If you have never watched the Fleischer Studios Superman series from 1941-1942, I highly suggest you do. Although people generally refer to this as a television series, they were actually a series of nine 10-minute theatrical shorts (Household televisions wouldn't become common until the mid 50s). There is a stark art deco style similar to Edward Hopper and other realists on the 1940s. The influence of this series can be seen in the works of later animation powerhouses like Hayao Miyazaki and Bruce Timm. And even in the past twelve months we've see three representations of the Fleischer Superman design in the toy aisles. The first of which was this Mezco 5 Points "The Mechanical Monsters" box set which thankfully included Lois Lane. Lois has had a ton of designs over the years. She is a plainclothed character, so no single look was necessarily iconic. But to me, this brown, green, and yellow skirtsuit will always be the best. But I'm always partial to retro aesthetic. Let's check out Lois below!
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Superman (2025) 6" - HAWKGIRL!
I was planning on saving this post until after I see Superman (2025) in the theaters in a few weeks. I always like to give my thoughts on the movie if I can be patient enough to wait. But in this case, I failed... but it's also because I'm putting faith in McFarlane Toys giving us a belated cinematic Hawkgirl figure. This 6" line from Spin Master is new for them. They have consistently put out 12" and 3.75" figures for all their big DC movies, but for Superman (2025) we have 12", 6", and 3". The latter two being new scales for the company. These new 6" figures remind me of the older basic figure lines we saw from Mattel with Mera, Mary Marvel, Darla, and Wonder Woman. I'm really curious to see what the future of the DC license will be. There is conflicting information stating that both Spin Master and McFarlane will no longer be working with DC in 2026, but I expect there to be more information shared at SDCC. I really appreciate the Hawkgirl figures they gave us, so I hope they stick around. Let's check out Hawkgirl below!
Saturday, June 14, 2025
MCU Infinity Saga - RESCUE!
Once again I'm playing catch-up with the toy trends and just beginning to dabble in the blind-box Blokees figures that are all the rage in the toy stores. I've been very aware of the Transformers products, but just learned of the extensive Ultraman lines and these newer Marvel Cinematic Universe waves (plus a series for Spidey and His Amazing Friends). I actually don't love the human faces made for this scale - they look a tad too cartoony for me - but luckily the only two MCU females so far (Wasp and Rescue) are completely masked. I have a major fondness for Pepper Potts in her cinematic blue Rescue armor. Back in 2019 I was bummed that she wasn't in her traditional red comic colors, but the blue has really grown on me. It's doesn't hurt that this armor has sparked a significant amount of toys, whereas the comic version got almost no recognition. Plus I think it made way for Ironheart to adopt red armor (and I can admit I like her even more than Pepper). Let's check out Rescue below!
Friday, June 13, 2025
Auldey Transformers - ARCEE!
With all the movie and modern television versions of Arcee and Elita-1 action figures filling the toy shelves in recent years, it is really nice to see a series super classic G1 figures. Auldey is Chinese company with origins making knockoff racecar toys and yoyos in the early 90s. Over the years, they have legitimized their business and become well-known for producing toys from popular brands like Pokemon and Super Wings. But this Transformers blind box series is the first thing that got me excited. The sculpts are very representative of the 80's animated look and the figure scales vary drastically depending on the character.. but reflect the actual character scale in the vintage cartoon. (Arcee is on the small side). This was my first Auldey purchase but I have a movie Elita-1 on the way and there is a classic G1 Elita-1 coming in wave 2. I'm very hopeful we might see some more classic ladies. I for some reason keep envisioning a Firestar as a chase figure. Here's hoping! Let's check out Arcee below!
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Transformers One - ELITA-1!
The Blokees obsession in the toy market today has seemingly come out of nowhere. Around this time last year I picked up my first Blokees figure (a Rise of the Beasts Arcee) that I was moderately happy with. My second purchase, however, was a Transformers One Elita-1 last year that I was obsessed with. But the current obsession has nothing two do with those two figures, but rather the smaller blindbox designs that have filled up every toy and comic shop overnight. This new Elita-1 is the first female to be included in the blindbox assortments so my firsthand knowledge is a little lacking. I believe there are two scale of blindbox figures. This Elita-1 is in the larger Galaxy Version, and then there is a super tiny and cute Defender Version scale which look like the old Playskool Robot Heroes, but super articulated and slightly SD. I hope they make a female character in that scale soon. The larger scales are not blindboxed and come in larger holographic packaging specific to the character you want.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Legends of Tomorrow - HAWKGIRL!
With Hawkgirl set to make her big-screen live-action debut in Superman next month, I thought it would be fun to look back at the first live-action Hawkgirl from the Arrowverse CW show DC's Legends of Tommorrow (2016-2022). This show featured a variety of characters already introduced in Arrow and Flash (and plenty of new characters) in time-travelling adventures led by Rip Hunter the Time Master. Some of the notable characters are White Canary, Firestorm, Vixen, The Atom, Steel, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl (played by Ciara Renée) and Vixen (played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers) were my main draw to the show. Personally, the CW shows never appealed to me, but these two characters were very cool and thankfully got the action figure treatment. I always felt the DCC Arrowverse figures looked a little stiff and unappealing in the packaging, but in person they are more dynamic than I was led to believe (but not overly so). Let's check out the Legends of Tomorrow Hawkgirl below!
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Superman (2025) 6" - THE ENGINEER!
I was honestly planning to skip this figure. When I first saw the assortment of Superman toys from various companies last month, I was impressed to see a second female character show up in the different assortments. My first assumption that this was Lois Lane due to the dark hair and simple outfit. It didn't exactly looks like civilian duds, but I thought perhaps she had a protective suit for part of the movie or something. But soon I saw clearer images and learned this character was actually The Engineer from Wildstorm Comic's The Authority (which is slated for a 2026 movie). Those comics were never my favorite. They were super violent and seemingly existed for shock value. But I always enjoyed The Engineer... and loved her earlier toy. But these new figures looked like a very boring version of her. In the comics, the Engineer is a scientist who replaced her blood with nanobots and often appears completely head-to-toe covered in chrome with limbs that form into crazy weapons at will.
Friday, June 6, 2025
Imaginext - HAWKGIRL!
When all the Superman Movie (2025) product started rolling out last month, the last thing I expected was an almost complete heroes set from Imaginext. The only thing that would surprise me more is a follow-up set with Metamorpho, Lex Luthor, Engineer, and Robot-4. Hawkgirl is the character I'm most looking forward to in the movie. I really dig her cinematic costume design and I'm a fan of Isabela Merced. While her character is seemingly omitted from the main McFarlane DC Multiverse movie assortment so far, she's received two scales of Spinmaster actions figures and this unexpected Fisher-Price Imaginext figure so far (She will also have an "Ultra Rare" Funko Pop released on July 11th). I would also love to see her in the new Spinmaster 3" scale that seemingly includes every character except Hawkgirl. Imaginext has always been amazingly inclusive with its character selection and they didn't disappoint with this multipack. It's an incredible toyline. Let's check out Hawkgirl below!
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