Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
I have had the distinct honor of reviewing the amazing DC Stars Character Figure line from Tonner Dolls, and every time I get my hands on a brand new figure, I find myself wanting the others more and more. This week is no different, as we launch Tonner Tuesdays with a look at a very insane, but beautiful vixen. The psychopathic ex-shrink once known as Harleen Quinzel, now forever identified by Gotham P.D. and the Batman as Harley Quinn. She is a very strange woman, to say the least. Her best friend is Poison Ivy, and her boyfriend, at least in her mind, is the equally mad crime genius The Joker.
I have spoken about the boxes for the DC Stars in length in previous reviews, so from this point on, Tonner Tuesdays will focus exclusively on the figures.
After pulling Harley from her cardboard interior and removing all of the baggies holding her accessories, which are two gloves, a mask and the pieces of the display stand, we finally get a good look at the crazy beauty that Tonner has crafted. Let us take a peek at her accessories first...
The two pieces to the display base are like most of the other dolls in this line. The arm pops into the black base, and once it’s together, the arm goes around Harley’s waist. Well, it should fit snugly around her waist but for some reason the one I received had an arm that was wider than the dolls waist. But this is a very small complaint as far as any go. I simply bent the arm to fit her waist. She still stands rather well on her own and looks good, even if the arm doesn’t hold her firm.
Harley comes with a pair of gloves and a mask, and that is it in the way of accessories. However, Harley really doesn’t need many accessories in my mind. And if you attended the New York Comic-Con you had the opportunity to purchase a Convention exclusive that came with everything the normal Harley arrived with, but had the extra addition of a large mallet and a large cork gun!
We’ll walk through putting the gloves and mask on now, an area where I found myself getting frustrated. Not because of anything Tonner has done, because they have created an amazing figure here, but simply because I have no fingernails and had a ton of trouble putting Harley’s gloves over her hands. The gloves are actually two different colors - red and black - each made up of two pieces. The top layer is your fabric level and the interior is a stretchy fabric. It’s the stretchy fabric that became the bane of my exisistance as I tried to pull them over her hands. But after a bit of work on my end I managed to pull the gloves on to her hands and they look real good.
The mask was much easier to pull onto her head. The hood she wears un-clasps in the back and pulls down the front of her head. The mask is attached to a nice and stretchy band that is easy to spread and put in place. I was a little worried with pulling her hair through the mask, but I didn’t encounter any problems with this step. After the mask was placed on, it was very easy to simply pull the hood back up and clasp it in the back.
Harley’s boots come already on her feet, but that doesn’t mean they don’t come off! The boots are made of the same material as the gloves and her outfit, but they have a nice rubber sole on the bottom to allow her to stand on her own.
Harley is a much more simple creation then some of the other figures from the DC Stars line, and it’s really because Harley has such a simple outfit. Simple in appearance, perhaps, but exquisitely designed and flawless in presentation! After pulling the packing materials off of her feet and hands you get a sense of the sheer beauty that is hiding within this doll. Her face is perfect and makes her appear that she is just an innocent girl trapped in an ugly world. But behind the innocent look she is a raving psycho who only has eyes for one man and hates: the Batman!
The face is an amazing work of art - the sculpting and paint applications really setting her apart from other dolls on the market. I like that they have designed Harley so that her hair flows out the back of the hood she wears. Even though it’s not what the character usually looks like in the comics, (her hair is usually tucked inside her hood) with the Tonner dolls it’s much better to have the hair viewable. She is a doll after all.
One of Harley's nicest features is her eyes; the best eyes I have seen to date on a Tonner Character Figure. The blue is so piercing that she seems to stare into your soul. Hauntingly lifelike, the work here is spectacular.
Her costume is a one piece outfit and is comic accurate down to the last detail. She has a pair of great ruffles around the point where her wrists flow out of the sleeves. The collar around her neck is actually removable. I had to pull it off in order to get the hood up and down.
The hood that covers her head was fun, except that I put it on and then realized that I had to put her mask over her face first. So down it came again. The hood actually pulls down to her chest instead of to her back. This allows you to easily slip her hair into the opening in the back. Her mask was something I was worried I would easily break, as the band appears so fragile. I would look at Harley and then at the mask and contemplate how I was going to stretch this band to fit around her head. But I worried for nothing as I pulled the iconic black mask over her face and settled it over her eyes.
All said, while Harley isn’t my favorite DC Stars Character Figure you can’t deny the sheer beauty that the creative genius of Tonner Dolls has given life to here. She holds an honorable place with my Joker, and in this world, unlike the current comic book universe, these two crazed crossed lovers shall never be apart.
You can purchase Harley Quinn direct from TonnerDirect.com for the price of $139.99.
CLICK HERE for more images of Tonner's Harley Quinn.
Here is a sneak peek at who we have in store for next week's Tonner Tuesday...
Review and Photos by Jason Devall
Review Sample Courtesy of The Tonner Doll Company