Monday, April 16, 2012

Slightly Less Refined, The Justice Wonder Woman Figure Is Good, But Not Great.


The Good: Great sculpt, Good coloring detail, Decent balance
The Bad: Lasso issues, Rough edges
The Basics: The Justice Wonder Woman action figure is not quite up par with the latest Wonder Woman figure, though they are virtually identical.


Shortly after Christmas, I proudly reviewed one of the best gifts my wife bought for me, the Justice League Classic Icons Wonder Woman (reviewed here!), which I was very happy with and proudly display with my other DC Comics toys. When I posted that review (which, as it turned out, was my first review of 2012!), I was informed by some helpful readers that the new figure was just the Justice Wonder Woman repackaged. As I was able to look at them side by side, I can authoritatively say that they are remarkably similar, but they are not identical. The two Wonder Woman figures have completely different heads, the blue, star-spangled bottom portion of Wonder Woman’s outfit has fewer stars on the Justice version and while they initially appear to have the same legs, they are affixed to the body differently. One of the two Wonder Women has a wider stance than the other! The torso and arms, though, are otherwise identical.

That said, the Justice Wonder Woman has better balance, a more problematic lasso and edges (seams) that are significantly more rough than the newer figure. Even so, for real fans of Wonder Woman, it is hard not to want the Justice version with the wavy, dramatic hair and slightly pissed off look to her face!

For those unfamiliar with Wonder Woman, in Justice (reviewed here!), she is waylaid early in the book by Cheetah (Priscilla Rich). While other villains switch up their attacks or overwhelm the superheroes, Cheetah comes at Diana with brute force and magic, severely wounding her. Before she is wounded, she looks heroic and strong.

It is Wonder Woman before the attack which begins to magically cook her from inside, that is the subject of the Justice Wonder Woman action figure.

Basics

The Wonder Woman figure is very well-detailed and is a good sculpt, despite having seams on the sides, fist and arm that are noticeable (like they were not sanded smooth before the detailing was finished). The artwork of Alex Ross translates nicely into the Wonder Woman figure as this Wonder Woman is muscular, determined-looking and bears all the iconic parts of the Wonder Woman costume. The Themysciran Princess stands 7 1/8" tall to the top of the figure's head. Her skin is visible everywhere but where the boots and one-piece outfit covers. The Justice rendition of Wonder Woman is from DC Direct.

This toy is a excellent 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, so she does not tip like a lot of the Marvel figures of women. DC Direct cast Wonder Woman in hard plastic and she is solid. Wonder Woman is molded with the “W” style outfit (not the later eagle/W costume) and this one features wavy hair that is not quite curly. The “W” looks armored and curves outward at the top of her bust and bottom of it as well. This Wonder Woman is molded to look muscular without looking at all masculine.

This Wonder Woman figure has great coloring details as well. Wonder Woman's eyes are a piercing blue that is instantly recognizable to fans of Alex Ross’s works. DC Direct painted this Wonder Woman well with the reds of her boots and bustier looking vibrant without appearing ridiculous. The only thing not colored are Wonder Woman’s fingernails (which are colored on the new version).

Accessories

Wonder Woman, heroine of the DC Universe that she is, comes with only her stand and her lasso. The stand is a black and silver square that looks like a piece of flooring. It is 6" by 4.5” and 1/2” tall and it has a pair of peg holes spaced 2” apart. The pegs come with the figure and plug into the base and then into the hole in Wonder Woman’s right heel. Why there are two holes/pegs for a figure with only one foot hole I do not know. She is perfectly stable on her base.

The lasso is a coiled gold cord and while it looks fine on the hook on Wonder Woman’s hip, it is a real pain in the butt. The coil does not remain tightly coiled, and the loop that keeps the coil round is exceptionally thin and does not afford one with a way to easily rethread the lasso through it. Even more ridiculous is the fact that neither of Wonder Woman’s hands are designed to hold the lasso. As this uncoils, it looks more problematically ridiculous than cool.

Playability

The DC Direct figures were designed more for display than play. This Wonder Woman is ideal for display, but has a few design quirks with her articulation. She has less articulation than most figures, but I like it in this case; she looks better than a near-naked woman who looks segmented from the various joints. This Wonder Woman actually has decent balance on her own. She can stand flatfooted in most poses off her stand. On her stand with her foot plugged into the base, she is perfectly stable.

Wonder Woman comes with ten points of articulation, most of which are simple swivel joints. Wonder Woman has joints at the knees, groin socket, shoulders, elbows, wrists and head. The elbows and knees are both hinge joints, but the rest are swivel joints, save the head joint. The head is on a ball and socket joint, but because the hair is so spread out behind her, there is almost no movement from the head joint allowed. She can nod about twenty degrees and turn her head side to side about ten. This is not the most robustly articulated figure DC Direct has ever made, but on its stand, she still looks very good. The real articulation issue, though, comes at the groin socket. This Wonder Woman can swing her leg forward about fifty degrees, but not back at all. The result is that this Wonder Woman may be posed doing a partial kick, the beginnings of a leap, but not in a decent running pose. This makes the figure seem like she is more intended for support or appearance than action.

Collectibility

Wonder Woman is part of the DC Direct Justice Series 3 line which was fairly uncommon, largely because it was mostly distributed through comic book shops. Wonder Woman was one of only two women in the wave and she represented the best Wonder Woman figure made at the time. Originally available in the $15 - $20 range, she has skyrocketed to the $35 range and held her value there. Along with the Joker figure from this series, Wonder Woman is the sought-after figure.

Overview

Wonder Woman looks good, but I suspect with the value of the new Wonder Woman figure already soaring, this Wonder Woman’s value may begin to finally come down. This is a good toy, but the details are not as refined and the fact that mine looks like she got into a match of superhero bloody knuckles (i.e. there are deep scratches over the knuckles), is a little frustrating. Even so, she makes a great counterpart to the Cheetah figure and is well worth investing in!

For other Justice or Wonder Woman action figures, please check out my reviews of:
Justice Wave 3 Poison Ivy figure
Justice Wave 1 Cheetah figure
Blackest Night Wave 6 Star Sapphire Wonder Woman

7/10

For other toy reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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