I apparently wrote this five years ago and didn't publish it - that's why the boxed shots look a little wonky, they were taken in 2011. Since Adora wasn't a proper toy in the vintage Princess of Power toy line, it's no surprise that this action figure seemed to draw inspiration largely from the Filmation She-Ra: Princess of Power TV show. But since this figure was made long before the Filmation license was supposedly signed... well, now I'm confused. But this is a good figure, or is at least interesting enough to jump on.
While She-Ra would have come with way more gear, Adora's no slouch. There's no big or ridiculous weapons, but you do get a Sword of Protection and a holster with a removable gun. Unlike most figures in this line, she's capable of stowing her gear on her person-- the sword has a spot on her back, and the removable holster fits her pistol perfectly. I love the fact they actually designed a figure that can have her hands free, and be carrying her stuff-- this never happens. The blaster is silver with a little bit of painted detail, and is just about the right size-- small, but not too small. Her sword, which would be later used for She-Ra, is molded in grey and has a blue jewel near the handle. It's a nice touch, a little more paint on it would be nice but as it is you really can't complain. Oh, and a fun little detail: the pistol has an indentation that seems to align perfectly with her left hand, but the gun was packaged in her right. Weird.
With the figure's body, you can get a real sense of evolution and how Mattel designs a figure, which can be used to make another figure, and so on. Parts of her arms and legs are quite similar to Teela, with a new head, outfit, boots, and gauntlets. The gauntlets were later reused on other figures, like She-Ra, Marlena, and Catra... so yeah, you've seen them before.
Adora's face seems somewhere in between a cartoon and a doll, which is really what you want. The makeup is exaggerated a bit, which is a good idea at this scale. Her hair is unique to this release, and other than some visible mold lines near the front it looks pretty good. Unlike some 3 3/4-inch scale figures, there's no question that the face is female. Other elements help, of course, but it's always nice to see a head and not have to ask what gender it is you're looking at.
If you think her body sculpt is good, you're right-- and Mattel agrees as they used it for the Captain Glenn/Queen Marlena figure in 2011. It's really quite amazing how you can add a helmet and change out the boots, and fundamentally get a retro 1950 space babe costume out of this design. I'm impressed.
Depending on where you fall on the Masters of the Universe spectrum, this could be either an essential release or something to skip. As she basically looks right at home in Eternia, I'd say get her if the price is right. Sure, the head doesn't have much range of movement and the waist joint is rendered worthless by her outfit, but she still looks like a 1980s fantasy cartoon character rendered in plastic. Her painted face looks better than one molded in flesh color, which is a small, cheap detail that really does add a little value to the design. You shouldn't have too much trouble getting her for $20-$30, which is totally worth it. Also worth it: the She-Ra cartoon is surprisingly entertaining. They aired it on Qubo here in Phoenix, just a few episodes in rotation, and I gotta say I was as entertained as an adult male non-hardcore-She-Ra fan could be. Any show with a flying horse that sounds like he was gargling with gravel where He-Man shows up on a semi-regular basis can't be all bad.
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