DC Multiverse Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)

This DC Multiverse Cassie Sandsmark was another eBay find, a figure I was curious about but not willing to pay retail for. As stated in my last post, I was a big fan of Mattel's DC Universe Classics, and the DC Mutiverse line is essentially an extension of that with the TV and movie characters mixed in. 

Female DCUC figures had notoriously poor abdominal articulation, and Cassie is no different, the swivel at her midriff offering not much beyond ten or fifteen degrees of lateral shift. Few of these figures have double joints in the elbows or knees, or rocker joints in the ankles either. Mattel hid the pins at the elbows and knees, but the shoulder joints are more pronounced on this figure than any of the past DCUC figures I remember. That said, I enjoy the DCUC aesthetic still present in many of the comic-based DC Multiverse figures. 

I feel my interest in Cassie is due in part to fondness for my DCUC Donna Troy, who shares similar design elements. I love the stars incorporated in the outfit and bracers like Donna, together in red with black boots make for quite the pair of warriors. Cassie made her firsr appearance in January 1996, Wonder Woman #105, 31 years after Donna graced the pages of DC Comics. My experiences with the character are limited mostly to Infinite Crisis, which found her lamenting over Conner Kent's body, murdered by Superboy Prime, but she was reintroduced in the New 52 relaunch as well as the more recent Rebirth relaunch. Read more about Wonder Girl at the DC Database!

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DCUC Star Sapphire Wonder Woman & Donna Troy

While picking up the All Star & Blue Lantern Flash I reviewed in my last post, I picked up a Star Sapphire Wonder Woman. While she's not everyone's favorite DCUC, at the sale price of $7.99, I'll take a chance. I picked up Donna Troy last winter in a DCUC buying spree, and felt now would be a good time to look at her while photographing Wonder Woman- they are related characters, and I wanted to rid myself of some bulky DCUC packaging. Girl Power!

In Geoff John's Blackest Night story, Wonder Woman is temporarily deputized as a Star Sapphire & member of the Violet Corps in the battle against Nekron the Black Lanterns. Having gained access to the violet power ring of love, Diana could alter her costume at will, create energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. Additionally, her magic lasso was enhanced by the ring. I really loved the whole idea!

There was a lot of crying over this figure, and for good reason. Her articulation was not improved by the abdominal swivel that replaced the old abdominal crunch, but I can see why Mattel did this here in attempt to minimize the aesthetic disruption of her exposed midriff. Yo Go Re over at OAFE.Net complained about the cheap joints, but I always felt leary about these thin figures and didn't notice a difference. I was never a huge fan of the female buck produced by this company (couldn't there be a little more meat on these girls?), but they've done some good ones. She's dressed like a stripper, true- but it's only slightly less pornographic in the book. Yes, I agree DC Direct's version looked a little better, save the big scary face mask, but I got this one for $7.99! And unlike the DC Direct version, she can hold her lantern. I enjoyed photographing her- her colors really came to life out of the packaging.

Similarly scathing were the reviews I've read of this Wave 13 Donna Troy. Articulated Discussion ripped Donna a new one in their review, but the whole thing sounded downright (laughs) vengeful to me  :D  The funny thing about DCUC fans is their love/hate relationship with the line- they hate, hate, HATE IT, then they go buy some more just like it- really hilarious! :D  We love these world famous figures, and have come to expect things from them, both personally & publicly obvious!

True to DC Comics' penchant for confusing the masses, Donna Troy's continuity issues are far too labyrinth to attempt outlining here- I just know her as the Teen Titan, Wonder Girl, who took over the Wonder Woman mantle for Diana after Infinite Crisis (Geoff Johns, 2005-06).

Yes, Donna does look bow-legged in some positions, but the paint on mine was clean, and I love her outfit-  she really looks like a superhero & the tampographed yellow stars & matching belt really looked cool in my eyes. And speaking of peepers, Donna was roundly cursed for the expression on her face, which just didn't bother me. How should a sassy, teenage super heroine look? The angle at which one is viewing makes a difference, I suppose. I honestly appreciate her much more now that I opened her- girls in black boots rock  :D 

My Donna was in the 75th Anniversary packaging, and unknown to me at the point of purchase, missing her Trigon collect & connect parts! Luckily, I don't play the collect & connect game, nor do I care about Trigon, though he does look cool. More importantly, the pirate left me the collector button, of which I treasure a many  :) 

These girls were fun, and I'm glad their on Team Super-Duper! Here they are with Catwoman, Powergirl, and Batgirl:

* Visual checklist & reviews of the DCUC line at DCClassics.Com!

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