Review of Wonder Woman - Batman V Superman
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I've noticed something interesting about my viewing habits in the last year or so. I much prefer movies and tv shows with a female lead protagonist. I don't know if it's because the writing has gotten better, I don't know if the characterizations have gotten better, I don't know if the larger number of choices has given rise to greater variety...all I know is that if there's a flick with a female lead, I'm more likely to be drawn to it.

For example, tell me there's a new Batman movie, or a new Superman movie, and as big a fan as I am of the characters, I'll be lukewarm at best. But tell me there's a new Wonder Woman movie? I'm all over that like hair on a bear.

Our first taste of Gal Gadot as the character came with Batman V Superman, and she was easily the best of an otherwise mediocre film. Her solo effort this summer was one of my favorite movies of the blockbuster season, and she's only the reason I'm looking forward to the upcoming Justice League team up.

Hot Toys recognizes her allure, and have plenty of versions in the pipeline. The first to hit is based on her look in BvS, and has been shipping for awhile internationally. I just finally received mine this week from my U.S. distributor.

She runs about $235 at most retailers, although I have one sponsor bucking the trend and going a bit cheaper. Check the Where to Buy section at the end for more info.

Packaging - ***
This is a fairly dull outing for Hot Toys, particularly after I just opened up the terrific Doctor Strange. This is a shoe box, with the slant cut lid (like the other BvS releases), and a pretty boring insert card.  The interior plastic tray holds the figure safe and sound, and everything is collector friendly. Even the plastic wraps on the hands and head can be easily removed without cutting them loose. But the graphics and overall design are ho-hum at best.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is a beautiful portrait, and I have no doubt that some collectors will pick her as the best female sixth scale figure of the year.

The realism is there, of course, with a soft skin texture, and near perfect features. The slightly open mouth shows off extremely realistic teeth, about as perfect as you can get. The shape and texture of the lips, as well as the subtle sculpt on the eyebrows, garners her full marks in this first consideration. Even the full, rooted hair is some of the easiest to work with and most natural I've seen them produce to date. There's great coverage with the rooting, a very realistic hairline, and most people will be able to get a look they like right out of the box.

Regular readers know I also consider accuracy, and again, she crushes it. I think this is an excellent Gadot as WW likeness, especially in the shape of the jaw and nose, as well as the placement and shape of the eyes. She is a very pretty woman, and very pretty women can be awfully tricky to get right. They've crushed it here.

So why did I knock off a half star? My final criteria always focuses on the emotive aspect - does the expression do it for me? Too often Hot Toys goes for a mannequin look without any emotion, or they go crazy with a dynamic look, always a dangerous route. They do hit it just right on occasion - look at the recent Doctor Strange for a perfect example.

They miss the mark for me here, although it's just slightly. It's not that she's not expressive enough - she is. She doesn't look like a zombie, and there's no blank look to the eyes. In some poses, from certain angles, I like the expression - the photo below, in profile, is a perfect example. But most of the time she looks a little too surprised to me, less determined and bad ass. I know it's a minor nit, and one that others won't share, but I couldn't go the full marks for me.

Let's jump back to the realistic aspect for a moment and talk about the seamless body. The shoulders, neck, elbows, and knees are all fully covered by the rubber skin. It looks terrific, and while it does reduce the posability somewhat (more on that in the Articulation section), it's an agreeable compromise to me. I'm sure some folks will be too worried about it cracking or splitting over time to buy her, but I suspect that with normal care the body will last.

The use of this 'skin' doesn't just hid the joints - it allows for a much better 'sculpt' on the muscles and limbs.The arms, the thighs, the chest, all have a much more realistic shape and texture thanks to the sculpted skin covering.

She stands about 12 inches tall, holding her own nicely with her male counterparts.

Paint - ****
I might have had a nit or two with the sculpt, but there's no such issue with the paint.

The skin, both on the face and on the overall body, has a very slight freckling that adds to the realism, especially in hand where it's quite subtle but effective. The eyebrows and lips are perfection, without a single slip, and the eye makeup and lashes top and bottom look terrific. Even the eyes, with their dark iris' and subtle veining, are about as perfect as you can get. This is one of those paint jobs that takes a great sculpt and elevates it, just as it should.

This amazing work continues on the costume, where the bright colors look realistic and clean. With harder plastic parts for most of the costume, this excellent paint application was all the more critical.

Articulation - ***
When you wrap the joints with a covering, no matter how flexible the rubbery material might be, you're going to reduce some of the posablity.

