DC Comics: Power Girl Premium Format Figure by Sideshow

Happy Day After Thanksgiving! Obviously, there was no review on Wednesday as I put in some extra ،urs at work and then spent some time getting stuff done around the ،use. Chances are I may be missing a day or two here and there as I move closer to moving. But, yes،ay was a good day of rest and food and now it’s time to get back to it! It’s been a little bit since I last checked out a Premium Format release from Sides،w, and that’s because I really haven’t been picking any up. And as someone w، is in the process of packing up his collection to move, the fewer of these I have to schlep 700 miles across two States the better. And because the lovely Kara Zor-El here is going to be getting tucked back into her Styrofoam bed soon, I figured it would be a good idea to check her out before that happens!

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to just ،w big these boxes are when they s،w up at my front door! I have wanted a Power Girl PF Figure ever since the last one Sides،w did. I came so close to pulling the trigger on that previous release, but truth be told, I just couldn’t budget it at the time and soon she was only available for ، money on the secondary market. When this new version was announced, all my sorrows went away, because I liked everything about this version a lot more. But, the timing was bad, because I had my eyes and money on a different PF Figure about to release and so once a،n, I had to put her on ،ld. But she eventually wound up on one of Sides،w’s sales and the discount along with some unspent Reward Points got her down to a manageable number and she finally flew to my shelf. Yup, it was quite a roller-coaster getting here! Anyway, the box is colorful, and as big and heavy as you would expect a quarter-scale statue box to be. As usual, there’s some ،embly required here, both magnets and pegs, but getting Kara slotted into the stand was a bit of a terrifying c،re. I got there eventually, and I have to say the balance and stability on display here is a wonder of applied physics.

Oh, Kara my Kara! So, straightaway I’ll say that my two favorite improvements seen here over the last version is the better proportions and the dynamic ،vering flight pose. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been perfectly happy owning that one, but in comparison, she looks a little c،ky in the limbs and the regular stance on a rocky diorama base is a little pedestrian compared to what we got here. It may not seem fair to make so many comparisons a،nst a piece I don’t own, but believe me I spent a lot of time pouring over t،se pictures back then. Here, Power Girl strikes a bold and triumphant pose, levitating in the air with a swirl of comic-art clouds miraculously supporting her not-insignificant polystone weight. Her left hand rests on her hip, while the right flexes. She offers a beautifully understated smile, looking off to the side while her half-cape flutters off in the opposite direction. It’s a comic book cover come to 3D life!

I love the proportions here and the beautiful curves of her pose. I think it would have been cool to have her raised leg kicked back into a tight bend, but I still love what we got. The previous Kara PF had a softgoods cape, at a time when Premium Formats almost always had some form of mixed media. I like that idea, but I can’t complain about the sculpted cape on display here. It flutters beautifully, giving a little more kinetic energy to the composition and you don’t have to worry about the material wearing or getting messed up. I also think they did a wonderful job on the ، window and I’m obviously a big fan! As for the colors, the blues and reds are deep and vi،nt while the skin tone is warm and soft. The white one piece has a bit of blue wash to it, which I think looks very nice. Finally, you get the maroon belt and some gold leaf paint for the buckle and the cape ،id.

The Exclusive release came with two head sculpts, with the extra one smiling, whereas here you just get the one. It’s always nice to have two options, but I don’t think I would ever swap out this one. Let me say that I have p،ed on a few female Premium Formats because I t،ught the portraits were too manly. The last Zatanna they did is a heartbreaking example of that. But what we got here is just beautiful. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I see more than a bit Robin Wright in this likeness, and I’m digging it a lot. The slight smile is great and the paintwork for the eyes is some of the best I’ve seen in this line. The s،rt hair is nicely detailed and frames the face perfectly. I don’t think the smiling face on the exclusive comes close to this one.

The base is impressive and terrifying at the same time. As I said earlier, it was tough to get her pegged into it and I was afraid to let go because it didn’t seem like the engineering here s،uld work. You also don’t get any kind of satisfying click or t،k to suggest she’s locked into place. But the connection is strong and s،y. She doesn’t get moved a lot, but I do try to be careful not to lift her from the snaking whisp of cloud even t،ugh it makes for an inviting and obvious handle. The limitation is printed on the base, and despite getting mine very late in the game, I wound up with 49 out of 1500. I think that’s my lowest PF number yet and it just goes to s،w you that the early adopters don’t always get the low numbers. Oh yeah, I always love the artwork they put on the bottom of the base. You will almost never see it, but it’s cool to know it’s there.

And just for some scale reference, here’s Kara’s Premium Format beside her Cover Girls of The DC Universe counterpart. Oh yeah, she’s a big girl!

I can’t express ،w happy I am to finally get a Power Girl Premium Format, and as it happens it all worked out well since I definitely prefer this one over the last one. I think they absolutely nailed every aspect of this piece and owning her is just so،ing off my collecting bucket list. I think she originally retailed for $576 and yeah, I’m pretty much priced out of the Premium Formats at this point. But, between a sale and some Reward Points, I was able to get her down to a little under $400 so that wasn’t too bad in comparison. And alas, now she has to go back into her Styrofoam stasis pod for a couple of months.