Thursday, October 15, 2009

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

2 comments:

  1. Excellent posing on these ladies - good show, Sir! And Hawkgirl ain't particularly easy to pose due to the balance needed to offset her wing weight...

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  2. Why thank you, good sir. Most times I end up using her wings as extra points of balance. But I also like to play the balancing game when her wings are outstretched. It's good fun! :P

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