Wonder Woman Arrives to Keep Hot Toys’ World of Toy Men in Check

Finally.

I know the movie is called Batman V Superman, but they've both had their cinematic adventures before and the subsequent action figure lines that come with the territory. Both Batman and Superman have had numerous Hot Toys figures too, so for me, it's been all about waiting for that Wonder Woman reveal. The Hong Kong company has done well to keep Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman figure a secret, but now that the first preview screenings have started, it seemed like the perfect time to finally loose the Amazon warrior into the wild.

There's not a lot to dislike about this Wonder Woman, but even in releasing the first set of official images for the figure, Hot Toys has managed to not give us a completely clear look at the whole piece. Not counting the accessories montage image, there are just nine images of Wonder Woman available, with six focused completely on the head sculpt. It's not a tactic we're used to seeing, as Hot Toys usually throws more than a dozen different prototype images together for reveals like this which show off more costume and articulation details. The lack of posing in these images has me a little worried.

First though, let's talk about this Gal Gadot portrait. It's almost accurate. Depending on which angle you're looking at, the figure either looks like Gal Gadot or her slightly less famous sister Gale. Gal has very sharp features, and this head is just a little too soft. There's no harsh cheekbones and her jawline isn't quite as cut as it should be. The eyes and nose are spot on though, and that helps to sell the illusion. Again though, this is another case of Hot Toys almost getting an actor likeness right. It's off just enough that it will drive super-collectors mad, but it still looks miles above anything else being released for the film.

And I'll keep harping on this for as long as I can, but for the love of Hippolyta, give Wonder Woman an expression. She's fierce and tough, and her head sculpt shows all the emotional range of a wax figure.

Wonder Woman will be getting a completely new female base body, which lacks the visible joints seen on many other figures. I'm not wild about the synthetic skin hiding the joints. While Hot Toys does do a nice job with that texture and material, it really limits the posability of figures, particularly since it's prone to wrinkling and cracking. Nobody wants to pay $300 for a figure that will start to fall apart months after purchase. I get that it really helps sell the look, but I'd much rather have the ability to pose her with visible joints than to have her stuck in that same position she's captured in for the photos for all eternity.

Though we get a bit of a glimpse at the costume, Hot Toys doesn't get up close and personal with it like it has so many other figures. I wonder why we're not getting more angles and shots like we did for the two Batman figures and the Superman figure Hot Toys is already promoting. There's still a third Batman figure to come too, and I bet we'll get plenty of variety showing off his "Knightmare" look. I want to see the work the sculpting and costuming team did up close, but for some reason Hot Toys is keeping the complete look at arm's reach.

There are no release date or pricing details just yet, but when Sideshow Collectibles offers up some more information, we'll update this post.

Update: Wonder Woman is now available for pre-order for $234.99. She's expected to arrive between July and September.