Tag Archives: DC

#3335: Shining Knight

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SHINING KNIGHT

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

In the 1940s, DC’s premiere team of super heroes was the Justice Society of America.  They weren’t the only grouping of heroes under DC at the time, however.  Some of their lower-tier heroes were banded together in 1941’s Leading Comics as the “Seven Soldiers of Victory.”  Though they never got far beyond obscurity, Justice League Unlimited‘s “Patriot Act” brought the team into the DCAU, as a deployment of Justice Leaguers handed parade duty.  The episode serves as a particular focus for Sir Justin of Camelot, aka the Shining Knight, who had been a background character throughout the show’s run.  He also got a figure from the tie-in line, because why not?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shining Knight was released in 2006, under the second iteration of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line.  He was in the third series following the moving of the line under the larger “DC Universe” banner, and was packed in a three-pack with Zatanna and a repackaged Batman.  He was then re-packed on his own the following year.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Shining Knight is built on the slightly larger mid-size male base body, patterned on the original Batman mold.  While a lot of the figures that used this base were in a weird spot, but it honestly works pretty well for Shining Knight in regards to how his build was portrayed on the show.  Shining Knight gets a new head, as well as an add-on piece for his tunic.  It’s not really the best parts selection the line had to offer.  The head is plain and simply just too small for the base body, in addition to not being a particularly good sculpt, no matter it’s sculpting.  He just looks kind of goony and off-model.  Not helping things is the tunic piece, which is rather bulky.  It just makes the head look even smaller.  Its actual sculpt isn’t bad, though; the folds are nicely rendered, and it hands pretty believably.  The color work on Shining Knight hits this weird spot that all the metallic characters hit, which is which direction do you go with the coloring.  In contrast to most of the other gold-clad characters, Shining Knight gets a flat yellow, which is honestly not a bad call.  There’s even a little bit of detailing on the arms and legs to do the scales, which is pretty cool.  The rest of the paint is pretty basic, but gets the job done.  Shining Knight was packed with no accessories for the three-pack release, while the single-pack added his sword to the mix.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At the time Shining Knight was added to the line, the figures had gotten pretty hard to find, and I wasn’t actively searching.  Adding to that, I just didn’t really like the figure’s look, so I didn’t go out of my way.  Christian wound up getting one for his collection one way or another, so I ultimately wound up getting his when he got out of action figure collecting.  It’s not a great figure.  It’s not even a particularly good figure.  It’s the only Shining Knight figure, though, so there’s that.

#3330: Sand

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SAND

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

After Robin made kid sidekicks all the range, a lot of other heroes dabbled in the concept.  In house at DC, they even reworked their pulp/mystery hero Sandman into a more conventional hero (complete with a yellow and purple spandex costume) and gave him his own sidekick, Sandy Hawkins, aka Sandy the Golden Boy.  Sandy stuck with Sandman until the end of his original Golden Age run, but was curiously absent when Sandman returned in the ’60s.  To explain what happened to Sandy, writer Len Wein crafted “The Creature in the Velvet Cage”, which revealed that Sandy had been turned into a silicon monster when one of Westley Dodds’ experiments went awry.  He would eventually be returned to his human form, and years later was added to the relaunched JSA book in the early ’00s, where he manifested sand-based powers, and took on the identity of “Sand.”  Sand wound up being one of the background filler characters in Justice League Unlimited, which netted him an action figure for all his trouble.  Silver lining, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sand was released in 2007 under the third iteration of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited tie-in line, after they’d moved it under the larger DC Universe banner.  He was part of the seventh series of products under the set-up, which was also the first one to sport the purple packaging.  He was packed in a three-pack, alongside Star Sapphire and a re-pack of the more posable Superman figure.  Sand was based on his show design, of course, which was itself patterned on his first proper costume under the “Sand” name, which he’d gotten early into the ’00s JSA run.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Sand was built on the slightly larger mid-sized base body, which was patterned on the original Batman body.  It’s honestly the weakest on the male base bodies, due to how oddly posed it is, but it’s not terrible, and it does slightly break up the monotony of putting every one on the Amazo body.  He got a new head sculpt, as well as re-using the shoulder harness from the Injustice Gang Luthor and the legs from Mirror Master, both of which had been added to the line the prior year.  The new head is actually a really nice recreation of his animation model, and the other parts make for a respectable match as well, translating to a figure that’s really one of the more accurate JLU figures sculpturally.  His paint work does alright, too, covering all of the important details that aren’t sculpted, as well as adding the proper coloring to the parts that are sculpted.  His paint is a little thick, and definitely on the shiny side, but overall not bad.  Sand was packed with no accessories, unless you count the other two figures, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sand’s one of those characters I have this weird affinity for.  I was starting to get more into comics reading on my own when JSA was really hitting its stride, and Sand had this really cool look and was also getting a lot of focus.  I was honestly pretty thrilled when he was added to this line.  I got this set, as well as the one with Obsidian from the same assortment, on my way back from my family vacation, at a Walmart that served as the mid-way stop on most of our return trips.  He’s a pretty nifty little figure, and he’s the only version of Sand out there, so he’s also the best version of Sand out there.  He wins on a technicality!

