Class of Bootleg	Class 2 - Duplicated and Modified
Class Notes:	Mixed-Company original Molds, new Line-Name, copied package art.
Bootleg Source:	Kenner Superman Man of Steel Line, Toybiz 10" Super-Hero Figures (Body)
Bootleg Rating:	(Four out of five stars)
Sightings:	California
Vintage:	Fall 1997

This is probably the best Superman Bootleg in my collection. Blister carded to a one-sided backer, this nine inch tall figure has the head of the Kenner "Power Flight" Superman on a stock body with improved articulation over the Kenner figure. The body is hinged at the elbows, knees, hips, shoulders, and neck - a full four points more than the Kenner mold.
The body seems to be a standard super-hero mold, with small cuffs at the mid-calf and forearms suggesting the standard super-boots and gloves. The Superman costume is painted over this base mold with very high accuracy and fine detail. (For example, the body doesn't have any detailing for the trunks or belt, although they were added as paint details.) My guess is that this is a body from the ToyBiz ten inch line.

UPDATE!

Turns out the body is INDEED from Toybiz! Two helpful readers wrote to tell me that the body is actually that of "Archangel II". This mold is a popular one for ToyBiz, and has appeared as the 10" Vision, Kevin Sorbo Kull figures and Iolaus from Hercules, among others.

Thanks in particular go out to Chris Galdieri of Mania.Com for the info about Kull and Hercules uses!

Now, to find an Archangel II for comparison photos....

Superman comes with a spring-loaded weapon as an accessory. Note that the S-Shield sticker on the missile has been elongated to make it fit better on the head of the projectile. I don't recognize this accessory from any other line. Possibly it is a new one!

Overall, this figure ROCKS! It looks like Superman (without the cape), it has better articulation than the Kenner figures, and it the right scale to interact with my nine inch Star Trek collection. This is a high quality bootleg - it overpowers even the real thing!