Captain Marvel Starforce Doll Review

Captain Marvel has joined my doll universe!  Last month (January 2019) Hasbro released four Captain Marvel dolls in preparation for the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. 

Today we’re going to look at one of those dolls: Captain Marvel Starforce!

 

 

I found all except the Cosmic Captain Marvel at Target in the same section as the Marvel Rising dolls.  Of course, I couldn’t leave without one?.  I debated between Captain Marvel and Marvel’s Goose and the Captain Marvel Starforce doll for a good 30 minutes (decision-making isn’t my strong point) before finally choosing the Starforce doll.

The Box:

This doll has a very basic box.  The front is a large plastic window.  At the bottom is a small cardboard cutout with the movie logo, the name of the doll, and a picture of Carol Danvers.

On the back is a short blurb describing Carol Danvers as a Kree warrior.

A bold leader with a heart for justice, Carol “Vers” Danvers hones her energy-blasting powers to protect and defend the universe.

Although the package is plain, it’s super easy to open.  Except for the dreaded tabs in her hair, getting Captain Marvel out of the box is a breeze.

Meet Carol “Vers” Danvers:

Starforce Captain Marvel comes dressed in a green uniform and holding a matching helmet.  This is what Carol wears when she is serving in the most elite part of the Kree military: the Starforce. 

I first saw Starforce Captain Marvel in promo pictures that surfaced back in December.  To be honest, I thought she looked too “cartoony” for a live-action character.  After seeing her in person, though, I’ve changed my tune.  This doll is beautiful!

She has a light skin tone with natural-looking makeup, and her expression is perfect.  The arched eyebrows and tiny smirk hint to Carol’s sassy personality without looking obnoxious.

Her shoulder-length blonde hair flips up in the back.  It’s soft and not overly gelled. 

The rooting is a little sparse–probably to make sure her helmet fits.  Still, I do wish it was a tad thicker.

While she’s not the spitting image of Brie Larson, I’m very happy with this doll’s appearance.  She is a gorgeous yet modest looking doll.

Starforce Captain Marvel stands 11 1/2″ tall, but her proportions are slightly different from Barbie’s.  Her head, hands, and feet are bigger.

Can she share clothes with Barbie?  Let’s see…

Yeah, I’m sure this unicorn outfit isn’t Carol’s first choice, but it’s my only unopened fashion pack so it will have to do.

The shirt and skirt are a little big.  Carol is closer in size to a standard Barbie, and this is one of those universal fashion packs which are more for suited for curvy dolls?.

Now let’s discuss this doll’s biggest fault: her hands.  Both Captain Marvels (the Starforce doll and the one with Goose) have clenched hands.

Whose idea was this?  Poor Carol can’t do anything except punch!  She can’t hold a cup, answer the phone, or cuddle Goose.  Heck, she can’t even pick up her pager!

Her hands are painted to look like she is wearing open-fingered gloves.  Unfortunately, the paint application is terrible.  There are green flecks across every one of her fingers. 

What’s even worse is that every doll on the shelf had stained skin.  Since the box front was mostly plastic, I could see inside and tried to find a doll with clean hands.  In the end, this was as good as it got.     

Clearly, I’m not impressed with Carol’s battle-ready fists.  They’re a big manufacturing boo-boo.  But maybe there’s a way to fix this??

Actually, there is!  And it doesn’t involve a body swap!  Stick around and I’ll show you how I gave Carol new hands.

How Well Does She Pose?

Starforce Captain Marvel has 15 points of articulation. 

• She can turn her head to look right and left, look up and down, and tilt it to the side.

• She can rotate her shoulders and bend her elbows (although, I wish her elbows were double-jointed).

• Her wrists tilt up, down, and swivel around.

• Her hips are a little tight.  She can kick her legs to the front and back but can’t do the splits or even kneel very well.  At first, I thought her costume was the culprit but no.  She’s just built this way.