#3300: The Question

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

THE QUESTION

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

Hey, it’s time for another installment of me reviewing a figure of The Question on The Figure in Question!  I really was expecting that joke to come back around quicker than it ultimately did.  I mean, it’s been, like eight years, with no additional reviews.  That’s on me, you guys.  There are many great things about Justice League Unlimited, but the undeniable best thing about it is Jeffery Combs as The Question.  He’s just so, so great.  Every moment with him’s just fantastic, and it’s really just the definitive take on the character.  Unfortunately, due to a weird contractual thing, Mattel was unable to add the character to the tie-in toyline until very near the end of its run.  But, they did at least get him in before they were done.  That’s gotta count for something.  So, let’s take a look at that figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Question was released in the first assortment of Justice League Unlimited three-packs post Mattel launching their larger DC Universe branding.  It followed them getting the full DC license, which allowed them to finally produce the figure.  Question was packed with re-packs of Flash and Wonder Woman…which was borderline predatory on Mattel’s part, really.  Question doesn’t ever really interact with the two of them in the show, and Mattel knew very well that people were buying this set just for him.  Couldn’t hey have at least thrown people a bone and packed him with, I don’t know, maybe Huntress?  Heck, you could even go for a “Question Authority” theme and throw a Superman in there.  See?  Heavy hitter.  Actually, it looks like they paired those two off with Galatea at the same time.  Well, there it is.  Whatever the case, it is what it is.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He used a base body derived from Mattel’s take on the animated Two-Face, which they’d made a little more basic.  It would be re-used for a few others down the line, but it kicked off here.  He got a unique head sculpt, as well as an extra piece for his overcoat.  The overcoat is a little bit clunky, but the head sculpt is pretty decent.  There’s no face, of course, but there shouldn’t be, so it tracks.  The color work is basic, but what it needs to be.  The application is pretty clean overall, and the colors match up well with his look from the show.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Question was my favorite part of the show, and I desperately wanted him as a figure for the show’s whole run.  I even tried my hand at making one of my own, but it’s honestly for the best that I don’t have it to compare.  It was pretty bad.  This figure was one I was really excited for.  Not super thrilled about having to buy the two extra figures, but by this point in the line, I was desensitized to the whole thing.  He’s actually a pretty nice little figure.  Basic, but that’s the whole line.  He definitely felt worth the wait.

#3295: Atom

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ATOM

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

When reworking their slate of Golden Age heroes into something that better fit the more “modern” audience of the ’60s, DC banked far more heavily on science and “space age” ingenuity for the backgrounds of their superheroes.  Where the Golden Age Atom was just a kinda small guy who was a bit of a bruiser, his replacement in the Silver Age was a man who could shrink down to the size of the thing he took his name from.  Well, okay, probably still a bit bigger.  Actual Atoms are pretty darn small.  Ray Palmer’s turn as the Atom reshaped the character, and has been the standard going forward.  He’s found himself as a supporting player in a number of DC projects.  He first got his name dropped during Justice League’s second season, before becoming a member of the titular team in the following season, when the went “Unlimited.”  He was voiced in the show by Dr. Percival Cox himself, John C McGinnley, and got two focus episodes of his own, as well as a little bit of action figure coverage.  I’m looking at his main JLU line figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Atom was part of the first single-carded assortment of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line.  They largely kept the new team members confined to the multipacks at the start, so he was largely packed in with a bunch of unnecessary variants of the core 7, making him by far the most desirable in the bunch.  He was re-released a couple of times after that in multipack form, but this guy’s the original release.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Atom was built on the skinniest of the male base bodies, which was patterned on the original Flash sculpt.  It’s perhaps a touch skinny for how Ray was portrayed on the show, but it was a closer fit than any of the other options.  He got a new head sculpt, which was a strong recreation of the animation design, and just a pretty strong sculpt in general.  It’s very cleanly handled, and instantly distinct from the other characters in the line (well, apart from the Hourman figure that re-used the head, but that’s a whole other thing).  His paint work is pretty basic stuff, but it covers his needed set-up pretty well.  The insignia on the head and belt is decent, and the blue and red are fairly close to what they should be.  As a single-release, Atom actually got an accessory; it’s a miniature version of himself.  Interestingly, this smaller Atom appears to have his mold based on the mid-range body, which was patterned on Batman, making him look a little bulkier than his full-sized compatriot.  Given the scale, though, it’s a pretty minor difference.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Atom was my first JLU figure.  The three packs were hard to get at first, and my dad wound up finding this one for me, which he presented to me as sort of a gift of acomplishment after I lost a tooth mid-way through a school play and still went on with the show.  I was determined, I tell ya.  He was always one of my favorites from the line, and I stand by that.  He kind of exemplified the kind of stuff the line could do very well when it played to its strengths.

