Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - COVER GIRL!

G.I.Joe: The Movie - ReAction+ O-Ring Action Figures - Cover Girl - Super7 2024

How crazy is it that after 40-some years, this original version of Cover Girl is getting so much attention. I frankly never understood why she got the weird redesign after her 1983 debut. I assume it had something to do with Hasbro's avoidance of long hair on their figures. But giving her short auburn hair just made her look like a variation of the Scarlett toy. Considering she would have been the only blonde main character as well made this a very confusing decision. But it seems like this "M.A.S.S. Device" design is finally getting some attention with three figures in a few short years. I bought this Reaction+ O-Ring figure just shy of a year ago. I bought so many versions of her because her eyes were always off-center, and by the time I secured a good one, the "newness" excitement was gone and I never opened her until this week. The new Pythona figure lit a fire under me and made me finally free these ladies from their packaging. They're pretty great. Let's check out Cover Girl below!

G.I.Joe Classified - COVER GIRL!

G.I.Joe Classified Series #59 - Courtney "Cover Girl" Krieger - Hasbro 2023

Cover Girl is a very interesting character. As the second female G.I.Joe character produced, and after having a prominent role in the first G.I.Joe mini-series (albeit with a very different design), you would think she had the momentum to be a major character in the franchise. But as a kid, and even later as a young adult collector, she is a character that I constantly forgot about. This might be because her vintage figure resembled Scarlett in a bomber jacket (to my young eyes at least). Or maybe because her figure only came with an expensive vehicle, which made her inaccessible for most. But I think the biggest factor was her scarcity in the cartoon. I have almost no memories of her in the show. I remember having taped an episode where she blurred by in an action scene for a split-second cameo. I would rewind and pause it in fascination. I was into the Marvel G.I.Joe comics at the time, and I had thought she was a comics-only character until these rare animated glimpses. But they were few and far between.

G.I.Joe Classified - GLENDA!

G.I.Joe Classified Haslab (Dragonfly) - Jane "Glenda" Mulligan - Hasbro 2024

I've made a turning point with Haslab campaigns. Almost every release has a single character or two that I want, and up until now I have backed almost every campaign solely for a small figure, leaving me to store and resell a giant vehicle or figure. This past Summer I finally bucked up and sold my Sentinels, Galactus, H.I.S.S. Tank, etc. And honestly the ordeal was a pain. Buyers kept backing out after the sale was made (i get it, it's a big purchase), the packages took up the entire back seat of my car, and I discovered only certain local facilities can even accept packages over 3 feet. Anyway, when this Glenda was announced as a stretch goal for the 2024 Dragonfly Haslab campaign, I knew I needed her, but I would be resorting to eBay to pick her up after the fact. Luckily it went smoothly and I think the upcharge was a good tradeoff for the hassle-free experience. If I only had limitless space and a penchant for vehicles, this hobby would be much easier. Let's check out the Haslab-exc Glenda below!

Super7 ReAction - LADY JAYE (DIC)!

ReAction Action Figures - G.I.Joe Target Exc - Lady Jaye (DIC) - Super7 2024

This figure has been a long time coming. In 1989, when DIC Enterprises took over production of the new G.I.Joe cartoons, all the main characters got redecos (Some more extreme than the others). The main female trifecta of Scarlett, Baroness and Lady Jaye all had simple color swap changes from the Sunbow designs. Eventually the new Baroness and Scarlett designs were reflected in the Hasbro toy lines, but Lady Jaye was not invited to the party. Perhaps it's because her muted-green DIC design was too similar to her classic army greens, or maybe it's because her action figure was already being re-released in camo and stealth versions, but either way, the new design was never represented in plastic until now. I found this figure last Sunday at Target. The news of her didn't hit the toy sites until the next day, so it was a true shock when I saw her on the shelf. Her Ultimates figure in this deco was unfortunately canceled, so I'm glad Super7 was able to get her out in some form. Let's check out Lady Jaye below!

Delta-17 - DEATH SPARROW!

Delta-17: War in the Shadows - Death Sparrow (Retrograd Leader) - 5by5 2024

There's something very iconic about a short-haired blonde Eastern European villainess. This Death Sparrow figure from the new O-Ring Delta-17 line reminds me of several memorable 80's characters: Elsa Schneider from Indiana Jones, Sgt. Callahan from Police Academy, and Baroness from G.I.Joe. Death Sparrow is the Commander of the Retrograd mercenary army in employ of the Shadow Dragon and his Dark Shadows. Her name also intrigues me because of my fascination with the mythology around Psychopomps, in which animals or deities act as guides or harbingers of death. And these are often represented as flocks of sparrows. So the name Death Sparrow instantly brings that lore to mind. I hope this line expands because these figures are really well made (dare I say better than the last few official G.I.Joe O-Rings I purchased). I have a feeling SDCC next week will unveil more O-Ring product for us, and I can't wait. Fingers crossed for some ladies. Let's check out Death Sparrow below!

