My (daughter's)
Imaginext DC Super Friends Wonder Woman and Superman arrived this week!
Thank Hera too! I was worried about my order after a few hiccups (which I won't bore you with again) and as of this writing this specific set is listed as 'sold out' on the
Fisher-Price webstore!
I was worried I wouldn't get this set in time for it to fill a much needed slot in my littlest daughter's Christmas presents cornucopia. She has already amassed a good collection of
Imaginext figures (thanks to her dear old dad) and has more playsets in store for her Christmastime fun, but she absolutely needs
Wonder Woman to head up her little superhero army!
And here's the
Princess of the Amazons herself in all her Imaginext glory! I still can't believe how easily
Fisher-Price was able to slip this (and
Harley Quinn) under our radars until it was already available online, (no leaked pre-prodcution pics, no Toy Fair previews...nothing!) and I can't thank Chunky B enough for letting me know about it in time to get the set before they sold out!
Wonder Woman is a beautiful little figure. Not a single part of her is designed with future kit-bash character re-use in mind. Ok, maybe the hands aren't unique, but that's it. Her tiara makes her head sculpt WW specific, her bracelets have stars sculpted on them, and the torso could be no one else. In a world of parts re-use action figures, it's nice to see so much attention to detail and specificity go into a toy aimed at the pre-school set. Let's face it, this is exactly the type of toy one expects a toy company to scrimp on. And to FP's credit, they didn't. And that's important, because these toys literally have the power to forge a geek's path for the rest of their lives, and I can't thank Fisher-Price enough for helping me to raise my daughter right!
Plus, the mere fact that
Wonder Woman and
Harley Quinn exist in Imaginext form now means you can't count out any female character in the future of this line. Because 1) these characters' inclusion proves that Fisher-Price is listening to fans and 2) their unquestionable success (see
Catwoman - the first female Imaginext figure and a huge sucess) will further prove the value of female characters in toylines like Imaginext which appeal to both boys and girls (and let's face it, nutty adult collectors too!) who all want both boy
and girl figures in their collections! Boy oh boy do I hope we get a
Batgirl and a
Poison Ivy next!
But back to 'now.' In addition to Wonder Woman's lasso accessory, the set comes with a brand new
Superman in his
DCnU costume!
Nice, value-wise, that Fisher-Price included an all new Superman for anyone who already has
the previous version (which is still worth tracking down because he comes with
Krypto!) This new Superman also has a 'painted' face as opposed to the previous version's sculpted face. Painted-on faces seems to be an across-the-board style change as Imaginext moves forward, with most new figures coming this way as opposed to previous fully sculpted faces being the norm (at least in the DC Super Friends branch of Imaginext.)
When I first got
Aquaman I felt the 'painted' face cheapened the figure a bit, but the more I look at the stylistically the more I like them. They allow for more cartoony expressions and it would be nice to see the expressions changed for future/new pack-in releases (like an angry face Wonder Woman packed in with the inevitable Invisible Jet playset!) I also like how the head/hair for guys like Aquaman and Superman are sculpted specific to character, which also leads me to believe the painted faces are more a style choice then an attempt to cheapen the product.
A fan demanded figure since day 1, Wonder Woman doesn't fail to delight, and the all new Superman at least means you don't get something you already have to get her. Either way, at around $6.99 retail you can't go wrong with this set at all!
