Sideshow Collectibles has been hitting a lot of home runs lately with their ongoing series of Marvel Premium Format Figure quarter-scale statues, although a majority of their recent offerings are new visits to previously-produced characters. Last week they launched what I think is another winner, although it’s also a character they already released a fantastic statue of just a few years ago: the 2022 Sideshow Captain Marvel Premium Format Figure is now up for order!

I have never been an avid fan of Carol Danvers Captain Marvel, and even her appearances in the MCU movies have not changed that fact (though I would love for them to do such).

Even so, I thought Sideshow Collectibles did a knockout job with their inaugural 1/4 Carol Danvers statue back in 2016. As such, I wasn’t sure there was a burning need for another new Premium Format Figure just yet. But clearly Sideshow thought otherwise! What does this new take on Captain Marvel have to offer? Let’s take a look…

Captain Marvel has become a bit of a symbol of feminism, and I think Sideshow did a marvelous (no pun intended) job of embodying that with this new resin sculpture of her.

Carol’s portrait boasts a determined expression, while her pose is one of power rather than “prettiness”. Which isn’t to say this statue isn’t pretty—I think it’s quite beautiful, actually—but the Carol Danvers we see here looks capable and confident as she swoops off to battle.

I’m also pleased that the dimensions of this statue, especially that it is only 11″ deep, as that will enable a lot more fans to be able to display it in their home without purchasing specialized shelving just to do so.

I’ve heard two main complaints about this piece that I’d like to address.

First, I’ve seen some bellyaching that Carol’s sash is obscuring her “rump”. While I’m not sure that complaint needs to be dignified with a response at all, I have to wonder how many guys would be displaying their $600+ statue backwards for the rear to be visible to them anyway.

The other gripe I’ve seen is a bit less ridiculous, as some folks don’t like the opaque streaking energy effects Carol is wielding. I’m torn on this issue myself, as I do love me some clear energy effects. Iron Studios has done a killer job with those in their 1:10 Battle Diorama Series scale, but we don’t usually see large-scale translucent effects from Sideshow Collectibles.

I think the painted energy effects here end up looking nice, but I think these could have been done well via translucent resin as well. As-is I like this piece as a whole, so I’ll live with the way Captain Marvel’s cosmic energy has been portrayed. Your tastes and preferences may vary.

At $630 MSRP, this is quite a bit more expensive than the original sub-$500 Carol. I’m not sure if most mild fans of the character will be enthusiastic enough to to trade in that excellent statue for this one, but I do think this is a lovely piece for newer fans of Carol Danvers or those who missed her first outing. I doubt this will be a sales juggernaut for Sideshow—especially without an Exclusive Edition—but I think this will sell at least moderately well nonetheless with Carol’s massively increased visibility in the cultural zeitgeist in the past half decade.

The new Premium Format Captain Marvel statue is now available for pre-order and is scheduled for release in spring/summer 2023. That’s a bit longer than usual from Sideshow, but also not unexpected given the turbulent nature of factories and shipping this year.

What do you think of this new Captain Marvel 1/4 statue, Marvel collectors? Do you prefer this iteration of Carol or the one Sideshow Collectibles released a couple years back?