Delta-17 - KESTREL!

Delta-17: War in the Shadows - Kestrel (Delta-17 Grenadier) - 5by5 Toys 2024

I sometimes forget how special O-Ring figures were. This construction style was revolutionary in my childhood with the G.I.Joe line. Compared to the previous 1:12 lines like Star Wars and Mego Superheros, these were lightyears ahead in style and playbility. But looking back, there were actually very few O-Ring toylines produced. But in the past few years there has been a resurgence in the nostalgia for them and several companies have new figures available or in the works. The first modern line to include female characters is this Delta-17: War in the Shadows line from 5by5 Toys. It is a military-themed property with several factions of good vs evil characters. This Kestrel character is my favorite. She reminds me of a female version of Falcon (complete with a bird of prey codename) paired with a color scheme reminiscent of the rare Canary Ann figure. This figure has me excited for the new Super7 Cover Girl O-ring as well as any new reveals at SDCC in a couple weeks. Let's check out Kestrel below!

G.I.Joe Classified - LADY JAYE!

G.I.Joe Classified Retro Card Series - G.I.Joe Lady Jaye - Hasbro 2022

Lady Jaye is probably my favorite G.I.Joe character. Even though I love outlandish costumes and gimmicks in my adventure properties, Lady Jaye stands out as being one of the few characters in a military unit that is actually wearing army greens. Typically I would find this boring, but like me and my lack of tattoos, the normalcy makes her a standout among her edgy peers. I also love that she's butch. I feel like they amplified her relationship with Flint and even had a full episode of her running around in a pink frilly nightgown just to soften her, but you couldn't disguise how tough she was. She also managed to convince me that exploding javelins were a standard weapon like the guns, crossbows, and swords the rest of the characters were wielding. She was iconic. This Retro Card repaint of her Classified figure is a nice variation. Her green outfit is a brighter hue like her vintage toy and her face paint is better. Her missing hairpiece is the only real downside. Let's check out Lady Jaye below!

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!

Marvel Legends - FEMALE TROOP BUILDERS!

Marvel Legends - S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent & Hydra Trooper 2-Pack - Hasbro 2023

Trooper Builders are a pretty great modern trend geared towards collectors. Typically only the A-list characters get the action figure treatment and presence in the toy aisles. And lately we've been luckily enough to get a steady flow of B and C list characters too. But unnamed soldier characters never seem to make the cut. Until, of course, companies like Hasbro started releasing them as online exclusives. Collectors could suddenly build armies of their favorite factions. I enjoyed seeing this trend, but I was never too interested since female characters weren't invited to the party. Until this year. G.I.Joe Classified had females introduced in three different two packs (Blue Ninjas, Steel Corps, and Cobra Valkyries). And now this amazing Marvel Legends set with a female S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and Hydra Trooper (plus multiple alternate heads) to build out the two most popular Marvel factions. I'm excited to see what the next Hasbro set might be. (Fingers crossed for Star Wars female Storm Troopers!) Let's check them out below!

Super7 ReAction - COVER GIRL!

ReAction Action Figures - G.I.Joe Wave 4 - Cover Girl - Super7 2022

The first five episodes of G.I.Joe in 1983 were a mini-series (now) known as The M.A.S.S. Device. Beyond being our introduction to the world of G.I.Joe and Cobra, and beyond being one of the fan-favorite storylines of the entire series, the first five episodes were notable for having a few unique character designs. The images of Baroness in a blue outfit with a yellow and green glasses are isolated to this mini-series. The same goes for the blue Snake-Eyes with the purple visor. But to me the most dramatic change is Cover Girl in long blonde hair and green fatigues. This design has almost no connection to the later look of short reddish-brown hair and a brown bomber jacket. If both versions didn't happen to be the drivers of the Wolverine tank I might not have realized they were the same. But I really like both variations. And surprisingly this ReAction figure is the first time we are seeing the original design in plastic. And she's perfect. Of course I also need the other version now too. Let's check out Cover Girl 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!

G.I.Joe - JODIE "SHOOTER" CRAIG!

