Fire is such a great character. Beatriz Da Costa was a swimsuit model in Brazil who was caught in a pyroplasmic explosion which granted her the ability to emit and control green fire. She was a member of many teams throughout her comic career including the Super Friends, the Global Guardians, and Checkmate, but the most stand-out and long-running role was in Justice League International (where she joined her longtime friend and companion, Ice). Fire and Ice are probably the most fan-demanded DC ladies from toy collectors. But, considering their longevity and mass appeal, they've been merchandized very little. I'm not a big fan of this latest addition to the toy roster unfortunately. For such a long-awaited character, it really seems like Mattel missed the boat on this one. The sculpting and articulation is just awkward. It's such a shame, too because with a little bit of effort this could have been a great figure. Let's check out Fire in detail below.
The painting of Beatriz on the back of the box is stunning. I wish the actual figure had a fraction of that personality shining through.
Sorry to be a bummer for anyone who loves this toy, but I just think it's a total dud. The last time I felt this way about a toy was the DC Signature Series Poison Ivy. I think that's it's a shame that Mattel has not bothered to update this female buck in so long. Remember in the early days of Marvel Legends how we were excited to get any female figures?? Four waves in we got Elektra, soon followed by Phoenix, Black Widow, and Storm. They were amazing.... back then. But only 4-5 years later the ML buck was scoffed at for being too thin and gangly, with too many joints and odd proportions. That's the nature of changing expectations over time. Mattel wasn't immune to this problem either. Everyone loved the early DCSH and DCUC women: Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Harley, etc... but now they just don't hold up. The amazing thing is that this same month, Mattel released two gorgeous females in the MOTUC line (Castaspella and Shokoti). I hate to be the one to say it, but it's actually okay to me that the Infinite Earths subscription failed.
I honestly don't even want my most wanted DC ladies (Black Orchid, "Mego" Catwoman, Amethyst, etc) if they are going to be sub-par.
Here is a list of my problems with her: (1) I really dislike the hairsculpt on this figure (and that isn't just because it's an outdated style). (2) Her face is void of expression (this could be a paint app issue). (3) Her arms are too skinny. People have been saying this since DCSH but nothing has ever changed. (4) Her arms are unable to hang at a natural angle. There needs to be grooves in the armpit area to accommodate the shoulder joint. (5) The belt looks like a poorly-executed afterthought - it's glued solidly in place, too. (6) There's a silver product code stamped on her left boot. Not on the sole, or discretely on an inner thigh. No, it's completely visible on the top/side of her boot. And finally (7) The legs are different lengths! This buck truly needs to be fixed. Even her prototypes displayed and conventions over the past year we standing on a slant. Come on. There's no excuse for this.
The leg-length problem is due to unmatching upper thigh pieces. I simply don't believe QC hasn't caught on to this. I'm guessing it just wasn't deemed important enough to fix. I'm dreading Huntress next month.
Okay.. back on a more positive track:
Fire came with one accessory of a green "fire fist"
Here are some pictures of Fire from the comics.
This again depresses me because these all highlight the spunky character I wanted to see in this toy.
This first picture was taken from the awesome Dimestore Dames column of http://girl-wonder.org/ which I just discovered. Click on the image above to go to the column on Fire.
Time for some Comparison Pics!
Cheers!
Like DCIE Poison Ivy, it's nice to add them to the shelf...but overall they aren't very inspiring figures.
ReplyDeletePeople on forums say the DCIE figures seem like an afterthought, & with some figures in the subscription I have to agree.
Horsemen headsculpts look very similar. Nice looking, but all in the same way. Many have almost no profile when you turn them side on!
The Horsemen also don't seem to like hi-heels. I am glad they chose to use the Catwoman feet for Fire. They are a step up from Raven's orthopedic librarian shoes, or the WW feet. Hi-heels may be odd footwear for combat, but if they wore them in the comics I like to see them on the figures.
The sculpt on Fires shirt is quite nice. As is the detail on her boots & the fire effect.
The belt...good grief! A friend who gets the sub is selling Fire to me, so I should have her in a few weeks. I hope the belt looks better on mine!
That's odd about the leg length.
I'm sure you've mentioned it before, but are you looking forward to Huntress?
