What can you say about an
action figure that exposes more skin than the average swimsuit calendar?
First, the sculpt and
detail of Aspen Matthews is great. She’s got the fitness instructor
physique that almost all female figures exhibit. Of course, I’ve never
seen a fitness instructor with this kind of outfit. (Well, there was
that one time . . .) Part of her outfit consists of barnacles and jagged
coral, which is why she’s got the name, "Barnacle Betty,"
around my house. The coloring of these coral areas is a perfect mix of
blue, orange, and purple. Actually, the entire color scheme makes her
strangely appealing to just stare at. (But limit viewing time if
you’re wife or girlfriend is around.) Her head has a great paint job.
She has pupils! Her hair, a deep purple, runs to her shoulders and few
wisps come down the side of her head lacks any over-splash. But her hair
does negate the articulation in her neck. Try as I might, I cold not get
her head to turn. It means that articulation is limited to four points:
shoulders and top of her hips. The leg seams are very stiff and take a
bit of working to get loose. But since you’re more likely to display
this figure rather than play with it, the fact the legs are hard to move
doesn’t really matter. She can stand on her own but since her feet are
so small she’ll fall over with the slightest provocation. She comes
with a base and that’s where she should stay. Which is not to say you
can’t be creative displaying her. Silicone her to the base and install
her in your fish tank! It can be hard to clean her up but it’s worth
it for the effect. (I recommend a soft toothbrush with mild soap for
cleanup.)
Playability is limited.
But she comes with a hammerhead shark accessory that is great fun in the
bathtub since it’s the perfect size for enacting exciting aquatic
encounters with 3.5" G.I. Joes. Aspen herself is not really
something to play with. I managed to pop out her left arm without too
much trouble. (Okay, I stepped on her in the dark. When’s someone
going to pick up all these toys?) Her "aquatic power weapon"
fits snuggly and securely onto her right arm and manages to look
menacing even while it looks so good. (It’s got the same colors as the
rest of her barnacled areas.) Like all small accessories, the gun can be
lost,
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but since you’re probably not going to be playing with it, you
don’t have to worry too much. As mentioned before, articulation is
limited so putting her into action stances to fight other characters in
the Witchblade series isn’t possible. She is in good proportion to the
other figures in the Witchblade series so she’ll fit right in on your
book case. And it should be mentioned, even though it should be very
obvious, that this is not a kids toy. As the package says,
"Recommended for mature collectors." Considering the typical
toy collector, "mature" is used in the chronological sense.
Fans of Clayburn
Moore’s work, Fathom, or good-looking female figures
won’t be disappointed. But if you want more "action" in your
action figures, Aspen Matthews isn’t for you.
- Omni
Collectors note: There’s
a transparent variant that fetches slightly more than the
"regular" version reviewed here.