For a guy with a four-year-old daughter, this is a big deal. For action figure aisles in general, this is a really big deal.
So you might have heard that Mattel, DC, and Target have joined forces to release a line of ACTION FIGURES highlighting several of the most prominent female DC heroes and villains in the new brand, DC Super Hero Girls. If this is your first exposure to the line, this line important because it is a (long overdue) step in movement to break down the weathered barriers in the toy aisles with the constant need to clearly define what is a “girl’s toy” and what is a “boy’s toy.”
It seems beyond ridiculous that in 2016 this is something that needs to be discussed. Frankly, I would have hoped that we would be beyond this by now, but I am certainly not going to look progress in the mouth here, and I am happy with any movement towards the “toys are toys” way of thinking. These figures are not perfect in that regard, and I feel that they are still very much aimed (for the most part) at girls, but the fact that the toys themselves don’t pander towards a kid wanting to have them as a plaything is a good feeling.
Yes, these figures have character-specific accessories and are not loaded up with brushes or perfumes. Yes, these figures have a modern sense of style all their own, but it is not made exceptional in terms of preconceived notions or exclusion. Yes, the packaging boasts that these figures can “stand on their own,” and while that might be a ridiculous notion to someone who collects action figures, this is actually a pretty big deal when you think about the fact that a lot of dolls or “girls toys” cannot do just that. Yes, I want my daughter to have access to the things that she enjoys while being free of outside expectations. Yes, these things ARE important. However, to my kid, she was just able to get figures of characters that she really likes, and they can hang out with the Batman, Spider-Man, and Hulk she already has. At the end of the day, that is what is most important to me.
My kid has all kinds of toys: super heroes, Disney princesses, Star Wars guys, Mickey Mouse, She-Ra, Totoro, and countless others. The great part about that is that she takes everything she has on its own merit, and at age four, she can already recognize gender stereotyping in her play world, but thankfully, she could not care less. Her mom and could not care less either, so it is refreshing when she is happy about how her new Batgirl can “go with her Spider-Man.”
As you can see, we came home with Batgirl, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy the first day because, well, at $9.99, these are listed at a great price. Actually called “action figures” on the packaging, my daughter recognized Batgirl right away, but after looking at the back of the package, she had to have Poison Ivy too because, well, green is her favorite color. It took a little convincing for her, though, because I have an Ivy figure with green skin, so she wanted to make sure this was the same one, but once she was sure, we were off. I personally wanted to grab a Super Girl figure as well because I really like the design, but I assured myself that there will be time for more later.
It is not that my daughter has not a chance to play with all of these characters before, I have figures of all of them and share with her regularly, but she was still happy to get these for her own as all of mine are long out of print. The cool part is that these are most definitely action figures, and they have nice sculpts, clean paint, and surprisingly good articulation. Sure, they are not Marvel Legends or anything like that, but my daughter can pose all three of the figures how she likes, without the frustration of dealing with *too* many points of movement.
Now, as I mentioned before, this new line has a style all of its own, and it is most certainly keeping modern aesthetics in mind in the broad, and comic senses. Harley Quinn is the obvious in this as her look resembles the current comic (and movie) look for the most part, and it does work well here. Babs is my favorite and like how her cowl was integrated into being part of her hoodie, and instead of giving her pouches out the wazoo, she has a backpack. Ivy has a more heroic look (or just plain nice) to her, and the leotard is gone in lieu of a more flattering jerkin-dress thing with leggings. All three have big smiles and big eyes that feel a bit reminiscent of a holdover from doll line, but nothing is too far out of proportion, and all of them are appealing.
The best part is (for us anyway), is that these do play really well with other action figures and they are all part of the giant toy mass that plays together just about every night at our house. Harley’s mallet and Ivy’s vines have already been used to stop Hordak in his tracks, and even though her Joker figure is in a smaller scale, Batgirl has “taken him to jail” countless times already. The playability is what is most important and since my kid is definitely into action figures, these are just what she had been wanting.
Really, I could go on about the “higher” idea that these figures could represent, and while I do think it is important that progress is being made, what makes me happy is knowing my daughter has some new action figures of characters that she likes. Her play pattern shows that she is not bound by what she “should” like based on her gender or whatever else, and as is often the case, the kids are the smartest ones when considering matters like this. Granted, we still have a long way to go, but I think these new Super Hero Girls will appeal to a lot of people. Heck, I think I want a Barbara for my own, and a Supergirl might be on the list, too. Hopefully this line will find success because it really is a lot of fun, and that is what counts.
