Right up there with the figure enthusiasts question of why the Mego Corp. failed to produce a 12″ WIlma Deering from Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (in the likeness of Erin Gray) is where was the Lois Lane figure in the Superman line?
Its not as if Mego had any prejudice regarding female figures – see Ilia from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Holly Goodhead from Moonraker and Kate McCrae from the Black Hole being fine examples from the Sci-Fi genre alone, arriving long after such Mego staples as Farah Fawcett & Cher.
Besides the ever-present rights/licensing issues (as documented here) inhibiting the Superman series, could the absence of the feisty Daily Planet reporter be a result of Mattel’s plans to add Lois Lane to their own ever-expanding Barbie doll collection? This newly-discovered concept art from the late 1970’s (top) would certainly suggest as much.
Presumably following the established Barbie tradition of offering a basic doll followed by a plethora of outfits, whether or not the dolls would bear the likeness of the divine Ms. Kidder (second pic) in her most famous role is unclear but the fact a Superman sweater worn by her for numerous publicity shoots represented in illustration here would hint at the possibility.
While this proposal sadly never came to fruition, ironically by 2006 Mattel did finally get to produce an official Lois Lane (in the likeness of Kate Bosworth) for Superman Returns – leaving fans deprived to this day of an official Lois Lane from the classic movies.
Thankfully, talented and creative Superfans frustration has evolved to fill the void with custom figures arguably tailored to a higher standard than the unmade figures may have been. I defy even the most fervent toy historian to look at the custom Mego Lois Lane (third pic) and deny it was anything other than a genuine factory prototype. In fact Ray Flores unmistakable Margot Kidder is a reworked Lynda Carter Wonder Woman housed in a reproduction box. And just to give a taste of how a Barbie Lane may have looked, check out ferdalump.com’s pitch-perfect Lois from Superman II (bottom pic)…
SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to Trev2005 for use of the Mattel art from his awesome flickr page…
SUPERMANIA welcomes one and all to 2015 with a Christmas show & tell. It may have taken over 30 years but at last a childhood dream of having a Superman figure you could jam into a toy X-Wing fighter has finally been fulfilled.
The announcement earlier last year that Mattel was planning to add a 4″ Superman and General Zod from the classic movies to their expanding DC Comics Multiverse line was met with curious indifference from fans, having been reared for years on what had now become standard 6″ and suitably outraged that such an beloved version of the character should be produced in an unfashionable scale.
The reveal of the prototypes (alongside characters from Tim Burton’s Batman movies) did little to silence the cynics, if anything fuelling fans scepticism that finer details would be lost in translation to the smaller scale. Where Zod came off best with his minimalist design, Superman, though nicely rendered, suffered from a highly questionable sculpted chest logo (which had the unfortunate effect of looking like stuck-on confectionery).
With the initial excitement somewhat dampened by the preview, fans hope for an improvement in the production samples would be subject to a considerable wait, with Michael Keaton’s Batman first to hit shelves followed closely by General Zod. The unveiling of the packaging did generate more enthusiasm, with early word that the final products were surprisingly good (see an excellent pictorial review of the ’89 Batman figure here)
Indeed, when the Superman figure was finally released it was universally acknowledged that seeing Christopher Reeve’s portrait on any action figure was worth the whole endeavour regardless of the quality of the finished product. With that in mind, come Christmas morning and with figure in-hand, it was SUPERMANIA’s turn for a slice of humble pie.
Having expectations firmly in-check based on Mattel’s first foray (1/6 Movie Masters) into figures from the Superman franchise (with the sculpt of The Man of Steel easily the most disappointing) it has to be said the likeness captured in this scale is genuinely impressive. Distracting cocked eyebrow aside, the face is clearly Reeve and captures his demeanour and Hawk-nose perfectly (even in profile, something the Hot Toys figure actually failed to do). The hair sculpting is also top-notch and the paint (traditionally a stumbling block for Mattel) is flawless.
