Masters of the Universe - FROSTA!

Masters of the Universe Origins - Cartoon Collection - Frosta - Mattel 2025

The Masters of the Universe Origins Cartoon Collection is absolutely thrilling me. One of the reasons I didn't become a toy collector earlier in my life is because three of my favorite nostalgic properties didn't have action figures. Jem, Transformers, and She-Ra all had toys, but I specifically wanted cartoon-accurate action figures of female characters.. and all we got was guys and dolls. Even in the superhero arena, if you exclude the occasional early Wonder Woman figure, female heros didn't hit the toy aisles until the mid to late 90s. When the Cartoon Collection gave us Teela, Evil-Lyn, and She-Ra early on, I was very happy, but not surprised. There had been multiple attempts to give us classic Filmation style versions of these characters. But it's this second batch of Frosta, Catra, and Shadow Weaver that has me giddy. Even the male characters like Leech, Vultak, Mantenna, and Grizzlor are filling huge gaps in the vintage lines. I can't wait to see who is next. Let's check out Frosta below!

La Borinqueña - LÚZ LA LUMINOSA

La Borinqueña - 1/12 Action Figures - Lúz La Luminosa - Boss Fight Studio 2024

I've been aware of La Borinqueña since 2018 when I ordered a comic and a vinyl figure featuring the titular character emblazoned with the Puerto Rican flag. I can readily admit I'm pretty ignorant of the culture, language, and social issues of Puerto Rico, so this comic was exposing me to a whole new world (and I'm not even referring to the superheroics in the story). I enjoyed the comic quite a bit, but it quickly got buried in my stacks of weekly comics and (nearly) forgotten. I would pick up the occasional one-shot comic at my lcs, but somehow I missed out on the expanded La Borinqueña universe with all the new costumed heroes until a few years ago when this toy line by Boss Fight Studio was unveiled. I now have a shopping cart full of backissues on my browser as I type this, and am intrigued by a hardcover collected edition supposedly hitting stores in two weeks. But in the meantime, I have to judge this character, Lúz La Luminosa, purely on aesthetics. In short, she looks awesome and tough as nails.

Princess of Power Masterverse - FROSTA!

MOTU Princess of Power - Masterverse Wave 7 - Frosta - Mattel 2023

The Masterverse line from Mattel continues to surprise me. One of the earliest obscure character leaks last year was Frosta. This figure was shown on secret product lists and was even accompanied by a super low-res photo. This was before Catra was mentioned and before She-Ra was anything more than a teaser about the "possibilities" of the Masterverse line. So seeing Frosta so early was both confusing and exciting. "Confusing" because she didn't seem like an obvious choice for the first Princess of Power release. But "exciting" for exactly the same reason... this line wouldn't be shying away from 2nd-tier characters. Of course, by the time she rolled out to stores, she would be the third POP character which makes a lot more sense. Frosta really stood out in the original she-Ra cartoon for her stark blue coloring and her memorable elemental powers. She was also known for aggressively hitting on He-Man, to much comic effect. It's hard to rank my favorite POP characters, but she's definitely up there for me.

Monsters, Inc - CELIA!

Disney Pixar 7" Featured Favorites - Mike Wazowski & Celia - Mattel 2022

This 7" Pixar line from Mattel is unexpectedly awesome. I say unexpectedly because I don't typically buy figures from genres that aren't superhero or sci-fi. Sure, I've seen and enjoyed every Pixar movie so far, but I can honestly say I've never finished a film saying "oh man I need action figures of these characters." But when this line started hitting the shelves last year I was really intrigued at the quality and scale of the figures. Especially at the price point of roughly 10 dollars per figure (so 20 for this 2-pack). The first one I bought was Merida from Brave, followed by a few Incredibles. Then I realized they paired well with my Toy Story 4 Bo Peep figure. I didn't know how many others I would buy, but then I saw this amazing Celia figure from Monsters, Inc. I love odd characters with alien-like features, and her cyclops eye, medusa hair, and octopus legs always thrilled me. Even in this Pixar-specific line, she is not a character I ever expected to see, but I'm ecstatic that she was. Let's check out Celia below!

