Sneak Review: DC Universe Classics Wave 17 Star Sapphire Wonder Woman!

Most of fandom is kinda outraged at Wonder Woman's recent costume change from the classic look to the blue long johns. Well ok, mainly people dislike it, with a few fans lukewarm and even less saying it's a good look.  But I know one thing's for sure--if Wonder Woman had ditched her old costume for the one she's wearing on this figure, all of you would've approved.  Well, most of you anyway. 

Yes, Star Sapphire Wonder Woman has even less on than when she isn't championing the pink light of passion.  And while it may make some of us bleed from the nose and smoke from our ears, you can only get a good look at photos and read a review right now, because Wave 17 has another 2-3 months before it hits the stores.

But is scantily-clad-pink-Diana-Space-faring Wonder Woman worth the investment?

Let's find out!

Like: That they used the same head as classic WW but with a newly sculpted on mask.  It's a great touch, because next to regular WW, you can tell it's Diana, and then Diana in a gold mask.  There's more: this WW's hair sculpt is different from the original.  I must say I'm impressed that they didn't just reuse the sculpt for it.

Like: That the new hair sculpt has great motion to it.  It's almost the same as the classic Wonder Woman's with a litle less motion.  Just a litle.  Still, if she's just standing still it looks like there' wind in her hair.  If she punching/flying/firing her ring it looks like she's doing it with real gusto.  It's too bad her face doesn't follow suit...

Subtle but important differences. The classic's also got higlights. The SS doesn't

Dislike:  Like Blue Lantern Flash from the same wave, her facial expression is a little bland.  It's just too expressionless, maybe even a little sleepy.  Her face doesn't look quite right punching, kicking, aiming her ring, or doing anything because she has this non-committal look on her face. 

Wait, even non-committal has an expression--it's a little more committed than this? ;P  So this is just...blank?  If there's any consolation, she's slightly more determined-looking than Blue Flash.

Like: The new female buck.  It's fleshier and less sinewy than the classics Wonder Woman. While the original is not actually bigger or taller than this version, it is well-muscled, especially in the biceps and shoulders.  I don't mind the wiry look of the original and this one looks great too, providing a little variety even though it's supposed to look like she just had a costume change.

Dislike: That we lost the ab crunch and waist swivel, only to gain a chest pivot that doesn't really pivot, being reduced to mainly a swivel.  I'm not even sure that is makes the figure better looking. Bottom line is that doesn't make the figure more playable.  Bring back the old ab crunch and waist swivel!

Dislike: Shiny finish.  My first thought was that this was the reason for the "failed" QC.  But having looked at WW closer, she looks to have been intentionally done this way.  All I can say is this--plastic sculpted in a certain color works only for some surfaces and flesh is not one of them.  It may even work some of the time for skin tight costumes etc., but paint works for everything.

Bottom line?  Go with the paint for the skin, especially the face!  The older female figures from Classic WW to Power Girl, Black Canary, and all the way up till Green Lantern Wave 2 Carol Ferris are awesomely painted.  Please don't buck the trend!

Like: Her Lasso.  Granted, I'd like it better as an accessory rather than just a fixture, so it must be a good thing that mine fell off!  Right?  Lol.  At least she now has something to hold in her one open hand.

RATINGS

Aesthetics: 7/10 - Wonder Woman looks good, but not great.  The potential for great aesthetics is there.  But instead of a nice, matte finish, most of her costume is painted a weird shiny pink.  Her flesh is molded instead of painted and is also shiny.  I guess that's the thing that bother me most about her--she's a Super Shiny Star Sapphire Wonder Woman (or SSSSWW for short)!  SSSSWWW...That's the exact same sound our money makes as it leaves our pockets...

The figure is though, saved by her face sculpt, which is very nicely detailed with her mask and the star on her circlet.  The hair, like the original, is great and even her costume on her torso is sculpted.  Too bad they didn't sculpt costume on her limbs, though.  It would've made her a lot more substantial and less like a Fembot.  She'd still have a similar look to Green Lantern Wave 2's Star Sapphire Carol Ferris but wouldn't look like a cheap knockoff.

Poseability: 6.5/10 - SSSSWW's got a left open fist, but nothing to hold!  Her lasso is glued on to her right hip, as I mentioned earlier.  If not for it falling off due to my attempts to orientate it "correctly" (it was pointing every which way but down), she'd actually have nothing to hold in that open left hand.  Imagine that, a weird hand in every pose.  Thank goodness Mattel made the lasso detachab...Oh, wait!  They didn't!

And needless to say, the loss of an ab crunch is annoyingly, well, annoying.  She really loses a ton of poseability--no puffing up of the chest to stand proudly, no slight hunker to demonstrate the tension in combat readiness.  It's a big deal.

Fun: 7/10 - Goes well with Carol Ferris!  But other than that, she'd be be a whole lot more fun with more "usable" accessories.  Where's the pink construct axe and shield? ;P  That would've made up for the figure losing some PoAs and even give it a sense of continuity from the classic WW, who has both these items.  And How about making a Wonder Woman who can actually remove and uncoil her lasso?  Lots of pose value there.  C'Mon, Matty!

