Marvel Select - LADY DEADPOOL!

Marvel Select -  Marvel Comics Lady Deadpool - Diamond Select Toys 2017

This post is an interesting one because I have already written it. Longtime readers might even have slight deja vu. In September of 2017 I purchased this figure and promptly photographed and reviewed her. There's plenty of evidence to support this, including hotlinks on other blog posts made years afterwards (which are created directly from the existing post). But at some point it got deleted. I don't know how that could have happened, but for years now I would notice the missing post and dead links. The photos were still uploaded and present, but no actual content existed. So I'm finally re-treading old territory for consistency's sake. I remember when this figure came out and my excitement at her quality and scale. A lot of previous Marvel Select ladies looked stiff and awkward to me, but this figure marked a turning point. She blends in with Marvel Legends scale-wise and her sculpt seems a lot more natural than previous figures like Gamora and Black Widow. Let's check out Lady Deadpool below!

Marvel Gallery - LADY DEADPOOL!

Marvel Gallery PVC Statues - Lady Deadpool - Diamond Select Toys 2016

For a few short years, Wanda Wilson was a pretty regular character in Marvel Comics. Wanda was Earth-3010's version of Deadpool. Known as Lady Deadpool in our world, she first appeared in 2010 and was instantly pretty iconic. Sporting a costume almost identical to Wade Wilson Deadpool except for a long exposed ponytail, she is the epitome of a reductive gender-swapped hero. There is nothing really new or reimagined about this character, but I personally felt drawn to her. And when the Deadpool Corps was established, she firmly establish her unique place in the comic universe. And she was pretty popular in the merchandise department as well. In three short years, she had three action figures, a mini-mate, multiple figurines, a Funko Pop, Heroclix, and several statues. By 2013, she was killed off, and by 2015 Gwenpool was introduced to fill the "female Deadpool" void, and Wanda was left in the dust. This Marvel Gallery statue is one of the nicest representations of her.  Let's check her out below!

Deadpool - NEGASONIC TEENAGE WARHEAD!

Marvel Legends: Deadpool 2 - Negasonic Teenage Warhead - Hasbro 2020

I pride myself on knowing a lot about comic book characters. My social circle is decidedly not nerdy so when we all go to see the latest blockbuster, I'm the one getting questions whispered to me during the movie.. "Who is that supposed to be?" "Do they have powers?" "Are they good or bad?" I get over my mortification about theatre chatter and dip into my wealth of knowledge. But every so often I get completely stumped. The most recent example was Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). She had a great presence, an awesome look, and she seemed powerful, but I had absolutely no clue who this character was. I'm kind of glad I didn't either, because after some research, I think I like the cinematic interpretation way better that the original comic. With her cool name and edgy look, her sonic burst powers in the movies make a better match than her precognitive telepathic abilities in the comics. Plus I always dig a costum eover street clothes. Let's check out Ellie below!

Deadpool 2 - DOMINO!

Marvel Legends - Deadpool 2 - Domino (Beatrice Thurman) - Hasbro 2020

The New Mutants and X-Force were the only Marvel books I really liked as a kid so I'm always very obsessive and protective of all these characters. When it was announced that Domino was going to be a character in Deadpool 2, I was giddy. This pairing was perfect to me considering that Domino and Deadpool were first introduced in the same issue of New Mutants #98. But when the trailer came out I legit didn't even recognize her (I thought she was Callisto). In my narrow mind, one of Domino's key traits was unearthly white skin, black hair, black eyepaint (you know, like a domino), and crazy gymnastic skills. But this MCU Domino was all earthtones and uzis. It wasn't the worst cinematic interpretation ever, but I definitely walked into the theatre with low expectations. But all it took was two short hours to win me over. Zazie Beetz's portrayal was great. It was fun, snarky, and cool. Plus it finally explained her powers in an understandable way. And now years later she gets a perfect action figure!

Marvel Legends - LADY DEADPOOL!

Deadpool Legends: Wave 2 (Sauron BAF) - Lady Deadpool - Hasbro 2018

Marvel Legends has been killing it lately with the female action figures. I'm a big fan of the obvious female revamp of existing male characters. I know on the surface these characters can seem reductive and cliche, but I always love making the direct comparison between genders when all the other factors are basically identical. although these gender swaps can lead to some very lazy design. It's a true comic trope to slap on some breasts and a ponytail and assume you've done your part for gender equality. I normally roll my eyes at these half-assed attempts, and Lady Deadpool is a perfect example of it, but something about this specific example is so wrong that it's right. It took me many years to get on board, but I am currently quite a fan of Wanda Wilson and her gravity defying 90's ponytail. Hasbro really has been giving me all the figures I want lately. So to put it out for the universe to hear, my top wanted classic character is Firestar and modern is Ironheart. Fingers crossed! Let's check out Lady Deadpool below!

