Marvel Legends - THUNDRA!

Marvel Legends - Hulkbuster Wave - Fearless Defenders - Hasbro 2015

To me, Thundra always seemed to be Marvel's attempt to create a Wonder Woman character with an extreme and gritty edge. She first appeared in the page of the Fantastic Four in 1972 as a time-travelling Amazon-like warrior seeking to defeat the Thing ("the strongest male warrior of all time") in combat and declare her dominance over all men. Thundra came from a future time when Earth was renamed Femizonia and the US is the United Sisterhood Republic. Men are subjugated and women rule absolutely. Thundra was genetically engineered and trained since birth to be a perfect warrior and she made the rounds in the Marvel Universe challenging other powerful heroes to battle. She's been a hero and an antogonist (I wouldn't say "villain" because her goals are never evil), and she's also notable for being the mother of Lyra. Lyra was conceived in the future from tissue samples of the Hulk, and for a while in the comics Lyra wore Thundra's outfit with only her green skin tone distinguishing Mother and daughter.

Evolve - Funko Legacy Collection - VAL!

Funko Legacy Collection: Evolve - #02 Valerie "Val" Wolski - Funko 2015

I want nothing more than for Funko's Legacy line to be long and prosperous. There are enough properties to go around and they have produced some pretty great figures already. The only worry I have is about their license selection. Game of Thrones and Firefly seem like no-brainers. But Fantastic Mr. Fox, Book of Life, and Evolve don't seem like especially profitable choices. Hopefully the outrageous success of POPs and the myriad of other Funko products can float this line until it really finds its groove. Evolve is a videogame released for Playstation and XBox earlier this year. I don't personally play games, but this one sounds really interesting. The game enables 4 players to be hunters on the alien planet Shear, then a 5th player is the alien monster they are hunting. It sounds as if the title comes from the ability of the 5th player to kill other monsters and animals and absorb their traits -- evolving it into a bigger, badder beast. It sounds fun (and I would always play the monster!). Let's check out Val below!

Marvel Legends - MISTY KNIGHT!

Marvel Legends Infinite Series - Rhino Wave - Heroes For Hire - Hasbro 2015

I find myself saying this a lot on this blog, but I know absolutely nothing about this character. My interest in "special-ops" type characters is pretty low. I prefer capes and ridiculous headgear over holsters and guns. That said, this Misty Knight figure looks pretty cool and badass.  She'll look great with my Black Widow and Maria Hill (come to think of it, I'll take a picture of that group and post it soon).  From my wiki research I learned that Misty is a former NYPD officer who lost an arm in an explosion.  Tony Stark fitted her with a cybernetic replacement that gives her superhuman strength.  She has a longstanding partnership with Colleen Wing (another who I know nothing about) and is a romantic interest for Iron Fist.  Her "Heroes for Hire" slot is in reference to the 2006 comic series in which she (and colleen) starred. Although the recent announcement that she will be a character in the upcoming Luke Cage TV series ties into that title as well.  Tricky tricky Hasbro.  Let's check out Misty Knight below!

Marvel Legends - WHITE TIGER!

Marvel Legends Infinite Series - Rhino Wave - White Tiger - Hasbro 2015

White Tiger is one of those characters that I've always wanted to know more about, but never really made the time to do so. I've seen her in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, in the Disney Infinity game, and on a bunch of comic covers (that I haven't read). The identity of this figure is a little confusing, because on the cardback it says her name is Angela Del Toro, but all my research tells me that this is actually Ava Ayala. Ava Ayala is the fifth White Tiger (Angela was 4th), but she definitely has had the most widespread popularity of the bunch. She's one with the toys and cartoon after all. Her powers come from her Jade Amulets that belonged to her older brother Hector (the first White Tiger from 1975). The amulets give her heightened speed, agility, senses, fighting skills, etc, etc, etc. (Pretty much the same as all animal-based characters with magic jewelry). White Tiger is yet another in the legion of characters I never expected to see in Marvel Legends. Hasbro is killing it lately.  Let's check out Ava below!

