I recently purchased at a very low price the Flamebird figure from the DC Armory action figure line. As this is a Supergirl figure ... and more importantly cheap ... I thought I should have it as part of my collection of Supergirl memorabilia.
I have to say it is a very striking figure. It comes with two heads, a Kara head and a Flamebird helmet head. I have opted to have the Kara head holding the helmet triumphantly. Unfortunately, the Kara head gives it a very long neck.
The armor is pretty detailed. And the design of the head and hair is very nice. It is a much better figure than I anticipated.
The wings clip in as a 'ball in socket' which should mean pretty wide range of movement for them and lots of posing possibilities. Unfortunately, my figure (and therefore I assume all) has very shallow sockets meaning almost any movement has the wings pop off. The position they are in here is pretty much the only position I can have them in. Still, there is a nice sleek metallic look to them.
Here is a pic with the Flamebird helmet on for completeness. It really is an intricate figure.
When this figure initially came out I didn't buy it because I pretty much hated the Candor story arc finding it nearly incomprehensible. This was the 'Kill Kal-El' Kara, the edgy bitchy unlikeable sort of grrrl that just didn't seem to fit Supergirl.
And, of course, given this was that Supergirl, it ends with her abandoning the people of that Kandor completely. Not exactly a hero. And this was the 'One Year Later' jump on point! Not a very nice way to introduce people to the character!
But you know what Candor did have a lot of ... needless, meaningless fan service.
Look at topless Kara get a tattoo!
Look at Kara take a shower!!
Look at naked Kara almost kiss Karen !!!
Look at Kara burn a boob window into Power Girl's Nightwing costume with her heat vision !!!!
Look at Preus grab Kara's butt!!!!!
And people wonder why I dislike the first 2 years of that comic.
Yeesh. Horrible.
But, like all the earlier warts, Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle acknowledged this ugly chapter by having the Flamebird helmet be in the Closet of Solitude. That creative team had Kara put those troublesome times behind her and had her become a great hero.
Anyways, it is a nicely crafted figure and well well worth the few bucks I paid for it.
I enjoyed the first 2 years of the previous series, with the exceptions of this Candor arc and the Palmiotti issue. I really disliked everything that came after that and had to quit the title. I had zero problems with a Supergirl who spoke her mind and acted a little more like a real female her age. The Supergirl of the later issues was too brainless, too old-fashioned, and too much of an inferior follower of Superman. She was so restricted, there was zero fun and zero personality in almost every issue after the Kelly/Churchill issues were over.
ReplyDeleteCandor was confusing in that you had the remains of the Silver Age Kandor (which had been empty since Rokyn was founded) now occupied by tiny aliens who found their way there. These beings were now under the tyranny of Ultra Man and Saturn Queen (refugees from the old Earth-3). Saturn Queen forced Ultra Man to believe he was Kal-El and that she was his mother. Supergirl and Power Girl entered this city to find out what was going on. Now Supergirl was in the period where she didn't follow her best instincts and that made her conflict with Power Girl. She even questioned the mission which led to their falling out and the failure to free the aliens.
ReplyDelete*cough*
ReplyDeleteNice statue Anj....
JF
Thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteI don't like that Supergirl just up and left the aliens there.
John, I said I only got it because it was cheap.