Supplemental Sunday: My "Last Days" Super Powers Wishlist

With the announcement of Mattel taking over the DC action figure license in mid-2026, McFarlane’s time with the property has officially been introduced to a ticking clock. While there are some things I’d still like to see from the DC Multiverse line proper, truth be told, ever since its introduction, the Super Powers line has been my main focus. As it stands now, there are a lot of gaps that need to be filled between now and then. Waves 11 and 12 seem to be set, but I thought it might be a great time to countdown what I think needs to be done in the limited time that is left. Of course, so many collectors’ sites have listed something along the lines of ‘Top 10 most wanted figures’…and I didn’t want to be so confined. Given that there’s plenty of things that need to be covered, I thought perhaps the best approach would be the top ‘themes’ I think need to be tackled, under which I’ll add my wants or suggestions. It’s worth noting that some of these themes may have crossover suggestions.

1 – Finish the old line.

While I appreciate what McFarlane has done in giving us some new, and much needed entries into the line: Nightwing, Sinestro, Black Manta, Blue Beetle and so on, the fact of the matter remains that there are some glaring omissions from the line at the time of this writing. It’s almost inexcusable that we still don’t have Joker, Lex Luthor, Martian Manhunter, Shazam, Penguin, Green Arrow and more! Especially given McFarlane’s focus on anything Batman, as well as recent media focuses on Shazam (2 movies), Penguin (MAX series) and Green Arrow (CW series). While Lex could be possible in the Superman movie themed wave 12 (although he’s not included in the leaked listings), the fact we’re this deep into the line and still missing the most notable arch-villains of both Superman and Batman is just, well, sad.

Top 5 suggestions:

1.       Lex Luthor (bonus points for either power suit or SuperFriends outfit)

2.       Joker

3.       Any of the Kirby Fourth World villains (if I had to pick one, how about some army-building Parademons!)

4.       Clark Kent

5.       Even though we already have a Brainiac, I want the old robotic version. If anything, again, another potential army builder as Brainiac Drones or what have you.

2 – Can we get some villains up in here?

It’s a simple fact that heroes sell better than villains. Every toyline falls subject to that. But even taking that into account, McFarlane’s updated line has been woefully inadequate in giving our heroes some foes to go toe-to-toe with. Of the 65 figures that have been released so far (including exclusives and three-packs) only 13 have been villains…and even out of those, there have only been 9 UNIQUE villains, the others being repaints. Most notably, we have THREE Black Mantas out there (2 exclusive and 1 mass market). No Joker, no Lex…but three goddamn Black Mantas. I think there’s a really good solution that’s out there though that I haven’t really heard suggested yet: three-packs. Three-pack of some lesser known Fourth World villains, three-pack of some Batman villains, three-pack of some Superman villains…just by doing that, we up our count to 18 unique villains and 22 total. While this still puts team evil woefully behind our 52 heroes (including exclusives and the abundant Superman & Batman repaints), at least this allows for some ground to be gained quickly. Since some of my suggestions will repeat from my first entry, I’ll use this three-pack idea to save some space.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Superman Villains Three-pack: Lex Luthor, Robot Brainiac, General Zod (if we can’t do Robot Brainiac, and easy and thematic swap out would be Metallo!)

2.       Batman Villains Three-pack: Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy (if we have to do all dudes, then swap in Two-Face)

3.       Fourth World Villains Three-pack: DeSaad, Kalibak, Steppenwolf

4.       Oversized Villains Three-pack: Mongul, Doomsday and Despero (oh shit…maybe instead of Mongul go with freakin’ Gorilla Grodd!)

5.       Goons Three-pack: Gotham City Thug, Intergang Member, League of Assassins Ninja (of course, you could swap any of these out for a Brainiac Drone or Parademon)

3 – Less sausage, more ladies!