G.I.Joe - 50th Anniversary "Special Forces" 3-Pack - Jodie Craig - Hasbro 2016

I've had this figure in my collection since she was first released back in 2016, but only opened her recently. She marks a sad phase in my collecting hobby because she was the last female 1:12 G.I.Joe I ever bought at retail. I say "sad" because G.I.Joe is what got me started collecting. I owned a vintage Baroness that I had convinced my older sister's boyfriend to sell me in the early 90s. Then flash forward to my post-college years living in my first adult apartment, and I pulled out this Baroness and suddenly realized I could go on eBay and easily get Lady Jaye, Scarlett, Cover Girl, and all the others. It was a simple revelation that has seriously brought so much joy to my life. But around the time this Jodie Craig figure hit the shelves, I was becoming very disenchanted with the numerous convention and FSS exclusives that instantly sold for hundreds of dollars. Even this figure, that was quite a shelfwarmer at TRU, now sells for a 100 bucks. It's a competitive market out there. Let's check out Jodie below!

Final Faction - AMARI!

Final Faction - Alpha Team 1 - Specialist Amari - Greenbrier International 2022

In a time when the price of toys is skyrocketing and the exciting toy solicitations are hampered with financial trepidation, there is a surprisingly fun and well-made action figure line easily found at Dollar Tree. For the low price of $1.25 (no, not everything at Dollar Tree is $1), you can get these great 3.75" action figures with five points of articulation, accessories, and graphic cards. And impressively, the Final Faction line has had multiple wave of figures, variants, accessory packs, and vehicles (at Family Dollar and Dollar General). Plus there is a very well-made animated series on YouTube to add to the mythology. This figure came out almost exactly one year ago but it took me until now to photograph her, and coincidentally a few days ago I found a new wave (featuring a gold repaint of Shift). I hope this line continues for a while. There is a ton of potential and a quick Google search illustrates the large fanbase that already exists. I would love see see a female alien in the mix. Let's check out Amari below!

Super7 ReAction - G.I.JOE SOLDIER!

ReAction Action Figures - G.I.Joe Wave 3 (Army Builder) - Soldier - Super7 2022

As a toy collector for most of my adult life, I've very rarely been tempted by army builders. I don't display my toys in action scenes or dioramas, so the idea of getting a bunch of repetitive characters only to be posed in a yearbook-style lineup seems like a waste of money and space. The other factor is, of course, that army builders are rarely female. But Super7's G.I. Joe ReAction line has been doing army builders the right way. They release both male and female figures, both good guys and bad guys, and to top it off they release a variety of variations for each character type. For this first female army builder, the G.I. Joe Soldier (Army Engineer), there are nine variations of skin tone and hairstyle. I picked up three recently and I think they're great. What's also super unique about this figure is that she is wearing the uniform of an unused 1980's concept (which would have been the first black female character in the franchise). Super7 loves a good deep dive like that. Let's check out the soldiers below!

Super7 ReAction - LADY JAYE!

ReAction Action Figures - G.I.Joe Wave 2 - Lady Jaye - Super7 2022

Lady Jaye is my favorite Joe. I like that she dresses in traditional military greens, but she has a super-unique arsenal of weaponized javelins. She also is super tough and no-nonsense (dare I say butch?). I feel like her relationship with Flint was exaggerated to soften her sometimes abrasive demeanor, but it didn't detract from her heroics, rather it gave her more depth and made me like her even more. My problem lies with the fact that so many of her toys are wearing a hat. Hats are fine. I wear hats all the time. But I've never seen Lady Jaye wear a hat in the cartoon, so this bothered me immensely. I can handle discrepancies between cartoon and toy with costumes and accessories. It's just inevitable. But when you mess with the head and hair, it's really hard for me to overlook. This Super7 ReAction figure perfectly captures her animated look and is probably is the best looking Lady Jaye figure ever produced. But I expect the upcoming Ultimates figure will steal that title. Let's check out Lady Jaye 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!

Snake-Eyes Movie - SCARLETT!

G.I.Joe Origins: Snake-Eyes - G.I.Joe Classified Series - Scarlett - Hasbro 2021

I haven't watched Snake-Eyes: G.I.Joe Origins yet, but my biggest incentive to do so is to see Scarlett on screen again. It's hard to believe it's been twelve years since 2009's G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra was released starring Rachel Nichols as Scarlett. I like Rachel, and it was fun to get an actress so familiar to the geek genre (Alias, Star Trek, Conan, Titans, etc) in the role. But that movie was forgettable and the characters were written oddly. This time Scarlett is played by Samara Weaving (The Babysitter movies), and I'm excited to see her portrayal. But in the meantime, we can enjoy this great action figure. Hasbro's face scanning and sculpting technology gets better and better every year. While this face doesn't perfectly capture Samara's unique features, it still looks like a great real-life version of Scarlett. I was very happy to stumble across this figure in Target well in advance of her original release date. I think she's stunning. Let's check out Snake-Eyes Scarlett below!