#3290: Wildcat

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

WILDCAT

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

First appearing as a second fiddle of sorts to Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics #1, Wildcat became something of a journeyman hero.  He didn’t officially join the JSA until after the Golden Age had wrapped, but became quite a fixture for the team in the ensuing years.  He’s found his real footing in recent years as the old-timer hero involved in training a good chunk of DC’s street level heroes.  That was the role he found himself in for Justice League Unlimited, where his role as Black Canary’s mentor served as the basis of their shared debut episode “The Cat and the Canary.”  His part in the show got him his second time as an action figure, and I’m taking a look at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wildcat was released in the second series of three packs for Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line, alongside Metamorpho and a re-packed Batman figure.  He was subsequently re-packed as a single with a few extra accessories later down the line.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Wildcat is based on the larger male base body, which was based upon the first Superman sculpt from the line.  It’s a decent build for the character, but he does have a little bit of trouble standing.  He’s got to lean all the way back to really balance, which doesn’t quite feel very true to the character.  Wildcat got a unique head and arms.  The head’s a little bit on the tiny side, but is otherwise a nice mold, which does a respectable job of capturing the animation design.  The arms are similar to the standard ones, but with slight tufts of fur on the forearms.  It’s a small touch, but an effective one.  The figure’s paint work is fairly minimal.  Largely, he’s just the molded off-black/purple.  He does get a little bit of paint for his face and his hands.  Nothing too crazy, but it gets the job done.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When it first launched, JLU was a rather tricky to acquire line, especially when it came to the three-packs.  After finally managing to get most of the first assortment, I actually lucked into almost all of the second series at once, while vacationing with my family back when they first dropped.  I’ve always had a soft spot for Wildcat, and I liked his appearance on the show, so I was happy to have gotten him.  He’s a pretty basic figure, but he does what he needs to, and he fits the line well.

#3285: Warhawk

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

WARHAWK

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

“In the not too distant future, an older Bruce Wayne trains high school student Terry McGinnis to become the new Batman, ensuring the protection of Gotham City for years to come. This new Batman eventually joins the future JLU, teaming up with heroes such as Warhawk, the tough-as-nails son of John Stewart and Shayera Hol.”

Since Batman Beyond‘s tie-in toyline from when it was on the air wasn’t particularly comprehensive, and was effectively non-existent by the time of the later seasons, its best toy coverage came not in its own line, but rather as part of the line for its follow-up show, Justice League Unlimited.  JLU the show was used to more clearly tie the entire DCAU together, in particular giving a little more time to Beyond, as well as its own continuation of the Justice League, the Justice League….Unlimited.  Team member Warhawk, who had previously been something of a blank canvas, was given an actual proper backstory, which wound up being a key plot point within JLU‘s last couple seasons.  As such, he was a pretty natural fit to get his first action figure in JLU‘s tie-in line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Warhawk was released in one of the final retail three-pack assortments for Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line, alongside the previously reviewed Batman Beyond and Bruce Wayne.  The figure stands about 4 1/4 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Warhawk’s starting point was the medium base body, which was patterned on Green Lantern.  Given Warhawk’s parentage, as well as his usual build in the shows, it’s a pretty solid choice of base.  He gets a new head and an overlay piece for his shoulder plating and wings.  The head is a solid piece, though it seems to be a little more inspired by his Beyond appearances than by JLU proper.  They’re not terribly different, so it’s not like it’s really terribly noticeable, especially at this scale.  The overlay is pretty basic; while the hawk symbol appears to be a cut out piece on the show, it’s just painted here, probably for the sake of integrity of the piece.  The wings are separate pieces, glued in place here.  Warhawk’s paint work is fairly well handled.  It’s again going more for the Beyond appearance, given the shading of the skin, but the rest of the colors are pretty neutral for both sets of appearances.  Warhawk was without any accessories.  Most of the three-packs didn’t get any extras, and Warhawk already got quite a few new parts, so it’s not terribly surprising.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my review of Bruce and Terry, I was mostly out of the line by the time this set came along.  I saw the prototypes, but never anything in person.  Through All Time, I was able to get the other two a couple of years back, which was pretty cool.  But, I certainly had this distinct lack of a Warhawk figure in my collection, and, as luck would have it, the missing piece of the set made its way into All Time.  Boom.  Warhawk.  I’m glad I got him, because he’s honestly the best in the set.  Sure, it would be nice to have the whole team, but at least this guy got a cool toy out of it all.