We have…Wonder Woman…and that’s it. Granted, that’s all Kenner’s line had too, so it’s not like this is new or anything, but COME ON! Yes, I know, the ladies just don’t sell when it comes to boy’s toys. While technically you could consider this Super Powers Collection revival as falling in that category, let’s face it, it’s more of a retro collectors line. As such, ladies end up being sought after. And when it comes to heroines, DC’s no slouch. Sure, there are the obvious Supergirl and Batgirl, but thanks to recent media, there’s growing awareness for Black Canary (CW Shows), Mary Marvel (Shazam films) or from the upcoming Superman film we have Hawkgirl and The Engineer from The Authority. Hell, given her rampant overexposure, where the fuck is Harley Quinn already??? Recently, even DC themselves got into the action with Super Powers themed alternate covers, giving us glimpses at potential Wonder Girl, Power Girl and Poison Ivy figures. Given the significant amount of ground the ladies need to make up, let’s do another round of three-pack suggestions.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Superman-themed Three-pack: Lois Lane, Supergirl, Power Girl

2.       Batman-themed Three-pack [Heroes]: Batgirl-Barbara Gordon, Batgirl-Cassie Cain, Spoiler (although you could also do Huntress or any of the Birds of Prey)

3.       Batman-themed Three-pack [Villains]: Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Talia al-Ghul

4.       Justice League Three-pack: Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Zatanna (although a Big Barda here would be great too)

5.       Justice League International Three-pack: Fire, Ice, Dr. Light (Black Canary could work here too and so could an oft overlooked Inza Nelson Dr. Fate)

4 – Lanterns, Lanterns, Lanterns

Ever since Geoff Johns introduced the emotional spectrum-based ring-slingers, getting any kind of coverage of this in either the main DC Multiverse line or Super Powers has been sporadic at best. To McFarlane’s credit, the fact that we have John Stewart, Guy Gardner and friggin’ Kilowog on the green side of things is pretty awesome. So is a Sinestro in his Sinestro Corps uniform. But we need other colors to be represented. Black Hand for the undead Black Lanterns, Larfleeze as an orange, Star Sapphire ticks this need as well as the need for more females, as does Indigo-1. Saint Walker would also be a great addition…and you could use the Kilowog body for Yellow Lanterns Arkillo and Mongul as well as a starting point for Red Lantern Attrocitus. Plus, think of the repaints! Superman as either a Black or White Lantern. Wonder Woman as a Star Sapphire, Batman as a Sinestro Corps member, Guy Gardner in Red…the possibilities are numerous. That said, it would be easy to do another three-pack suggestions list, but I’m not sure there’s really enough noteworthy characters to cover, so I’ll switch back to singles here.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Attrocitus

2.       Star Sapphire

3.       Larfleeze

4.       Lyssa Drak

5.       Kyle Rayner

5 – If we have to keep doing these…

Superman and Batman repaints have been a staple of this line, whether you like it or not. Some have been good (the golden repaints…50th Anniversary Gold Superman and Tec-Shield Batman) others have been great (the recent Recovery Suit Superman and Batman Unmasked) while most of the others have been blatant cash-grabs (Batman of Zur-En-arrh, DKR Batman, Fleischer Superman). Some time ago on social media, I put forth the idea that if we’re going to keep doing Batman after Batman after Batman, give me some incentive to keep picking them up. My thought at the time was to up the price about $5 and include a ‘Dark Knight Collection’ style backpack or accessory. It has a retro connection all the while continuing to shovel out Batmen ad nauseum. Failing that, give me some Batmen that are worth a damn. How about a stab at an AzBats? Speeding Bullets Batman, the Elseworlds story where little Kal-El’s rocket crashed on the property of stately Wayne Manor as opposed to a familiar Kansas cornfield would cover both Bats and Supes. Batman Beyond is easy pickings…making me wonder why the hell they haven’t gotten to that one yet! Hell, given that we already have a Batman Who Laughs, why not do the remaining Dark Knights? Perhaps the easiest of all is one that DC Comics themselves suggested via their alternate covers: a bare chested Batman with sword, referring to the famous Neal Adams illustrated duel between him and Ra’s al-Ghul. Damn…make that a two-pack with Ra’s and you’ve got even this anti-Batman fan’s heart. Superman is just as easy and they’ve already started down this road with Justice Lord Superman and Recovery Suit Superman. Why not Cyborg Superman from Reign of the Supermen…or the Eradicator? Ultraman from the Crime Syndicate wouldn’t need too much remolding either. Kingdom Come Superman wouldn’t be too difficult. Red Son Superman would be an instant buy from me, as would, if they wanna go bold, Val-Zod as Earth-2 Superman. Calvin Ellis Superman, Superman Red/Blue two-pack. I have two last proposals here: a secret identities two-pack, that way we get Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent all in one roll of the dice or…one that would require kinda new tooling but hits both camps: Composite Superman. Half-Supes, Half-Bats, all monster. This is such an amazing concept that has been overlooked in action figure form since the sole DC Direct release back in 2005. (Okay, there was apparently a Funko Pop, I’ll leave it to you to decide if that counts.)

