[TAO's Note: DrNightmare continues AD's string of female action figure reviews, this time going straight to the top of stereotypically female characters, Power Girl. Does Power Girl stand abreast with other DC Infinite Heroes figure leaving her creators feeling like boobs, or does she bounce to the top? Don't knock 'er till you read this review, or you might just be like a deer caught in her headlights. Should you leave her on the rack and buy melons instead, or will you just walk away carrying jugs of regret? Does she have a home in your chest of goodies, or should you make like torpedoes over the speed bumps on the way out of the store. Okay... I think that's enough of that. Just read the review, before I go bazookas on you!]
Name: Power Girl
Line: DC Infinite Heroes
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: 2009
Price: Retail: $4.99-$7.99, Online: $7.00-$15.00
Accessories: Figure stand
Sponsor Listings: Past Generation Toys-$7.95
Power Girl stands about 3.70 inches tall, which was fortunate because I wanted to use her head for a GI Joe custom, but unfortunately her head is shrunken. It's puny. Make no mistake, it is a beautiful sculpt, but it's too small, her boobs are bigger than it. The small head makes the neck look grotesquely long which only makes you wanna cry even more. The sculpted yellow cord across the chest is too thick, the cape is also too thick, it's noticeably fat. A thinner cape would waste less plastic and add more flexibility. The gloves and boots are nice though, the entire body is pretty nice actually, it's just that pin-head of a noggin that ruins the figure. And the fat cape and cord. And the left arm that's stuck and won't move without tearing off. Seriously, I moved it only a little and it already started to tear, I can't even pop it out because it's already too torn. Darn.
Anyway, like I said, the body is okay, the arms are even a little muscular, a huge accomplishment since no one seems to want to sculpt a woman with muscular arms. The breasts aren't parted by the sculpt, the exposed area is just painted-on, and it's weird because if that area was exposed, her nipples would be like 2 inches away from giving us a wonderful hello. And I take back the praise about the body being good, the upper-body is a separate piece that swivels, it breaks the figure's sleekness considerably. You have to put up with it and you don't even get a Pivot! The least they could have done is let her tilt around instead of just swivel if they were gonna screw with her body like that. I take that back too, the least they could have done is give her a freaking head that's the right freaking size, so I could at least use it for a custom and feel better about the $5 I wasted on this bunch of hooey.
Sculpt Score: 7 / 10
The paint has a soft and smooth matte finish! Actually, I'm not entirely sure what's painted and what isn't. The blue areas are painted, I think the legs are just cast in flesh-colored plastic, but they're not glossy so they look good. The belt is painted-on, which is lame, why sculpt the cord but not the belt? They could have sculpted the belt then added the swivel there to hide it. Why aren't I in charge of more things!?
Anyway, the colors are all bold and beautiful, there's only some fading at the boot-tops.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
We have to make comparisons to other figures at this scale, because if left on it's own, this figure would fail by today's expectations. The most gentle way to describe the articulation is "at least it's not a bootleg with poison spraying-out every time I move a joint." You've got some standard movement here; Neck, shoulders, hips, chest, knees, that's it, the neck isn't even a Ball-Socket. A properly-sized head with a Ball-Socket would have caused this figure's appeal to sky-rocket and traverse distant galaxies to tell them, look at me! Look how pretty and proportionate I am!
The hips are a V-crotch so you get the usual poses out of it, each more perverse than the last.
Articulation Score: 6 / 10
What is fun, really? I mean, any toy can be fun, as pet rocks have proved. Even sticks and wet paper can be used for fun activities, like for hitting things and poking things and throwing things at other things in hopes that they will explode. Power Girl is a fun character, toys made in Power Girl's image are fun in their own way, and this toy is no different. It's fun to pretend you're a giant gorilla with a mini-Power Girl in your pocket. Maybe this time you're the evil Pirate-Captain, hell-bent on owning her, uh, boots, yeah, 'cuz you like boots.
I sure hope the other figures in this line aren't this bland. At least it makes a cool keychain accessory, just loop a ring through her cape pr something.
Fun Score: 6 / 10
That's not too harsh of a score, honestly. This is not a good toy. A kid can't play with this thing without ripping a leg off, they can't pose it how they want, it doesn't hover and bounce delightfully by itself, it's unacceptable. At $5 this isn't a good buy, at $3 you'll still be on the fence, but at 15 cents, just like a bear of a woman at 15 beers, only then will the price seem about right. This figure is better suited as a display piece you'll toss on your shelf and forget about a few seconds later.
Value Score: 5 / 10
7 / 10 - Sexy, sort-of.
8 / 10 - Bold colors, soft finish.
6 / 10 - Meh.
6 / 10 - MEH.
5 / 10 - Buy some beer instead.
64 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy
You can't even harvest the body-parts after you find-out how disappointed you are with the figure. That tiny head is a major killjoy.
-DrNightmare
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