#3266: Green Lantern

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

GREEN LANTERN

WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER HEROES (MEGO)

I’m just about done with this year’s batch of post-Christmas reviews, but I’m wrapping up with a look at something that’s not quite as much a holiday fixture for me as Super Powers, but is still pretty high up there: Mego.  2022 marked the 50th anniversary of Mego’s World’s Greatest Super Heroes toyline launching.  At its start, WGSH was exclusively dedicated to DC Comics, something that is true of the modern WGSH line, thanks to Mego picking back up the license for 8-inch figures in 2020.  In celebration of the 50th, Mego is returning the line to its roots, with packaging based on the original boxed look for the line.  While the line-up is mostly recreations of figures from the original line, it also features two additional figures, Green Lantern and Flash, the two most glaring omissions from the original run, in fancy throwback packaging and all.  I’ve got the GL, of course, and I’m taking a look at him today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Lantern is part of Wave 16 of the post-relaunch Mego line, under the World’s Greatest Super Heroes 50th Anniversary banner.  He’s one of the eight retro throwback figures in the set, and one of the two that’s not a re-issue of a vintage Mego counterpart.  This GL is the Hal Jordan version, specifically sporting his classic ’70s appearance, making him through and through the correct look for a proper vintage Mego release, which is pretty cool.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Hal is built on the brand-new Type-S Mego base body, which takes the vintage Type 2 body aesthetic, and reworks it to remove the band construction, as well as improve the general articulation set-up for the body.  It removes the issues of long-term viability of the band construction, creates a generally more solid feeling base body, and also gives him better posability…for the most part.  The only thing I’m not super crazy about is the knees, which are a bit more restricted on this body than earlier Mego base bodies.  Hal gets a unique head sculpt and hands as well.  They’re quite impressive pieces; the head sculpt in particular is really a star piece.  He’s the spitting image of the quintessential ’70s Hal, which is exactly what I want on this sort of figure.  The paint work on GL is on the head and both hands.  The head’s pretty clean, apart from just a touch of missing paint near the nose of the mask.  The hands are fully painted, with white for the gloves and everything, which gives them a slightly glossier finish, helping them match closer to the costume.  GL’s costume is made up of a jumpsuit and a pair of standard boots.  The jumpsuit is made up of separate cloth pieces stitched together, rather than just being silkscreened, which gives it a little more pop.  GL is packed with his power battery, which, unlike the 14 inch figure, he can actually hold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Friday’s Mister Miracle, GL was a Christmas gift to me from my parents.  Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted a proper Mego GL.  I made my own custom back in the day, which tided me over, and then I had the Mattel one, and even the Figures Toy Company one.  Of course, none of those were official Mego.  There was also the 14 inch version, but he was, you know, really tall and all.  It’s been a road of small steps and improvements, but this one is really, really nice, and he’s a proper, official Mego GL.  Only took us 50 years, but, hey, here we are.  Feels like it was worth it.  Genuinely couldn’t be happier with him.

#3265: Mister Miracle

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MISTER MIRACLE

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

 

“Mister Miracle is an incredible escape artist who can free himself from any trap or ambush. By calling upon a multitude of advanced scientific gadgets, and his remarkable dexterity and agility, Mister Miracle is able to make any impossible stunt look easy.”