Top 5 Suggestions: Superman

1.       Superman Red/Blue Two-pack

2.       Red Son Superman

3.       Eradicator

4.       Cyborg Superman

5.       Ultraman (Crime Syndicate)

Top 5 Suggestions: Batman

1.       Batman Beyond

2.       AzBats

3.       Justice Lords Batman

4.       Owlman (Crime Synidcate)

5.       Speeding Bullets Batman

6 – Teams

Perhaps one of the best things that can be said about the current Transformers development team is their willingness to try and complete various sub-teams. I know we’re talking Super Powers here, but until recently most of the figures released have been JLA-centric. Nightwing and Robin can fall under the Bat-family umbrella, sure but they’re also Teen Titans (or just Titans). And without the most recent three-pack and wave 10, we’d have no JSA representation. Aside from the League, perhaps the only other well represented team has been the Green Lantern Corps. Let’s add to the JSA with Dr. Fate and Hawkman at least. Brownie points for me if you get to the Spectre…but I’ve got him covered later. We’ve already got a Wally West Flash, and Cyborg is rumored for wave 11, why not make a Raven and Starfire to not only fill out that roster, but give us more women as well? And since we’re double-dipping, let’s fill out the Legion of Doom roster: Grodd, Toyman, Giganta, Cheetah, Captain Cold, Scarecrow and Solomon Grundy (talk about a good reuse for Lobo!).

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Dr. Fate (JSA)

2.       Hawkman (JSA or JLA)

3.       Starfire (Titans)

4.       Gorilla Grodd (Legion of Doom)

5.       Captain Cold (Legion of Doom)/Sandman (JSA) [Tie]

7 – The Dark Side

No, this isn’t a clever play on villains or Kirby’s Fourth World. We’ve already touched on those. Instead, I think it’s worth talking about the characters that thrived under DC Vertigo imprint. Or, if I want to get punny on it, then let’s throw in some Milestone Media as well for some much needed non-white characters! Recent media focusing on some of these more mature characters and stories such as Justice League Dark and solo TV series such as Swamp Thing and Constantine and the classic yet consistently overexposed Watchmen have allowed a wider recognition of these more obscure characters. Kirby’s The Demon has seen some airtime from time to time, especially in WB’s animated efforts. I’d have included Vertigo’s Sandman but I can imagine anyone and everyone wanting to keep well away from anything Gaiman right now. Surprisingly enough, Swamp Thing headlined his own cartoon and toyline back in the 90s…I know, weird right? Between the varying tones of DC’s recent projects, such as Creature Commandos and the fact that we have a freaking Lobo figure, it may well be a smart move to lean into the more collector or nostalgic adult market than McFarlane already has. And again, it’s certainly worth noting that aside from John Stewart and Black Manta, boy that Super Powers shelf is looking mighty white. Consider this: with Brainiac and his repaint and Sinestro and his repaint, there are as many green people and fuchsia people as African-Americans. That’s…not okay. Start simple: Static Shock is likely an easy one both in terms of popularity and tipping the hat to the late, great Dwayne McDuffie. You can tie into Superman with Steel. I’d love to see Icon in any way, shape or form. Representation matters Todd, and it’s missing here.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       John Constantine

