Funko Wobblers Batgirl Target Exclusive Black/Yellow Variant

Once upon a time, Funko primarily made bobbleheads.  Indeed, what we now call Funko Pops were actually called Funko Force 2.0.  The company made both bobblehead and non-bobblehead versions of the earliest designs, which were primarily DC characters.  To this day, Funko still makes bobblehead Pops, depending on licensing contracts.  (For example, Marvel characters have to be bobbleheads since other companies have the rights to make Marvel "figures".)

Over the years, Funko has released bobbleheads with varying designs.  For a while, most of Funko's bobbleheads had thin, vertically-stretched heads.  In 2016, it introduced a new style of Wobblers with horizontally-stretched heads.  Most of the characters had large, round, painted eyes and small mouths.  These were cute without any attempt at realism.

"Wacky Wobbler" style

Wobbler style

Funko released a Wobbler Batgirl of Burnside in December 2016.  The timing was rather tight; depending on how lucky you were with shipping, you were able to get it before the holiday crush of the last week of the year.  I didn't see it in physical stores until January 2017.

In August 2017, Funko announced that Target would be getting some exclusive Wobbler variants, including a black-suited version of Batgirl.  I was a bit surprised since the Burnside outfit is actually much lighter/brighter in the comics than the merchandise that Funko was making.  Indeed, some of Funko's Burnside Batgirls look dark blue rather than purple.  Still, black-&-yellow is a traditional Bat-family color scheme, and I was happy to look forward to another Batgirl collectible for Halloween month.

DC Collectibles Designer Series Batgirl statue

Except...I don't think Target ever got any of the Batgirl variants.  I saw the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh variant, but I never saw black/yellow Batgirl in person or reports of its existence in any online forums.  A few made their way on eBay courtesy of overseas sellers, but I usually avoid international shipping.  I was really disappointed back in 2017, but then I kinda/sorta forgot about the variant.

Jump to 2020.  I started seeing listings with the Target variant priced at $20 shipped from US sellers.  That's when I remembered that Gemini Collectibles, a company in Pennsylvania, sometimes gets leftover Funko merchandise.  (They even sell slow-moving pieces in bulk.)  Lo and behold, there was the Target variant, priced at $7.99.

https://www.geminicollectibles.net/funko-dc-comics-batgirl-rebirth-target-exclusive-wacky-wobbler-bobblehead/

To qualify for free shipping, I waited until there were other items that I wanted.  I bought two in case Gemini sent me one that with bad QC.

These still have the Target sticker, which reinforces my belief that they never even went through Target's hands.  There was some sort of hiccup, and they went straight from Funko to Gemini.  I can't even begin to fathom what the problem could be, though, since Target continues to sell Funko products and even has a large Funko display in the back of stores near the electronics and media sections, separate from the toys area.

This is indeed a basic re-paint.  The heads are probably identical to the original.  The back of the cape is shiny instead of matte.  I'm glad to have been able to add this to my collection--finally!--but the journey was more meandering than necessary.