I've been waiiiitttiing for a girl like you to come intooo my life. Seriously though, it's been a LONG time since we've had a decent modern Catwoman figure. DC Direct's Hush Catwoman came out EIGHT years ago in 2004. And even that awful DC SuperHeroes version was in 2008. And I say awful because the goggle tooling and weird face paint applications ruined it in post-production, which is such a shame because the prototype 2-Up of that figure was beautiful. Anyway, this figure is just awesome. I have so few criticisms that this review is going to be be mostly pictures. Or maybe I will ramble just a little about how this is going to be an awesome year for Catwoman fans. This is the second and third Catwoman action figure so far this year. We have the DC Direct version of this figure coming up next month, then a Mattel Movie Masters figure, and potentially a DC Direct DCU Online figure. Plus I'm sure we'll see something for DC New52 eventually. It's a virtual flood of Selinas!
The packaging is cool. Pretty much what I expected. Selina comes with her whip and a cool Batman accessory. I do wish she would have come single-packed though because this was a $60 purchase on a day when I also found two other action figures I had been hunting for. I need sponsors! The poses in the packaging are really playful and fun. especially in the white variant version. Of course Catwoman's whip is very curled as a result.. Note: These Batman: Legacy figures do not come with the standard poster pack-in that we've come to expect.
It's nice when a company has enough pride in their figures that they show actual product photos as packaging graphics.
The figure is great, she stands well, her joints are tight, neat paint lines, and tons of articulation. My two minors complaints are (1) the little tufts of hair coming out from under her mask. It's unnecessary and looks like a mistake.. especially in the variant. and (2) her hips seem a little low, this bothered me for a minute, but I got over it. It makes her look more slinky and feline. Also, I should note that my regular version had a stuck ankle that took me an hour of boiling water and prodding with an X-acto to fix, but I got it free and it's completely normal now.
See what I mean about the hair?
She comes with the same whip as the DSCH Catwoman from 2004. Did I mention she poses awesome? Seriously, I mentioned this in the Harley review from yesterday, but Mattel has really upped their game. No more warped legs, soft plastic, or spindly arms.. these are great!
By the way, in case the Variant doesn't make sense to you, here is one of the major graphic advertisements for the Arkham City game. They never appear in the game like this (I asked an honest-to-goodness 16 year old!), but this advertisement was used heavily before the release of the game and is pretty iconic.
Time for some comparison pics!
Here she is with the only other modern Mattel Catwoman (DCSH). The new one is a little better.
Here they are with the 2004 DC Direct Hush Catwoman - arguably the best version of this costume up till now.
All the Mattel Catwomen!
And here she is with most of the modern Catwoman figures out there. I excluded statues and busts. I still say the new one is best. What do you think?
Cheers!
Cool figure, but I can't stand the "unzipped" look. I get that it sells to 14 year-old boys, but it just looks ridiculous to me. For Christ's sake: she's not even wearing a bra with that?
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll stick with my DCSH version for the time being.
Yeah the cleavage is ridiculous. For some reason it doesn't bother me so much with this particular figure though. I'll be posting pics of a catwoman statue custom I did soon where one of the main things I did was zip her up. It's funny because I prefer this look over that purple-suited jim balent version where she's completely covered, but her chest is so enlarged and spandexed that it leaves nothing to the imagination. I feel that Selina is depicted more and more and a seductress in the comics, so the zipped-down look isn't totally out of character, but I still agree that it's pretty cheesy.
ReplyDeleteThis is base on the Catwoman from Arkham City Video Game. I never played the game but from the scenes I found on-line, I don't believe there is ever a zipped look in the CGI model. So in this case unzipped look it is being true the the original art.
ReplyDelete@Jim: Absolutely - the design choice we're discussing was made for the game then faithfully recreated by Mattel. Personally, I think that design is ugly and more than a little exploitative, so I'm not planning on buying the figure. I appreciate that Catwoman, as a character, has always had a blatant sexuality to her, but I'm of the opinion that sexuality needs to remain tasteful in order to work.
ReplyDelete@ShesFantastic: I can't wait to see the custom statue. Also, I completely agree with you regarding the Balent version.
Thanks for the fantastic review. My catwoman has the same ankle issue. What was the process you used to free her ankle? I don't want to damage the figure, but I would like full mobility. Did you use the steam from the boiling water or actually dip the ankle in boiling water? Is there a particular area you focused on with the knife or was is all areas where the two pieces meet? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the review! I actually just held her underneath a really hot stream of water from the faucet. I think both sides of the ankle joint were stuck, and I know I had to loosen all around the round peg, too. Luckily the black plastic is very forgiving in case you make any slips or gashes with an Xacto. Mine has a few battle scars but they are hardly noticable. Just make sure you use the same heating technique to press the joint back together after you've freed it, otherwise it will be too loose. Good luck!
DeleteI really appreciate the information. Thanks to you, Selina started the new year with two functioning ankles. Cheers!
DeleteGlad to help!
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