Marvel Mini Bust - LADY DEADPOOL!

Marvel Mini Bust - Lady Deadpool - Action Figure Xpress Exc - Gentle Giant 2011

When I first saw images of Lady Deadpool when she was introduced back in 2010, I honestly wasn't a big fan. I normally love female versions of established male characters. But adding breasts and a ponytail was just a little too simplistic for me. However, about a year later I saw this very bust advertised in a catalog and I suddenly found myself really appreciating the design. I specifically remember thinking the sculpt of the abdomen and bustline looked very strong and feminine, but not overly sexualized like all the other minibusts flooding the market at the time. Of course I was a much different person seven years ago and I couldn't justify the expense. But this bust was always in the back of my mind, and when her Marvel Select figure came out last year I suddenly had an interest in assembling a little Wanda Wilson collection and my hunt for this bust was on. It took a while but I finally got her at a great price (and just in time for her new Legends figure in the coming weeks!) Let's check out Lady Deadpool below!

Marvel Legends - DOMINO!

Marvel Legends - Deadpool Wave (Sasquatch BaF) - Domino - Hasbro 2018

Domino is my absolute favorite thing to come out of X-Books in the 90s. I know there's a lot of love for Jim Lee era X-Men and whatnot, and I definitely appreciated all that, but I was firmly rooted in the New Mutants and X-Force camps. The mysterious Domino intrigued me so much as a kid. She seemed to be the only first link to Cable's past, her powers were ambiguous, but most of all she looked awesome. Then to top it all off, a little more that a year after her introduction, we learned that the "Domino" we knew and loved was actually the impostor, Copycat. My 13 year old mind was blown. I didn't really keep up with her stories since the mid-90s, but I'm looking forward to her new solo series that starts next month. There has been a small selection of Domino merchandise over the years, but I honestly haven't loved any of it. And if I was being perfectly honest, I'm not over-the-moon with this figure either. It's decent, but for some reason it seems like another character just painted to resemble Domino. Let's check her out!

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 POP! Vinyl - GWENPOOL (AND VARIANT)!

Marvel POP! #197 Gwenpool & #213 Unmasked Walgreens Exc - Funko 2017

One of my favorite things about being a comic reader is when a character evolves organically due to pure fan excitement. One of the most notable examples off the top of my head is Spider-Girl, who was originally introduced in a random episode of What If? and was such a hit that she had two subsequent solo series with over 130 issues. Anole is another case. He was originally an unnamed background character in the 2003 New Mutants series. He never got his own series, but he has been developed into a fan-favorite X-Man. Gwenpool was first introduced as a Spider-Gwen themed variant cover. So essentially she was just a concept design. But then the fans got ahold of her and the internet was suddenly festooned with cosplay and fanart. Soon she was starring in Howard the Duck backup stories and her solo series was inevitable. The first time I paid any attention to her was in her Holiday Special, and I was instantly smitten. She's terribly violent, but she's so quirky and nerdy that it's almost cute.

January 2017 Collection of MARVEL MINI-MATES!

Marvel Mini-Mates Series Series 69 and Blind Bag Series 01 - DST 2017

This has been an amazing month for Minimates. It's uncanny how they come in such surges (at least the interesting female characters). We can go through an eleven month dry spell only to have six new figures come out within a week of each other. It can be pretty overwhelming. I'm combining the Marvel Series 69 releases with the first series of Marvel Blind Bag figures for this review. The Mini-Mates Series 69 is dubbed "Most Wanted" and is definitely impressive for including both an Enchantress and Tigra. (Indeed two of my most wanted figures). The Series 01 Marvel Bling-Bags offered us amazing figures of Silk and X-23 Wolverine, a cool unhooded variant of Spider-Gwen, and an unexpected Deadpool 2099. I'm really excited to see what other figures they squeeze into future blind bag assortments. I'm hoping we'll see a Gwenpool, Moongirl, and Riri Ironheart at the very least. Toy Fair always has a few fun reveals and I'm certainly looking forward to it. Let's check out all the ladies below!