Supi Yutaka Sugiyama's "Cinema" Figure Review, Vol. 2: "S.H.Figuarts" (WW84)

The second installment will focus on S.H.Figuarts Wonder Woman (WW84), which became available for pre-order in stores on June 1 and is now accepting reservations.

Many people want to keep their favorite hero movie or monster movie character at hand. BANDAI SPIRITS' collector's item brand "TAMASHII NATIONS"'s Cinema figures will fulfill such a wish. I would like to talk about its charm from the perspective of a film writer.

This time, it is Wonder Woman who appears in "Wonder Woman 1984" (2020), which is scheduled to be released this year.

This figure is based on the movie version of Wonder Woman played by Gal Gadot. Gal's version of Wonder Woman has appeared in three movies in the past: "Batman v SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice" (2016), "Wonder Woman" (2017), and "Justice League" (2017). In other words, this "Wonder Woman 1984" is the fourth movie and the second movie with the title "Wonder Woman".

In terms of narrative chronology, not the release order of the movie, the adventure of Wonder Woman, aka Diana, who was a princess of the mysterious island Amazon and a female warrior, fought against the German army manipulated by an evil god in World War I. I drew "Wonder Woman".
Basically, she is immortal, so she continues to live in the human world while hiding her true identity, and in the present day, 2016, she returns as a full-fledged hero. She plays an active role alongside other heroes in "Batman v SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League."
And "Wonder Woman 1984" is literally set in 1984, and depicts what happened to her between "World War I and meeting Batman and SUPERMAN." As you can tell from the fact that she co-stars with Batman and the others, she is a character from DC, a major American comic book company.

In comics, he debuted in 1941. SUPERMAN debuted in 1938, followed by Batman the following year.
It was a time when American comic book heroes were popular. What's interesting is that the heroes of that time were apparently designed around SUPERMAN. For example, SUPERMAN is an Earthling with dark colors. SUPERMAN can fly, while Aquaman is of the sea. SUPERMAN has multiple abilities, while Flash specializes in speed. And Superman is a male superhuman, while SUPERMAN is a female superhuman. At first, I thought that Wonder Woman was a character created with the male gaze in mind because of her revealing costume, but when I read the materials from that time, it seems that this was not the case.

At the time, DC sought advice from renowned psychologist William Moulton Marston to improve the quality of its comics.
Marston created Wonder Woman as a hero who has both "strength as a hero and goodness unique to women", thinking that female readers could also be included. (Although Marston is a man, he is said to have been quite forward-thinking at the time about how women should live and the relationship between men and women.)
Thus, Wonder Woman became a representative character of American comic book heroes. In DC, SUPERMAN, Batman, and Wonder Woman are sometimes called the Trinity (meaning a trinity, but in this case it would be like the three supreme beings that DC is proud of). However, even though SUPERMAN and Batman have been made into movies many times, Wonder Woman has rarely appeared on the screen.
SUPERMAN was made into a TV drama series in the 1950s, which gained popularity and led to a blockbuster movie in 1978. Batman was made into a TV drama series in the 1960s, which became an unprecedented hit and led to a mega-hit movie in 1989. Wonder Woman was made into a TV drama series in the 1970s, which was also hugely popular, so according to the rules for the previous two, it would not be surprising if she had made her screen debut around 1999, but she did not make her screen debut until 2016's Batman v SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice.

There are several possible reasons for this, but at the end of the 1990s, SUPERMAN and Batman film series had ended, and DC was searching for its future direction in the comic book hero film business, so they were probably unsure what to do with Wonder Woman.
However, in the 2000s, unprecedented American comic book hero movies centered around MARVEL started, and DC also regained its momentum with the "Dark Knight" trilogy, so Wonder Woman was finally made into a movie amid this momentum. I think it was a great success to not make a Wonder Woman movie from the beginning, but to have her debut in "Batman v SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice." This left the impression that Wonder Woman is a big hero on par with SUPERMAN and Batman. Yes, Wonder Woman is by no means an idol in the hero world. She is a dignified hero.

Regarding this figure, I think that "Wonder Woman as a hero" has been well-sculpted. Wonder Woman in the movie wears a mythical gladiatorial armor rather than a costume. That's why Wonder Woman dolls should be on the "Saint Seiya" route, not "SAINT SEIYA". The feeling of the armor is coming out well. Also, the reason why this movie was made in 1984 is that the 80's was a time when pop culture flourished, and it has a colorful and pop tone.

The previous Wonder Woman was set on the front lines of World War I in Europe, so the colors of Wonder Woman were a bit subdued, but this time the colors are flashy and bright. This coloring is also great. Last time, Wonder Woman had a sword and a shield, so it was a question of how to make her pose cool by giving her a sword. one of the people. In particular, the golden lasso = the lasso of truth is an essential item for Wonder Woman. There is a setting that if you are tied to this rope, you will not tell a lie. Dr. Marston, the author of Wonder Woman, also contributed to the development of the lie detector, so it must be his idea. I want to make him hold the lasso well.
The face also has a sharp expression unique to Gal Gadot, so is it suitable to be called a "Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman figure" instead of a "Wonder Woman figure"?
I sometimes have a figurine displayed at the entrance, but I think I'll leave it in the famous Wonder Woman pose of crossing hands for a while. Somehow, I will never let the virus into the house! It looks like it's going to be a nice amulet like this.

Text: Sugiyama Supitoyo

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