Marvel Legends - CALLISTO!

Marvel Legends - Wolverine 5-Pack (Amazon Exc) - Callisto - Hasbro 2021

I'll be the first to admit that Callisto was easily my least favorite character from the X-books in my youth. My favorite characters always had bright outlandish costumes, powers that fueled my imagination, and quirky banter that made me want to befriend them. Callisto was the polar opposite of all this. As leader of the sewer-dwelling Morlock community, she was pretty grim and serious. Her clothes consisted mostly of black leather punk duds, but boring. And her powers still confuse me. As far as I can tell she's just good at knife fights, stamina, seeing in the dark, things like that... not things that are easy to visually represent in comic panels or stand out among the ridiculously cool mutant powers held by other characters. Her dynamic enemy/frenemy relationship with Storm is the only thing that kept me interested. I recently re-read the original New Mutants series and her appearances didn't have the same negative reaction for me as they did in my youth. I guess I'm maturing or something.

Robotech - LYNN MINMEI!

Robotech: The Macross Saga - Lynn Minmei in Cheongsam - KitzConcept Ltd 2021

I have a love/hate relationship with Lynn Minmei. On one hand, she's a major character in the first season of Robotech, she brings a much needed pop culture element to an otherwise military-focused story, and she is the initial love interest for the main character, Rick Hunter. But on the other hand, I just find her totally annoying. She's a bubbly popstar and beauty pageant contestant with a rather grating presence (in my humble opinion). Her songs are... unique. And they become the soundtrack for so many episodes. Her fashion choices are also very specific. Her vintage toy in a yellow and teal polka-dot outfit was the only figure from the line I never tried to get. But before her character wins Miss Macross and becomes famous, she worked at a Chinese restaurant called Nyan-Nyan and wore this traditional cheongsam. I love this outfit because it lets me include Lynn Minmei in my collection without hurting my eyes. Plus it compliments the streamlined uniforms of the other characters. Let's check her out below!

Death Metal - WONDER WOMAN!

DC Multiverse - Dark Nights: Death Metal - Wonder Woman - McFarlane 2021

I still haven't read any of the various Metal books that seem to be dominating the DC Universe storylines lately. To me, they seen like in-canon Elseworlds stories that just don't hold a lot of appeal. However, I'm really starting to enjoy the otherworldly-designed Wonder Woman figures that these books are inspiring. I mean, ideally McFarlane Toys would be giving us different classic comics versions in a variety of characters. But for anyone who has been collecting McFarlane products over the past 30 years would know that this is the expected business practice and gritty aesthetic. Death Metal is the most recent story that just concluded in January. So the turnaround time for this figure is pretty impressive. Wonder Woman looks like a member of the Female Furies. And for all I know, she might be - considering the Darkfather/Darkseid Collect-to-Build figure. Her blue hombre hair and gold headdress is very cool. Now I just want to see Harley or Batgirl get the same treatment. Let's check out Wonder Woman below!

Blackstar - MARA!

Blackstar - Basic Series 01 - Mara the Princess of Secret Power - Galoob 1983

Blackstar is Filmation's immediate predecessor to Masters of the Universe and contains a mere 13 episodes, all airing in 1981 (a full two years before MOTU). The series features the hero, Earth astronaut John Blackstar, crash landing on the planet Sagar, where magic and sorcery rule. Blackstar and the main antagonist, Overlord, each have one half of the magical PowerSword, which imbue the wielder with heightened senses, strength, skill, and invulnerability (when the sword halves combine, they form the PowerStar). He rides Warlock, an intelligent flying dragon-horse, and has two main sidekicks: the shape-changing elf, Klone, and the powerful enchantress, Mara. This series might have been forgotten in 1981 if He-Man didn't renew interest in sword-and-sorcery properties two years later. The episodes began to be re-aired, and a belated toyline was made by Galoob to ride the coattails of Mattel's MOTU success. The Mara figure is awesome and a gem of my collection. Let's check her out below!

