Posted By Dan Greenfield on May 15, 2024 | 12 comments

EXCLUSIVE LOOK: Celebrating the 40th anniversary with characters never produced — including Shirtless Batman and First Appearance John Stewart!

Hot on the heels of its 1982 Style Guide covers in July, DC Comics in August will release a series of 40th anniversary Super Powers action-figure variants that feature characters that fans have long wanted but have never been produced (save one).

They include first appearance figures for John Stewart Green Lantern, Nightwing and Poison Ivy, as well as a — drum roll, please — Shirtless Batman from Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams and Dick Giordano’s 1972 classic Batman #244 — complete with hairy chest!

Dig this EXCLUSIVE UP-CLOSE LOOK at these four, along with what issues they will adorn. But wait, there’s more: Click here for the other four!

Check these out:

Batman #151

Nightwing #117

Gotham City Sirens #1

Green Lantern: War Journal #12

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Several thoughts:

— With July’s Style Guide covers, we conjectured that it was a trial balloon/early signal for the release of the long-desired 1982 DC Comics Style Guide. Turns out, we were right on the money: The Style Guide, which has never been released commercially, is coming later this year and you can click here for the details.

— Does this mean that the eight Super Powers variants are a sign that McFarlane Toys, the line’s current maker, will produce these as actual action figures? Don’t know yet but when we do, so will you. We do know that Todd McFarlane listens to the fans. Either way, we have more on that here. (UPDATED 5/17/24: McFarlane has responded to the interest! Click here.)

— The toy designs are by action-figure maker Jason “ToyOtter” Geyer and the comics art is by Alex Saviuk, who provided imagery for Kenner’s original line, which began in 1984. The basic gist of the covers is “What If the Series Never Ended in 1986?”

— I love all four of these. Original John Stewart never gets action figure love; you can never get enough of first appearance Nightwing; and it’s neat to see Poison Ivy as she first looked in the 1960s. But Shirtless Batman “with Power Action Bat Blade” is an absolute master stroke. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, wildly inventive and demands to be produced — AT ANY COST.

— There were evidently plans for a masked John Stewart back in the ’80s but it never went into production. I like that the variant includes faux swappable heads.

— I LOVE the back covers — and the playsets/vehicles that also were never made!

— Again, click here for the other four covers!

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MORE

— Four More DC COMICS’ SUPER POWERS Variant Covers — REVEALED! Click here.

— DC’s SUPER POWERS VARIANT COVERS: A Goldmine Just Waiting There for McFARLANE TOYS. Click here.