Marvel Legends - PROXIMA MIDNIGHT!

Marvel Legends - Avengers: Infinity War - Wave 1 - Proxima Midnight - Hasbro 2018

As much as I love Marvel Legends, one fear has been creeping into my head lately. That is that this line could go the way of Mattel's WWE figures and just keep recycling the same three bucks over and over again. Sure, the Hasbro Legends bucks are amazing and work so well together, but sometimes you need someone big. The recent A-Force She-Hulk was okay, but I honestly wished she looked bigger and stronger. But then this Proxima Midnight figure came out and assuaged all my fears. When a character requires a unique body type, Hasbro clearly isn't afraid to flex their muscles and give us something new. Proxima Midnight is a member of the Black Order (named the Children of Thanos in the movie), a group of ruthless aliens who follow Thanos like a cult. I predict an epic Mrs. Weasley/Bellatrix level confrontation between Gamora, Nebula, and Proxima. That father/daughter dynamic is toxic in different ways for each of them. Can't wait until the Infinity War. Let's check out Proxima Midnight below!

Marvel Legends - SONGBIRD!

Marvel Legends - Avengers: Infinity War - Wave 1 - Songbird - Hasbro 2018

There is a niche kind of character that I am almost always obsessed with. This is when a female character is introduced as a villain, but eventually reforms and becomes a hero (albeit with an edgy personality). I think the most notable is Rogue, but there is also Firestar, Polaris, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Woman, Emma Frost, Black Widow, etc, etc. Seriously most (Marvel) female heroes started this way, and they are all among my favorites. I don't really know too much about Songbird, mostly because I've never read the Thunderbolts or New Avengers where her modern popularity was established. But I know that for her first 18 years in the comics, she was the sonic-powered villain Screaming Mimi who antagonized The Thing, Dazzler, and various Avengers. I love her modern costume. I always thought it had a lot of nods to Phoenix, and the pink "sound wings" just added to that homage when they were added to the design. It all makes for a really dynamic and colorful action figure. Let's check out Songbird below!

Infinity War Titan Hero Series - SCARLET WITCH!

Marvel Titan Hero Series 12" - Infinity War Scarlet Witch - Hasbro 2018

Scarlet Witch is finally being given her due as a full-fledged Avenger. When the first Avengers movie came out back in 2012, I'll admit I was baffled by the fact that the token female hero was Black Widow instead of the Wasp or Scarlet Witch. Actually, her role did belong to the Wasp in early scripts... before Scarlett Johansson brought more name recognition to the Black Widow role in 2010's Iron Man II (fun fact: the Black Widow role was originally intended to be filled by Emily Blunt, who at the time wasn't quite a household name in the US yet). But once I saw Scarlett's performance in that first movie, I embraced the changed (although I still wanted Wanda). Four years later Elizabeth Olsen first showed up on screen as Scarlet Witch. In my opinion, her character's role back then was pretty insignificant, but it's been steadily increasing ever since. I'm assuming her role in Avengers: Infinity War is bigger than ever considering she's getting a Legends redeco, a Basic Series figure, and of course this Titan figure.

Infinity War Titan Hero Series - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Titan Hero Series 12" - Infinity War Black Widow - Hasbro 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War movie features a pretty drastic costume change for Black Widow. Instead of the typical red hair and solid black outfit, Natasha now sports a shorter blonde hairstyle and what looks like a green flak jacket. The hair seems like a nod to to the Yelena Belona incarnation of the character, but is likely a result of having too many redheads in one movie. The green vest seems like an original addition (and slightly atypical for her), but I kind of like it. These new 12" Marvel Titan Hero Series figures were a total surprise to me when I saw them on Instagram Monday, and luckily I found them at Walmart two days later. As much as I love these 12" figures and Natasha's new look, this is the first Titan figure I've been let down by. This is due to the fact that her head is scaled for the the newer (larger) bodies, but she has the same smaller body as the comic-style Black Widow from 2016. There is a similar figure with an action feature coming out which will hopefully be better. Let's check her out!

