Steve Trevor

Since I already had Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt, I almost had to get this figure, just to complete the League of Extraordinary Chrises! Captain Steve Trevor is a courageous American fighter pilot performing dangerous undercover missions in World War I. Captivated by the Amazon princess Diana, he helps her navigate the human world and fights alongside her in battle. Steve Trevor is Wonder Woman's usual boyfriend, appearing alongside pretty much every incarnation of the character, whether it's her original World War II comics, modern-day reboots, World War I (as in the movie), numerous different Elseworlds incarnations... he may be written out of the story sometimes, but he's always brought back. He's her Lois Lane. If that doesn't seem impressive to you, consider this: who's Batman's girlfriend? Who's Captain America's? Not every hero gets a long-term S.O., but Wonder Woman does. But unlike Lois Lane or Pepper Potts or Jane Foster, Steve Trevor gets an action figure. I wonder what the difference could be! The figure's likeness looks fairly close to Chris Pine - it's not perfect, but from most angles it seems like a decent approximation of the man's face. Of course, if we were to judge this sculpt by Mattel's usual standards, he'd be an Evangeline Lilly-level success (which says more about Mattel's failures than it says about this "success"). It's acres better than Playmates' attempt, that's for damn sure! This figure shows Steve in his "let's go traipsing around the western front" outfit, not any of the German uniforms he does his spying in. That means a white turtleneck sweater, a brown jacket, and a green overcoat with a wool collar. He wears black trousers with green wrappings around his shins to keep the dirt out. It looks nice enough at a glance, but the proportions of the body are odd - the arms come out of the torso too low, and too wide. Maybe it's the overcoat that does it, since that's a separate piece slipped over the rest of the figure's sculpted clothes? It really only becomes a problem if you stare at him for too long. Steve has hinged ankles and knees, swivel thighs, H-hips, swivel wrists, swivel/hinge elbows and shoulders, a balljointed head... and a swivel/hinge torso taking the place of his waist. What? Really, Mattel? All the women get plain swivels, but he gets something that's actually useful? Why the eff? See, this is why there's more to toy design than just deciding where a figure should move. We're not saying that Steve should only have a swivel joint hidden beneath his belt, we're just saying that any good company could have found a way to give the Amazons a good chest joint, too. The figure includes a shotgun, the same Winchester Model 1897 he used in the film. He doesn't have a trigger finger extended, so all he can really do is carry the gun in a "ready" position. That's the kind of great planning we love Mattel for. He's also got three pieces of the Ares Build-A-Figure: the head, torso, and sword. Why are the head and body packaged separately? Why does the sword come here, and not with some other figure? Why did the movie studio give Mattel such an early model of Ares to work from, rather than his final design? Steve Trevor isn't a spectacular figure, with his odd proportions and his inability to use his gun, but the likeness is pretty good, and how often do we get a figure of the superhero's girlfriend? -- 05/30/18

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