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Lex Luthor Toy Line: DC Superheroes Series 4 Manufacturer: Mattel Meat and Potatoes; 5.0 Perks; 3.0 Homer Factor; 4.0
					Description; The Four Horsemen kick butt with their take on Lex Luthor in his anti-Superman armor. The figure is approximately 6" tall and is based on the uber-powerful armor from 'Superman/Batman - Public Enemies' as well as Action Comics #544. The armor is green and purple, reminiscent of the horrible jump suit he wore during the Silver Age.  This time the armor is akin to the padding a football player wears; massive shoulder pads, arm and shin guards.  However instead of a helmet large 'shields' surround Luthor's head mounted into the neck of the armor.   (Don't ask me to rationalize blocking your vision.  I just buy the toys.  Sigh.) The figure comes with the chunk of Kryptonite and an energy pistol.e his arm cannons pop out to become energy blades.
	Poor, poor Superman.  Yes, Luthor is a great foil if you wanna go the mind versus muscle route.  However there are times when you just wanna see a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig, huuuuuge fight, and that has always been a problem with Superman.  Basically he's the strongest guy in comics, so what do you do other then keep throwing Kryptonite at the guy?  Granted guys like Terra Man and Mongul were created before Doomsday, but it just wasn't the same.  What's the point of your arch nemesis if there isn't an ass-kicking fight? In Action Comics #544 Luthor leveled the playing field by making powered armor!  … alright, alright, so making armor as powerful as Superman sounds pretty lame, but hey, you gotta try SOMETHING.  Well Superman was reborn during John Byrne's 'Man of Steel' mini-series and the armor was put into the closet… until the 'Public Enemies' mini-series.  This time it wasn't just Luthor's technology, now Apocalypse was involved!  Ok, ok, so Superman STILL obliterated it but it lasted longer… a bit.  So why bring it back?  Well it actually looked pretty cool!  And who better to bring this flashback from the '80s then the Four Horsemen?  Ok, so this isn't the most brilliant way to fight Superman.  Just the same, the end product is a sweeeeeeeet looking figure. Meat and potatoes are excellent on this piece.  The trademark detail of the Horsemen is evident in the recreated panel-lines and even power cables on the figure.  Another VERY nice plus is the figure's bulk so that it really looks like Luthor is clad in futuristic armor.  All this detail does sacrifice some articulation.  The massive shoulder armor does limit arm movement a bit but it's not that big of a problem. The perks aren't bad but as usual DC Superheroes falls short.  Yes there's an obligatory chunk of Kryptonite and Luthor comes with a cool looking energy pistol.  However if you plan on being the 'Marvel Legends' for DC figures you have to add something more.  A stand, heck even a build-a-figure would be preferable.  And no, a cardboard stand doesn't count! Homer factor is actually pretty high for me.  Ok, ok, comic book wise it's a silly concept but it does look cool!  So there! The end result?  It's a good figure, no question, however all things considered the total package should be better.  The figure itself is very well done, but lack of a stand or SOMETHING keeps this from being the great package it should be.