SOE Austin might just have all its bases covered. After all, the chances are that you either like Superman, or you wouldn’t mind hitting him over the head with a bus. So long as you’re content not to actually be the Man of Steel, then DC Universe Online will probably have something to delight you with.

If there were any doubts remaining about SOE’s commitment to the DC licence in its MMO, you need look no further than the hidden details. The name of the build Austin took on tour to San Diego’s Comic-Con and SOE’s annual Fan Faire in Las Vegas is Kandor, a reference to the Kryptonian city Superman kept inside a bottle.

There’s a danger to this level of fan service. If you’re unable to tell Granny Goodness from Mister Mxyzptlk, this complex universe of tights and capes may be no less intimidating than the world of Draenei and Blood Elves. But, having learned from Star Wars Galaxies, SOE Austin is keen to stress that the more familiar superfaces will be visible from an early stage, and a chance to play around with the Kandor build suggests that there are plenty of reasons to keep a close eye on DCUO.

The last time we visited Metropolis, it was an empty playground, flooded with golden light, art deco stylings and female characters without hair. A few months down the line, and the hair has finally made an appearance, as have particle effects and pedestrians. This is a more reactive world: cars explode as you launch them down the street, and speed-running (which no longer makes everyone seasick) temporarily sets sidewalks on fire, Back To The Future style, as you sprint in and out of battles.

Creative director Chris Cao says that the development team wanted to tackle some of the more difficult aspects of running an MMO first, and that’s why rather than present the first public preview audiences with a heavily controlled instanced dungeon, or a brief look at character-creation screens, they instead opted to show what a live event might look like.

And the results are extremely promising. Using a surprisingly large area of downtown Metropolis (one of several shared locations in the final game), the stage is set for an invasion from Brainiac, a Superman foe, who has infected ordinary citizens, turning them into zombies. Playing as a hero, we are tasked with knocking out the infected (there’s no death in DCUO), and then removing Brainiac’s nanotechnology before they get back up again, by means of a sweaty-fingered QTE.

The pace is ferocious, with the infected attacking en masse, and provides a showcase for teamwork as well as the wide range of direct and area attacks. Normal attacks are mapped to the face buttons, and specials, which take longer to recharge, are activated by face buttons and R2.

Even though Cao is at pains to make it clear that this kind of scenario is ‘base level content,’ it is still a confident and multi-staged event, with the influx of infected citizens giving way to Brainiac’s own troopers and, finally, a chance to fight alongside Superman or Supergirl against some of DC’s iconic bad guys. When you take into account that events like this will have to play out with victory scenarios for both the hero and villain factions, the balancing act the development team faces seems particularly daunting.

While animations are noticeably tighter and the combat has a much chunkier sense of connection this time around, what marks this out as particularly engaging is the focus on physics. Enemies can be blasted with lasers, freeze rays, electrical energy, or myriad other loadouts, but can just as easily be turned into a block of ice or a sphere of light, which can then be picked up and thrown into the distance, or punted into another foe. The same is true for cars, trucks and even lampposts, and although other games have featured this kind of experience, there’s something peculiarly satisfying about flattening the Man of Steel himself with a park bench.

“It’s the kind of thing we could do on the fly,” says Cao. “It’s not a dungeon or an instance by any means, but if you complete it successfully, you may get a piece of information or an item which takes you closer to unlocking a raid or a dungeon.”

With the game’s narrative unfolding in such a tantalisingly freeform manner, Cao’s team looks well on its way to creating a unique entry to the online landscape. The marketing may be led by the roster of famous names, but DCUO’s greatest achievement may be in bringing physics, speed and knockabout enjoyment to MMOGs. And, so far, there isn’t a pelt-collecting quest in sight.