New SUPER HERO SQUAD Figures Revealed!

Hasbro's Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man Superhero Squad 3-Packs

They're back from the dead!  I had been mourning the loss of Marvel's Superhero Squad since those last multipacks came out a year ago.  We hadn't seen anything new in so long and the last official word is that they would be "continued as retailer exclusives."  Which to me usually signals the swan song of the line.  But today we saw photos from NY Toy Fair 2012 showing Three new 3-packs for the upcoming Marvel movies, including two amazing new females.  While I'm not normally into cutesy super-deformed figures, something about Hasbro's entire line of "heroes" figures caught my attention early on (including the G.I.Joe, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars lines) and I am super excited to add these two to my collection.

G.I.Joe's CARLA "DOC" GREER!

G.I.Joe 2007 Convention Exclusive from Hasbro

This version of Doc was included in the G.I.Joe 2007 Convention Exclusive Boxset "Tanks For The Memories."  Carla is introduced as the niece of Carl Greer, the original Doc.  Having never appeared in the TV Series, and only having a few scattered comic book cameos (starting in 2004), she was essentially an unknown and non-canonical character until she received this figure and associated filecard bio - which established her relationship with the original Doc.  Being the only African American female action figure released in the G.I.Joe line (among over 26 unique female characters, and more than 75 female action figures - including all variations of those 26 characters), this Doc figure should be a necessity of any G.I.Joe collection, if for nothing else than to provide some realistic diversity.

4H GOTHTROPOLIS & OUTER SPACE MEN Revealed!

The Four Horsemen Have Revealed EIGHT new females @ Toypocalypse

I went broke getting all the 7th Kingdom Cat-Girls as the 4-H summer exlusives a few years ago.  Now they're at it again with an extension of their Gothtropolis Line; the Vampire Queen and 7 variants.  I use "variants" lightly because most of them have unique headsculpts - to me that warrants a wholly separate character.  They all have the same bodies, but with distinctive paint applications, different accessories, and those amazing varied heads.  These are going to be an exciting group to collect.  (I especially love the Snake-headed girl!)  For the record, there are Two "humans", Two Cat-ladies (same cat head as 7th Kingdom), One Cow-Headed girl, One Snake-Headed girl, and One Skull/Reaper-Headed girl.   Plus they have revealed the designs for the first female Outer Space Men figure, a human-looking astronaut named Terra Firma.  Anyway, on to the pics..

DC Direct Natasha Irons STEEL!

DC Direct - Superman/Batman Series 3 : Public Enemies 2 - 2007

Natasha Irons is a bit of a mystery to me.  She hasn't been in a single comic that I've read, yet I know a lot about her.  For instance, I know that she's the niece of Steel (John Henry Irons) who briefly took the mantle of her Uncle - and was apparently very popular in that role.  I also know that Natasha is one of those chracters who is constantly getting new powers and new superhero identities.  I bought this toy on a whim from a clearance bin when I was on vacation.  All the solicit photos I had seen showed her with her mask on, and I thought her mask made her head look gigantic and her face look all jutted out, so she was always an easy "pass" for me.  When I finally picked her out of this clearance bin years later, my eyes were finally opened.

Character Spotlight on HUNTRESS!

Helena Wayne to Helena Bertinelli and back again.

I first discovered Huntress in the backup stories of Wonder Woman when I was a kid in the 80's.  I had never heard of her before, but I was instantly sucked in to the mythos of the vigilante daughter of Catwoman and Batman; Helena Wayne aka the Huntress.  Unfortunatley, it wasn't long before that character was written out of existence and replaced with Helena Bertinelli, mafia-entrenched vigilante out for justice.  While the new version still had a lot of the same elements as the original, I was acutely aware of how much the original Huntress' heroic lineage had contributed to my fascination with her.  (That, plus the fact that I really really really disliked the 1989 Huntress series.)  I was sad that the original was gone, but better to have a revamped Huntress than none at all.  Recently DC Comics has announced a new series, World's Finest, to begin in May, supposedly featuring the return of Helena Wayne.  I'm excited but I have no idea what to expect.

The Walking Dead MICHONNE!

McFarlane Toys - The Walking Dead - Comic Series 1 - Michonne

I feel like I've been writing a lot of reviews lately about characters and brands I know nothing about.  I have never watched The Walking Dead nor read any of the comics.  What I do know is that I've been spying this beautiful action figure on the shelves for a couple months now and when I found her at a liquidating Toys'R'us, I couldn't pass her up.  I need to do some serious research into what McFarlane Toys has been up to the past few years because this is the second time they've impressed me so far in 2012. (And this is after many many years of being quite the opposite of impressed).  It's always surprising to me how few female action figures are produced, and even more surprizing how few African American females are produced.  This fantastic figure has inspired me to create a series of posts dedicated to Black History Month.  I honestly don't have enough figures to do a daily themed post, but I have some really interesting figures I will be reviewing.  (Click Black History Month (BHM) in the post labels to see them all.)

Halo SPARTAN AIR ASSAULT!

McFarlane Toys Halo Series 3  Spartan Air Assault (Female)  2011

I bought something made by McFarlane Toys!  Seriously!  There's something about this company that has always rubbed me the wrong way.  Maybe it's the hyper-detail (usually gorey), maybe it's the overwashed paintjobs, maybe it's the statuesque unposeability of most of their figures - could be any of these.  But I think it's most likely that their female figures almost always offend me in some way.  Why is it that men get armor and detailed costumes while women get skull bikinis and stripper poses?  I get why people love the brand.. I do.  But I find I'm usually drawn to a toy line with nostalgic retro vibe, whether in character selection or the actual look of the figure.  But McFarlane Toys is as far from that personal ideal as you can get.  That said, I just bought my first TWO McFarlane action figures this weekend (You'll see the second one reviewed later this week).  They're both amazing and have me totally re-assessing my views on the company.