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Mattel SDCC Exclusive Young Justice Superboy in Cloning Chamber
Superman clone is totally tubular...
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The latest animated series based on DC Comics characters is Young Justice, telling the stories of the former Justice League sidekicks including Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and more. In the first episode, our young heroes investigate illegal activities in Cadmus Labs, eventually discovering a secret underground facility and the mysterious “Project Kr.” The three original members of the team find that the centerpiece of Kr is a huge tube containing a young man in a white suit, none other than a genomorph clone of Superman! It is this scene that was captured in Mattel’s Young Justice Comic-Con exclusive this year, tube and all.
Many of Mattel’s exclusives come in two layers of packaging, usually with an outer covering to protect the good stuff inside. Superboy is no different, but in this case the outside is actually pretty cool as well. The outer box is bright and very colorful, fitting into the general Young Justice line. The front panel features a huge image of Superboy in his solar suit leaping out toward you in front of a multi-colored starburst background. Above him is the DC Universe logo while below is the show’s name and the title of the set: Superboy in Cloning Chamber. The sides of the box have character art of the other Young Justice heroes Robin, Aqualad, Artemis, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash.
The back panel of the box depicts Robin’s holographic projector and its information on Project Kr.
Pop the outer box open and you’ll find the cloning chamber, a 9 ¼ inch tall mostly cardboard structure. Closely resembling the tube from the animation, the chamber has a wide hexagonal base, a tall central structure lined with clear plastic windows (through which you can see the clone as well as the Genomorph-Gnomes), and a cylindrical top. It’s primarily blue in dark and light shades, with really detailed decoration including lights, panels, beveled edges around the windows, etc. The front window is marked with a large “Kr” in front of Superboy. Immediately below that is a large yellow button on the base; press it and the tube lights up with eerie blue light. Check out the video!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOHJdfPGsCg"]CLONING CHAMBER IN ACTION[/ame]
When you’re ready to unleash Superboy, simply follow the included pictorial instruction sheet. The top of the chamber comes off, and then it’s just a matter of unfolding the panels and tabs before carefully removing the central piece with the clone’s resting place and the gnomes above it. The Superboy figure is attached by two plastic bands, while the gnomes are encased in their own plastic bubble. The instructions suggest not cutting the bands, but whether you do or not you’ll find some difficulty in getting Superboy to stand in place within the chamber again.
If you do decide to extract Superboy, you’ll get a 4 ¼ inch tall figure in an exclusive deco. Like the other figures in the Young Justice line, the clone has a unique animated style with long, thin limbs and a somewhat pre-posed body. Taking a cue from the Justice League Unlimited figures who came before, the young heroes have limited articulation but a look that captures the characters’ essence from the show.
The sculpt is pretty good, with details to match the specific style. Superboy has a muscular though slim physique, and is sculpted with his hips pushed slightly forward in a cocky stance. His arms are permanently bent at the elbows, with the left hand curled into a fist and the right open. Superboy’s solar suit is skin-tight and covers most of his body, leaving only his head, neck, hands, and most of his forearms bare. The clone’s head is Superman-lite with a square jaw and serious face, perfect for the youth whose life was just turned upside down.
Superboy’s solar suit is bright white with a silvery sheen. Of course, the big red “S” on his chest grabs your attention, but there’s also a nice gray trim that shows up on his waist, shoulders, neck, and arms. His skin tone is on the pale side, but could have been even lighter to represent the clone spending his entire life underground in a tube. Like Superman, he has the requisite black hair and blue eyes. The look is spot on, and the positive thing you could say about the articulation is that it doesn’t get in the way. Superboy has joints at the neck, shoulders, and hips, so while you can get him into some poses he won’t be doing anything complicated. The Young Justice line is designed for kids, after all.
Other than his massive clone chamber, this exclusive Superboy comes with three tiny Genomorph-Gnomes. Creations of STAR Labs, these diminutive creatures are fun additions to the Superboy set. They don’t do much on their own except look kinda cute, kinda creepy. But their hooked arms make it easy to perch them on the Young Justice figures, especially Superboy.
If you’re a fan of Young Justice you’re most likely itching for figures right now as only the first few have been released and those don’t include a Superboy. The clone chamber is pretty cool with its light up feature and rack of gnomes, so at the end of the day it’ll come down to whether or not you like the style of the show and its figures. Superboy will look great with the other heroes of Young Justice, and this set serves as a perfect centerpiece for a collection. If you need it for yours, head over to Mattycollector and see if they have any left. Good luck!
For even more images of the Young Justice Superboy in Cloning Chamber, CLICK HERE!
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin
Review Sample Courtesy of Mattel