Nick Jr - RAINBOW RANGERS!

Nick Jr's Rainbow Rangers  - Team Rainbow Rangers 8-Pack - Fisher-Price 2020

It's actually pretty surprising that there hasn't been a preschool-age magical girl series in the US before. The formula is so simple: girls with powers, transformation sequences, adventures. And if you want to have a really successful property, apply color themes to the characters. The most recent similar show I've watched was Glitter Force on Netflix (aka PrettyCure), and it followed an extremely similar format as this new Rainbow Rangers show on Nick Jr, albeit aimed toward an older preteen/YA audience. But the interesting thing about seeing this rainbow-themed genre interpreted for a preschool audience is that it instantly reminds me of many classic properties from my childhood like Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite. The show itself almost has a Dora the Explorer feel with a constant flow of adorable wildlife in need of rescue, but the costumed adventurer angle really makes it stand out. These toys are simple with only 4-poa, but they are really colorful and fun. Let's check them out below!

Power Rangers - ASTRONEMA!

Power Ranger Lightning Collection - Red Ranger & Astronema - Hasbro 2020

I felt very defeated when the Power Rangers license shifted from Bandai to Hasbro. I had invested a lot of energy and excitement in the Legacy line and starting over with the Lightning Collection just seemed depressing. However, I must say that Hasbro's efforts to give us the weird and quirky villains from the Power Rangers franchise has been very encouraging. In all the years of the Legacy Collection we saw very few villains, but with Hasbro we've seen a steady inclusion of bad guys. Astronema is known as the Princess of Evil and is the prime antagonist in Power Rangers In Space. She also appeared in several other series and has been portrayed by a number of actors (mainly Melody Perkins), and is notable for numerous outlandish hairstyles. I never watched In Space or Lost Galaxy, but in recent reading I learned that Astronema becomes the Pink Galaxy Ranger and is the sister of In Space Red Ranger. Now I find her immensely more interesting. Let's check out Astronema below!

Roblox - NITR0-Z!

Roblox Imagination Collection - 4" Figure Wave 02 - Nitr0-Z - Jazwares 2020

I've always been really drawn to anime-esque character design. Although the actual anime and manga I consume is very drawn in a simple and retro style (Takahashi, Tezuka, Miyazaki, etc), that doesn't mean the more modern bright colored hair, animal ears, and goggles aesthetic doesn't appeal to me. In the past I've been obsessed with the idea of toylines like Palisades Space Channel 5 or Bandai's EXH, but the actual execution of the toys kept me from ever making any purchases. This new Nitr0-Z figure is the first time I've ever actually purchased a character from this design genre... and I think she's awesome! The bright colors, dynamic sculpt, great articulation, and cool translucent accessories make for a figure that's hard to resist. Roblox is a game system that frankly confuses me. I gather that players can create characters and games and challenge others to play. The characters historically seemed to be blocky lego-like creations, but lately (luckily) they have much more realistic human bodies. 

Tron 2.0 - MERCURY!

Reel Toys: Tron 2.0  Action Figures Series 01 - Mercury - NECA 2003

Tron 2.0 is a first-person shooter game from 2003 originally released for Mac/PC. It is not official Canon to the Tron film franchise and features new characters and unique designs. As a video game rube, I had never heard about Tron 2.0 until I game across these action figures clearanced at FiveBelow a decade ago. I was immediately drawn in by the Mercury character and her sculpt which I could tell right away was by Sam Greenwell. He was my favorite DC Direct sculptor at the time so this discovery was exciting. In reading about the game, it's my understanding that Mercury is a non-playable character (voiced by Rebecca Romijn) who is the primary source of game objectives and information but who ultimately gets fridged. Still, it's great to have another female in the Tron franchise. They are pretty scarce indeed and this is by far the best action figure representation so far. One of my biggest wishes right now is for a Diamond Select Yori. Fingers crossed! Let's check out Tron 2.0 Mercury below!

Fortnite Legendary Series - VALKYRIE!