• Her knees are double-jointed knees (yes!); however, she has no ankle joints.

All in all, I think Starforce Captain Marvel has a decent amount of articulation and poses quite well.  She’s not a flexible as a Made-To-Move Barbie, but she’s a heck of a lot better than a Fashionista.  All she needs are double-jointed elbows and smoother moving hips.

The Outfit:

Captain Marvel’s Starforce suit consists of a teal uniform with a matching belt, boots, and helmet.  The uniform is one-piece with Velcro in the back. 

I assumed the fabric was knit, but it’s not.  It’s a shiny, non-stretch, polyester-like fabric with printed details on the front and back.  There is a metallic star on the front, and black and silver stripes around the torso, arms, and legs.  These stripes outline the armored areas of the suit.

 

The outfit is easy to take off, however, her fisted hands don’t fit through the sleeves, so you’ll have to take them off before removing her costume.

 

 

Her teal belt is a rubbery material.  It has silver buckles on the front and a pouch on each side.  The belt snaps around Carol’s waist with a peg and hole.

Next, we have her boots.  The boots are teal with black soles.  They are also a soft, rubber and have buckles and straps molded on the front and sides.

There is a large slit in the back–which, I admit, is a little unsightly–but it ensures the boots slide on and off without a hassle.

Finally, we have the last piece of Captain Marvel’s costume: her helmet.

The helmet is the same teal color as Carol’s belt and boots.  It has two openings at the front for Carol’s eyes, and the top is rooted with hair to create her magnificent mohawk!

The helmet fits snugly around Carol’s head.  It doesn’t fall off even if you hold her upside down.  Overall, I think Carol’s helmet looks pretty good.  Yes, her hair does stick out the back, but this was probably unavoidable.  If the helmet were 100% movie accurate, it would cover Carol’s entire face (except her cheeks) and be difficult to remove.

Now, before wrapping up this review with a few final thought, let’s see if we can give Captain Marvel a better pair of hands.

The Hand Swap:

Since Captain Marvel’s fists pop out like an Ever After High doll’s, I decided to try changing just her hands instead of doing a whole body swap.  All I needed was a set with a similar sized peg and skin tone as Captain Marvel’s.

After mulling it over, I decided Disney Descendants were my best bet because they too are made by Hasbro.  I bought a cheap Evie doll from eBay and crossed my fingers hoping her hands would fit Captain Marvel. 

The peg was a tad small, and the hands jiggled at the end of Captain Marvel’s arm.  Fortunately, I managed to fix this by wrapping the peg with thread to make it thicker, then spreading a thin layer of tacky glue over the thread to keep it from unraveling. 

After letting the glue dry, I pushed the peg into the hole in Carol’s arm and, voila!  A perfect fit!

Now Captain Marvel can strike a pose, wave, and even hold things!

Final Thoughts:

Is this doll worth the $20?  I think so!

Contrary to my first reaction, Starforce Captain Marvel is gorgeous.  Her expression is charming and hints to Carol Danvers’ cheeky personality.  

While her articulation could be better, it’s not bad. Since the disappearance of Ever After High, I’ve struggled to find dolls with half-way decent articulation in stores.  These Captain Marvel dolls have poseable elbows, wrists, and knees (not to mention that thigh-swivel) and were right there on Target’s shelf.

Obviously, Captain Marvel’s biggest drawback is her hands.  If you ask me, her clenched hands limit play-ability (is that even a word?). 

I wish she came with alternate hands or plain, normal-looking hands. 

Still, I can’t complain too much since this was remedied with an $8 Disney Descendants doll. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this look at Hasbro’s Captain Marvel Starforce doll!  

Now it’s your turn!

Are you excited about Hasbro’s foray into Marvel dolls?  I know I am!  In fact, I’m heading off to work on another Marvel doll review right this minute!  Let’s just say a couple of Marvel Rising characters finally found their way to our house?.