Year: 2017
Company:
Funko
To a large
degree, superheroes have become stock characters, able to be reinterpreted across a wide variety of different settings and stories. Sure, you
have the core DC and Marvel continuities (which themselves tend to undergo
some kind of reboot or rebranding every few years), but there’s a myriad of
interpretations out there beyond these mainstream interpretations. Marvel
probably toyed with this concept most explicitly with their What If…? title, but DC have long
dabbled with it too, particularly under the Elseworlds
banner. And so we come to DC Bombshells.
Beginning life
as a line of collectible statues back in 2013, DC Bombshell’s basic concept is
to reinterpret a number of DC’s female characters in a mid-20th century pin-up and/or wartime
propaganda poster style. It’s a novel concept, considering how many of DC’s
characters were birthed in that era, and it’s been quite successful. It plays
both the men and women as a little sexier than the comics necessarily do
(Poison Ivy in particular) but still manages to be less overt than plenty of
the “regular” comics.
A ton of
merchandise has been spawned in its wake, including clothing, posters, comics and
now Funko POPs – so today we take a look at Wonder Woman. As might be expected,
the adaptation of various characters to this cheesecake art style works better
with some than others. Fortunately, Wonder Woman is one of the ones who works
very well. She was the first character released in the original statue line, so
I assume the pressure was on to get it right.
Here,
Wonder Woman’s outfit resembles a rockabilly take on the comics costume,
crossed with Rosie
the Riveter – to provide some contrast, here’s how Wonder Woman actually
did look when she debuted in the 1940s. Her tiara is replaced with a
headscarf, and the haircut is distinctly Bettie Page in style. The bustier is
now a collared shirt with capped sleeves, and the trunks have been replaced
with high-waisted shorts. However, it’s still very clear that this is Wonder
Woman and not some random person at a hot rod show – she keeps her braces, the
WW logo is present on the shirt, the eagle has been shifted to her belt and her
shorts retain stars. It’s a great reinterpretation of the costume, and it’s
been well-translated to POP form here.
That said, paint is okay, but certainly not outstanding; the hairline on mine is a little messy, so
check your options in the store if possible. I feel like the colours should maybe
be a little bolder, but I suspect this
is partially to do with painting over skin-coloured plastic. There’s also
a Chase version, which is the same sculpt but in a sepia paint scheme. It’s a
nice period-appropriate concept, but not an essential purchase.
Funko’s
initial Bombshell line includes Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Katana and
the Joker. All of them look okay, though I don’t plan to invest any further at
this stage. Batgirl is my least favourite, as she has a bit of a steampunk vibe,
though I assume it’s meant to evoke more of a 1930s aviation look. But Wonder
Woman is my favourite superheroine, so although I’m unfamiliar with the wider
mythos of this take on the character, I figured that this was a must-buy. She seems to be the best-selling character in
the line so far, so if you’re keen to pick one up I’d recommend you hustle.
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