Now, as the backing card (second pic) claims “These figures are meticulously designed to be truly authentic” and without subjecting it to the kind of scrutiny reserved for figures twenty times the price, (see Hot Toys again) its sad to see the godawful chest shield (third pic) made it past prototype stage and that somebody who obviously didn’t see the movie slapped on the massively oversized and inaccurate cape shield (bottom pic). These details, (I refer to the above quote) are not only overlooked but simply let the whole thing horribly down. Not even the excellent body proportions and extraordinary articulation (even in the wrists!) can save it from the shoddy finish. Overall the figure (and its copy – Time travel ability??) deserved a little more care.
SUPERMANIA hopes to address this by presenting a reworked custom version of this figure in a future post. This will feature corrected details and a replacement fabric cape..!
What better time than the holiday season to revisit one of the most fun Superman-related broadcasts of yesteryear. Appearing in episode 18 of Season 4 of The Muppet Show, special guest Christopher Reeve shows off his considerable comic talent in a series of amusing sketches with Kermit & Co. in 1980.
Though an unmissable childhood favourite, SUPERMANIA was surprised to learn that Jim Henson’s long-running beloved creation was actually made in the UK for Lew Grade’s ITV. This accounts for the use of Mego’s European version of the 12″ Superman figure among the hordes of British promotional material (including an early still of Reeve, bottom pic) for Superman: The Movie in Miss Piggy’s dressing room.
Also on show in the first clip (top) is a copy of Action Comics #506 (second pic) flicked through by Reeve before changing (in a phone booth) to perform a hilarious rendition of ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’ with Miss Piggy…
Courtesy of Superman In Advertising And Media come these exclusive vintage photographs of the artefacts featured in The Smithsonian Institution’s ‘Superman, Many Lives, Many Worlds’ exhibition circa 1988.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of a true American icon, SUPERMANIA continues its retrospective from the star-attended opening (click here) to the significant collection on display and even some memorabilia from the event itself.
While the George Reeves TV show The Adventures Of Superman features prominently behind the Plexiglas, the recent release of Superman IV: The Quest For Peace had clearly yielded some treasures under the banner of ‘A New Superman In Hollywood’ where both Christopher Reeve’s Superman Costume featured at one end (top pic) and Mark Pillow’s Nuclearman costume at the other. Quite why the expensive outfits were mounted on such cheap wooden cutouts is a mystery but faring better is Margot Kidder’s silk dress (second pic) accompanied by no less than Reeve’s Clark Kent glasses and Marc McClure’s bow-tie worn as Jimmy Olsen.
Other great items from the movies on show are an original Daily Planet newspaper cover and below it, one of the script drafts for Superman IV by Konner and Rosenthal. As if the opportunity of seeing these relics first-hand was not enough, there was also an opportunity to purchase exclusive collectibles on the day, such as the advertising postcard (third pic) with superb art from Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and two buttons below from the SUPERMANIA collection pictured with a promotional ad…
Celebrating in true British fashion with a slice of cake, a velvet-jacket clad Christopher Reeve cuts into a dessert of Super-proportions to officially open the afterparty for the European Premiere of Superman: The Movie
On this very day (December 13th) in 1978, fresh from a charity screening and an audience with the Royal Family, (headed by Her Majesty The Queen, more to come in future posts!) the cast and producers (bottom pic) finally take a moment to relax and reflect on the culmination of a project they had begun five years previously at an exclusive Supper held at Claridges in London..
Italian TV guide (second & third pic) covered the event by sharing some closely-guarded secrets of how some of the pioneering flying effects were achieved. As this wizardry was key to the selling of the movie (feature title translates ‘How Superman learned To Fly‘) the producers forbade any footage or stills of the flying scenes creation in advance, prompting painted ‘making of’ illustrations in the article.
SUPERMANIA extends its thanks to Capedwonder.com for the top pic and to Sarah Douglas for the rare pic taken from her Facebook page, (bottom) showing (from left to right) Sarah herself, Ilya Salkind, Christopher Reeve, Susannah York and Pierre Spengler…
