It’s been more than a few months since I checked in on McFarlane’s Super Powers line, but I have still been collecting them! The truth is, I don’t usually review the individual figures unless I have a vehicle to bring along. As much as I love these guys, there’s only so much I can say about and do with 5-POA figures. But, seeing as how McFarlane dropped a bunch of Green Lanterns on us in the last few waves, I thought I’d just check them all out at once. Especially since I’ve been looking for an excuse to sit down and open them all! Not to mention McFarlane’s weird crowdfunding project for some new Super Powers vehicles and figures just ended and thanks to some shenanigans, we’ll actually be getting those!

The packaging for this line is so damn fine it really makes me sad to open them. And believe me it takes every scrap of my admittedly poor willpower to keep from buying doubles of every figure. And yeah, I do have a couple of extras from the first wave that I kept carded just to have an example of the packaging for display. The original Super Powers package design gives me about as much a nostalgic dopamine hit as the vintage packages for Star Wars, G.I. JOE and Transformers, and that’s saying a lot. That blinding blue and yellow deco with the red trim, the logo nestled in an exploding field of stars, it created a hypnotic state of excitement that triggered kids to beg their parents for them. McFarlane has done a beautiful job paying homage to it here without quite doing a straight up copy and the character art on each card looks fabulous. The assortment I’m looking at today includes Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan, Kilowog, and Sinestro. Hal was produced in the original Kenner line, but I don’t believe we ever got Gardner or Sinestro, and the line closed up shop just before Kilowog was introduced in the comics. And yeah, four figures is more than I usually tackle in one review, but I’ll be quick! Let’s start with Hal!

McFarlane’s Hal Jordan is not all that different from the original Kenner figure. It’s the same costume with just a bit of change to the shade of green. It hits all the same classic costume beats with the green top and undies, shoulders and boots. Add to that the black sleeves and leggings, white gloves, and crisp Lantern Corps emblem on his chest and you’ve got a pretty conservative update. I want to say the original had sculpted lines for the shoulders and edges at the top of the leggings, but this one just has paint lines. You do, however get some sculpted lines at the tops of the boots. There are definitely similarities with the head sculpt, but I think this one is much better. You also get a very prominently sculpted ring on his right hand.

As we’ve seen before, this line keeps the articulation of the vintage figures, so you get the classic five-points, plus hinges in the knees. The original figures usually had an action gimmick, but that’s been nixed from this modern line, and I can’t say as I really miss it. Hal comes with a lantern battery, which he can hold in his left hand. This is such a fantastic homage to that original Kenner figure, it’s almost like having a minty fresh original.

Moving on to Guy Gardner, this is a character I would have loved to see in the Kenner line and I think McFarlane did a great job imagining what that figure might have been like. The black, green, and white deco matches Hal’s pretty closely, but you do get a fair bit of new sculpting here, including unique boots, the collar and lapels of his jacket, along with his belt and gauntlets. He even has sculpted detail on his turtleneck.

The head sculpt is a nice balance between retro and modern-retro. The sculpt is better than we would have seen back in the day, even nailing his bowl cut. But, the eye printing really evokes that old vintage Kenner charm. Like Hal, he has a ring sculpted and painted on his right hand, and his left hand is designed to hold an accessory, but no battery for him.

The last of this assortment of Green Lanterns is Kilowog and this may be my favorite of what is a really strong collection of figures. He’s a beautiful slab of retro-styled plastic with chiseled muscles giving him just an all around magnificent shelf presence. You get sculped edges on the boots, gloves, collar, and shoulders, with just paint lines at the tops of his black leggings. The head sculpt is fantastic, and if I were to nitpick anything here it’s that the portrait looks a little too good to be a genuine retro figure. And yeah, that’s more of a compliment than a gripe. The deep set eyes look superb! Kilowog doesn’t come with any accessories, both hands are balled into giant fists, and he does have his ring sculpted and painted on his right hand.

And finally, we get a lovely classic blue-suited Sinestro, and I’ll confess I was surprised to find, when I poked around in the old Kenner catalogs, that he didn’t get a release in the original line. Here we get sculpted boots, belt, bracers, and high collar, while the pattern on his chest is simply painted on. The black and blue looks great together and there’s some white trim along the top and bottom of the belt. His purple skin color is wonderfully vibrant and really makes the figure pop on the shelf.

Once again, the head sculpt here is probably a little too good to really evoke the vintage Kenner line. His pinched face is just perfect, as is his immaculate hair. But we do get the retro-style eyes which helps keep the Kenner spirit alive. His pointed ears look sharp and even the raised eyebrows are sculpted as well as painted. Sinestro dons a sculpted and painted yellow ring on his left hand and his right hand is sculpted to hold his yellow lantern battery.

This is a great assortment of figures and represents why I love this line so much! Add these to the excellent Jon Stewart that we got in the first wave and we’ve certainly had some love for the Green Lantern Corps! And as much as I dig having a minty Super Powers Hal Jordan, it’s the classic characters we haven’t seen before that really get me excited. I’m not sure I can pick a favorite here, but I’m actually leaning a bit toward Sinestro. McFarlane initially released him in his more modern yellow suit, which may have been an exclusive, because I didn’t see it anywhere until the scalpers got him. And all I can say is I’m so very happy that the classic blue suited release wasn’t the more limited release, because this one is perfect.