Value: 7/10 - At S$12 she's a steal.  Even if she came in packaging, it would be with just an Anti-Monitor part (which is too small for how huge the Anti-Monitor is) and a pink Lantern.  It would definitely not be worthwhile to pay almost 3 times the price for that!

Looking at how they packed Classic Wonder Woman an awesome axe and a star-spangled shield, couldn't they do they same with this Wonder Woman?  Even if they don't mold them in pink as constructs (which would've been the awesomest thing btw), they could've just given her the the exact same axe and shield and it would've even matched her Star Sapphire costume perfectly!

Overall: 6.9/10 - Star Sapphire Wonder Woman's just not that impressive.  Between losing the ab crunch an waist swivel, the lack of paint apps, and the shortage of accessories, I'm not sure this figure is worth getting unless your either a big fan of hers or the Anti-Monitor's.  We know that the sculpt will remain pretty much as is when Wave 17 is released in August, but here's hoping that the actual packaged version will at least have her flesh painted! (So she won;t lok like a Fembot.)

Chase Pics: Justice League Unlimted Display! (and other updates. ;] )

5 long years after the last episode aired, I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and opened up all the JLU figures that I have.  The reason I took so long was partly laziness, partly because I'd discovered DC Universe and Marvel Universe figures were more poseable (and up my alley), and mostly because I've never had the space to display 'em all.

Well, after getting married and moving into our own place, I finally have a whole room I can devote to displaying stuff!  Even then, I realized that packaging was taking up a lot of space.  And I mean a LOT.  That also meant that I was buying more stuff than I had time to open.  (Weird, right?  Ok, maybe not...)

I guess I had the lofty ambition of reviewing every toy I bought, thinking that I could do it because I'm a self-professed cherry-picker and proud of it.  But boy was I wrong.  There ain't no way I can review toys faster than I buy them.  The verdict?  I get a brand new JLU display!

I needs me Justice Lords Wonder Woman!!!

Read on for more updates! ;)


Yes, I realized after setting this up, that I need more bad guys!  Even my Justice Lords aren't actually the real thing--you see, I'd picked up the J-Lords Superman, Batman, and Hawkgirl 3-pack over the Supes, Bats, and Wonder Woman pack because the former was harder to find.  I intended to then try and get WW loose somehow.  The only other difference between the two 3-pks was that Supes and Bats had thes weird circuitry markings on their shoulders.  I couldn't recall any moment when that had appeared in the JLU series, so I shrugged it off.

Then while re-watching the entire 4 seasons with Melissa, I finally spotted the circuitry versions of the J-Lords--they were Braniac clones in one of the season finales!  I'd been cheated!  By myself, no less, but still cheated!

Haha, na, it isnt that bad.  I'm still happy that I got those Justice Lords clone because I really love that episode/story arc.  It just means I have to go back and get them, this time hopefully with Wonder Woman!

Besides the JLU, I also cracked open some sealed DCUC figures to round out my JLA Magnificent Seven and "Reserves" display.

I love this display--I may yet get to reviewing some of these guys, especially the ones involved in Brightest Day!

And I also beefed up my Masters of the Universe Classics shelf!

Still have Evil-Lyn and He-Ro I need to open. I'm such a slacker!

Bats Shows the Ropes

Uh, I'm sick as a dog. Down with the flu and my head feels like exploding, while my nose is like a faulty faucet.

But I don't feel so bad that I can't post! Here's a bit of a left over from the DCUC Batman Beyond review.

It's Bruce showing Terry McGinnis a thing or two on one of their beats:

Girl Power!

I just realized that of the 17 DC Universe figures that I own, 9 are good guys, 8 are baddies, 9 of them are DC Superheroes figures, leaving only 8 from the latest DCUC line; 3 are Supermen, 1 is a Collect n Connect (Kalibak), and only 1, yes ONE, is female.

Poor Black Skirt variant DCSH Supergirl. And she isn't even from the DC Universe Classics line!

What can I say? I like the guy Super Heroes better? Perhaps. Subconsciously. Maybe part of me still looks up to them as role models. Or it could be the female character toys are more popular and thus harder to find. Lots of horny dudes out there. Heh. ;)

So of the unopened DCUC stuff I had lying around (Come on! I don't have that much time to open everything I buy immediately! ;P), I decided to bring out the ladies!


Fancy a spank? Or would you rather be tied up and forced to tell the truth?

I'm guessing both?

Well Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman would hand out both of these and a major ass whoopin' just for thinking bad thoughts.

Action figure-wise, these two are probably two of the more popular main female characters from the DCUC line. Most probably because it's Wonder Woman--and well, who doesn't love Wonder Woman--and Hawkgirl because of her inclusion as one of the original Magnificent Seven in the Justice League Animated series. And who doesn't love her character there? Kudos to Bruce Timm and co. (especially with Maria Canals who is the voice behind Hawkgirl) for fleshing out such wonderful characters. I'm sure for most that's where Hawkgirl was truly introduced for the first time. It sure was for me.

