In the late 80's I was about 9 years old and moved to a new town (from the boonies). This town had a main street I could walk to (alone) with three comic shops (plus ice cream parlors, newstands (with comics), and a Woolworths and a local drugstore that each had decent toy sections). It was amazing. Of course a few years later 90% of the storefronts were vacant - and the street still struggles to this day. But those comic shops kickstarted a lifelong passion for me. I only spent my meager allowance on G.I.Joe comics, but I browsed every item in the store with endless curiosity. I have vivid memories of this redhaired heroine wearing all the primary colors and seemingly holding her own in male-dominated titles. I never learned too much about her, and she didn't stick around very long, but I now know her as Sharon Ventura, the second Ms. Marvel. Sharon was a pro wrestler and love interest to the Thing. She underwent genetic enhancement, got powerhouse abilities, and took on a superhero persona.
Sharon only appeared as Ms. Marvel in ten comic issues over a mere 21 months before mutating into the She-Thing, but that also happened to be the same brief window of time when I was first discovering comics - so she is powerfully nostalgic for me. Technically, she still used the Ms. Marvel name for a while after her She-Thing transformation, but the comic community pretty much immediately changed her name colloquially to match her new appearance. Between 1996-1997, Toybiz released three waves of She-Force assortments under their Marvel Hall of Fame line. Using simple redecos of Toybiz molds from the previous six years, they released 17 female figures... many of them very obscure characters that have never been merchandized since. That's how we finally got this amazing Sharon Ventura as Ms. Marvel. Let's check her out below!
Sharon's head looks articulated, and if you twist it hard, it starts to crunch and move a tiny bit (like you're breaking a tight paint-seal, but I came to the conclusion that her head is likely intended to be stationary.
Ms. Marvel inexplicably comes with a gun that attaches to her forearm.
I'm assuming this is a re-used accessory from a previous figure, but I didn't do the research to verify.
This Ms. Marvel figure is a repaint of the Phoenix (1994) and Dark Phoenix (1995 & 1996) figures.
It's a great match overall, you just have to ignore the little phoenix icon on her sash.
Also, the screw-panel on Sharon's back is functionless.
In these Phoenix figures it held the batteries and mechanism to light up their eyes and hair.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment