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DC Universe Classics wave 8 Hawkgirl
Review and Photographs by Dean René Middleton
I must confess that I am not the most “hardcore” DC fan, and some of the character choices for the past few DCUC line ups have been very obscure to me. However, I was able to pick up a character that I have been eagerly anticipating for some time, the wave 8 Hawkgirl.
As I took the figure from the packaging it was clear that it had eclipsed all of my expectations. Straight out of the box she comes fully armed and ready for combat, brandishing her mace, an intricately detailed spear and a short sword. I was hoping to find her contribution to the collect and connect Giganta figure included in the package but unfortunately Hawkgirl does not have one, she just has a display stand.
At first glance, the most interesting aspect of the Hawkgirl figure is her wings. They are very feminine looking and extremely detailed. Really, the sheer level of textual detail them is nothing short of excellent.
Furthermore, they are also articulated at 3 points. Anyone who is familiar with the Toy Biz Marvel Legends wave 10 Angel figure will see that she shares a similar type of joint design where the wings meet her body. However Hawkgirl's wing joints are more streamlined, making them far less intrusive and much more a natural part of the figure than the aforementioned example.
When unfolded, Hawkgirl manages an impressive wingspan of 1 FT. This is great and it looks stunning when you consider that it’s just a 6” action figure.
In terms of paint quality, Hawkgirl is easily one of the most impressive paint jobs of any DC universe classics figure I have purchased so far. The crest of her helmet has subtle gradations of a golden yellow which transitions into orange. The effect is really nice, and really helps the figure to stand out much more than if perhaps a solid orange colour alone had been used.
There was some slight white paint slop around her left earring, but it was very minor and not something that would draw attention unless it was held under extreme scrutiny.
Hawkgirl shares the same articulations as standard DC Universe classics female body sculpts. She has approximately 21 points of articulation [25 if you include the wings], and the joints themselves feel very solid and allow for a great range of movement. The wing joints are also impressive because it presents an array of options for choosing wing positions
However, there are a few minor issues that I discovered with the figure.
First of all, she has the standard female ball neck joint, but due to her long hair it limits her potential range of neck motion. This means that Hawkgirl is not capable of dynamic flying poses since you cannot angle her head up or down. I must confess this did come as quite a disappointment since it was the first thing I wanted to do after taking her out of the packaging.
Another thing that I was sadly missing from this figure was an alternate unmasked head. That really would have been a very welcome addition.
And while the hands were elegant and beautifully sculpted, the grip was not tight enough to hold the weapons securely, and as a result, her sword and spear would often fall out with relative ease. It’s also a disappointment that she did not include a Giganta piece instead of a stand.
I imagine that a lot of people would want to buy the Hawkgirl figure, and it would have been a nice way to encourage people who were perhaps not so familiar with some of the more obscure characters to invest in them. Furthermore the included stand is not very well made since it only has one peg and it cannot fully support the weight of the figure, if her wings are extended to certain positions.
But even so, with all things considered those minor issues that ultimately do very little to detract from the fact that this is an excellent figure. And this figure has gone a considerable way towards restoring my faith and interest in this line.
I would very much recommend this Hawkgirl figure to any DC Universe collector.
Dean René Middleton
Staff Reviewer
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