Superman Extreme

Posted to Flickr on 03 June 2013.

This is the first in a series of photos that show two extremely different interpretations of the same DC Comics character.

The figure on the left is Superman from the Fisher-Price DC Super Friends line of Little People toys, released in 2011.

The figure on the right is Superman from the Total Justice line of action figures, released in 1996. The long hair is based on Superman in the comic books of that time. The over-muscled sculpting and "ready for action" pose of the figure is consistent with other late 90s action figures.

Photo seen in Flickr Explore.

Origin

At Christmas in 2012 my wife gave me a set of Fisher-Price DC Super Friends Little People, designed for very young children, as a kind of gag gift. But of course she also suspected I would likely involve them in a photo at some point, and she was correct.

During the 90s comic book creator Todd McFarlane captured the attention of the toy market with several lines of ultra-realistically sculpted action figures. The success of McFarlane Toys prompted other manufacturers to “buff up” their super-hero toys. I thought it would be fun to create a photo series comparing and contrasting that style of action figure with their Little People counterparts.

I chose the Total Justice Superman figure because of his somewhat awkward pose and ridiculous muscles.

Elsewhere

These Supermen have also been seen together in these places:

Have you seen this photo somewhere else? Or are you using it yourself? I would love to hear from you! It's always fun to learn where my photos turn up.

Setup

This photo was taken in my kitchen using some pretty simple Gear. You might be surprised to discover how low-tech my "photography studio" really is.

Flickr Facts

This photo was posted to Flickr on 03 June 2013. It was one of 500 images featured on Flickr Explore for that day. The last time I checked, it had 44,339 views on Flickr.

The media type of this image is "photo." The original file type was "jpg." The photo's dimensions are 1024 x 681, giving it landscape orientation.

Unless otherwise noted, the image was created by me, JD Hancock.

Selected imagery background information.

Superman

Superman is a superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and first appeared in Action Comics #1 (1938). Rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, the baby Kal-El was raised in Smallville as Clark Kent. As he grew to maturity, he found himself possessed of amazing physical powers: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. To use his abilities in a never-ending battle for truth and justice as "Superman," he travelled to Metropolis and assumed the disguise of a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet, a great metropolitan newspaper. His costume is red and blue with a cape and a distinctive "S" shield on his chest. He is often depicted as part of the Justice League superhero team along with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and others. Superman was played by Christopher Reeve in a series of films beginning with Superman: The Movie (1978) and by Tom Welling in the television series Smallville (2001).

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