Heroic toy company Mattel and progressive retailer Target
have teamed up to show that females can be superheroes, too! On February 28th,
an all-new line of dolls, action figures, and role play items launched under
the “DC Super Hero Girls” banner. Focusing on the women of the DC Universe, the
line offers new powerful yet feminine interpretations of classic characters
like Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and even villains like Harley Quinn and
Poison Ivy! Even more importantly, African-American character Bumblebee is
featured in a prominent role among the other five white characters!
Mattel cashes in on current social issues, but sort of
misses the mark on race. Target says, “Sure, we’ll take it!”
Realistic Intro:
Sorry, sorry! I’m a little jaded when it comes to any
large corporation supposedly doing something “socially responsible”. They all want to make money. And while there
is often a pot of gold at the intersection of so-called progressive ideals and
successful marketing, no major corporation is ever doing something solely because it’s “the right thing to do”.
The idea of a line of female action figures isn’t even
new or progressive, and I’m surprised that more internet “journalists” haven’t
pointed this out in their praise of Mattel’s new girl-oriented line of
superheroes that you actually aren’t even supposed to refer to as “girl-oriented”.
For the sake of ease and my own personal sanity, I will
be referring to this as a line for girls because it’s easier and that’s
certainly how it is being positioned.
Anyway, action figures for girls are not new. Just in my
lifetime we’ve seen Strawberry Shortcake, Princess of Power, Polly Pocket, and
those furry little animal figures that recently made a comeback. There are many
more than those. All of the “It’s about time!” posts about this line are
hilarious.
And to head you off – yes, all of these characters have
been immortalized in plastic countless times before, so it’s nothing new for
them, either. Except maybe for Bumblebee, who at best probably got a figure in
Bandai’s old Teen Titans line. So the
“about time” stuff isn’t referring to the characters.
But don’t think I’m here to be nothing but cynical! I
think it’s wonderful that Mattel has come up with such a neat way to cash in.
Their incredible Monster High line of dolls has owned the girls’ aisle for years now, so it’s about time they
applied that style to the superhero format, especially when they have licensing
access to the greatest superheroes of all time – the DC Universe.
The move to expand that style to a more traditional line
of action figures is interesting. The dolls seem like a no-brainer, but the
action figures are something different for Mattel. Given the average time it
takes to get toys from the initial pitch to store shelves, I wonder if these are
a response to the Black Widow outrage that hit around this time last year. If
so, good move Mattel.
I also wonder if the action figures are a bit of a test.
I have no doubt that the dolls will be a hit with both young girls and older
collectors, but think about it – if the action figures succeed, this could open
the door for the revival of one of Mattel’s most notable accomplishments, the
Princess of Power line. We could well see She-Ra back on the shelves long
before He-Man, and all because of the movement that I am wrongfully and I hope
not offensively going to refer to as “Girl Power”.
Masters of the Universe will not have a retail presence
until there is a new media tie-in – a movie or television show. But She-Ra and
her pals could very well see an all-new toy line if the DC Super Hero Girls
action figures make Mattel money. And that’s great.
Side Note: Yes, Batgirl and the rest are
currently in comic books every month and Wonder Woman even has a starring role
in an upcoming movie, but the Super Hero Girls are not directly tied to any of
these and that is impressive in and of itself. This is a standalone product,
and Mattel does not see He-Man as having the strength to support such a thing.
The return of Princess of Power toys would be fantastic.
Not just for Mattel’s bottom line, but for the girls (or whoever) who maybe
aren’t into comic books but enjoy fantasy or adventure or just want a powerful
girl that rides a flying unicorn. Plus, diversity in the toy aisles is nothing
but good for every aspect of the toy collecting hobby. I speak here of
diversity amongst types of products, not the magical diversity of peoples that
is one of the hot buzzwords of today. Although that kind of diversity is good,
too. Nobody should be left out of the toy aisle or unable to find a figure or
doll or whatever that looks like they do.
What? I’m not totally heartless. If you’re doing a line
based on a license as diverse as the DC Universe, you need to do better than
having one non-Caucasian character in your assortment. And honestly, Bumblebee
was not the best choice. Vixen is on TV now. Of course, selling a doll of a
teenage girl named “Vixen” might be a whole other kind of problematic.
I DON’T HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS, PEOPLE.
Or even most of them.
Beyond that, I could see Mattel expanding other
properties into the action figure style. Obviously Monster High would be a good
fit.
Rather than doing a traditional review, I’m just going to
take a look at the quality of the Batgirl and Harley Quinn figures. As I
started writing this I realized that I am not the target demographic for these
action figures and that my normal standards of review really don’t apply. As
much as these fit the “action figure” format, I feel like I have different
expectations than the 4-10 year old girls at whom this line is aimed.
Side Note: I am in no way saying that 4-10
year old girls are the only people that should buy these. I am a thirty-nine
year old man and I bought two. I do maintain that that’s who Mattel is marketing to.
Aesthetically these remind me a lot of Polly Pocket,
another Mattel brand. They appear to have enough articulation to qualify as actual
action figures and not just “figures of girl characters”. For ten bucks,
they’re a better deal than the current crop of 6” scale Batman v Superman budget figures.
The figures and designs are what I would consider “girl”,
but the packaging and graphics are fairly neutral. These colors and designs
could almost show up as-is in the boys’ toy aisle.
The blisters have a new
shape that’s similar to many other carded figures and that stand out to the
eye.
The back features a description of the world these girls
inhabit and a bio for the character, as well as pictures of the other figures
in the line.