2.       Icon

3.       Swamp Thing

4.       The Spectre

5.       Static Shock

8 – Vehicles and Playsets

It was one thing to revive the figures, but I won’t lie, Toddy won me over hard with the reveals of a comics accurate Supermobile and the Batwing to coincide with the wave 1 figure releases. As memorable as Kenner’s original line was just for the figures and their action features, equally as important were the vehicles. No, Superman really doesn’t need something to fly around in…but come on…it’s cool! Also giving McFarlane credit, when he strays away from the Bat-vehicles, he’s done a great job. Not only the aforementioned Supermobile, but Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet? Blue Beetle’s Bug? And sure, it’s a little dinky, but c’mon, we have a Brainiac Skull Ship! Two if you count the simultaneous Panic in the Sky repaint! While not loaded with play features as the initial toys were, the fact that at least one action feature is included in every vehicle is still more than I had expected. And at no point have we needed a Justice Jogger. There’s still a lot to do here though. Yeah, we could do a Bat-Cycle but let’s shift away from the low-hanging fruit that is Bruce Wayne’s garage. Of course, I’d love to see a Lex-Soar 7…but we’d need a Lex first. McFarlane did a Joker-mobile for the Batman: The Animated Series line…but again, we’d need a Joker first. But a Javelin-7 from the old Justice League cartoon? Shut up and take my money. Hell, do a transparent green repaint and slight remold of the Invisible Jet and give it to Green Lantern. While limited to only one…boy, the Hall of Justice remains one of my Grails to this day. There was a prototype Darkseid’s Tower of Darkness which was recently made into plastic by someone on Etsy, both versions of which looking very cool. And, with the announcement of the 2025 Superman film-themed wave 12, McFarlane gives us his first playset: The Fortress of Solitude. I can’t wait to see it. While I’d love for this to open the door to a few more playsets…if it’s taken this long to get one, I’d highly doubt we’ll see another. To dream though…and updated Hall of Justice would be nice or if they didn’t want to do that, a Watchtower would be a good fill-in. The Hall of Doom would be friggin’ awesome. While likely to have less features than the fan-made version, McFarlane’s take on a Tower of Darkness would be cool. Then there’s the Batcave. Certainly the most popular and quite possible the easiest to do for a couple of reasons. First, there’s plenty of precedent to follow (Toy Biz, Kenner’s MANY from the Batman films, Mattel, Spin Master…okay, who HASN’T done a Batcave?), but for another, in a way McFarlane’s already done one for their Batman ’66 line. All they’d need to do is downscale it slightly to go with the 4 to 4.5” scale and blam, ready to go.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Hall of Doom

2.       Javelin-7

3.       Watchtower

4.       Kryptonian Battle Armor

5.       Lex-Soar 7

9 – The Obscurity File

If there’s one thing the old Super Powers line from Kenner succeeded in, back then and even now, every single person interested in the line all ask the same thing: “Who the fuck is Tyr?” Heck, you could ask that about a couple of other entries too: Golden Pharaoh and Cyclotron. A little research will yield that Tyr is a Legion of Superheroes foe while Golden Pharaoh and Cyclotron were created exclusively for the line. Weird inserting new characters into the line when there were so many others that could have been selected, but never mind that…it’s not the point I’m trying to make. The point is that the original line wasn’t afraid to go into parts of the DCU that fans weren’t expecting…and Mcfarlane has that chance as well. In some ways, you can make the argument that Todd already has, Peacemaker was largely forgotten until John Cena took up the role in both The Suicide Squad and the self-titled spin-off series on MAX. The Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle enjoyed some popularity with the release of the movie, but who would’ve expected that it would be the Ted Kord version that would emerge in the line? Booster Gold and Metamorpho could also be considered ‘deep cuts’…although I feel like the awareness of these characters amongst those who would collect this line runs from medium to high. What I want here are characters that haven’t seen the limelight in a long time (if ever)…kinda like those you’d see in the background of Justice League Unlimited. I mean, who remembers Hawk & Dove these days? The Phantom Stranger? Nemesis? Aztek? The list is as limitless as the number of Earths you could draw from.

Top 5 Suggestions:

1.       Waverider & Monarch two-pack

2.       Hawk & Dove two-pack

3.       The Phantom Stranger

4.       The Anti-Monitor

5.       Obsidian

Like any good internet list or commentary, the goal is to get to 10 but I think I’ve covered about everything I’d love to see from the remaining days of McFarlane’s Super Powers line. As Mattel takes over, those vehicles and playsets would seem more and more likely, however that would rely on the huge IF…if they continue the line. I’d love it if they did, but I’m certainly not holding my breath on it. The argument for would be to cater to the younger demographic as well as the retro collector…and Matty has had great success with that in their Masters of the Universe Origins line. On the other hand, just like with sports, new management likes to bring in their own people and their own ideas…and this line originates with the last team, not the new one. That above all else, heralds this line’s doom. But it’s worth noting that the original Kenner line only saw 3 waves, and that last one was REALLY limited. McFarlane’s given us at least 12 with a few more on the way. While it’s a bittersweet win, it’s a win nonetheless.