The more I see her on my shelf the more disgruntled I get. I am indeed looking forward to getting Huntress, but at the same time I'm afraid she will be an epic fail. The costume looks good, but the last few images I saw of her looked like she had minimal paint application on her eyes.. similar to Poison Ivy. That's the #1 reason I didn't sub-in this year, the quality of the female figures was sub-par and definitely not worth the price. It's a shame because the prototypes are gorgeous, but the final product just has too many corners cut. Platinum was fantastic though, I'll give them that. I have a second Fire that I think I'm going the customize like crazy. Two additional issues that I failed to mention in my original rant are the shins being a different color plastic than the thighs, and that her clavicle area doesn't have that natural curve that most DCUC figures have giving her a slumped shoulders look.
DeleteAll i can say is when you compare this Fire to the DC Direct one, you just want to cry. I will not bemoan the end of DCCIE that much. People say that they have done most wanted figures. I am ecstatic i have Doom Patrol and Metal men for sure, but what about the Legion of Super Heroes? Why no-one has ever though of the girls? We need Dawnstar, Dream Girl, Shadow Lass, White Witch etc, not to mention the boys Blok, Tellus... Im so dissapointed that it looks like they'll never be made that i was thinking of selling my Legion box set...but then i though twice, haha.
ReplyDeleteYeah I was really hoping to get more Legion girls. I never bought the original boxset because I figured I would be left wanting (and I was right). I still have all the early DCD Legion figures and I love them. Dawnstar in any form would be amazing. There are so few Native American females in the toy world and I strive for diversity in my collection.
DeleteI hear you... i cannot even say... Moonstar..? never mind. my hopes of ever have a 6" New Mutants or Alpha Flight are very slim. But i do not understand why The Legion is so ignored. I though they were cult classics. Maybe that's just the point.
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW thanks for answering to all your comments. It makes me come back and again. You're blog is not only a real good catalogue, but you are always a pleasure to talk to. So knowledgable ( Ok im aware i spelled that wrong, but im at work). I show your blog to my kids at work, as they wonder where i get my crazy figures from. Haha! You are to blame!
I want that moonstar figure so bad! Although, in reality, she looked kind of jacked up so it's not the end of the world if we never see her. Did you catch my New Mutants and Alpha Flight Minimates reviews? I have great love for both those teams.
Deletehttp://www.shesfantastic.com/2012/10/minimate-women-of-new-mutants.html
http://www.shesfantastic.com/2012/10/minimate-women-of-alpha-flight.html
I love meeting fellow collectors! (and it's not like I'm getting an overwhelming amount of comments at this point :)) Plus I usually have trouble dealing with the competitive (combative?) posters on message boards and I keep my hobbies relatively to myself in real life ("Only a few others share this secret...").. so readers of my blog are my only real outlet for this junk. I just started following your blog and have two things to note: 1) I love Baron Ashura! I didn't know anything about this character until I saw your pictures. Just Saturday I was trying to make a list of transgendered, intersexed, or gender-bending toys (I could only come up with 5), so Baron is great addition! and 2) I saw that you plan to post on Mazinger Z.. I've had my SOC girls ready for a photoshoot for months but keep putting it off, I'm going to have to race you to the goal! (November for me realistically)
Ooops, just saw this answer. Sorry been so busy to check my own blog. First what other transgender figures are out there? Im pulling my hair and cannot come with a single one beyond Ashura. Second i was brought up with Mazinger and i adore it. The good figures are mega expensive but i have the SOC guys and gals (but only two variants alas. Now one i got recently which i adore is Gamia Q. Cost me a small fortune but shes mega cute and dangerous. She was done in a series called Super Heel (Hell as in Doctor) Robots World. Shes so retro, i love her! And darlin' you will beat me up at the review. But hey its a contest! Ill get down to it soon! Very Best, Ariel.
ReplyDeleteWell.. i use "transgendered" in a misunderstood all-encompassing way that I really know better not to (that's why I also said intersed and gender-bending. Basically I need a word for characters who look female, but may not have been born that way. I forget where I made that list (probably on my phone). Here's what I can come up with off the top of my head: Zarkon from BOTP, Lancer/Yellow Dancer from Robotech (no good US toys of him though), One of the main characters from They Were 11 is a hermaphrodite if I remember correctly (again, no US toys that I know of) [I say US, because if I looked up the Japanese names of the characters from the original anime I may very well find something], Birdo from Mario II, Klinger from MASH (there's an awful toy of him in a pink dress), and Marilyn Manson had an action figure of his Dope Show look which was decidedly feminine. I just looked up Gamia Q.. I've never seen her before but she's very cool. In the process of googling her I just discovered the character Q Bee from Darkstalkers.. I love her!
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