Star Sapphire By Hervé St-Louis May 23, 2007 - 10:22:00 AM

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The Silver Age Star Sapphire, first appearing in Green Lantern #2 Vol. 2, in 1962, is the title name given to several women who have pursued Green Lanterns, particularly Hal Jordan in the past. At one point, Carol Ferris, the love interest of Jordan, Star Sapphire is the queen of the Zamarons, a race of female warriors from the planet Maltus where the Guardians of the universe originated from. Star Sapphire has powers identical to a Green Lantern, coming through the sapphire gem on her forehead. Although there has recently been a Justice League Unlimited action figure of, this one is the original one based on the comic book character.

Likeness
 
Star Sapphire’s costume has been modernized several times, but the one the action figure is based on is the Silver Age version of the character. In depictions observed from the Silver Age, the only changes are the pointy boots the action figure sports. In the illustrations observed, the boots’ tops are even all around Star Sapphire’s calves. The figure has a wild look, especially her hair which reminds me of Green Lantern artist Gil Kane’s dynamic lines.

Sculpt

The action figure has a simple sculpt that looks good. Her body is superbly feminine and sexy, although the choice of colours makes her seem like a disco queen. Her face reminds me of a John Byrne character, although Kane drew it as wide. Behind the mask one can see the characters’ eyes, revealing a sinister look. Posing is limited with Star Sapphire has she the only action pose she can take is flying.

Paint

The paint job for Star Sapphire is all right but not exceptional. Her boots and gloves have semi glossy paint while her torso has a matte finish. This finish doesn’t look good on the figure and attracts dust. Her belt also has similar finish as her boots with a start logo. The logo easily fades over time. There are blue highlights in Star Sapphire’s hair. Although her eyes have lots of details, her skin and face have special toning hues.

Scale

Star Sapphire, of course fits well with all older DC Direct action figures, such as Sinestro, both the Hard Travelling Hero Green Lantern, as well as the Silver Age Green Lantern. She also looks good next to Silver Age Justice League action figures such as Zatanna, Black Canary, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Adam Strange, Elongated Man, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow and Aquaman. Next to modern Green Lantern action figures, she does not look so good, as she looks from another era.

Stability

Although Star Sapphire can stand on her two feet, she was not designed for that. She has high heels and limited posing capabilities in her legs. With two peg holes in her feet, she was designed to fit on the disco ball action figure stand she comes with. However, given time, that will not be a viable alternative either. Star Sapphire’s weight will push down the figure on one side and she will fall. This is a bad design from DC Direct.

Articulation

Star Sapphire has seven articulations only. Her shoulders, forearms and hips rotate and her neck has a ball-joint. However, because of her hair and collar her head’s articulation is severely limited. As for the other articulations, they do not add much excitement. Her shoulders have no ball joints, meaning they can only go forward or backward. As beautiful as the sculpt on this action figure is, it is almost a statue.

Plastic


Star Sapphire is made of PVC. Although solid, it bends in warmer humid months. Just the weight of the figure on the feet changes how they can be inserted on the action figure stand that comes with Star Sapphire.

Props

Except for her action figure stand, Star Sapphire comes with nothing else. The stand is painted with sparkles making it look like a pink disco ball.

Packaging

Star Sapphire came in a cardboard with pictures of Sinestro, the other villain she was released with.

Cost

Star Sapphire used to cost about $12 to $14 but as this action figure is probably sold out, its price must have increased since. There is no way of asserting a specific price for her. She is not a popular character but was ordered in such low quantities that it is hard to evaluate demands and supply for this toy.

Availability

It is doubtful that DC Direct will ever release another version of this action figure. It was released in 2001 and although she appears in current Green Lantern comic books, the Justice League animated series, and was a background player in the Infinite Crisis series, she had a different look.  I have yet to read about  a collector asking for this action figure and prices on auction sites are similar to what they were when the figure was released. As this action figure looks dated, it a new version added to a future Green Lantern series is likelier than this old collector’s doll! If this version of the character interests you, and you have the opportunity to obtain it. Get it. It will not come around too soon

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