Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - JENNIKA!

BST AXN - Jennika (Standard & SDCC Battle Ready) - Loyal Subjects 2024

There have been several attempts to introduce a female turtle to the TMNT universe over the years, but they never seem to last. Jennika is one of the most recent females in a half-shell and she has impressively been going strong for five years in the IDW comics (with two solo series and now two action figures). I even saw her graphic novel in Target last month, and their book department is (sadly) getting smaller and more selective each year. Jennika was introduced as a human foot clan assassin who was (four years later) injured and given a blood transfusion from Leonardo, triggering her mutation. I've always liked her design and the use of yellow as her signature color. In my mind, there has been a race to see which toy company would merchandize her first: Playmates, Loyal Subjects, or NECA. But my money was always on Loyal Subjects. Their work on the IDW versions of the other Turtles has been great, and Jennika is no exception. Let's check out her standard action figure and her SDCC redeco below!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - ALOPEX!

BST AXN Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Alopex (Target) - Loyal Subjects 2024

Alopex is my favorite new character discovery in a long time. When this toy was first announced a few months ago, I had never heard of her, but I was immediately interested because I love fox characters. In the time since, I have read a handful of issues and have become quite a fan. Alopex is a mutated Arctic Fox (sometimes known as Alopex lagopus) who first appeared in TMNT Micro Series #1: Raphael (2011 IDW).  She is generally an antagonist working with the Foot as Shredder's personal assassin. But she has a romantic connection with Raphael that plays on her allegiances. The first story I read of hers was wonderful. She reminded me of an amalgamation of several favorite characters (namely Elektra from Marvel Comics and Jinx from G.I.Joe) but unique in her fox appearance and cunning viciousness. This BST AXN figure is the Target Exclusive deco with red facepaint (the standard version is blue). I think she's amazing and I can't wait to get both to display both heads. Let's check out Alopex below!

MOTU Action Vinyls - SORCERESS!

Masters of the Universe - Blind Box Vinyls - Sorceress - Loyal Subjects 2019

The Loyal Subjects made a really smart move by making their figures only semi-blindboxed. At an average MSRP over ten dollars, having a true blind assortment was problematic. I had personally decided to stop buying these figures altogether before they changed their marketing. Now only a select few (rare) characters are in blind boxes, while most of the characters (with common ratios) have revealed window boxes.  Despite how much I would have wanted Sorceress to complete my MOTU ladies trifecta, the idea of dropping $10-12 bucks for each attempt at a 1:24 character just pissed me off. I wasted a lot of money trying to get Cheetara a couple years ago and I was just done. But then I walked into Target and saw Sorceress just sitting there in a non-blind box. I'm not one for grudges so I didn't even hesitate before getting back on board. Now they just need to make their chases a little less rare. And of course give us more retro characters. Jem and Silverhawks would be awesome. Let's check out Sorceress!

Loyal Subjects - CHEETARA!

Thundercats Series 01 - Blind Box Action Vinyls - Cheetara - Loyal Subjects 2017

I'm always a sucker for anything Cheetara. There's something about cat-themed characters that has always appealed to me. Catwoman was the first one that caught my attention. But Cheetara was the first felinoid with actual cat characteristics. The theme is huge in comics and cartoons. Something about felines and females complement each other and make for intriguing other-worldly characters, and I think the sheer amount of female felinoids in the toy world proves that is a recipe that works. But with all the popularity of this character type, I think Cheetara will be always be my OG Cat-Girl. I can't see a piece of Cheetara merchandise without purchasing it. Luckily all the items I've picked up looked really good. Most of these Loyal Subjects females have questionable aesthetics to me. It's mostly the eyes that look more like Bratz dolls than their intended characters, but this Cheetara has an updated look that I think is terrific. Now my fingers are crossed for a Pumyra in the future. Let's check out Cheetara below!

MOTU Action Vinyl Variants - TEELA & EVIL-LYN!

MOTU Walmart Series - Blind Box Vinyls - Teela & Evil-Lyn - Loyal Subjects 2016

One of the biggest bummers about Toy Fair 2017 for me was that Loyal Subjects did not show off any of their seconds series of Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls. I'm still not totally sold on these guys. Aesthetically they really stray from my typical fare, and expensive blind box items make me feel like a sucker. But all that doesn't stop me from coveting a future Sorceress (and She-Ra for that matter!). So despite no Teela-Na or Adora making an appearance at the show, they did show a Cheetara prototype and a third series of MOTU Series 1 repaints. This review is for the Wal-Mart exclusive repaints featuring "mini-comics pink" Teela and "yellow classic toy" Evil-Lyn. The upcoming third series of repaints will feature a Classic Toy Teela and a 200x Evil-Lyn. If the assortment is easy to come by (like these Walmart ones were), I will probably cave once again. Or who knows, maybe I'll grow a spine and say no. Only time will tell. Let's check out the redecoed Teela and Evil-Lyn below!

MOTUC Action Vinyls - TEELA & EVIL-LYN!

MOTU Series 01 - Blind Box Action Vinyls - Teela & Evil-Lyn - Loyal Subjects 2016

It's been quite a while since I've been so torn about a new collectible. I think these Loyal Subjects action vinyls are fun and bright and have an awesome character selection. But conversely, I also think they look like little musclebound streetwalkers and are overpriced. I was on the fence and was leaning toward not getting them when I realized a trick for finding the ladies (the females seem to weigh about half as much as the bulky males). Suddenly the blind box gamble was eliminated and I caved. Another major motivation was the hope that the next series would contain a Sorceress. I don't know why, but the idea of having a little super-deformed sultry-eyed Sorceress seems ironically appealing. So now in the meantime I have these two oddball figures in my collection and I can't figure out if I want to see them on my shelf or not. I'll put them out on a trial basis and see how much they creep me out. I think once more MOTU Dorbz and 3.75" Super7 figures come out, they'll kind of blend in. Let's check them out!