Fortnite - Legendary Series (6" Action Figures) - Valkyrie - Jazwares 2019

I'm very excited for this first female character in the 6" Fortnite Legendary Series from Jazwares. We've seen a lot of high-quality product from Jazwares over the years, but this is the first time we've seen a Marvel-Legends-type line from them (if you exclude that Hanna-Barbera Space Ghost from 2012). Fortnite shows a ton of potential and will hopefully earn Jazwares all kinds of new licenses in the coming years. I'm generally just excited to see a new big player in the action figure aisles. I don't know much at all about Fortnite except that I find the toys very exciting and quirky. That's why I'm so intrigued by this Valkyrie figure. She's quite possibly the least quirky character I've seen in the line, but she's absolutely gorgeous. I'll probably end up displaying her with my Magic the Gathering or other sci-fi fantasy figures. The pajama party aesthetic of the property is absent in this one. Also, in researching Valkyrie I kept seeing images of a fire variant. I certainly hope we see that in plastic. Let's check out Valkyrie below!

Masters of the Universe Vintage - FROZEN TEELA!

Masters of the Universe Vintage Wave 3 - Frozen Teela - Super7 2019

There's something about translucent plastic action figures that mesmerizes me. I remember having Blackstar toys as a kid and being obsessed with their translucent chests. Same with the Golden Pharaoh from Super Powers and all the Crystar heroes. My only caveat is that I like them to have a color tint, plain clear is not appealing for some reason. I didn't know the reasoning behind this Super 7 translucent blue vintage style Frozen Teela until after I bought it. There was a single episode in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Season 2 (titled "The Ice Age Cometh") where the new villain Icer touches Teela and she freezes. It's a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but it sure translates into a cool variant of this fantastic sculpt. In the episode, when He-Man finds Teela frozen like a statue, he does the logical thing and punches her. In cartoon-trope-land, punching ice is apparently the same as thawing I guess. I've seen it a thousand times and it's always ridiculous. Let's check out Teela below!

Batman Universe Busts - BLUEBIRD!

Batman Universe Collector's Busts #35 - Bluebird - HeroCollector/Eaglemoss 2019

It's been a long time since a new Batman character has caught my attention. Something I've always loved about DC Comics is the long historical canons behind almost all of the heroes and villains. But something about Bluebird caught my eye and soon as I saw her suited up in the pages of Batman Eternal back in 2015. No, she didn't have an outlandish cape or some obscure tactile weapon that I crave. She wore utilitarian gear and carried guns. Plus she had a mohawk (I've known one too many folks with mohawks in my life, and they always end up a major disappointment.. so the haircut is now a red flag to me). But despite it all, the tempestuous hacker/engineer Harper Row in her new punky vigilante role quickly became an obsession for me. It was actually a few years until I realized her costume was an obvious homage to Nightwing, and that only made me like her more. This Eaglemoss bust is the first official piece of Bluebird merchandise and it's honestly a terrific debut. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends - CAPTAIN MARVEL (STARFORCE)!

Marvel Legends - Captain Marvel (& Minn-Erva) Starforce - Target - Hasbro 2019

I'm very excited to see the Captain Marvel movie this week. Beyond the fact that we'll be a seeing a kickass female superhero take center stage, I'm now super intrigued to see how her blue-skinned Starforce teammate, Minn-Erva, is portrayed. I actually just learned about this character this week. I have some fuzzy memories of her on a cover of Quasar when I was a kid, but mostly she's brand-new to me. She was introudced around the same time as Carol's Ms. Marvel debut, but she was a villain to the male Captain Marvel. I'm guessing that Carol's Starforce teammates will be unhappy with her defecting to become and Earth hero. And I'm really looking forward to that conflict. This Target-Exclusive Starforce Captain Marvel comes with an assortment of accessories to make a Minn-Erva. Kudos to Hasbro for this collector-friendly bonus. The leaked Endgame 2-pack with pieces to make 5 characters shows a continuation of this trend and I couldn't be more excited (C'mon New Mutants! Hellion! Original X-Men!).

