eyes look terrific, and the skin tone is an improvement over the glossier classic Supes. The lips have just the right amount of color, and even the eyebrows are perfect. My only real nit is with the hairline - a bit of the black slips down onto the skin. But you'll never notice this in hand due to the scale of the figure.

Costume details are great as well, particularly the high collar and stars. The paint work on the belt and hands follows this same pattern of quality.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is big and bulky, as you'd expect with a character like Superman. Some folks find the large shoulders a bit much, but I think they look terrific in hand.

The neck is a bit tight this time around, and the high, hard collar makes the jawline the only useful point of articulation. There's some lean and tilt to the head, but the thick neck makes it a bit harder than with some other characters.

The rotating hinge shoulders, pin elbows, and rotating hinge wrists allow for plenty of great arm poses, and the stretchy costume provides zero resistance.

The thin outer-undies do make working with the hips a little tougher, but not much, and the knees and ankles work great. The two piece boots allow for plenty of rocker movement in the feet.

Accessories - ***
Unlike regular releases, there's not a ton of extras with most of the exclusives.

Superman does get a variety of hands - a set of tight grips, a set of flat 'flying' hands, and a set of medium grips, to go with the fists he comes wearing. They swap easily enough, and remain in place when posing him.

He wouldn't be Red Son Superman without his flag showing off the sickle and hammer. The scale is good, and he can hold it in a variety of one and two hand poses thanks to the tight grip hands. A thin wire in the edge would have been nice, but that's another of those minor nits.

His big accessory is the severed head of Brainiac. It's a cool addition, but you'll need to get creative when coming up with the best way to use it in a display.

Finally, he has his display stand and clear support. There's the tall, clear, flying support (which includes clips to hold the cape aloft), as well as the simple foot peg, so the stand can be used in multiple ways.

Outfit - ***1/2
When I handle these figures, I'm very much reminded of the old Flatt Mego style customs. The quality is impressive, and much of that is driven by the creative and innovative ways they handle the cloth pieces.

This is a pretty simple costume - it is Superman after all. The underlying body suit is stretchy and well sewn, and the sleeves are long enough to cover the wrist joints in most action poses. The outer 'shorts' are glued in place, and very, very thin. The belt is also permanently attached, as is the large chest symbol. My only fear was damaging this symbol, because it seemed too easy to snag the bottom point. I didn't damage it under normal handling, but it's worth paying attention to.

The two piece boots look good and allow for plenty of ankle movement, and the cape lays neatly down his back. I had trouble getting it over the shoulders just the way I wanted, but pulled back it looked great.  The high collar also fits in seamlessly, and adds a very subtle but eye catching difference.

Fun Factor - ***
Plenty of posing potential here, especially when you add in the flying support pieces for the stand. While there aren't a ton of extras, the few that are here can work well with the display.

Value - *1/2
I really do like this figure - quite a bit more than I thought I would, since I'm not the biggest Superman fan. But he takes a big hit in this category, as is the case with several of the exclusives. The $80 price tag is steep considering the lack of accessories, and will be a tough pill to swallow for many.

Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful with the symbol on his chest. It felt like I could snag it on the points, and while I never did, it's worth keeping in mind as you're handling him.

Overall - ***
If money is no object, you can add another half star to my overall. I really do like the look and feel of this figure, and he might be my favorite Superman they've done.

But for me, money is an object. And $80 is a pretty hefty price tag for a variant character with so few accessories.  The price point pulls him down a bit in my overall, but depending on how big of a Superman fan you are, your mileage may vary.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
As with most One:12 releases, by the time they ship they're sold out at most retailers. But these sponsors are good choices for future buys - check them out:

- Entertainment Earth was at $80, but include free shipping on most One:12 figures.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've been covering a lot of One:12 figures lately, thanks to the huge number being released over the last couple months. Most recently I looked at Wolverine, but there's also Deadpool, X-Men Deadpool, Deathstroke, Suicide Squad Harley, the regular Red Skull, classic Superman, the Morales Spider-Man. I've also covered the the exceptional classic Punisher, the regular release Punisher the Toy Fair exclusive version, Shazam, the classic Daredevil, the Flash and Reverse Flash, the BvS Superman, the comic based Joker, Green Arrow, the Frankenstein Monster Diorama, Frankenstein Monster, the BvS Batman, the Bvs Armored Batman, Captain America, Star Trek Kirk, the Mirror, Mirror and Cage variants of Spock, Sulu, the Toy Fair exclusive Spock, and the regular release Spock as well. Other One:12 Collective figures released so far include Dredd and his Lawmaster, the NYCC exclusive Judge Dredd, the DKR Batman and Mutant two pack, the Batman exclusives, and the initial DKR Batman.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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