Sunday, December 31, 2017

Action Figure Review: Wonder Woman (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) from DC Comics Multiverse by Mattel

   Today's review for this final day of the year is Wonder Woman. Perhaps that's fitting because it's quite possible that Wonder Woman is the character whom had the best 2017 possible. Her movie was a success both critically and commercially and it helped a much wider audience to care about the character again on more than just a surface level. While I've reviewed quite a few action figures this year based on Gal Gadot's excellent portrayal of the character, that's not the version of the character I'm looking at today. Instead, I'm looking at Wonder Woman as portrayed by Frank Miller. We could talk for days about the merits and absolute utter craziness of the work of Frank Miller but, to be brief, I really do like the action figures released in the Dark Knight Returns subset that Mattel has been putting out little by little over the years. Of course, while the packaging says this is from "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," it absolutely is not. It could either be from The Dark Knight Strikes Again or from The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. The packaging uses art from DKIII, but the figure could really be from either). The Dark Knight subset continues to grow and I do find myself loving these bulkier takes on the DC big guns. Let's take a look at this new version of Wonder Woman after the break...


 The Facts:

Height: 6 3/4 inches

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

Accessories: Knife and the torso and arms of the Dr. Psycho Collect & Connect figure.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars


 The Positives:


* While this might be an unusual looking version of Wonder Woman, Mattel did do a job of at least capturing the bulky, somewhat primal look of Frank Miller's artwork. I like their take on Miller's style in the DC Comics Multiverse line and Wonder Woman uses a lot of unique tooling in order to capture the character's distinctive appearance in the DKSA and DKIII.
 * Again, is this my favorite headsculpt for Wonder Woman ever? Nope! Does this version of Wonder Woman capture her appearance in Miller's artwork though? The answer is yes. While the face is a bit more rugged than we usually see with Diana and she's sporting an unusual tiara with a nose guard, these are accurate to the source material and well executed. The tiara is actually a separate piece from the face that has been permanently attached over it, giving the sculpt a more "realistic" appearance.

 * It might seem like an odd thing to point out but I really like how accurate to Miller's artwork Diana's hair is here. It looks appropriately curly, much more than it is usually portrayed. The sculpt on the hair is quite detailed and looks great.

* Wonder Woman does have quite a few unique parts that help to flesh out the figure. Her star spangled trunks are quite cool as is the engraved belt buckle. She has a coiled Lasso of Truth hanging off of her left hip. It's quite "plasticy" looking but it's a necessary inclusion. Gold would have been a better choice, though.

 * Wonder Woman's breastplate is a separate piece that's permanently affixed over her chest. It's an excellent looking sculpt that really looks like a piece of armor (although maybe not accurate for actual battle armor). Her bracers are also larger and bulkier, matching Miller's artwork.

 * Wonder Woman comes wielding a dagger of some sort. It's longer than you'd expect a knife or dagger to be, though, but shorter than a sword. It looks cool and has some nice paintwork but the size just seems unusual. Is this from a specific piece of art that I've not finding?
 * The current Multiverse series that has slipped out before the end of the year is kind of a mish-mash of various figures that should have been released throughout the year. While the Super Friends figures don't come with anything, both Wonder Girl and this Wonder Woman include the Collect & Connect pieces for Dr. Psycho. Wonder Woman includes the torso and arms. I'll be reviewing Dr. Psycho on his own very soon.


* Wonder Woman's articulation is par for the course for the Multiverse line: Solid and adequate but certainly not impressive. She's a good toy and will look just fine standing on your shelf or in a few positions.
 The Negatives:

* My biggest articulation complaint is when the elbows can't even reach a 90 degree angle. That really limits the articulation.


* The dark blue trunks with white stars look great but there are certainly some errant splotches of white paint splattered about.


 * Diana's feet and sandals are well sculpted but her ankles really look awkward. Throw in some messy paintwork on the straps and you should definitely see how many of these elements could have been done better.
  Despite some flaws with the figure's articulation scheme and some messy paint, I really like this figure. This is absolutely not my favorite version of Diana (not even close) but I do have a deep love for The Dark Knight Returns and, even though this figure isn't from that book, there's something about the style that appeals to me. Wonder Woman is a Great figure and I'm glad that we finally got her to go along with Batman, Superman, and the Flash in this style. She easily could have been a never released figure but Mattel definitely worked some magic to get her into our collections.

    If you're looking for more of Princess Diana, I have reviewed a plethora of Wonder Woman products including the Justice League Multiverse Wonder Woman, TRU exclusive Wonder Womancloaked Mattel movie Wonder Woman and movie Diana of Themyscira, Kotobukiya's Bishoujo Armored Wonder Woman, the New 52 Wonder Woman versus Katana 2-pack, the Gal Gadot inspired Wonder Woman from Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse: BvS line, the Bombshells action figure Wonder Woman, the Lil Bombshells series 1 Wonder Woman and the series 2 Wonder Woman, a set of Batgirl and Wonder Woman Magnetic Salt & Pepper Shakers, the Nano Metalfigs Wonder Woman (DC4) from Jada Toys, and the Wonder Woman DC16 from the 10 Pack.

If you're looking for more DC Comics Multiverse figures, check out the following:

Batgirl (The Batgirl of Burnside)
Batman (Batman: Zero Year)
Batman (DC Rebirth)
Batwing (DC Rebirth)
Damian Wayne Robin (Robin War) 
Duke Thomas (We Are Robin)
Earth 23 Superman
The Flash: From Page to Screen
Jim Gordon Batman (Batman: Superheavy)
The Joker (Batman: Endgame)
Justice Buster
The Reaper (Batman: Year Two) 
Rookie (Collect & Connect figure)

Arrow
The Arrow

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Armored Batman (The Dark Knight Returns)
Batman
Batman & Superman (The Dark Knight Returns)
The Flash & The Atom (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns)
The Joker (The Dark Knight Returns) 
Mutant Leader (The Dark Knight Returns)
Robin (The Dark Knight Returns) 
Son of Batman

Batman v. Superman
Aquaman
Armored Batman
Bat Creature
Batman
Batman's Grapnel Blaster (Collect & Connect accessory) 
Batman Unmasked
Knightmare Batman
Lex Luthor
Superman 
Wonder Woman

DC's Legends of Tomorrow 
The Atom

The Flash
Reverse Flash (The Flash TV Series)

Justice League
Aquaman
Batman
Batman (Wal-Mart Exclusive) 
Cyborg
Cyborg (Wal-Mart Exclusive)
The Flash
Mera
Mother Boxes (Collect & Connect Accessory)
Steppenwolf (Collect & Connect Figure)
Superman
Wonder Woman 

Suicide Squad
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 

Superfriends
Batman 

Supergirl TV Series 
Supergirl 

Wonder Woman
Ares
Diana of Themyscira
Menalippe
Queen Hippolyta
Steve Trevor 
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (Toys 'R Us exclusive)

4 comments:

  1. REALLY tempted by these! Not sure I care much about Dr. Psycho, but the other figures are pretty cool...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Multiverse is definitely starting to have a more interesting selection of characters, that's for sure.

      Delete
  2. Whoa! Never even knew she was shown in the DKR universe! She looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup. She appears in the Dark Knight Strikes Again, All Star Batman and Robin, and DKIII: The Master Race.

      Delete

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