[TAO's Note: Clark is already back with another review of a metal-head. Steel from Mattel's DC Superheroes line is the subject today, and as Clark points out, if you like DC Universe Classics, you might want to hunt down this older figure that still packs quite a punch despite the few years it has on its younger DCUC brethren.]  

Name: Steel
Line: DC Superheroes
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: 2007
Price: Online: $15.00-$24.99
Scale: 6 in.
Accessories: Hammer
Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$17.95 (may or may not be variant edition)

     This figure is special to me because he is the first DCSH figure that I purchased, so he can be held responsible for all of the DCSH and DCUC figures I’ve purchased since.  I knew nothing about the DCSH line at the time (I was just starting to buy figures regularly), all I knew is that he looked incredible in the package.  In fact, I prefer the way this figure looks over any of the artwork that I’ve seen.  Steel has a unique sculpt, it appears that he shares very little, if anything, to the DCSH Superman figure.  There are so many aspects of this sculpt that I love:  the raised ‘S’ shield, the solf rubber shoulder armor, the belt with hoses leading down to his rocket boots, the cape, and the head.  Well, I pretty much listed everything about him there.  Steel has rivots sculpted all over his body, pretty much anytime you see a light silver spot sitting on top of the darker gray it will have rivots sculpted to give the appearance of layered armor.  The rocket boots look big and heavy, with soft rubber hoses running up to Steel’s belt (I’ve always assumed that these hoses were fuel for the rockets).  He also has his rivot firing wrist gun, which looks great and you can just imagine it causing some damage.  The shield is a separate piece that has been glued into place, this allows the rubber cape to be attached to the body behind it.  The visual effect of the cape (which appears to be huge and thick, like it was typically drawn) attaching behind the shield and draping over Steel’s shoulders is very cool.  The head sculpt is absolutely perfect, with layers of metal and rivots, and a stern facial expression.
     Steel also comes with his sledge hammer.  The hammer itself is a fine sculpt, with cracks in the head, and bits of technology (buttons and such) running down the handle, so we know that this more than just a big hunk of metal.  I really can’t give the sculpt enough credit, it truly is amazing.

Sculpt Score: 10 / 10

     Steel may look like he has very little paint applications, but he is actually cast in black plastic, so everything you see has paint on it.  The base body is covered with a shiny, dark gray paint that has a bit of texturing to.  It may also have a dark wash over it, but it could be just the way the paint was applied.  In any case, the effect of this paint is great, and gives the impression that this is some sort of metal.  The silver parts are just painted silver, and is a great contrast to the dark metal and helps us notice all of the details in the sculpt.  Even the cape has color added to it, as it has a dark, almost smokey wash to it.  Let us not forget that  Superman shield on his chest.  You’ll notice from the pictures that it is vac-metallized.  There is a variant you can get that has his shield just painted silver to match the rest of his body.  The non-metalized variant seemed popular to collectors, I guess because some people just aren’t fans of the vac-metal.  I actually prefer the shiny metal shield, and it is that part of this figure that makes everything else pop.  I’ve seen the variant, and he just ended up looking a bit dull to me when compared to this one, but to each his own.  The colors chosen for this figure are perfect, and make him look like he just stepped off the pages of the comic book, actually he looks even better than that.  To top everything else off, there is no slop to speak of.

Paint Score: 10 / 10

     Steel has the standard DCSH/UC articulation.  He actually has a couple of added swivels, because the rivot gun on his left wrist, and the cuff on his right both swivel where they meet the hand, and the forearm.  This allows you to rotate his gun to any position you would like.  I think I actually had this figure for a couple of months before I realized that his cuffs could swivel and that his waist swiveled as well (it was a bit hard to move at first).  The hoses running from his belt to his boots are a very soft plastic that allow his legs a full range of motion without you having to worry about them tearing at any point.  His shoulder armor is also a soft plastic that attached to his body, so they allow his shoulders the full range of motion.  On my figure, though, his shoulders do not spread apart from the body very far.  This is not because of the armor, just that there is some friction somewhere and I don’t want to force them for fear of snapping the arm off at the bicep.  Although his head is a balljoint, he can really only look straight ahead, side to side, and down.  All of his other POAs have a great range, including the ab crunch that allows his to slump over or puff his chest in the air.  I really like the articulation of the Mattel DC figures, they have just the right amount of articulation for me, and if it weren’t for Steel’s restricted shoulders and head he would have been a 9 for me.

Articulation Score: 7 / 10

     Pretty much all of the fun I’ve had with Steel has been putting him into various heroic poses and admiring his sculpt.  For me, that is loads of fun.  I think anyone who likes DCUC would find Steel to be a great figure with loads of play potential.  All of Steel’s joints are tight, and he is made of a nice sturdy plastic.  Although he doesn’t come with loads of accessories, he comes with the only one that I think he needs, and his hammer is large and imposing.  The only problem with his hammer is that it is slightly bent, and made from such a hard plastic that it is very difficult to straighten (the old hot water, cold water trick won’t do much good here).  Although the handle is curved I still think he looks great on display when wielding the hammer with both hands (don’t try to make that dirty).

Fun Score: 8 / 10

      At the time I purchased Steel from Walmart I think he was $9.88, and at the time I found that to be a bit expensive for a 6” figure.  It wasn’t until I opened the package and realized how well-built he was that I felt that I got what I paid for.  Nowadays, $9.88 would be a great deal.  Steel was also a hard figure to find at retail, at least that was the case when he first came out, but at one point I could have purchased this figure over and over again when Big Lots had loads of Superman-themed DCSH figures for $9.  I do kinda wish I had picked up the variant Steel when I saw him for that price.  If you can get this figure, variant or not, for around $15 or less, then I would say go for it.

Value Score: 9 / 10

10 / 10 - One of my absolute favorite sculpts.  Mattel could have gone with a much simpler design for this figure, but luckily Steel had the Four Horsemen backing him up.

10 / 10 - I wasn’t planning on giving him a perfect score, but the more I looked at him, the more I realized I couldn’t find one complaint about his paint application or color choices.

7 / 10 - Really good articulation, all of the standard DCUC joints with his shoulders slightly restricted (by something, but it’s not the shoulder armor).

8 / 10 - Great looks, great articulation, cool character = Great fun!

9 / 10 - $10 was a great price for this fantastic figure, if you find one today then get him.

93 / 100 - This is a Wonderful Toy

-Clark

This could be the figure given away in this month's Review Commentator Contest. Join the discussion by leaving a comment for a chance to win!

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