Bootleg LEGO Supergirl, Superman and Brainiac

I picked up another batch of Bootleg LEGO minifigures off eBay in order to get my hands on a Supergirl minifigure. Supergirl is currently officially available from LEGO in a set along with Superman and Brainiac (and Brainiac's spaceship.) It's an awesome looking set that I'd love to own, but for the 'pennies on the dollar' cost of these bootlegs I couldn't resist grabbing them now even if I someday have the real thing.

Of note on this latest wave of bootlegs: Supergirl's torso is sculpted with 'hips.' Something the bootleggers have taken it upon themselves to add. This type of design decision fascinates me, because the bootleggers could just straight across rip-off LEGO (and do,) yet every now and then they throw something in that they thought of entirely on their own. Those sillies!

The bootleggers also included those new jumping bases that LEGO has introduced this year. They're kind of lame but for flying figures they do give you a nice little 'invisible' base to pose them on.

Both Supergirl and Superman have two faces, 'normal' and 'heat-vision.'

And then there's Brainiac. Bootleg Brainiac comes with a cool Kryptonite gun.

Brainiac does not have dual faces but they did print those...USB ports?...on the back of his head.

As always the cape quality is lower than regulation LEGO, and the plastic is slightly lighter. But if your not playing with these things too heavily you just can't go wrong for the price.

Brainiac Imaginext Figure

This Imaginext version of Superman villain Brainiac has been at retail for a few months now. Not feeling the need to get too deep into non-Batman themed Imaginext heroes and villains, I didn't really feel like I had to own him. And besides, I much prefer the robo-skeleton version of Brainiac. This Brainiac was clearly inspired by the Superman Animated version.

But finding him at the flea market for fifty cents changed my mind.

Imaginext Brainiac originally comes with a backpack with six robotic tentacles. Mine is missing his, but that isn't really important. A bunch of tentacles coming from Brainiac's back isn't exactly comic-book canon.

It would be fun if Imaginext re-releases this guy with an Imaginext version of his skull-spaceship sometime in the future.

Brainiac Trust

I've posted in the past about my DC Superheroes Brainiac and my recently acquired Super Powers Brainiac, but I really wanted to shoot the two together. Each Brainiac is a stand-out in their respective lines and each is a great example of what a cool action figure was/is in their eras.

The 80s Superpowers Brainiac has five points of articulation, an action feature, and a vac-metal coating to simulate a metallic finish. The 200x DC Superheroes Brainiac has a highly detailed sculpt, a shit-ton points of articulation, stands a head+ taller than his 80s counterpart, and even has clear bits on his head and shoulders with 'wires' and other electronic looking parts underneath.

Although I am usually of the 'less is more' camp when it comes to articulation, I must say having so much works well on a character like robo-Brainiac, since the unsightly seams and joints meld into his robotic form effortlessly. Both figures are great, but since I have no emotional connection to the original, having never owned him as a kid, I have to say the more recent version is far superior.

I have Super Powers...

I recently lucked upon a couple super cool and super cheap DC Super Powers action figures at the flea market - Mantis and Brainiac! I don't generally collect Super Powers figures (I still don't even have a Batman from the line!) but Jack Kirby Fourth World stuff is always epic and of course this is one badass Brainiac design, so how could I resist at fifty cents each?

First up is Brainiac. This robot skeletonesque design has grown into my favorite Brainiac design of all time. I have the DC Superheroes version put out way back when Mattel could only make Superman and Batman heroes and villains. Had we only known what the future held for us!

Like all Super Powers figures, Brainiac has a lame action feature. You squeeze his arms and one leg pops out like he's trying out for the Rockettes or something. I couldn't resist humming the 'Start spreading the news' intro every time I did it. I almost made you fine folks a video of that too. Maybe someday.

Another bonus to this figure is tha vac-metal finish. He's all shiny!

My intern helped set up a meeting between Brainiac and Kalibak...

...but they had nothing in common. Kalibak just steamed up Brainiac's finish with his gruntish breathing until Brainiac simply turned and strutted away to the tune of "Start spreadin' the news!"

Next up...Mantis!

This is the re-designed Super Powers version of Mantis. Kirby's original version was more of a bug suited guy with a cape tied to his wrists and ankles. This version is more robotic (or is it a full on robot this time?)

Very Stormtrooperish. I like this design because it is more space-suity but also because it's a neat alternative version of a wacky Jack Kirby character from Apokolips, and you can't have too many of those around the house!

I also like the scale of the Super Powers Mantis against the scale of my DCUC Kalibak. A couple fun Kirby creations indeed!