There's a ball joint at the top of the neck, and this works well enough, even with the thicker skin. The shoulders can move forward, backward, and out quite easily, but crossing the body fully or raising them very high is out of the question.

You can get a little lean and bend out of the torso, even under the thick costume. It's not a lot, but even a little can add quite a bit to any pose. The ball hips are pretty much unrestricted, and the covered knees take deeper stances than I was expecting. The rotating hinge ankles are a big part of that, and you can get the feet to remain flat in short to medium stances.

Of course, the wrists are the usual rotating hinge joints with a couple extra posts just in case. The hands swap easily, and remain in place, and the gauntlets hide the joint nicely.

Accessories - ***1/2
While her accessory set isn't quite as amazing as what we just saw with Strange, it's still quite a nice assortment.

She starts with four sets of hands, plus one additional left. She comes wearing the relaxed open hands, and she also has a set of fists and two sets of gripping hands. These allow her to hold the sword at slightly different angles. She also has one additional gripping left, designed specifically for the shield strap. The swap easily enough, but there's a couple extra wrists pegs just in case.

Speaking of the shield, this is the specific BvS version, setting her apart a bit from the later (actually earlier) version we saw in her solo film. The sword is specific to the film as well, with the various carvings, and it fits inside two loops on the harness.

This harness is my least favorite extra. It's made from a very stiff material - something softer, like the material we see used by Three Zero on the GoT belts would have hung better on her body - which creates a poor fit. You can use it to hold the sword on her back, and there's a loop for the lasso as well. This loop feels pretty cheap though - you attach it with a hole in the leather and a post - and the overall harness detracts from her appearance in my opinion. You'll notice I only used it for one shot (in the Outfit section), and put it back in the box for the rest.

I already mentioned the Lasso of Truth, but she also has the gold, slightly translucent bracelets and arm band. The band looks quite good, and I meant to use it in more photos - my bad.

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit doesn't involve a lot of layers, but the sculpted costume is very complex, and it's absolutely gorgeous.

The torso section is form fitting, while the short skirt hands off her waist perfectly. I did have to adjust a couple of the flaps in back a bit to cover one of her butt cheeks, but it was a minor issue. The heavily sculpted and textured surface looks fantastic, and it's an excellent match to the on screen version.

The other important section is the boots of course. They are in essence a three piece design, with the foot, calf, and knee sections independent. That allows for greater mobility and posing, but it maintains the look of the actual boots.

I almost forgot a most critical accoutrement - her head band! Carefully sculpted with excellent detail, it conveys the look of slightly worn, aged metal.

The silver gauntlets are the go to set, but the gold versions are a nice change of pace. You can also pop the arm band on, or include the harness, but I've already discussed these in the Accessories section.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While the body is a little restricted, the average collector will still find plenty of ways to pose and re-pose this figure, particularly with the other characters from the film. The hair is easy to work with as well, upping the fun and decreasing the frustration.

Value - **1/2
I've seen her as cheap as $225, although the standard is $235, same as Strange. She doesn't have quite as many cool extras as he does, but the sculpting complexity of the costume, along with the skin covering for the body, adds cost to the figure, making the price at least an average value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything was sturdy and easy to work with, and I had no fear of breakage or damage with any part. I do wonder if keeping the elbows at an extreme bend long term will have a negative effect, but time will tell.

Overall - ***1/2
We've gotten some excellent female figures in sixth scale this year, and the Poppies voting is going to be tough.  Wonder Woman is certainly going to be a strong contender.

I love most of the aspects of the sculpt, with the exception of the chosen expression. Right now, my favorite of the multiple versions they've solicited is the Training sculpt, but the Justice League version is looking great as well. The big plus here is that they have the subtle nuances of Gadot's likeness down, making it merely a matter or expression from here on out.

I also really like this costume, and while I'm looking forward to getting the cloak with the solo movie version, I can't imagine that they'll do much to improve this costume over time.

Batman V Superman might not have been the greatest movie, but we finally have the Wonder Woman the character - and the fans - have long deserved.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other BvS Hot Toys figures I've covered include Knightmare Batman and Armored Batman. Other recent DC Hot Toys figures include Harley, Deadshot, the Purple Coat Joker, the Tuxedo Joker, and the Straight Jacket Joker. And other Wonder Woman collectibles include the Kotobukiya statue from BvS, the Yamato Wonder Woman statue, the previous ArtFX version, as well as the DC Bombshells version, the first Cover Girls release, the second Cover Girls version, the Bishoujo release, and the Armored Cover Girls version.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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