A small, domesticated Superman action figure who vacuums, cleans the bathroom, watches movies with his wife and goes bowling with the gay couple from next door is just the kind of hero worth checking in with every day.
Fortunately, you can binge that check-in, as The Superneumanns picture-a-day Instagram feed has reached the end after 366 posts.
The project, as highlighted by The Hollywood Reporter, comes from the creative mind of Danny Neumann, an action figure historian whose website tells the story of his work/obsession with a wide assortment of the toys and is loaded with photographs of action figures on location.
The Superneumanns, which numbers each meticulously posed Instagram image, starts with No. 001 as the couple moves into a new home — a dollhouse Neumann acquired for the project.
But as Neumann told THR’s Heat Vision, the family needed to leave the house at times so he searched eBay and elsewhere for other props and sets.
“They needed to go exploring and go elsewhere and go on adventures,” Neumann said. “Because of the relentless schedule, concepting ideas is a big part of it. But once I have the ideas, then I have to figure out, ‘Do I have enough props to pull that off?’ And if not, ‘Do I have enough time to make it?’ and if not, ‘Can I order it and get it here on time so it all works?”
Much of the early part of the feed looks like a normal household — if the superhero around your house bothers to pick up a mop or help with the dishes. There are also images of the Superneumanns exercising, celebrating holidays, going on picnics and having superhero friends over.
And that’s no ordinary Superman action figure, according to a comment from Neumann on one image.
“Mr Super Neumann is 1982 series 1 below the waist, Torpedo up top, and a Chuckles head. All expertly customized,” he wrote.
While much of what Neumann did was pre-planned, he did react to news events such as the death of David Bowie and the mass shooting at Pulse, the gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
Throughout it all, the project serves as a clever reminder of some of the simpler joys in life, conveyed through various acts of kindness and love and sharing. Playing with toys never looked so heroic.