The figures are roughly six inches, but not what I would
call “six inch scale”. They’re too big to mix with your DC Universe Classics or
other 6ish” scale figures. That’s fine because they aren’t going to mix
aesthetically, either. I thought I might keep them and put them somewhere in my
collection, but when my wife ended up liking them I told her she could have
them. They just don’t fit with anything I have. The DC Super Hero Girls are
very much their own scale, and that’s fine (especially if Mattel really does
produce other lines in this style).
They’re mostly a rigid plastic that feels a bit cheaper
than most of the figures I own. It’s sturdy enough, I think that maybe it just
didn’t need to hold as much detail. Both of these figures are fairly simple,
design-wise. The heads are plastic with rubber hair, which feels weird but looks fine. It also
means that the hair doesn’t interfere with movement as much as it would if they
were plastic. The hands are also rubber, but they hold accessories fine and
look good.
Harley Quinn has a great, distinctive hair sculpt. Her
ponytails aren’t articulated, which I think was a poor choice. The paint on
them looks odd, too. It’s supposed to be streaks rather than whatever Harley’s
hair has been doing since the Arkham games
came out, but the app is lazy. The streaks don’t blend at all and the bands
holding her ponytails aren’t painted. For all I know girls wouldn’t care about
this, but I think they might. Her face looks great. The domino mask is
sculpted, not just painted. Her eyes, mouth, and the mask are painted nice and
even.
Batgirl has a sort of messy hairdo that looks neat. Her
face is very different from Harley’s, but is painted just as nicely. Mattel did
a great job making the girls distinctive in both features and expressions.
The bodies share surprisingly few parts. Bargirl’s torso
has a sculpted Bat Symbol and some seams on her shirt. The utility belt – which
looks to be a prominent feature given the corresponding role play item – is
great. It has a Bat buckle and several pouches that are big enough to be useful
but not overly bulky. There are gauntlets on her forearms that have the
suggestion of technology doo-dads sculpted on, so I’m just going to pretend
that’s what they are. Kind of like Robin in Young
Justice.
Harley is wearing a shirt that might very well be from
Hot Topic’s Harley Quinn collection. It has painted-on diamonds with sculpted
buttons and a collar and poofy sleeves. She’s got a studded belt with rolled-up
jeans shorts. There’s a rubber spiked bracelet on her right arm that’s a
separate piece. It complements the belt and says “bad girl!”.
Quinn is wearing creepers, which I did not know were still
a thing. The socks are painted a metallic white and make the shoes work a
little better with her two-tone leggings.
This Batgirl’s design was very clearly influenced by the
current Batgirl costume in the comics. She has yellow combat boots with no paint
detail. The sculpt is great and she even has treads on the bottoms:
Both figures successfully merge “cute” and “girly” with
“heroic”. They have a lot of style, but they’re ready for action, too.
Harley comes with a “mallet”
rather than her usual hammer. I suppose a mallet is cuter and less likely to
cause rupta capita. It’s cheap Dollar Tree plastic, but it looks fine and the
figure can hold it, which is the point.
The figures have the same articulation, and it’s good.
Since these are totally new to Needless Things, I’ll run it down:
Head – swivel
Shoulders – swivel/pivot
Elbows – hinged with a swivel at the top
Wrists – swivel
Hips – swivel/pivot
Knees - hinged with a swivel at the top
Feet (tops of footwear) – swivel
A ball joint on the head would have been nice and the
lack of an ankle hinge is limiting, but otherwise all of the joints on these
figures are solid. I was surprised at the swivels at the tops of the knee
joints. I wasn’t expecting those.
I wouldn’t call these figures super articulated, but they
have plenty of joints and are fun to pose. Mattel went far above and beyond the
cut joints that one might expect from a line of ten dollar 6” figures. They’re
fun to play with and far better than the Batman
v Superman figures that are a similar size and price.
I’ll go ahead and call the DC Super Hero Girls action
figures a revolution. At ten dollars apiece they’re a great deal. The quality
is not great, but they look neat and distinctive and they’re fun to play with.
Each design is well-thought-out and appealing. Obviously I can’t speak for the
age/gender range that is the target audience, but I think these will be a huge
hit.
Kudos to Mattel. Not for any social responsibility, but
for doing something cool and doing it well. No number score today because I’m
just not qualified to deliver a definitive verdict.
This is more of a trend that Mattel is going with of filling niche markets with fashion dolls. This pretty much follows the successful trend set up by Monster High and Ever After High: A web series focusing on the "story" with popular tropes/characters re-imagined as High School Students and a corresponding toy line. My biggest gripe is that since the characters they're using exist fully formed this time around, the web series isn't as clever or inventive as its fore-bearers and goes out of its way to sand off the uniqueness of the superheroics in order to fit all the characters into blander highschool archtypes. The villains in the show don't even do villainy.
ReplyDeleteI was curious about that aspect. Just from reading the cardbacks it sounds like Ivy and Harley are just pals with everyone. I'm wondering what kind of superheroics are going on. Just your standard cat rescuing?
DeleteI bought a couple of the larger counterparts, reaching over to the dolly side of things where I don't really go, though I do buy boy & adult collector toys that basically fit the definition. That should tell you something, I guess. And I like them. I've even entertained the idea of getting another. The reimagining of these characters was too good not to recognize...
ReplyDeleteI had to wait until after my wife's birthday to respond because I got her most of the doll versions. They're great, though the lack of stands and hairbrushes is baffling. I think they did a great job with materials and designs, but I am disappointed that they couldn't replicate Harley's hair from the art models. My wife doesn't care because she says when Monster High dolls have bangs they look terrible, so she'd rather have the pulled-back hair anyway. Neither of us was all that interested in Ivy at first, but out of the box she's great!
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