Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Action Figure Review: Menalippe from DC Comics Multiverse: Wonder Woman by Mattel

 So, Wonder Woman: Pretty incredible movie, right? It's nice to see that DC has a legit hit on their hands in the DCEU that is both critically and commercially successful. It's always interesting to look at a movie based line after the film is released; sometimes the character choices are rather odd. Take the subject of today's review, Menalippe. While I loved characters in the film like Sameer, Chief, Charlie, and General Antiope, we haven't received any of them in the toyline. We do have Menalippe, however, who I didn't even remember seeing in the film. I had to look her up in Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film. She's currently a shared exclusive between Amazon and Toys 'r Us and has been available for around a month now. Let's take a closer look at Menalippe after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 6 1/8th inches

Articulation: Hinged ankles, swivel/ hinge knees, swivel thighs, H-hinged hips, swivel waist, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel wrists, and a ball-jointed head.


Accessories: Spear, bow, arrow, and two swords for the build-a-figure Ares.


Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars

 The Positives:



* Like the other Amazons in this series, Menalippe has some really nice armor. Mattel has given every character in this line a unique sculpt and it really classes things up quite a bit. The armor has some sharp detailing and looks pretty accurate to what's in the Art and Making of book.


* The headsculpt is also pretty nice. While most of the images of Menalippe show her without a helmet, the helmet is indeed on of her looks. I love the design and the colors. The paintwork is also neat and clean, too.


 * Here's a shot of the rear of the figure to show off the paintwork. I love the colors here. The character designs and costuming in Wonder Woman was fantastic and Mattel really did a great job in capturing their grandeur and colors. The purple, maroon, and gold is pretty striking. 


 * Menalippe includes quite a few accessories, first of which is a bow and arrow. They're pretty cool looking and look nice on display with the figure.



 * Menalippe also includes a spear. It's different than Hippolyta's (quite a bit plainer) but it's still a nice sculpt with decent paintwork.



* Last, and certainly not least, are two swords for the Ares build-a-figure. They're not super accurate to the movie but they look cool and help make the build-a-figure pop a little bit more.
 The Negatives:

* I feel like a bit of a broken record but the articulation on the movie based DC figures really leaves a lot to be desired. The joints needed for good movement are all present and accounted for, but the range of motion is rather poor. Again, can Mattel not just pay attention to what they're doing with the WWE Elite line?


* Menalippe can hold her bow and arrow similar to the TV series based Arrow figure. I'm kind of split on this feature. It does work ok, but it seems a bit "beneath" a collector based line. Maybe just include an alternate hand?


 * It's not highly visible, but Menalippe does have some paint rub along her thighs. I'm guessing this came from the softer plastic skirt. It's not the end of the world, but it's not ideal either.


Menalippe isn't a bad figure at all, but she's not a must have toy, either. It's cool that Mattel has put out quite a few unique characters in the line who we've never seen as action figures before but I'm not sure how well these would fit in with a comic themed collection like DC Universe Classics or anything from DC Collectibles/ DC Direct. Menalippe has a great sculpt and nice paintwork with a few cool accessories, but the articulation kind of dulls my enthusiasm. Now, let's hope that Antiope gets released at some point, too! She'd make Menalippe much cooler. As it stands, Menalippe by herself is a Good figure.





I haven't reviewed any other Menalippe figures (I think this is the first and only) but I have reviewed plenty of other DC Comics Multiverse figures, including:

DC Comics Multiverse (6 inches) by Mattel (2016)
Armored Batman (The Dark Knight Returns)
The Arrow
Batgirl (The Batgirl of Burnside)
Batman (Batman: Zero Year)
Damian Wayne Robin (Robin War) 
Earth 23 Superman 
Jim Gordon Batman (Batman: Superheavy)
The Joker (Batman: Endgame)
The Joker (The Dark Knight Returns)
Justice Buster 
Mutant Leader (The Dark Knight Returns)
Reverse Flash (The Flash TV Series)
Robin (The Dark Knight Returns)

DC Comics Multiverse: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Mattel (2016)
Batman
Son of Batman

DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel (2016)
Aquaman
Armored Batman
Bat Creature
Batman
Batman's Grapnel Blaster (Collect & Connect accessory) 
Batman Unmasked
Knightmare Batman
Lex Luthor
Superman 
Wonder Woman

DC Comics Multiverse: Suicide Squad by Mattel (2016)
Batman
Boomerang
Croc (Build-a-Figure)
Deadshot
Diablo 
Harley Quinn (6 inch) 
Harley Quinn (12 inch)
Harley Quinn (Gold Dress)
Harley Quinn (Toys R Us Exclusive)
The Joker 
The Joker (Toys R Us Exclusive)
Katana
Rick Flag 

DC Comics Multiverse: Wonder Woman by Mattel (2017)
Ares
Diana of Themyscira
Queen Hippolyta
Steve Trevor 
Wonder Woman

2 comments:

  1. I actually ended up getting this one - my first figure from the movie - just because she came with two flaming swords. I'm...an accessory-holic. I'm not proud of it, but neither can I ignore it.

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    Replies
    1. There's nothing wrong with that! Accessories are often my favorite part of a figure.

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