I had a lot of trepidations leading up to the release of this Huntress figure. The last few DC Signature Series female characters have been a disappointment to me. Between the sculpts, paint apps, and overall aesthetics, I had been left wanting. Huntress is one of my favorite DC heroines and I hated the thought of her long-awaited DCUC-style figure suffering the same sub-par treatment. All my worries were for nothing however because this figure is pretty great if I must say so myself. My only criticism is a slight lack of paint apps on her eyes compared to previous Mattel figures. Compared to the DCSH Batgirl, Helena's eyes look vacant and without detail. That's a small complaint however, because the high level of paint masks required for this figure were carried off successfully and that was not something I expected to see at all. Kudos to Mattel for ending their DC Infinite Earths run on a high note. Let's check her out below!
Note: This figure prompted me to update my Huntress Character Spotlight from a couple years ago. Don't judge me by my old blurry photos (only my new blurry photos!)
Huntress was originally created as the daughter of Batman and Catwoman on Earth-2 in the 1970s. I loved this origin and this character. Then in the 80s she was revamped as a rich mob-boss's daughter out for revenge (unrelated to Batman beyond the Gotham City connection). I didn't like this version so much, but over the years she grew on me. In the New52 however, the two origins were combined in the pages of World's Finest. I'm still deciding on how I feel about the new origins honestly, but I'm glad she's appearing regularly.
Huntress comes with her signature crossbow.
Time for Some Comparison Pics!
Here she is with the 2004 DC Direct Hush: Series 01 figure.
Cheers!
Huntress is my all-time favorite character but I am really disappointed with this figure (granted, it hasn't arrived yet, so maybe I'll like it better in person). Her face is such a disaster (especially compared to the Hush version, which is gorgeous). Besides the lifeless eyes what on earth is going on with her mouth? Did someone punch her and cause her bottom lip to swell up? Bad lip injections? I'm also not digging the hair sculpt. For all my complaining though I went and bought two, I'm going to try customizing one and if that fails (which it probably will) I'll still have another good one.
ReplyDeleteI like mine MUCH better in person. All your criticisms of her face are valid, but for some reason I don't mind. Maybe it's because her costume is so busy it's distracts from those flaws. I bought a second Huntress, too, but I'm not sure if I will try to customize her yet.
DeleteI just updated my Huntress character spotlight (link at the top) with these images, the eaglemoss chess piece, her newer heroclix, and the upcoming covergirl statue. She's really been getting a lot of good mechandise lately!
Oh, nice. My collection isn't as extensive as yours but that's mainly because I only collect Bertinelli, I'm not really a fan of Wayne. I don't have the heroclix pieces, they are so ugly that even my completionist self can't be bothered. I don't have the Ame-Comi figure, I really don't care for it (especially her cape) but I know myself too well, if I ever find it cheap on eBay I will pick it up. Do you have her Bishoujo statue? It's really beautiful, a much better use of the anime style and it's not too expensive. Other than that the only thing I need to complete my collection is the Tonner doll but I don't expect to get that any time soon, the rare times that it does show up on eBay it is always way out of my budget range. Also on eBay, there is someone who sells really great custom Huntress Lego figures that I would definitely recommend (I did have to buy a separate crossbow though but since they're dirt cheap I didn't mind).
DeleteUgh, that Cover Girl statue is so gorgeous, I hate that it's Wayne lol. I think I will buy her anyways and make some small modifications to make it Bertinelli. It's not enough to just buy her and say it's Bertinelli tbh, I will ~know that it's really not. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so anal about these things.
Did you by any chance pick up the Eaglemoss Cass Batgirl? I've always said that was clearly supposed to be Helena Bertinelli http://www.shesfantastic.com/2012/01/eaglemoss-batgirl-and-bat-ladies.html
DeleteI only just noticed this, oops. I might have to pick that up, it's a shame not to have any representation of Helena as Batgirl in my collection! I actually think the Helena/Batgirl Heroclix figure is pretty decent and have thought about getting that.
DeleteAlso, I just bought a new addition to my collection, the Kit Kong model kit! It'll probably be a month or two before I get my hands on it (chose to have it shipped back home in the States where it was cheaper) and I have to find someone to paint it because it would be a disaster if I did it. I'm really excited, I've only ever seen it on eBay once before and though it was rather expensive I justified it as an early Xmas present. :D
Wow I never saw that Kit Kong model before. It look pretty great. You'll have to post a link to the finshed product when it finally gets painted and in your hands.
DeleteI'm trying not to justify too many early Christmas presents for myself lately :) haha
I don't mind Huntress. Next to that Hush figure she looks rather flat.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not a fan of wind blown hair, it would have been nice to see a bit more life in the hairpiece. The eyes are a bit basic & cartoonish. The body is awesome though, a nice amount of unique detail.
Hopefully they put Ice up on MattyCollector next year...even without the sub I hope they work something out.
Your Ice wish has been granted! I can't wait to get her. For Huntress, the oddest part for me by far is the eyes. They are so simplified that she doesn't look a thing like the other DCUC-style ladies.
DeleteI paid a pretty penny for this figure and was struggling with whether or not to get it, but caved. On the whole I like it, but I definitely think it could've been better. I think the head is placed a little too low on the neck and the mask, especially when compared to the mask on the Hush version, seems too thick. I also think that the belly window could've been sculpted instead of just painted on. The Hush figure is definitely a lot more dynamic-looking (even though she cannot stand without help, like every single other female figure from that line) but I do like that Huntress finally received the DCUC treatment at all.
ReplyDeleteSure, she could've been better, but I think she was a commendable effort. I agreed with your complaints about the mask thickeness and the belly window, but her overall costume is so busy that those flaws don't stand out as much for me. I'm glad we got at least one more bat-lady before this line went kaput, but I'm a little shocked we didn't see a Batwoman figure.
Deleteyikes! not for me im afraid. I love the Hush and the birds of Prey one, I adore my Earth 2 too but i have a real affectio n for the Total Justice. Her proportions and pose were great And why all DC and MAsters femails have flat faces? i dont get it...
ReplyDeleteThe flat face thing is a mystery. I'm not sure which of the Four Horsemen sculpts the faces, but it's just his personal aesthetic I guess. The 4-H exclusive Gothrolopolis have the same issue and so do some of the old McFarlane figure they did.
DeleteWhat a shame, it seems DCUC is no more, and DC Collectibles are mainly doing NEW 52 Versions. So i will never have The Legion girls. The last DCUC had far to short arms, but happy i got Platinum and Elasti-girl. i guess that allows me to move more towards Japanese stuff, and the occasional ML female figure. I guess movie Gamora will be next... its sad so many of my childhood classics will not be made. I loved my super heroes but more and more other figures are taking their space.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if DCC made a move towards classic figures in the future. There's a huge market for it. My far-fetched DC wants are Black Orchid, Any classic Catwoman, Ivy, or Batgirl that we don't have, and Masters of Disaster. All my other wants are pretty modern and I honeslty think DCC will deliver.. they've really been impressing me lately.
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