Friday, February 10, 2012

DC Direct Natasha Irons STEEL!


DC Direct - Superman/Batman Series 3 : Public Enemies 2 - 2007

Natasha Irons is a bit of a mystery to me.  She hasn't been in a single comic that I've read, yet I know a lot about her.  For instance, I know that she's the niece of Steel (John Henry Irons) who briefly took the mantle of her Uncle - and was apparently very popular in that role.  I also know that Natasha is one of those chracters who is constantly getting new powers and new superhero identities.  I bought this toy on a whim from a clearance bin when I was on vacation.  All the solicit photos I had seen showed her with her mask on, and I thought her mask made her head look gigantic and her face look all jutted out, so she was always an easy "pass" for me.  When I finally picked her out of this clearance bin years later, my eyes were finally opened.



This figure is very special.  I feel like DC Direct used this random character to really experiment with new articulation and body types.  She comes with at least 15 points of articulation at a time when we were ecstatic to get 9.


She is a great looking figure overall.  I feel like DC Direct's biggest failure with their female figures in the past has been the tendency to have the figures pre-posed with limbs in positions that limit variations and end up looking awkward.  This added articulation shows you what is possible.  I think DC Direct usually has superior sculpts compared to their competitiors.  So can you imagine if they upped their game and added this smart articulation to all their figures?  They would sweep the market.


I really don't care for the mask.  Although it doesn't look too bad in these photos, it looks clunky and large in person.  Plus I like seeing her amazing face.  It's beautiful and reflects the artistic style of Ed McGuinness very well (who drew the Public Enemies storyline.)  I also really want to display the only African American female in the Superman Universe without hiding her face and making her look like a cyborg. (ps: This is my Black History Month review #2!)

ACTION SHOTS!  Note: These first few pictures were taken on my cell phone when I first bought her a few years ago.  So the quality is very sub-par.  But I just stumbled across them and some of the poses really show the articulation better than the new ones I took.





Now back to the significantly less grainy pics




Cheers!

6 comments:

  1. I'm surprised at the high articulation level of this one. Especially considering the fact that the rest of this line has the standard DCD articulation. You would think they would have in some way marketed the fact that this one was super poseable, at least on the packaging or something.

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  2. I completely agree. My suspicious mind thinks maybe it was a buck originally tooled for another company. It was sculpted by Big Chief.. i should investigate to see what other properties he/she may have been working on... bwhahaha

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  3. your pictures have made me want to dig through storage and find the figure. i didn't realize it was so articulated!

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    1. She's amazing. I have her displayed with my Supergirls now :)

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  4. HERE HERE. Yes awesome figure but in my universe not only is she the niece of John Henry Irons but she is the creator of the Metal Men. So I have her posed with them and she looks stunning. Plus there is no "Steel" Metal Man so she kind of works well.

    I was quite pleased with the articulation as well. Her uncle is on the way and I can't wait to get some pictures of them together finally.

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    1. Wow. I had no idea she had anything to do with the Metal Men. I don't even have my Metal Men out, but I may just copy you and add her to their shelf when I reorganize (next year... sigh).

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