Ralph Breaks the Internet - YESSS!

Wreck-It Ralph 2 - Action Figures Series 02 - Yesss - Bandai 2019

I'm woefully behind on Disney movies. I just counted and there are 14 movies from the past seven years that are on my list to watch. I only just saw the first Wreck-It Ralph in the last year (a mere 6 years after its initial release). But I will definitely try to speed up my schedule now though because I'm really curious to see Ralph Breaks the Internet  - after seeing all the action figures of these cool female characters of course.  Yesss is an amazing looking character voiced by Taraji P. Henson. She is the embodiment of an algorithm that determines trending videos on the fictional site BuzzzTube. Her design is based on Cruella de Vil (although I never would have guessed that before I read it). I'm obsessed with her multi-tonal blue features contrasting with her bright red clothes. I know this figure only depicts one of her many fashions, but from what I can tell via google image searches, I think it's my favorite. Bandai has a knack for perfectly capturing CGI-animated figures in action figure form. Let's check out Yesss below!

Halo 12 Inch CORTANA!

Halo 12" Action Figures - Series 03 - Cortana (AI Construct) - Mattel 2018

I think Cortana is one of the most iconic video game females out there. Only Princess Peach and Lara Croft come to mind as more recognizable than this beautiful blue AI construct. Cortana appeared in the first Halo game (Halo: Combat Evolved) from 2001 and has had a significant role in every game in the franchise since. What I especially love about the specific design on this figure (from Halo 5) is that she is wearing a real outfit. Cortana has always been blue and always had a graphic pattern of geometric lines on her. But most of the time it looked like body paint on a naked body. In comparison to bulky armor of all the playable (mostly male) characters, this contrast always seemed silly to me. Especially since she's essentially a holographic narrator. But this figure looks like a living computer while also fitting in to the aesthetic of the game. I was really excited to see her included in this line. Hopefully she'll get a figure in the 6" line as well. Let's check out this 12" Cortana in detail below!

Marvel Legends - SINGULARITY!

Marvel Legends - TRU Exclusive A-Force 6-Pack - Singularity - Hasbro 2017

Hasbro is pretty good at surprising me, but I can honestly say I never expected to see a Singularity figure in my lifetime. One of my favorite comic book tropes out there is the "mysterious stranger." I always get obsessed with these characters. Especially when they are timid (but suspiciously powerful) females. In Alpha Flight, I got hooked on Marrina; in Generation X, I fell for Penance; and in Legion Lost, I was obsessed with Shikari. That's just naming a few off the top of my head (let me know if you have others!) Singularity is the mysterious stranger who first appeared in 2015's A-Force #1. She is initially distrusted (as is always the case in these stories), but she proves to be a powerful ally. Singularity is a living pocket dimension. She is able to teleport herself (and others), make things disappear into a void, and track people psionically (just like Shikari from above!). I'm really excited to catch up on my A-Force reading now - I'm so behind. Hope everyone had a great Eclipse day! Let's check out Singularity below!

Kulipari - STRAWBERRY BULLFROG RANGER!

Kulipari: An Army of Frogs - Ranger PVC Figure - Mattel 2015

There aren't nearly enough anthropomorphic toys in my opinion. Sure there have been extremely cool toylines like ThunderCats, Biker Mice from Mars, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that gave us some cool product. But female anthropomorphic action figures are still a rarity despite the genre's popularity. Earlier this year I was perusing Netflix and discovered this Netflix Original cartoon called Kulipari: An Army of Frogs. The cartoon has a pretty self-explanatory title, and while I enjoyed the character design and concept of the series, I am just not in the target demographic and didn't love the actual show. However, I was intrigued enough to look into any toys based on the property. Surprisingly there was a set of small 2.5-3" figures released by Mattel in 2015 (they may have been exclusive to Amazon).  The specific frogs themselves are unrelated to the cartoon, but I just couldn't resist adding a pink frog girl to my collection. I'm going to seek out more amphibious characters now. Let's check her out below!