Marvel Legends - BLACK WIDOW & MOTORCYCLE!

Marvel Legends - Black Widow with Motorcycle Deluxe Set - Hasbro 2018

I have a preference for my comic characters to have bright costumes and super powers. But despite this it's kind of hard to ignore Black Widow when in a few short years she has become the most merchandised Marvel lady out there. Her constant exposure has made me want a really good comic-style figure of Natasha in Legends scale. This deluxe motorcycle set is probably the best we've seen so far, but I must admit I am not thrilled with the production quality of this figure. Considering that all the Marvel Legends females released in the past few years have been pretty much perfect, it's a surprise that this one somehow has completely dull facial expression(s) and hair that seems well sculpted, but poorly manufactured. The funny thing it that the solicits for this figure looked great, but in person she looks like a rush job. Granted, if this exact figure came out 5 years ago I would be over the moon, but Hasbro has raised their own bar pretty high, and this one unfortunately falls short. Let's check her out below!

DC Direct Green Lantern ARISIA!

Green Lantern: Blackest Night Series 03 - Green Lantern Arisia - DC Direct 2010

With the new DC Multiverse Jessica Cruz figure in my sights, I really wanted to finally review this older Green Lantern Corps member that I've had in storage forever. The Blackest Night and Green Lantern waves from DC Direct released dozens of Lantern characters in only a few short years (The Blackest Night line alone had eight waves and over 37 figures!) I wish there was a bat-family line with that kind of dedication (Hush was the biggest with 16). Over the course of the Green Lantern boom we got a lot of classic characters in plastic for the first time. Arisia was a Corps member first introduced in 1981. She is from Graxos IV where the inhabitants have golden-orange skin and elf-like ears. She's run the gamut of predictable storylines for a supporting female characters: death, resurrection, love interest for the title character, etc. I avoided this figure for a long time because I thought she looked like a scantily clad blonde meant for more titillation than substance, but she's grown on me. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends - GWENPOOL!

Marvel Legends - Spider-Man (Lizard BAF Wave) - Gwenpool - Hasbro 2018

Comedic characters are always a tough translation into plastic. Most companies excel at making stoic or angry faces for their figures. But the minute you try to add some whimsy or a sardonic grin, things start to get pretty wonky. Even the smirk on the recent Enchantress figures looked more creepy than mischievous. But this Marvel Legends Gwenpool figure nails it. The standard head with the big smile is great, but the alternate tongue-sticking-out head is simply fantastic. If you're unfamiliar with Gwenpool, she was originally conceived in a series of Gwen Stacy-themed variant covers as a mashup between Gwen and Deadpool. She became very popular with fanart and cosplayer communities and soon began starring in backup stories and special issues before getting her own title in 2016. She is unique because her character knows she's in a comic book.. which leads to her constantly breaking the fourth wall, cracking all kinds of comic in-jokes, and killing with gleeful abandon. It's pretty great. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends - SPIDER-WOMAN (Modern)!

Marvel Legends - Spider-Man (Lizard BAF Wave) - Spider-Woman - Hasbro 2018

Action figures have this funny way of making me appreciate character designs that I really don't care for on the comic page. My reaction to this costume was very interesting. Batgirl's popular Burnside costume was unveiled in December '14 and I loved the fun utilitarian look. It made sense with the non-powered Gotham characters and their gritty environment. But then five months later in April '15, Spider-Woman got a similar redeco and I was not so happy. I just don't expect characters with legit powers to don stylized street clothes over spandex. Jessica Drew's new costume also marked a big shift in the artistic style for the series. Similar to a lot of titles at the time (coincidentally like Batgirl), the new art direction was much more Indy, which is a style I love in Indy comics, but I always prefer a more traditional style with my superhero books. So overall I haven't really been impressed with this makeover, but then this Legends figure comes out and I suddenly love it. Go figure. Let's check her out below!