Halo - LINDA-058!

Halo: The Spartan Collection Series 6 - Linda-058 - Jazwares 2022

I'm finally playing catch-up and posting my backlog of Jazwares Halo figures (this is the last one). I first learned of Linda-058 when she got a figure in the first wave of the Mattel Halo line in 2016. My initial reaction wasn't a great one. I thought her helmet with the side-scopes and weird goggle-type apparatus looked goofy - like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit. But I've grown to really appreciate her since. The copper visor and brown armor is now a really appealing color combination to me, and the name Linda always has a certain interesting duality. I was the kid who was buds with my gradeschool lunch ladies (Nancy and Linda). But in my college years I was in the punk scene and the song Linda Linda by The Blue Hearts was a favorite. Plus I'm currently obsessed with the teen girl punk group The Linda Lindas (currently touring with Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins). So "Linda" used to be an old lady name to me, but now it's kind of kickass. And Linda-058 benefits from that street cred. Let's check her out below!

Halo - ALICE-130!

Halo: The Spartan Collection Series 7 - Alice-130 w/ Accessories - Jazwares 2023

One of the reasons I avoided collecting toys from Halo for so long was because of characters like Alice-130. I love when there is a female character who exhibits masculine traits, or at least doesn't exaggerate their feminine qualities just for the sake of gender contrast. (Zarya from Overwatch was one of my favorite toys from 2019 and is a great example of 'female masculinity' in toys (to quote Halberstam)). But on the flip side, when someone has to tell you a character is female, and you still aren't really sure, the appeal for me gets lost. Most early Halo females had this effect on me. They mostly looked indistinguishable from the males, and Alice-130 always stood out because she had a clearly gendered name, but seemingly male armor mimicking male musculature. Embarrassingly, it took a bright pink Spartan to inspire my first purchase (the exact type of exaggerated femininity I claim to dislike). But she was the gateway Halo for me and now I'm hooked, even with Alice-130. Let's check her out!

Halo - COMMANDER AGRYNA!

Halo: The Spartan Collection Series 8 - Commander Agryna - Jazwares 2023

I don't know what it is about Halo that keeps drawing me in. I normally avoid video game properties, especially over-masculine militant games. But I think the fact that there are actually so many female characters thriving in this chaotic and unforgiving environment highlights the feminine/masculine contrast and makes them all the more appealing. Plus there is the toyetic quality when assembling all the small variations of armor that scratches some OCD collector's itch I've always had. Despite knowing next to nothing about the Halo property, collecting these toys gives me a similar joy to Power Rangers or team building in Marvel Legends. This figure of Commander Agryna is especially appealing to me because she is so new. She first appeared in late 2021 in Halo Infinite: Season One, and therefore has never been merchandized before. She also has unique colored armor (with a cool bumblebee insignia on her chest) and she is the first black female in any of the toylines (that I'm aware of). Let's check her out below!

Halo - KELLY-087!

Halo Infinite: The Spartan Collection Series 5 - Kelly-087 - Jazwares 2022

Kelly-087 was one of the first female Halo characters I was ever made aware of. I had seen imagery of Cortana and I had seen some Spartan toys in stereotypically feminine colors. But Kelly-087 was the first female character with a real name and backstory. Back then, she always wore darker gray armor and really blended in with the grimy aesthetic of Halo. But at some point her armor changed to this brighter white look. White armor seems pretty illogical in a battleground scenario, but I love the simplicity of her design and how she stands out from the other Spartans (and the others on my toy shelf specifically). Plus the chromed helmet was a nice surprise that really pops (even the graphic on the packaging looks like simple metallic paint). Granted, that improvement make the previous KAT-B20 and Spartan Palmer look a little lackluster (literally).  But an interesting tradeoff is that she doesn't included the unhelmeted head that previous figures always had, but I don't mind. Let's check out Kelly-087 below!

Halo 12" - KELLY-087!

Halo: 12" Figures Wave 4 - Kelly-087 (With Shotgun) - Jazwares 2022

I find the Jazwares Halo line oddly exciting. I say "oddly" because I've never played the games or read any of the comics. In fact, until the recent show on Paramount Plus, I had no reference other than the toys. And the toys are very unlike the rest of my collection; they are militaristic characters with (nearly) genderless armor and not many distinguishing details. These figures look very out of place next to the spandex-clad heroes that populate my toy room, but I'm still obsessed with them. In fact, I got distracted in the middle of typing this to obsessively Google to see if there are any upcoming waves to get a excited about. FYI, there's an Alice-130 in Wave 7 of the 6" Halo line, but unfortunately no news on a Wave 5 in the 12" line. But the last three waves just showed up in stores with zero advance knowledge, so I'm always keeping my eyes peeled. Ross, Five Below, and Go Calendars were surprise first locations of the previous waves, so they could show up anywhere. Let's check out Kelly-087 below!

