If there have to be unnecessary add-in characters for a cartoon franchise, I appreciate when they at least fit the aesthetic and make an interesting addition to the roster of established characters. Zan, Jayna, and Gleek first appeared in the 1977 animated The All-New Super Friends Hour, the successor to Super Friends (1973), where they were the replacements for the previous Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog characters (who I personally found pretty awkward alongside the other heroes). But Zan and Jayna has cool costumes, weird powers, and interesting origins. Considering these characters were presumably added for marketing and kid appeal, they surprisingly weren't actually merchandised (aside from an occasional coloring book or lunch box) for over 30 years. This newest figure from the McFarlane Retro line is my favorite yet (at least the Jayna is, Zan looks a little bloated). The "best" figure of her before this was a SDCC exclusive DCUC figure from 2009, but she truly looked frightening.
Luckily this Red Platinum McFarlane figure has a fantastic sculpt that captures her quirky animated look perfectly. These retro figures lack articulation, as we've seen from the plethora of Batman '66 figures in this style, but I still think she's amazing.
Let's check out Jayna below!
Jayna comes with a collector card and a hand radio.
Jayna also comes with the Wonder Twins' simian sidekick, Gleek.
Gleek is unarticulated.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here are Jayna and Gleek with the Zan figure from the same wave. Note the color differences between the twins. The dark purples are distinctly different. Jayna is more violet and Zan is more magenta.
Here is Jayna with two recent figures from the McFarlane retro series: Cheetah and Wonder Woman.
And here are all my Wonder Twin figures so far (I'm missing the Funko Pops, Figures Co Mego-style figures, and several Heroclix). From the outside in: Funko Soda (Funko 2021), DCUC (Mattel 2009), Imaginext DC Blind Bags Series 6 (Mattel 2019), Super Friends (McFarlane 2025), and LEGO Batman Movie Minifigures Series 2 (LEGO 2018).
Cheers!
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