Looking at Hawkgirl brings back the best moments of her from the JL/JLU Animated series, where she proves to be the toughest nut of the bunch of Super Heroes. And Wonder Woman ain't no slouch either. And as far as these two figures go, you can a lot has been done to ensure that they turned out looking good.

The one thing that makes this pair extra worth it is their accessories.

Wonder Woman comes with a battle axe and a large round shield, while her Lasso of Truth is attached to her belt. Now that's not detachable so though it's one less accessory, it's still nice that they went to the trouble to make it a separate piece and not moulded or painted on.

Speaking of going the extra mile, it's worthy to note that WW's gold eagle on her chest, the red star on her circlet--even the line on her boots, are all molded and then painted. Oh and even the stars on her shield are molded on. Wow.















Hawkgirl is rather more impressive in the equipment department. She's got her signature Nth metal mace, a short sword, and a long spear. As if that's not enough, they gave her huge extendable wings that have each and every feather molded, painted, and then washed. And that's like a whole 'nother accessory/vehicle. Crazy!

She's also got the yellow bird feet lines on her boots molded on, as well as the Hawk insignia on her belt. Oh and her weapons are just delightful. Painted a silver, they've been washed dull and sculpted with nicks and cuts on them. Heck, even the leather grips are molded on and painted. Yowza!

But sadly, there are some problems with the molds.

Firstly, Wonder Woman's right forearm is bent. But this isn't a huge problem, she just looks double-jointed when she holds her arm out. In certain poses it looks even better, especially when she's got her big ol' axe cocked back and ready for a mighty swing to smite her foes.

Second, Hawkgirl's face paint job is a little sloppy, missing spots on her nose and with slight fuzzy lines on her earrings. Her lips also have a smudge on her left side.

Both these girls also have problems with their belts, which restrict their waist swivel so severely they more or less lose that point of articulation. Both of their heads also lose their range of motion because of their long hair. Side to side is a struggle and up/down is out of the question. Hawkgirl also loses her torso hinge because of the wings attached to her back--the hinge that allows here wings to flap is rather longish, so it get in the way of her trying to stick her chest out.

No such poseability problems with the Princess of Themiscyra. And as far as her face goes, it's gorgeously done.



Both these girls have poor grip in their left hands. Thankfully, Wonder Woman's shield has a clip which fits firmly above her left arm bracer (below would be too loose). But her right grip is a little loose for the axe.

Hawgirl's left hand is more important because of the weapons she comes with. And sadly, the spear is too heavy for her loose left hand to grip on to.

But I am nonetheless really delighted with these 2 figures. It's no wonder they are hard to find and valued above lots of others. As I've said before, the accessories make the toy fun, and the fun makes the figure!


Ratings!

Aesthetics: Wonder Woman 9.7, Hawkgirl 9.5 - They got everything on Wonder Woman right, especially her face where it was a real surprise not to find any paint mistakes. Her hair is well sculpted and they gave her well sculpted and detailed accessories, and I ain't talking about her earrings. The Lasso of Truth, which is made out of nylon? thread? some sort of tough string? is also a very nice touch.

Hawkgirl falls just short of WW because of the poor paint job on the face and mask. Her hair is excellent though, and it goes without saying the wings are awesome.

Poseability: Wonder Woman 9.0, Hawkgirl 8.5 - Well, the girls fall short of the mark here because Hawkgirl loses her waist swivel and ab crunch, while Wonder Woman loses her waist swivel because of the tooling on her belt.

Hawkgirl for all her winged glory, is also not a well-balanced figure because of her wings. It's pretty tough to try and make her do anything else other than stand straight up when her wings are open. But the plus side is that they can be used for additional support in certain poses.



Also Hawkgirl can't do the fully unfurled angel wings pose without looking awkward. It would've been nice if they could've given her a third section to bridge the gap for when her wings are fully up.

Fun: Wonder Woman 9.2, Hawkgirl 9.7 - Gotta give it to the Thanagarian chick cop here. The wings, the mace, the sword, the spear--with a figure stand she's just unstoppable. Wonder Woman's great too! I had the most fun playing around and adjusting her shield for these shots. But it's just that her axe keeps falling off. She's be a load more fun if her Lasso could come into play. ;)















Value: Wonder Woman 9.3, Hawkgirl 9.3 - I got Wonder Woman for S$25 (about US$17) and Hawkgirl for the retail price of s$35 (about US$23-24). I had waited to get them both hoping that their prices would drop. It did for Wonder Woman, but not for Hawkgirl. And I can say that both are well worth their prices. If not for their accessories, then for the extra tooling and sculpting done on them. Pity about the torso articulation though. Having those would've definitely made them almost perfect.















Overall: Wonder Woman 9.3, Hawkgirl 9.3 - Whaddaya know? Girl Power has yielded some matching scores! ;)

I had hours of fun just posing these two ladies, then I had more fun posing them in combat. Also, I've just tripled my DC Universe female population and I can't wait till they DCUC comes out with some villainesses in abundant supply. (*Cough* *Harley Quinn* *Cough*) If no fmale baddies are forthcoming, then I'm hoping the Girl Power I've just unleashed here results in my getting Power Girl from Walmart exclusive Wave 10. That made no sense whatsoever. Ha! :P