Doll Collector: Eowyn with Sword Slashing Action

Finding an action figure worthy of a spot on my desk is often a matter of six degrees of separation. Take "Eowyn with Sword Slashing Action" from the LotR: The Two Towers (2002), produced by Marvel-Toy Biz, for example.

Like many fans of quality television, I was looking very forward to the start of the third season of Vikings on the History Channel when it premiered recently. Beyond the superb cinematography and detailed costumes, it is the characterization of the main players that continues to draw me to the show. One of the show's primary protagonists is Lagertha, played spectacularly by Katheryn Winnick. The character, in addition to eventually reaching the unusual status of jarl (for a woman of the time), is also a well-respected shield maiden. "Shield-maiden" is apparently code for bad-a** female who can maim and lead as well as (or better) than the men with whom she fights.

Though the key action scene against the
Witch-King comes in the third movie, I wish
 the packaging for this figure from the
second had alluded more explicitly to
Eowyn's status as "The Shield-Maiden of
Rohan".

Which circuitously brings me to Eowin from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Just as Lagertha provides a decidedly deadly feminine touch to the Nordic proceedings on the History Channel's Vikings, Eowyn, played by Miranda Otto, has one of the best "kills" in the entire film trilogy. Described throughout as "The Shield Maiden of Rohan," as part of the Lord of the Rings franchise, there are a few collectible action figure versions of Eowyn available, some more reasonably priced than others.

Just as when I bought the "Balrog Battle Gandalf" a few months ago, my purchase of "Eowyn with Sword Slashing Action" was something of an impulse purchase. Though this may be heresy to hardcore Middle Earth fans, while a fan of both Tolkien's books, and Peter Jackson's films, (for different reasons), it was the presence of the Eowyn shield-maiden figure in light of my appreciation of Lagertha of Vikings that prompted my purchase. In many ways, the purchase of Eowyn, a personal favorite of the film trilogy--the second two movies in which she appears, anyway--is a surrogate figure for the Laegertha figure that may never get made (or become available for the very reasonable price of ten bones.)

As both characters are emblematic of highly desirable character traits for both men and women, for now, the single "Eowyn with Sword Slashing Action" figure can stand guard of my desk in the symbolic spirit of both strong-willed and deadly characters. And so the quest for the "Eowyn in Armor" figure from 2003's Return of the King (as seen in that key-kill clip from the third film) collection begins...