It’s that post-Christmas review time of year, and the best way for me to really, truly feel that post-Christmas-y sort of vibe is, quite frankly, Kenner’s Super Powers.  From a rather early age, they’ve kind of been a key piece of the stuff I get for holidays, and that’s become especially cemented in the last few years.  In my last four Super Powers reviews, (the most recent of which was almost an entire year ago; for shame!) I’ve stuck with the line’s Fourth World component, which really influenced the last two years of the run.  I’m continuing that trend with today’s review, which looks at perhaps my favorite Fourth World character, Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mister Miracle was released in 1986, as part of the final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  As with a lot of characters in this line, this release was Scott’s first figure, and would remain his only figure until DC Direct put one out in the early ’00s.  Of course, he was still ahead of all of the other New Gods barring Darkseid there, so I suppose it’s not all that bad.  He and his assortment-mate Orion made up the entirety of the heroic New Gods portion of the line, which was otherwise much heavier on the Apokolipsian bad guys.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Mister Miracle’s sculpt is a unique one based on his standard comics design, which was honestly a pretty notable thing for a New Gods character.  Only he and Darkseid got that treatment.  Admittedly, when you’ve got a design as spot-on and cool as Mister Miracle’s, what exactly is there to change?  It translates well to the style of the line, and he’s got a pretty solid set of proportions, as well as a nicely defined selection of costume details.  As with all the caped characters in the line, Scott’s cape is a soft-goods piece, though it does get a rather unique clasp piece, which is quite a bit of fun.  Mister Miracle’s paint work is pretty decent, although it’s rather prone to wear.  Mine’s in pretty decent shape, but that’s no small feat.  Scott is packed with a set of shackles, which are a trick set-up.  They’re on a joint at the middle, and squeezing his legs moves his arms outward, as if he’s escaping from the locks.  It’s a little iffy on this 35 year old figure, of course, but it’s otherwise a good gimmick.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mister Miracle is the latest addition to my ever growing Super Powers collection, given to me as a Christmas gift by my ever supportive parents.  He’s actually been pretty high on my list of the remaining figures I needed, barred only by the difficulty of finding him in complete condition.  Getting one in this shape is honestly astounding, and he’s just so much fun.  Truly one of the line’s star pieces.  And with that, I only need 5 more.  Crazy.

#3260: Superman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SUPERMAN

FIRST APPEARANCE (DC DIRECT)

Though there are previous instances of costumed heroes and vigilantes with catchy names and gimmicks, the tried and true concept of the “Super Hero” was properly introduced in 1938’s Action Comics #1, which introduced Superman to the world.  Superman was a smash success, launching an entire industry of super hero comics, and becoming a major fixture in that very industry.  In more recent years, he’s become something of a divining rod for what kind of a person you are, given your feelings on whether he’s out of place in today’s world or not.  But, today, I’m looking back to his beginnings, with a figure based on his very first appearance.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman was released in Series 2 of DC Direct’s First Appearance toyline.  While there had been prior Superman figures from DCD at this point, this was the first to actually be sporting his first appearance attire, and the first specifically based on the golden age, or Earth 2, Superman.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  All of the Series 2 figures got the benefit of ever so slightly improved articulation, notably including wrist joints on all of the figures, which was beyond the standard for DCD at the time.  The figure’s sculpt was all-new at the time, though DCD wound up re-using most of it a few times after the fact.  It’s a fun sculpt, which captures the spirit of the original art, while providing just a little more polish to the whole thing.  The proportions definitely match, as do the slightly more unique aspects of the costume design as well.  He’s meant to be based more on the interiors than the cover, showcased best by the specific boots he’s got.  They’ve added a little extra detailing to the sculpt, especially for the face and the boots.  The mixed media set-up that DCD was pushing early in this line is present on this figure in the form of his cape, which is a double thick item here, which has a wire in its lining, allowing for a little bit of dynamic posing.  All later releases using this mold had an actual sculpted cape, but this one certainly has its charm.  The figure’s paint work is fairly basic, but it checks all the right boxes.  The application is crisp and clean, and he’s quite bright and eye-catching.  The figure is packed with a display stand and a reprint of Action Comics #1, which was standard for the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve discussed before that for a while in the early ’00s, my dad and I “shared” a DC Direct collection.  It meant there was very little overlap between our two respective sets of figures.  First Appearance Series 2 was one that we split evenly, and Superman was one of the two that my dad took.  I did quite like the look of the figure, but I also had a number of Superman figures already.  Last year, I was helping a family friend downsize their collection, and this Superman was amongst the departing items.  I had just pulled out my older figures from the set for review purposes at the time and was feeling nostalgic, and I couldn’t bring myself to pass on this one.  He’s a fun figure, and a great addition to the rest of the line.

#3250: Wonder Woman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

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.