Review of Armored Wonder Woman statue
Cover Girls of the DCU

Introduction

NBC teased us with the possibility of a new Wonder Woman television show this fall, but alas, it was not to be. It was probably for the best, considering all the controversy in the geek and non-geek world over the costume, the actress, the script - Hell, I heard someone complaining about the Best Boy as well. Hopefully some day we'll get treated to the pilot, so we can judge for ourselves whether the execs were brilliant for passing, or we missed out on a golden lasso opportunity.

Wonder Woman isn't going any where, however. As the most important female heroine in the DC Universe, she'll continue to reign supreme with fans. DC Direct has already incorporated her into their tasty Cover Girls of the DC Universe series of statues, but that was early on and it's time for another version.

For their second release of this character, they're going with her armored, battle ready look. Inspired by the cover for Wonder Woman #173, she can stand on the shelf and lead you into battle against whatever your current problem of the day is.

The dynamic duo of artist Adam Hughes and sculptor Jack Mathews came together once again to produce this beauty. Clearly DC Direct knows they have a winning combination with this team up, and it's nice to see consistency with the artists. It adds consistency to the style of the statues as well, a key component of a series such as this.

This is a limited edition of course, but does not come with a Certificate of Authenticity. The edition size is 7000.

Packaging - ***
Didn't we normally get Certificates of Authenticity with past releases? I could have swore we did - but not this time. Either that, or mine has gone missing. Supergirl didn't have one either, so I doubt it's just my statue. Not cool. When you start a series with COA's, you keep the COA's throughout.

But the package is otherwise well done, with the same style of graphics and text. The foam trays are well designed, and keep the two pieces - stand and statue - safe. While there's no COA, the edition number is on the bottom of the box, as well as the bottom of the base.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Adam Hughes did the original artwork for Wonder Woman #173, which inspired his design for this statue as well.

Wonder Woman is leading her horde (in this particular case I believe it was parademons) into battle, pointing the way with her deadly blade. She is screaming for vengeance - at least that's the idea.

The face sculpt is pretty, yet determined and set. This version isn't quite as busty as we normally see, especially when Adam is doing the drawing, but she still fills out her armor quite nicely.

The helm looks great, and the wings have truly beautiful feather detail. The proportions are great all around, and she fits in nicely with the rest of the series. She also fits easily on the base, without fear of causing damage when you place the posts inside the holes.

My only complaint is with the belt and scabbard. These are placed askew on her hips, riding quite high, and glued in place. It's not hanging on her hips naturally, and you can't adjust it easily.

Paint - ***1/2
Overall, the paint quality is quite high this time around. It's been a bit hit or miss with the series, but Diana is a hit.

At least in terms of quality - no slop, clean cut lines, consistent colors - this statue is at the top of its game.

I do have one niggling problem though, and it might just be me. She's looking at one thing...and pointing at another. If the sword was pointed higher, more toward the sky, I could get it. But it's not - instead, it's pointing toward whatever it is they are charging...and yet she's looking at something else. Like I said, it might just be me, but I found it distracting.

Value - **1/2
The price on these is starting to rise, but is still competitive with other statues on the market in this (and smaller) scale, even from DC Direct.

You can grab Diana for around $80 - $85 with a little effort, which is about the same price that the first Wonder Woman in the series cost, almost two years ago. Considering how much other items have risen in that same period, I'm glad to see these holding the line.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing! Unlike some statues we've seen recently from DC Direct, the posts on the bottom of her feet line up perfectly with the holes, and there's no chance of breaking the feet.

Overall - ***1/2
The future of DC Direct is clearly up in the air these days. Will they still be making product in 2012, and what might that product be? It's already pretty clear that action figures are dropping out of their strategy, but what about statue? Busts? Prop replicas? I suspect a well known company is going to be doing quite a bit of that work for Warner Brothers, but I don't think it will be DC Direct.

The loss of their action figures isn't going to bother me too much, since they've been dropping off in variety over the last couple years anyway. But if we lose the Batman Black and White statues and the DC Cover Girls statues, we'll be the poorer for it. Not our wallets, but our collections.

And if you're feeling this series, don't forget to pre-order the smokin' hot Hawkgirl - I suspect she'll be a fan favorite.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth also has her at $90.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Related reviews include:

- the last Cover Girls statue I reviewed was Supergirl, and just prior was Poison Ivy, Batgirl, Harley, Power Girl, Catwoman/Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Black Canary.

- If you're looking for another great Wonder Woman statue, check out the Bishoujo version from Kotobukiya.

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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