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If you died, would your computer avenge you?
The Eradicator is the physical manifestation of the Kryptonian Eradicator Program, which constructed a body to replace Superman in the wake of his death at the hands of Doomsday!
This has been, for some reason, one of my favorite costumes (at least from DC) since it came out. I just really this the "interaction" of the colors, namely the blue stripe, and the way the cape comes out of the S-shield. I don't like the visor thing though, that's always inhibited the would-be coolness of the design, but I guess they needed to add something to the Cyclops-style half-cowl.
The sculpt is quite good: decent and believable proportions and nice, subtle musculature. The arms are the same molds as the modern Superman figure, for those keeping track. The line between the blue and black is sculpted in (something I'm always a fan of) as is the "S" in the emblem. The emblem is a separate mold, which gives a nice three-dimensional look to the chest. The cape is also, obviously, a separate mold and its sort of over-exaggerated style works much better than the one on Steel.
It does seem a bit higher to the right for some reason, so, as someone who likes balance, looks kind of odd. Sadly, the cape is cast in a very thick PVC, or maybe even rubber, that ultimately makes the figure back-heavy.
The face sculpt is very nice, despite its smaller features. It does harken back to the face of the first modern Superman figure DCD made.
Obviously, the failing point here is the ridiculous, blocky grandma-glasses that he calls a visor. An interesting touch, is that the visor is molded to be thinner in front of the eyes, making them more clearly visible through the plastic. I still don’t know if it is something I like or not - only the right one lines up on mine and they both do look more like bubbles in the plastic than anything else. The hair sculpt I like a lot; it matches the rest of the costume and assembly of the character (which I believe is some computery thingy), and is very prim and proper in appearance. This is one well-kept Superman.
Articulation is typical for this line: balljointed head, DCD-style shoulders, upper biceps, elbows, double-jointed wrists, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles – 19 total points. The wrists are still as bizarre and useless as they were on that very first Superman. The head articulation works the best out of the entire series, but still doesn't tilt as far back as I would like. Also, as if we would expect anything else from DCD, the ankle joints are kinda loose, so those added to the weighty cape equals a figure that doesn't really stand.
The paint app is really good, no real problems here at all. There are some blue highlights on the hair that I could live without, though. The circles on the head that the visor go over (the visor is not removable, if you were wondering) are painted yellow, and I would like to see the circles of the actual visor painted yellow as well, to hide the peg we can see through the translucent plastic.
The problem I do have, though, is the left forearm and hand. Both are cast in the same translucent yellow as the visor. I assume this is some character trait since the Hasbro version was ruined by the same thing. If you’re into "powering up" figures you might dig this, but I don’t – at all. I really hate it, especially since it has such an easy solution: DC Direct already proved they could do interchangeable hands with their JLA Superman figure, so why not do it here? Problem solved.
This guy comes with the same cool-looking (though display-ruining) metallic red "S" shield base as his three fellows. Only about 1/4" thick, the base still has a nice heft to it, giving it enough weight to keep the figure from falling over, provided his ankles hold out.
To sum up, buy this figure. Not only is it really cool, but it's also a very nice complement to the Cyborg Superman figure from Series 2.
Can you think of anyone with a cooler costume? Tell us on our message board, The Loafing Lounge.
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