Toys Targeted For Females Take The Lead At San Diego Comic-Con: Barbie-Wonder Woman And Ghostbusters Toys Will Debut

The San Diego Comic-Con this July will debut a new Mattel lineup, including a Barbie Wonder Woman, a Ghostbusters /Monster High mash-up, and mini-figures of the new female-led Ghostbusters film. It seems fitting that these companies are focused primarily on female characters, since they have gotten the snub before. Last December, Twitter erupted when there seemed to be a lack of toys based on Rey, the female lead character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

#WheresRey my daughter noticed within 2 seconds and actually said “where’s Rey mom?” pic.twitter.com/aRSm5gcGWA

— Erin Gilson (@ErinKGilson) December 23, 2015

No #Rey 3 #CaptainPhasma but @Disney overstocked the boy from #frozen #epicfail #WheresRey #StarWarsTheForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/fMq8oUNOHo

— Women in Media (@WomenNMedia) December 24, 2015

In addition, it was recently revealed that there was originally supposed to be a female villain in Iron Man 3, which was changed because Marvel was afraid the toys wouldn’t sell as well. In an interview with Uproxx, Iron Man 3 director Shane Black had this to say about that decision.

“All I’ll say is this, on the record: There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem. Which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft. We had finished the script and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that cannot stand and we’ve changed our minds because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female… So, we had to change the entire script because of toy making. Now, that’s not Feige [Kevin Feige President of Marvel Studios]. That’s Marvel corporate…”

Where Marvel failed to see the attraction in female-based toys, DC Comics was happy to oblige consumers. Barbie has introduced a Wonder Woman doll in the past, but the newest rendition of the iconic female superhero is based on Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Gadot played the superheroine in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will return in the new Wonder Woman movie set to be released in June, 2017. In an exclusive with USA Today , the doll was revealed on Thursday.

Wonder Woman’s outfit is based on her cinematic couture, featuring a royal blue hooded cape lined with gold lamé worn over a matching paneled skirt and red bustier. She’s also decked out in her signature gold tiara and lasso, bulletproof bracelets, and shield.

To many, Wonder Woman represents female empowerment and equality. Wonder Woman is always a hit at the San Diego Comic-Con, as many females who attend dress like the heroine, and the character is expected to be even more popular this year in light of the aforementioned films.

With the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot, Mattel is releasing Ghostbusters -based toys at the San Diego Comic-Con as well. The four main characters of the film this time around are portrayed by actresses Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. In addition to a Light and Sound Pack featuring miniature characters from the film, a Frankie Stein (from Monster High ) doll will be released with the character dressed in full Ghostbusters attire alongside Slimer.

With so many action and comedy films featuring men, it is timely that females take the lead in this reboot; however, there has been a vocal minority against the film because of role change. McCarthy voiced her opinion in an interview with Yahoo! Movies .

“I don’t even talk about it. We had such a good time filming it. The movie’s really good. The four of us talk constantly, and are always sending each other dumb notes. I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff.”

In a L.A. Times interview, Kristen Wiig was asked if she ever made a movie that had such a controversial reaction.

“No. And the fact there was so much controversy because we were women was surprising to me. Some people said some really not nice things about the fact that there were women. It didn’t make me mad, it just really bummed me out. We’re really honoring those movies.”

Although it may be controversial to some, many are supporting the reboot and applauding the filmmakers for choosing an all-female cast for the leads, including Ghostbusters original Bill Murray (who also appears in the new film).

Men and women alike will be thrilled to see the new toys debuting at the San Diego Comic-Con, and thanks to companies like DC Comics and Mattel, there will be no shortage of female-based toys. Figures of Cedar Wood, a character from Ever After High, and She-Ra will also be debuting. So, as you get ready for the San Diego Comic-con, remember the wise words of Queen Hippolyte: “Go in peace my daughter. And remember that in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman.”