Star Wars 3.75" Series - CAPTAIN PHASMA!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 3.75" Captain Phasma - Hasbro 2015

It's been a long time since I've been excited about 3.75" Star Wars figures.  My first foray into the Star Wars collecting was many many years ago when I decided to find every Twi'lek female.  There were a lot at the time and I eventually got them all.  But then I grew bored and sold that collection.  Soon I began assembling a rebound group of females that looked "like could have appeared in the original trilogy."  That was my only requirement to be admitted into my nerd cave... and all these years later the group is looking nice.  There are Mandalorians, Imperial Officers, X-Wing pilots, and a stormtrooper.  But now the presence of Captain Phasma is opening up a whole new world of possibility for more figures.  I won't be going overboard with this specific character persay, but just the fact that there's a main female character that's not a princess, a slave, or a prostitute is refreshing.  I think it bodes well for diversity in the future films.  At least I hope that's the case. Let's check out Captain Phasma below!

Star Wars 6" Black Series - REY!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Black Series 6" Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 - Hasbro 2015

Rey is shaping up to be the main female protagonist in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens film. She's featured prominently in the teaser trailers, she's in all the magazine photoshoots, there are Halloween costumes of her trickling into the stores, and best of all, she's already received (at least) four action figures! Yeah, so although not much in known about her, she's pretty much guaranteed to be the Leia/Padme of the new movies. This 6" Black Series figure was one of only two items I was able to snag on Force Friday. My version has pretty reprehensible paint masking - which unfortunately seems to be a common problem. It's especially noticeable along her hairline. By the end of this review, I had succumbed to temptation and touched up the hair with brown paint. It's a shame the Hasbro QC is so inconsistent. Marvel Legends has been practically perfect, but Star Wars and G.I.Joe has been sloppy. Hopefully things improve for future waves.  Let's check out Rey in detail below!

Star Wars Elite Series - CAPTAIN PHASMA!

Star Wars Elite Series - Die-Cast 7" Captain Phasma - Disney Store Exclusive 2015

I'm finally getting excited about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I tend not to get hyped about movies until the week before I see it. But then a friend suggested we do Force Friday for all the midnight openings. It was fun. The shelves were ripped bare in about ten minutes in wonderful geeky glory. We went to ToysRUs and Target. I bought a couple items, but I was mostly there as a spectator. But then the next morning I started getting texts telling me that there were Disney Stores exclusives that I didn't know about. Best thing was that they had a 6" Captain Plasma. I was able to snag one in the first store I hit. (Then I traveled to my other two local stores to try to find Rey, but with no success). Not much is known about Captain Phasma so far. But we know she leads the First Order Stormtroopers, she's clad in unique metallic armor, and she is played by Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones fame. She's getting a Hasbro 6" figure in Black line, but this figure is an early treat. Let's check her out!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - KARAI SERPENT!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Karai Serpent - Playmates 2015

All my Turtle education comes from the original animated series from the 1980s. So when I was researching females in the TMNT line about 5 years ago, I belatedly discovered this elusive daughter of Shredder. I was impressed, but I also was bummed because I couldn't afford the eBay prices her action figures were fetching. This version of Karai is from the 2012 Nickelodeon cartoon. They changed her character a lot in this series. Most notably is that she is now Splinter's daughter, although raised and brainwashed by Shredder. In a scheme by Shredder to turn the Turtles into snakes, Karai accidentally fell into the mutagen and became a serpent herself - while retaining the ability to revert back to human form at will (albeit with reptilian eyes). This figure was first teased a long long time ago. So long ago that I had given up hope to find her almost a year ago. Then a couple weeks ago I found her in TRU sitting randomly on a shelf in front of the Power Rangers. It was kismet. Let's check out Karai below!