Speeding to the scene of the crime we have Batgirl and her batcycle! Aiding the Dynamic Duo in their never ending quest to rid Gotham City of evil-doers! THWACK! BAM! KAPOW! SHWAP! TWERK! Wait, what? Okay, I apologize. I can't help but just see Yvonne Craig(rest in peace) Batgirl influence all over the '
modern' Batgirl outfit. Speaking of modern outfit, I was really curious as to how it would translate to something as articulated and artistic as DC Icons(DC's answer to Marvel Legends; sort of). Well, here's our chance to find out!
This line is not exactly a direct answer to Marvel's Marvel Legends toy lineups. The price point for one figure definitely falls in line with import prices and the amount of accessories, detail, and fun factor is of a higher caliber. Just the box itself implies the difference between the two. And while this is the 23rd DC Icon(least, that's what the number on the side implies), this is my first and probably will not be the last.
I didn't have an upset stomach when I first saw this costume on Barbara. While I truly liked her New 52 costume, I felt as if this costume really set her apart from the rest of the Bat-Family who donned the skin tight 'armor' with the ominous black color and the utility belt (that obviously would not hold half the things that they are written they do). As a figure, she is great for a lot reasons. While I don't own any other Icons, I do believe that each sculpt is unique to the character--with some recycled parts I'm sure for future additions. She has a lot of sculpted parts which makes accessories and clothing stand out rather than blend in like her belt, her boots, her symbol, etc. The cape is also well done and it's not the only cape. We'll talk about that later.
Her paint is crisp and clean and spot on down to the lace of her boots. The choice of purple definitely gives me more of an impression that Yvonne Craig Batgirl had a nudge in this design; I mean even in her mask. The color on her hair is darker than how we used to see it, but it is also darkened by the shading added to it. Again, this is why I will say that this isn't a full on answer to Marvel Legends; higher price point means higher enjoyment factor/ better quality, dare I say.
She comes with three pair of hands, a grappling hook, two capes(which look the same from here, but they're not), and two heads. The hands are good, can't complain too much. The cape and alternate heads are good, just think we need one more cape to 'fill the void' of a bat character. Speaking of, how can we have a bat-character without a
damn batarang?! I will also point out that there are no paint details on her grappling hook; at all, which is a let down.
The 'neutral' face is definitely a pretty one. The alternate head has a stoned look to her for some reason, but to her defense, it's supposed to be an action dynamic face which is why her hair is like this:
And of course I can somewhat forgive them for not giving her a batarang because of the next accessory:
Now it's a cool accessory. It probably is the reason why the price of the figure is twice as much as a Marvel Legend. It has a metallic purple to it and for the sake of being lazy, I can't find an official artwork in the comic book that features the exact one. Again it reminds me of Yvonne Craig's bike, but hers is battier. And the stand with this bike comes with a special effect; one that implies that Batgirl is in a high speed endeavor. It has an amazing feature which allows you to lean the bike right to left to add more dynamic to the bike; sadly, the bike isn't that great to stand on its own without the stand.
Now on to the articulation itself!
Batgirl can definitely give Marvel Legends a run for its money with the range of movements she can perform. In fact, she handles more like an import; from her range of movements, to her feel, size, etc. You can make her do some pretty dynamic things and you don't even need to have be in a duo... okay, anyways! While I didn't attempt any action sequence, Batgirl can be posed doing some awesome action scenes: kicking and punching another figure and all that. If you have the proper stand and patience, you can get her in a running pose for sure! There are some Batgirl-like poses that she can't do and that's me personally feeling that she needs a batarang and an 'extended bat cape' variant.
I definitely had a blast taking pictures of her though.
One thing I forgot to add, she can only hold her grappling hook on her right hand, which, takes away some variations for her some poses. Could really use a batarang though.
So I talked a lot of how this figure 'lacks'. I also compared it a lot(too much, perhaps) to Marvel Legends when I should really put her up to par against Imports like Figuarts, Bandai, and Figmas. If I do that though, she will fall behind in that ranking system. But she'll be a grade a little to high compared to your local retail figures. So maybe she's just her own thing. As of right now, she is one of my favorite catch. Great accessories for what she has, that bike is awesome, great details, and awesome articulation. Anyone a fan of Barbara Gordon and this outfit will have a blast with this figure. I did and I'm not that big of a fan of Batgirl!
---Edit---
She's supposed to have a "cellphone" accessory. I found it and found it ridiculous. Didn't even take pics of it.
