Thursday, January 31, 2013

Statue 3: Supergirl statue (Movie version)

The movie version of Supergirl's costume is generally considered the "classic" one, and DC Direct has put out a very nice statue of this Supergirl version.  I'm not sure whether it was intended to be modeled after Helen Slater (the actress who played Supergirl in the movie), or after the Matrix version of Supergirl (as drawn by either Gary Frank or Leonard Kirk, the two main artists of her 80-issue series in the late 90s/early 2000s).  It's difficult to differentiate these two Supergirls because the costume and look is basically the same.

Unlike the last two collectibles I have reviewed, this Supergirl was apparently made in a limited run of only 5,000 copies.  As a result, this statue has a "run number" on it, which is taped to the bottom of the original packaging, and also listed on the bottom of the statue's base.  For example, mine is number 2,887 out of 5,000 produced.  I'm honestly not sure what that means, and I suspect it is probably meaningless, unless perhaps you have the very first or last one of the series.

This Supergirl statue is by far the most expensive of the three collectibles I currently own, weighing in at $99.  I paid that price at the comic-book shop, because it was just as expensive online (and was even slightly more expensive on Amazon).  The statue is part of the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" line.  All the statues of this series are similar in size and quality, as far as I can tell (from looking at them behind glass in the comic shop).  I will probably pick up several more like this in the future (the Black Canary one, for instance, is utterly magnificent).  The Supergirl statue comes in a large, sturdy box with photographs of the model and descriptions printed on each side.

The Supergirl statue, boxed, surrounded by reading material.
Once I opened the box, one surprise that confronted me immediately was that the base and the statue are separate.  There is a large pin underneath Supergirl's left foot that needs to be inserted into the base to assemble the model.  The assembly was not difficult, although it would have been nice, given that there were four different ways to insert the pin, if the manufacturer had provided some instruction as to the proper orientation for the model.  Additionally, because only the single pin, which is perhaps half an inch long and not very thick, holds the model in place, Supergirl is a little "wobbly" on her base.  This is not really a problem for a statue that just sits in place, but I would have preferred a sturdier fit.  If it weren't for the fact that the assembled model would not fit back into the box, I would be inclined to get out the Elmer's and glue her down.  (And to tell the truth I might just do it anyway.)



That said, the model is extremely beautiful.  They crafted Supergirl's body in a very heroic pose, meant to depict her crashing up through the pavement (perhaps from below the street, after fighting a supervillain).  She has burst through the ground and is flying upward, with one fist pointed ahead to the sky, and the other curled back by her torso.  This is a classic pose one can see frequently in any comic-book starring flying characters, and Supergirl looks great doing it.  They also did a good job molding the details to her body, such as the skirt, the cape, and the "S" shield.  Each of these looks like fabric, rather than porcelain, and they all "pull" slightly in very natural directions.


Overall, I am pleased with this statue.  It is over 11" tall once you place it onto the base, so it is quite large. The detailing is exquisite, and it looks fantastic.  I absolutely love the pose - she looks powerful and super.  And her face is the most beautiful of the three Supergirl statues I currently own.  This statue really looks like Supergirl.  The only negative is the slightly wobbly nature of the connection to the base. Again, since I won't be moving it around too much once I get my house (I plan to put her behind glass in a nice curio, surrounded, as in these pictures, by "biographical material"), this isn't a huge problem. But I would have liked it better if they had made the fit into the base a little more snugly.  This is a minor issue, so overall I still rate this statue a 9/10.  It's something I will keep for many years.

Finally, now that I have two high-quality statues, new and old Supergirl, I thought I would present them both here for comparison, so you can see the size and scale of each. I have each girl flanked by her, erm, "biographical periodicals."

Supergirls old and new. Classic (left) and New 52 (right).
Personally, I like the larger statue's look better. Not only is it her entire body instead of just from the hips up, but I also prefer Supergirl with the more classic, and frankly more demure, look of the skirt.  I also like the shape of the "S" shield better on this one.  However, I prefer that the New 52 Supergirl's bust and base are all of the same piece.

To wrap up, the "Cover Girls of the DC Universe" Supergirl statue is an outstanding sculpture, and is well worth it if you like Supergirl and like collecting statues and action figures.

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