Crisis Dr Light By Hervé St-Louis May 22, 2007 - 9:54:47 AM

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Dr Light, astronomer Kimiyo Hoshi, was one of the new heroes created by the Monitor to fight against the Anti-Monitor during the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series. Introduced in Crisis #4, she was a very powerful heroine whose status fell as she joined the Justice League. Her first appearance in the Justice league, was in often associated with the international and European versions of the team. Sporting a costume similar to the original Justice League villain called Dr Light, she has yet to resurface with as much conviction as she did in 1985. The Crisis Dr Light action figure celebrates this strong Japanese heroine.

Likeness
 
Inspired by the work of artist George Perez, Doctor Light’s costume is not an exact representation. Her face does not have the strong Japanese features, such as the high cheek bones drawn by Perez. The circle on the middle of her chest is oblong instead of being round. It is also sculpted out, as if is it was a separate piece. Finally, her hairs are longer than when Doctor Light appeared. Her boots, however, have the rolled up features that were abandoned years later, in favour of a streamlined look.

Sculpt

The sculpt is nice and Hoshi looks young and innocent here, instead of her brash look from the Crisis mini-series. Her hips and torso are narrow. Her entire build is not that of a petite woman, but a skinny one with a small build, but average height. It is a good way of interpreting this character and making her looks more Japanese. There lack details, however, and her legs feel as if she was sporting a pyjama. Her hands are posed as if she were about to blast her enemies, but the rest of her body doesn’t look as if she was in an action shot.

Paint

There’s a shiny white paint coat to simulate the light effects from Doctor Light on her gloves, boots, her belt, the oval on her chest and her cape. On the plastic parts of the action figure, it makes her them look as if they were translucent. Other parts of her body have straight paint application without any nuances. For example, her face is one tone with pinkish purple for her lips. Of course, much of the paint application bleeds adding a layer of cheapness to the action figure. This action figure grabs dust easily. Also her cape tends to darken where the edges touch another surface, if she is left on her back.

Scale

Doctor Light’s proportions will fit well with older DC Direct action figure and newer ones. As a Japanese woman, one does not expect her to be tall. Next to action figures, such as Power Girl, Teen Titans characters, such as Wonder Girl, Star Fire or fellow Justice Leaguers, like Blue Beetle, Metamorpho or Elongated Man, the action figure will look great.

Stability

Her high heels don’t encumber her stability, but they don’t help either. One has to play with her hips before finding the best way of posing her. She does come with a Crisis-styled action figure stand which will help alleviate any stability problems.

Articulation

Doctor Light has 13 articulations at the shoulders, elbows, forearms, hips, knees, calves and neck. Her head sits on a ball joint, but mobility is limited because of her long hair. Her shoulders also have ball joints which provide good movement.

Plastic

Doctor Light is in PVC with a rubber cape. Her elbow joints look fragile, so be careful about dropping her on the floor. Glued on her shoulders, her cape is inserted within her back through a peg.

Props

Dr Light only comes with an action figure stand styled after the logo of the mini-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. A comic book of her first appearance would have been cool.

Packaging

Doctor Light is packaged on a cardboard card with a plastic bubble above. The bubble is round, making it difficult to store away. Generic artwork on the back contains short bios and pictures of other action figures released in this series.

Cost

Prices for this figure are often between $16 and $20. Some stores sell this figure for much less at $12. Better prices can be obtained when buying a mini case containing all the action figures in this series.

Availability

Although the first action figure of the female Doctor Light, she is not a fan favourite character. DC Direct makes its action figures to order and this one was released in December 2006. Stock of this action figure should be readily available at comic book stores, online auctions and online stores.

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