Toy Review: Wonder Twin powers activated! by Roger Vozar

I've been known to be as much of a completist as any collector, but those who bypassed the DC Universe Classics Wonder Twins set because they resented not getting Gleek are missing out on an impressive display of plastic goodness.





As most DCUC collectors are aware, Gleeks were given out separately to some of the customers who purchased their sets at the San Diego Comic Con. While it's easy to say, "No Gleek, no peace!," enough collectors were excited about the Wonder Twins to sell out the Gleek-less set within a day of it going on sale at MattyCollector.com.

Granted, their powers are pretty lame - Zan's restricted to the various forms of water while sister Jayna can transform into any animal. But they may have invented the fist-bump with the method of activating their powers and the "Super Friends" show came at a time when there weren't all the super hero cartoons that air nowadays, so younger generations should take that into account when wondering about the nostalgia for a fairly crappy show.

Mattel's packaging ingeniously incorporates the Twins' fist-bump, as the two sections swing together to allow the figures' hands to touch. Aligning the sections also triggers the sound feature, with dialogue as follows:

Zan and Janya: "Wonder Twin powers activate."
Zan: "Form of water."
Janya: "Shape of an Eagle."
Zan" "Let's save those kids."
Janya: "I'm with you, Wonder brother."

Yep, a moment in hokey history immortalized. The figures themselves are held into the packaging with small rubber bands, so you can easily take them out without damaging the plastic inserts, allowing them to be pushed back in for storage purposes.

The representations are show-accurate, although the purple costumes could be a little more brighter to given them more of a cartoon feel. Jayna also looks a tad evil, but I'll chalk that up to some sibling mischief. Naturally, they have the exceptional posability expected of the DCUC line and the torso articulation doesn't detract from the overall appearance.

The folded-up Wonder Twin boxes are packaged inside a plastic shell with "Wonder Twins" on the front and bios of the Twins on the back. While it looks OK, a lot of handling will likely cause some nicks in the packaging, as it's a pretty snug fit.

I still wish I had a Gleek, but he was pretty much used only for end of the show comic relief anyway. But the Wonder Twins fare much better in plastic than they ever did in syndication.

Roger Vozar
Staff Reviewer