Halo 12" - SPARTAN PALMER!

Halo: 12" Figures Wave 3 - Spartan Palmer (Dual Magnums) - Jazwares 2021

A couple weeks after I made the surprise discovery of Wave 02 of Jazwares 12" Halo line, I was in a Ross store (seeing if I could spot those Marvel Legends vintage figures everyone seemed to be finding) when I stumbled across Wave 03 featuring Commander Sarah Palmer. Again, this assortment was completely unknown to me. It's great timing too because I just started watching the Halo series on Paramount and I'm obsessed. They took what I thought was a confusing overly-militaristic action genre and made it mysterious, insightful, and intriguing. The gender dynamic is amazing, too. I don't know the actors names, but there are at least five female characters I am in love with. And that's not even including the two female Spartans I've noticed so far. I'm excited to follow this season each week, and it's renewed my interest in the toys I already own. My Halo purchases have always been based solely on aesthetics, but now I have an awesome narrative to back it up. Let's check out Spartan Palmer below!

Halo 12" - SPARTAN VALE!

Halo: 12" Action Figures Wave 2 - Spartan Vale with SMG - Jazwares 2020

I randomly walked into a FiveBelow on a snowy day last month and was elated to discover this 12" Spartan Vale figure. My first thought was that this was my long sought-after 2017 Mattel Vale that took me three years to track down (and begging some favors from international friends). But, no, this was a brand new Jazwares version that had gone completely under my radar. In my local Walmarts and Targets, Series 01 was still warming the shelves and despite my obsessive perusal of toy news sites, I had no idea there would be a Series 02. The interesting thing is that about four weeks after my discovery, this wave started hitting Walmarts full force in my area. But nothing beats walking into an unassuming store and finding a toy you love, but didn't know existed. That is a rare gift in this hobby. These 12" toys are a ton of fun. And surprisingly the smaller companies like Spin Master and Jazwares produce much better ones than the big guys like Hasbro. Let's check out Spartan Vale below!

Halo - SPARTAN PALMER!

Halo Infinite: The Spartan Collection Series 3 - Spartan Palmer - Jazwares 2021

When the Jazwares Toys Halo KAT-B320 came out this time last year, I only bought her out of boredom and one too many fruitless toy hunts. Despite never having played a Halo game in my life, nor even watched someone else at the controls, I had somehow managed to a collect a decent amount of Halo toys across numerous companies and scales. And there was just something about that Kat figure that seemed the least impressive of them all. But I still got her. Partially to compare the scales and quality and partially to support smaller companies like Jazwares who often get overshadowed. But then a few weeks ago I was at Target and spotted this Spartan Sarah Palmer (which I didn't even know was in the pipeline). Right away I felt this figure was a major improvement over Kat. The face detailing alone was a thousand times better that the near featureless first attempts. I have high hopes now for who else we will see in the line. Let's check out Spartan Sarah Palmer in detail below!

Halo - KAT-B320!

Halo Infinite: The Spartan Collection - KAT-B320 - Jazwares Toys 2020

It's so interesting how Halo toys make a resurgence every few years from a new company. When I started getting into toy collecting many moons ago, Joyride Halo line was a seemingly permanent fixture in the toy aisles. I didn't pay much attention to Halo until 2011 when McFarlane included one of the first females (aside from Cortana and Dare), the pink Spartan Air Assault. But it was the following release that got me really intrigued me, Kat from Halo Reach. This figure was great because she had a unique identifying name (as opposed to a random armor description), with a distinctive metal arm, and an unhelmeted head (which was pretty rare in the McFarlane line at the time). So when I saw that the first female included in this new Jazwares Spartan Collection was a Kat figure with an unhelmeted head, I knew nostalgia would draw me in to collecting yet another Halo line. At least the scale is new territory for me. The 7" scale actually harkens back to that original Joyride line. Let's check out Kat below!

Halo 12" - SPARTAN TANAKA!

Halo: 12" Action Figures Wave 1 - Spartan Holly Tanaka - Jazwares 2020

There's something about Halo toys that always grab my attention. I rarely play video games, and on the rare occasion when I do, it's never a first-person shooter. But I still feel a thrill when I see the kickass female Spartan Warriors all armored-up and fighting alongside their male counterparts. The only downfall is that the Halo license keeps changing hands. In the past five years the baton has been passed from McFarlane Toys, to Mattel, and now to Jazwares. And of course the scales never line up. But despite the good female representation across those three companies, there have been very few 12" figures. Holly Tanaka is an interesting character choice because out of all the female Spartans, she has the bulkiest and most gender-neutralizing armor, and nowhere on the packaging does it mention her full name or elude to her gender. So if a company is hesitant to take a gamble on an under-selling female character in a testosterone-laden property, Tanaka is pretty perfect compromise. Let's check her out below!

