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Packaging: ***
The packaging is a standard bubble and cardback affair. The graphics are very sharp, with a very nice illustration of Diana as WW with a personalized nameplate in the upper right corner. The Back has some nice background character text, but it has all four figures on the back, with a large group shot of all four. That’s actually a pretty neat selling point and cost cutting measure, since you can get an idea of who some of these unfamiliar characters are before you start hunting everywhere for them.
Unfortunately, to free the figures, you pretty much have to destroy the packaging. This especially true for Circe as her display base is attached to the back of the card. Circe also has one annoying twisty-tie holding her hair, though the vaccu-formed bubble is so tight, it’s not moving anyway. It’s that Asian Twisty-Tie Cartel again.
Sculpt: ****
Sculpting has always been one of the strong selling points of DCD figures, and these do not disappoint.
The body sculpt on Diana is pretty basic, but here is some nice detail on the belts, pouches, and small details.
Circe does well, with her body suit sporting some nice detail work, and the armor on her bustier being very well done. The cape also has a nice flowing sculpt, and the direction matches the hair as well.
The head sculpts are really the outstanding part of both figures. Circe is definitely a very beautiful woman, but her expression belies the malevolence underneath, making a very striking figure. Another great feature is the bangs are sculpted separately form the head, so they stick out appropriately.
Diana is the clear winner of the two her. She is simply put, beautiful. The expression is stoic and determined, without being overly dramatic. The hair sculpt is phenomenal, also with separately sculpted bangs. The best part though is the sunglasses. They are permanently attached to the head, but are a separate sculpt.
Paint: Diana ***; Circe *** ½
The paintwork these two is great. Michael always points out that a good sculpt can be made great by a good paint app, and a great sculpt can be made bad by a poor paint app. On theses two the paintwork compliments the sculpting nicely.
Diana starts with a very nice ivory body suit, with an appropriate sheen, like nylon or neoprene, with patches of light blue. The bodywork is very good, with just a bit of slop here and there, but there is a spot or two, where the blue had chipped off right out of the package. It’s not much, but enough to bug me. The paintwork on the face is great, with appropriate skin tones. And her eyes are fully painted (blue; their proper color) under the sunglasses. The sunglasses are the best I’ve ever seen in this scale. They are cast in a very clear red plastic, and then painted, with excellent cuts, so you can see her eyes underneath. It’s very hard to get good glasses in this scale. My second favorite are Jim Gordon’s from the Dark Victory series; but those were painted a light blue, and permanently attached to his face. It matched the source material nicely, which is why I like them. The reason for the lower score is the hairline is off, there’s too much skin behind the ears, though the hair is sculpted, and it’s very noticeable, at least to me, and it bugs the crap out of me. Fortunately, when she’s up on the shelf it’s not very noticeable, but I still know it’s there.
Circe starts with a very shiny black body suit, like a very shiny leather. The silver on her bodice has little to no slop. The purple capes are all cast in their color. The bad? The pendant on her belt. The paint is a series of daubs that looks out of place on the figure. While it matches the source material pretty well, as far as I can tell, it looks weird. Though the color does help to break up the consistent nature of the rest of her outfit.
Fortunately for Circe, the good, is really good. The paintwork on her face is incredible. The eyes are one solid color, adding to her mystique, the eyebrows are very well done, as are the cuts around her head wrap. The hair has some nice detailing, and different colors, and looks very natural, for someone with bright pink hair anyway. What really sells her paint app is the use of the gold eye shadowing above her eyes. It gives it the face that little extra punch it needs to be outstanding.
Articulation - ***
Now I am a bona-fide Marvel Legends Articulation-Junky, and while these are DCD figures, and there are less joints so as to interfere with the sculpt less, there is plenty here to keep even me happy.
Both figures have ball-jointed shoulders, swivel hips and pin knees and elbows. As well as ball jointed necks. Circe also sports swivel wrists.
While I would have liked a swivel waist, especially on Circe where it could be easily hidden in the sculpt, it’s not crucial.
What really keeps up the score in this category is the excellent range of motion provided by the ball-jointed necks, even on Circe, which is a surprise as long dynamic hair sculpts usually hinder movement. Not so here. The hair is sculpted in such a way as to look great and not interfere with the motion of the neck too much. There are very few poses I was unable to get. Obviously, with the high, tight hairstyle on Diana, there are no problems there either.
Accessories: Diana *; Circe *1/2
Ouch, this category hurts.
Both Figures come with the same round logo display base. One problem is the peg is slightly too small for the hole in Circe’s foot. Both figures stand fairly well on their own, though Circe could use the long-term assistance more than Diana, mostly due to that heavy cape. Some of the more extreme poses require a base of some sort. A few of the pictures I took use the base, though you can’t see it since it’s out of frame.
Diana comes with two identical “metal” rods; of which, she can only hold one at a time. These are particularly useful if she wants to hit some one already within arms reach. I’ll admit, I’m not very familiar with this story arc, so they could be “Super-Magic-Rods” that can destroy even Superman with just a touch, but I highly doubt that.
Circe comes with a scythe, which is actually a better accessory, since it matches up well with the scythe she uses in the comics, and it’s actually a dangerous looking weapon.
Fun Factor: Diana **; Circe **1/2
Okay, so I highly doubt many people, besides die-hard DC fans will know who Agent Diana Prince is. I had to look her up, since I do like to know who my figures are. Looking at this category from a 12 year-old’s perspective, I’d gauge that a kid might have fun with Diana as a secret agent type character (should they enjoy James Bond type play.)
Circe fairs slightly better, since not only does her outfit scream “Villainness!” she does have a mean looking scythe.
For the collector/superhero fan, they are some more unique characters, and you might have fun trying to figure out how to add them to the display.
Value: ***
Well, I got these for $10 each, and that was a heck of a deal. That’s the same price as the DCUC line, and the current Marvel Legends are going for. And these are both much better figures, so you’re getting some decent bang for your buck; even if they are a little light in the accessories category.
I’ve seen these go as high as $15 a pop at stores like FYE, however. And at that price, I’d drop about half a star, they’re nice, but I don’t know that they’re $15 nice. $13, maybe.
Things to Watch Out For:
Other than making sure you use the display base for more extreme poses on Circe, not a thing. My major gripe with the paint apps on Diana Prince is something that can’t be seen in the package, so watching out for it is pointless.
I suppose you should also be aware of the fact that the accessories for both figures are pretty tiny, so make sure you don’t loose them.
Overall: ***
Despite being light in the accessories, the paint sculpt, and articulation make up for it. I’m always looking for more villains to add to the shelf. And, Circe and Hercules had a lot of interaction; both in Greek Mythology and the Comic-Book world; so I think Circe will go well with my Marvel Legends Hasbro Series 1 Hercules. |
