I love buying inexpensive action figures from the 90s and opening them fresh. It's like a time machine to the infancy of the toy collecting hobby. I really wasn't into superhero action figures back when these were coming out (I was really into collecting monster toys!), but honestly I'm kind of glad all these Marvel figures were off my radar, because I don't think I would have had easy access to actually buy any of them. I had three comic shops in my little town when I was a kid, but by the late 90s they were struggling (if not closed already). Same with the Kay-Bee Toys at the local mall. And I didn't discover eBay until 1998. Plus, my taste in superheroes was probably suspect. I think Tigra is awesome now, but back then I just knew her as the cat-girl that was always in those weird Marvel Swimsuit Special magazines. So all-in-all, I'm glad I unintentionally waited 23 years to start collecting them. The timing lets me overlook the aesthetic and engineering faults and just focus on the fun. Let's check out Tigra below!
Amidst all the Marvel Toy Biz figures (there were a ton!) there was this amazing ahead-of-its-time She-Force sub-line that featured 13 female Marvel characters. They were all repaints of existing figures, but they were awesome. Included were: Black Queen, Dazzler, Elektra (White), Jean Grey (Jim Lee style), Marvel Girl (X-Facotr green), Ms. Marvel (Warbird), Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura), Savage She-Hulk, Shanna the She-Devil, Silver Fox, Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter), Storm (Black suit), Tigra, Viper, and Wolfsbane. Imagine if Hasbro would have that kind of faith and have a few all-female Legends waves.
Her tail is really stiff and rather cumbersome. But she can at least use it to prop herself up.
Her arms are simple swivel joints. Therefore the weird extended arms essentially stay that way. I had assumed the weird sculpt on her shoulders was indicative of some interesting articulation. But no, this a re-used Black Cat mold and those lines are just her off-the-shoulder shirt sculpt.
Tigra is a direct repaint of the 1996 ToyBiz Black Cat figure released for Spider-Man the Animated Series.
It wouldn't be a 90's action figure without some large, silly, out-of-context accessory. Here is Tigra's giant lobster arm with pinching action. Who doesn't fondly remember her early crustacean adventures?
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
Amazing the sheer volume of figures Toybiz made. This is a great figure.
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