Halo 12 Inch SPARTAN VALE!

Halo 12" Action Figures - Series 02 - Spartan Vale - Mattel 2017

I've wanted to finish this post forever, but it's difficult because I know next to nothing about Halo. That said, this figure was my most sought-after modern 12" figure in recent memory. She was shown off at Toy Fair NY in 2017. And honestly "shown off" is a strong word. She popped up in the background of a tiny Halo display. Mattel never seemed to promote this line at all. It's very odd to rely on the K-Mart website for product information, but by the end, that was literally the best source for reveals. This 12" Spartan Vale was released sometime in late 2017, but not anywhere in the US that I ever heard of. I eventually caved after two years and begged Instagram to help me get her. And a huge thank you to Levi @toyfriendsofficial for grabbing her for me while travelling in Mexico. She really is a beautiful figure and would have continued to be a grail of mine for many years without Levi's help. It's a shame that Mattel only released two 12" females. I'll be curious to see how the upcoming Wicked Cool Toys 12" Tanaka compares.

Halo - SPARTAN TANAKA!

Halo Universe Series: Wave 2 - Spartan Tanaka (Grunt Ultra BaF) - Mattel 2018

I have always found the Mattel handling of the Halo property to be very confusing. However, I just finally wrapped my head around how different waves and character assortments work. So far, each Wave of figures has had two assortments. I have dubbed Wave One the "Crawler Wave." The first six figures allowed you to build the "Alpha Crawler". Then the second assortment for Wave One had two characters swapped out. These new characters had different Build-a-Figure pieces (Head & Shoulders/Back) which allowed you to build a slight variation, the "Crawler Snipe." Wave Two I call the "Grunt Wave." The first assortment allowed you to build the "Imperial Grunt." Then the second assortment swapped out a whopping four characters and allowed you to build "Grunt Ultra." If this roadmap was laid out for collectors, I never saw it. I would just see new figures in stores and get really confused. But I admit it was also exciting to stumble across unexpected characters like Holly Tanaka. Let's check her out below!

Halo - KELLY-087!

Halo Universe Series: Wave 1 - Kelly-087 (Crawler Snipe BaF) - Mattel 2017

I find it kind of amusing that McFarlane Toys stole Mattel's long-standing and lucrative DC Comics license this year when just a few years ago the reverse situation happened when Mattel nabbed the (rather iconic) Halo license from McFarlane. The Mattel Halo line started out with a lot of promise, but the momentum was squandered by poor distribution, and almost a complete lack of publicity. I'm pretty sure I've only seen these for sale at Toys R Us, K-Mart, Walgreens, and discount stores like Ross and Marshalls. Even the character lineups for different waves is really confusing to sort out (although I made a recent discovery that makes it all a lot more logical - I'll detail that in my next post (for Holly Tanaka)). I'm also having trouble finding out if Mattel even still has the Halo license. There hasn't been news of new product in a long time. And some of the announced figures appear to never have had a wide release (the Skeletor homage and several of the 12" figures in particular). Let's check out Kelly-087 below!

Halo - SPARTAN VALE!

Halo Universe Series: Wave 2 - Spartan Vale (Imperial Grunt BaF) - Mattel 2017

Mattel's Halo Universe Series is one of the most irregular action figure lines in recent years. When Mattel got the Halo license from McFarlane Toys back in 2016, I think everyone thought it would get the full Mattel-level treatment that we usually see with their superhero action figure lines. But surprisingly there has been very little product and very little promotion for that product. I almost thought this Series 02 Spartan Vale figure was an urban legend. There's little or no Halo representation at Toy Fair these days and solicit images usually just randomly pop up and disappear on Amazon. I'm skeptical by nature so I often think they're fake if I can't link them to an real source. In fact, images of Wave 3 surfaced this way back in January, but there hasn't been a peep about them since. I'm not even a big Halo fan (although I always love non-sexualized female warriors), but the scarcity of these recent figures always earns them a high spot on my wishlist anyway. I finally got this gem last week. Let's check her out below!

Halo 12 Inch CORTANA!

Halo 12" Action Figures - Series 03 - Cortana (AI Construct) - Mattel 2018

I think Cortana is one of the most iconic video game females out there. Only Princess Peach and Lara Croft come to mind as more recognizable than this beautiful blue AI construct. Cortana appeared in the first Halo game (Halo: Combat Evolved) from 2001 and has had a significant role in every game in the franchise since. What I especially love about the specific design on this figure (from Halo 5) is that she is wearing a real outfit. Cortana has always been blue and always had a graphic pattern of geometric lines on her. But most of the time it looked like body paint on a naked body. In comparison to bulky armor of all the playable (mostly male) characters, this contrast always seemed silly to me. Especially since she's essentially a holographic narrator. But this figure looks like a living computer while also fitting in to the aesthetic of the game. I was really excited to see her included in this line. Hopefully she'll get a figure in the 6" line as well. Let's check out this 12" Cortana in detail below!

