WONDER WOMAN

FIRST APPEARANCE (DC DIRECT)

“Princess Diana emerges from her native land of Paradise Island to battle evil in 1941’s All Star Comics #8, the Amazon princess Wonder Woman has become one of comics’ best recognized icons!”

After we got a couple of well-established male costumed heroes in the late ’30s/early ’40s, it was only fair to let some of the women in on the action.  So, DC Comics, then National Publications, got right on that.  Things changed in November of 1940, with introduction of the very first female super hero: Ma Hunkel, the Red Tornado.  Oh, did you think I was discussing Wonder Woman?  No, not yet.  In June of 1941, the numbers doubled with the introduction of a second female super hero: Shiera Hall, Hawkgirl.  Sorry, at this point, I’m really just messing with you.  Wonder Woman wound up as third to bat, arriving in October of 1941, as part of one of the features in All Star Comics, before moving to her own book, Sensation Comics, just a few months later.  She’s of course been a little more enduring than the other two over the years, and was quickly elevated to being one of DC’s big three alongside Superman and Batman, a role she’s remained in for most of her run.  Today, I’m looking at a figure based on her very first appearance.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wonder Woman was released in Series 1 of DC Direct’s First Appearance line, alongside Batman, Flash, and Shazam.  This was the second Golden Age version of the character released by DCD, following a less style-specific version from their JSA line.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 14 points of articulation.  She’s the most articulated of the line’s first assortment, getting the extra swivels at the biceps like Batman, but also getting a waist joint, which most figures in this line lacked.  The articulation allows her to actually do some of her bullet deflecting poses, which is always nice to see on a Wonder Woman.  The figure’s sculpt was an all-new one, and it’s actually quite a nice one.  They capture the art style of her early appearances quite well, and she’s just a very attractive figure overall.  For the first couple of series, the First Appearance line did a little bit of soft goods work on most of the figures, and Wonder Woman was one of those.  In her case, it’s her shorts, which allows them to have the proper looser fit.  They’re a little baggy and bunchy, but generally look the part.  They also can be removed, and there’s a smaller pair of shorts beneath them, if you’re not into the mixed media thing.  Wonder Woman’s paint work is bright, bold, and clean, and matches well with her colors from the comics.  I particularly like the highlighting on her hair, which helps to really sell the extra details on the sculpt.  Wonder Woman was packed with her lasso of truth, a display stand, and a reprint of All Star Comics #8.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this line was first hitting, I was still in middle school, so my purchases for such things were far more limited.  It was the Batman figure, of all things, that caught my eye, since he was more unique at the time, so that was where my money went.  I got more of Series 2 by virtue of it being right around Christmas time, but by that point Series 1 was pretty much gone, and I was focusing on the next thing.  I wound up getting this figure last year, while helping a family friend downsize their collection.  This one was in the batch to go, so I made an offer on her and added her to my collection.  She’s a really good figure, especially for the time.  I never thought much of her when she was new, but I really like her now that I have her.