Wednesday, March 11, 2015

At Long Last, I Get My Hands On The Wonder Woman Series 1 Wonder Woman Figure!


The Good: Interesting sculpt, Great balance, Good accessories, Collectible value
The Bad: Seams and joints, Limited posability
The Basics: After years of pining for the Wonder Woman Series 1 Wonder Woman action figure, I finally manage to get it and find myself less impressed than I would have hoped!


This is rapidly turning into a big Wonder Woman month for me! After finally getting around to reviewing the Cover Girls Of The DC Universe Wonder Woman statue (reviewed here!) that I acquired last year and in advance of the announcement that the Sideshow Collectibles Wonder Woman Premium Format figure is finally shipping, I managed to get my hands on the DC Direct Wonder Woman Series 1 Wonder Woman action figure that I have coveted from afar for years! My quest to acquire this particular Wonder Woman figure has been limited to almost daily searches of the internet as none of the retailers or hobby shops I know, have visited, etc., has ever had one of these in stock! Between finally having a little disposable income and the price on the Series 1 Wonder Woman figure finally coming down into the affordable range, I finally snagged one at a reasonable price.

And, truth be told, I find myself underwhelmed.

My enthusiasm for this particular Wonder Woman figure sprang from the very different pose the figure had in all of the promotional photographs. There was something hippy-er about the pose that gave this Wonder Woman figure a more, frankly, sassy look to her, at least based on the promotional photos. What those photos do not illustrate well is the joint in the groin socket. The promotional images are clearly airbrushed to underplay the obvious and fairly obtrusive nature of the joint that connects the legs to the torso portion of the figure. So, while this is a different pose for Wonder Woman and is a remarkably well-balanced action figure, it has less flexibility than some other Wonder Woman figures and has more unsightly joints than most DC Direct renditions of Wonder Woman.

For those unfamiliar with the version of Wonder Woman that this figure is based upon, it is the post-Infinite Crisis version of the character. Following the brief time that Princess Diana was on hiatus from being a super hero, as part of a self-imposed exile during which time Donna Troy took up her mantle, in Who Is Wonder Woman? (reviewed here!), Wonder Woman returned with the feeling of moral authority needed to champion truth, justice, and the fight for human rights.

Basics

Wonder Woman figure is exceptionally well-detailed, which is nice given that she came from a fairly simplistic comic book reference. This version of Wonder Woman has her distinctive outfit with the double-W insignia in the bustline (as opposed to the eagle symbol that sometimes is there). She has descent detailing on the hair, face and costume. The superheroine stands 6 3/4" tall as an action figure. Her costume is layered to look like the bustier is covering both her body and the garment that her panties are attached to, so this has a more layered (almost lightly armored) look to her. This Wonder Woman is an action figure exclusively from DC Direct, though the costume is hardly unique to this line or DC direct.

This toy is a fairly impressive sculpt; for a character that has only had two-dimensional references, Wonder Woman looks good in all three dimensions. DC Direct did not make the character insanely busty, which is reassuring and she comes with her left hand half-closed so she can hold her Lasso of Truth and her right hand mostly open, as if ready to slap a villain back! This version of Wonder Woman does not have fingernails molded on or colored red (as the comic book character possessed).

What is most impressive, arguably, about the Wonder Woman figure is the sculpting work on her hair and face. Wonder Woman has the sharp cheekbones and full lips of the character and hair that descends both in front of and in back of her shoulders. While this inhibits the head’s movement, Wonder Woman looks pretty great with her hair cascading thus! Under her hair on her forehead is Wonder Woman’s iconic tiara. Rightfully, Wonder Woman’s face has minimal coloring details to it, though her lips are realistically dark red and her eyes are bright blue with black pupils. Because the comic books this character comes from are not photorealistic, there is not a realistic expectation that the figure would have more realism in its coloring.

Where the sculpt goes wrong is that this figure has an unrefined quality to it. This figure has very obvious seams on the legs and they, like the groin socket joint, are a bit unsightly.

Accessories

Wonder Woman, powerful Themysciran and iconic superhero, comes with only two accessories. She has her stand and her Lasso Of Truth. The stand is a red disk with the “Wonder Woman” logo and name on it. It is 3 3/4" in diameter and 1/8” tall and it has a single peg which plugs into the hole in Wonder Woman's right foot. She is very stable on her base.

Wonder Woman also comes with the iconic Lasso Of Truth. The Lasso Of Truth, in this case, is a coil of gold embroidery thread. It may be unwound to measure out about seven inches and is not a terribly useful accessory, though it fits nicely in Wonder Woman’s left hand while coiled.

Playability

The DC Direct figures were designed more for display than play. Still, Wonder Woman is quite good for play terms. She has fair articulation as well as pretty incredible balance! Flatfooted, this is a very balanced toy, though her height does make it easy to tip her over when she is off her stand. As well, Wonder Woman comes with eleven points of articulation, only four of which are simple swivel joints. Wonder Woman has joints at the knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists and head. The shoulders are proper ball and socket joints, while the elbows and knees are both hinge joints. The head is on a ball joint, but the hair completely inhibits head motion! If her hair was at all flexible, the head would have some articulation! The groin socket allows the legs to swing back and forth, but does not give the figure realistic leg rotation.

For whatever improbable poses one might find where she will not remain standing, there is the stand. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, on her stand, Wonder Woman is incredibly poseable in a number of action-oriented poses!

Collectibility

Wonder Woman is part of the DC Direct “Wonder Woman” Series 1 line which was exceptionally rare and usually only distributed through comic book shops. The Wonder Woman figure was a wonderfully sculpted figure and was the grail figure from this assortment. This figure has had a remarkably erratic collectible value, though it has never been consistently below $50 on the secondary market. That means that it has almost tripled in value from its original release price and maintained that value. The fact that it peaked at $150 and is now down in the $100 range seems to indicate that it has maintained some popularity, but that the people who were holding onto their stock of it are actually liquidating it now.

Overview

Wonder Woman is cool, but between the sculpt issue with the groin socket and the lack of finess with sanding down the production seams, the Series 1 Wonder Woman figure is not the perfect one one might have hoped for!

For other Wonder Woman toy reviews, please check out my reviews of:
1999 Wonder Woman DC Direct figure
Series 1 Diana Prince
The New 52 Wonder Woman

7/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my Toy Review Index Page!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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