Halo - SPARTAN LOCUS!

Halo Universe Series: Wave 2 - Spartan Locus (Mjolinir Argus Armor) - Mattel 2017

I'm always trying to break up with you, Halo. Sure, it's always fun in the moment, but I know in the long run it's just not meant to be. I rehearse my internal dialogue "it's not fair to either of us. You won't ever fit it with the rest of my spandexy toys, you'll be lonely, and plus I've been around you for years but I still know next to nothing about you... and probably never will." We do our own things and I don't think of you for over a year. But then I find myself in a slight collecting slump. I wander into a store. I don't know why I'm there. I'm certainly not looking for anything serious. Then I see you hanging there all coy on your peg. Our eyes meet and I know I shouldn't but damn you're looking so pretty and no one has to know. Plus you're red now. I've never seen you in red before. Before I know what's come over me, I pick you up and take you home. I'm kinda skilled like that. So long story short, I start the cycle all over again. And I don't regret it for one second. More of our sordid affair below...

Halo - LINDA-058!

Halo - Alpha Crawler Build-a-Figure Series - Linda-058 - Mattel 2016

There's something I find irresistible about an established company starting up a brand new property with unique body styles and accessories. When we think of Mattel products, it's easy to imagine what one of their DC figures might look like. Same with WWE, Barbie, and MOTUC. It's been that way for years. So when Mattel got the Halo license from McFarlane Toys, I was intrigued to see what their new action figures might look like. The result is a totally unique body style composed of a rigid plastic unlike anything else in the Mattel portfolio. They are made in a noticeably larger scale than their McFarlane predecessors and they further differentiate themselves by having removable armor - not just a piece or two, but almost everything except for the helmet. I'm really curious to see what future characters they include in the lineup. This Linda-058 was a surprise to me when I found her at TRU a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to more surprises too. Let's check out Linda-058 below!

Halo 5: Guardians - SPARTAN HERMES!

Halo 5: Guardians - Series 02 - Spartan Hermes - McFarlane Toys 2016

I keep swearing that every Halo figure I buy is going to be my last, but I think this one might actually be the one. Earlier this year it was announced that McFarlane Toys lost the Halo license to Mattel.  I think the change will be the perfect time for me to bow out. But true to form, the line went out on a high note (in my humble opinion) with this great repaint of Spartan Kelly in bold green and yellow. I normally skip repaints, but this one was different enough that I couldn't resist. Plus a goal of mine was always to assemble a rainbow squad of female Halo soldiers, and I had skipped the only other green girl (Alice) many years ago because she looked like she had a male buck. Green also happens to be my favorite color, so of course she's now my favorite. This review will be pretty easy since she's identical to the figure I reviewed several months ago. So just sit back and enjoy a slew of pretty pictures. Let's check out Spartan Hermes below!

Halo 5 Guardians - SPARTAN KELLY!

Halo 5 Guardians - Series 01 - Spartan Kelly - McFarlane Toys 2015

Halo toys just keep getting better and better. Each time I buy a new figure, I swear it will be my last, but then another character gets released and I'm back on the bandwagon. Halo 5: Guardians has a lot of great potential for female figures. There are already two females (Holly Tanaka and Kelly-087) for this game, with a third generic green figure on the way soon. But there are at least two more named females in the game (Olympia Vale and Linda-058). There is already an older figure Vale figure out there, but an updated one would be awesome.  I really just want female Halo figures in every color of the spectrum. I almost skipped this Kelly figure because I thought her coloring was too similar to Commander Palmer's for my multi-hued army. The earlier version of Kelly had white armor and would have been better, but she's really hard to come by at a good price. So alas, another silver Spartan on my shelf.  At least the gold-domed helmet distinguishes her.  Let's check out Kelly below!

Halo - COMMANDER PALMER!

HALO 4 - Series 03: Commander Sarah Palmer - McFarlane Toys 2015

Halo is one of those toy lines that I have no interest in, but then I keep getting suckered in by cool action figures that magically appear when the shelves seem to be devoid of my typical superhero fare.  This is now my 5th Halo toy which is surprising because I've never played the game, or even seen any gameplay aside from random commercials and that election day episode of The Good Wife.  (Interesting connection I just discovered: Ridley Scott, director the Good Wife is directing a digital feature called Halo: Nightfall featuring Good Wife star (and future Luke Cage), Mike Colter.  Nice cross-promotion there.  But I digress).  Commander Palmer gets some special attention because she's the only character I have two of.  I couldn't resist her SprüKits model from earlier this year, although I may have skipped it if I knew this version was on the horizon.  This figure is of typical high quality along with my other McFarlane toys.  If other companies out there put this much effort into quality I'd be one happy boy.