Marvel Legends - NAMORITA!

Marvel Legends - Void Build-a-Figure Series -  Namorita - Hasbro 2023

Marvel Legends has a knack for releasing an in-demand character in the wrong costume. I've been predicting a Namorita figure for several years now. The original New Warriors lineup from 1990 is iconic and several characters have already been released. When this Void wave was announced, we already had 3 of the 6 members (plus the brown Nova on the way). So suddenly we got the final two, Namorita and Marvel Boy, announced. But Marvel Boy was in his 2014 costume and Namorita was in her blink-and-you-miss-it 2005 design that she only had for six issues. The saving grace is that both costumes are cool. To be fair, I always hated this Namorita design, but this figure makes me appreciate it in a new light. She's quite a stunning figure. The last few comic-based females in this line have been exceptionally and surprisingly beautiful (Clea and Daredevil Elektra come to mind). And the nice thing is that this sculpt will almost certainly be repurposed for her classic look. Let's check out Namorita below!

Marvel Gallery - FIRESTAR!

Marvel Gallery - Vinyl Diorama Series - FireStar - Diamond Select Toys 2021

Diamond Select Toys has been really impressing me with their Marvel Gallery line. Previous PVC statue lines (mostly from other companies) have typically been too stylized for my tastes. Or sometimes, the sculpts just aren't there for me. But the DST Marvel Gallery (and DC Gallery) statues have the design and sculpt quality of the high-end polystone statues, but at a price point that is far more palatable. I also love the character choices. It seems that all my favorite characters are added to the roster one-by-one. The designs are essentially classic, but there is always a slight redesign. In the case of this Firestar statue, her boots and gloves extend almost all the way up her limbs, which seems like a unique choice for this particular product. But I like it. A few short years ago, I only had one lonely Firestar product in my collection. It was just a simple Toy Biz Medusa repaint, but I was ecstatic. Flash forward a few years and this Marvel Gallery statue is the 13th item on my Firestar shelf. Here's to many more!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Retro - FIRESTAR!

Marvel Legends 3.75" Retro Series - Wave 7 - FireStar - Hasbro 2022

So today is my birthday and and I think the fates aligned to give me this perfect gift. Firestar was the first superhero I ever became obsessed with. The Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon was a regular viewing staple in my home in the early eighties, and Angelica Jones commanded my full attention. Her monochromatic costume, her cool mask, and her flame powers were a perfect recipe for awesome. (I realize her powers are technically microwave, not fire, but at that age I was constantly being told that flames were dangerous and bad, so I just saw Firestar as the living embodiment of something forbidden and fascinating). This Marvel Legends Retro series is making up for the gender gap in all the toy lines of my youth. I'm always excited to see what's next and I'm thrilled that they are sticking to late 70s and early 80s design aesthetics. This Firestar wasn't supposed to be released until September, but I'm thrilled she showed up just in time for the perfect birthday post. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends - FIRESTAR!

Marvel Legends - Fan Channel Exclusive - Firestar & Ms. Lion - Hasbro 2021

Every so often I get an action figure that I have been dreaming of for decades... and it actually meets the extremely high expectations that have built up over those years. As a kid watching Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, I was instantly enamored with Firestar. I even naively expected there to be a Secret Wars figure of her. But alas, forty years later she finally gets the quality figure she deserves. When Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was being developed, the creators liked the idea of a Fire-and-Ice dichotomy. The classic Marvel elementals, Iceman and Human Torch, were the obvious choice. However, the rights to the Human Torch were tied-up in a never-produced television pilot and he was unavailable. (This is the same legal red tape that led to the creation of H.E.R.B.I.E. in lieu of Johnny Storm in the 1978 Fantastic Four show). So the creators took the general design of Mary Jane and paired them with Human Torch's powers to create Firestar. And little nerdy me thanks his lucky stars for that.

Character Spotlight on FIRESTAR!

X-Men, Avengers, Young Allies, Hellions, New Warriors... She's Been Everywhere!

Angelica Jones was one of the first super-heroes I became infatuated with as a young boy.  I remember watching Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends and eagerly anticipating her change sequence when a wall of flames would wash over her and suddenly she'd be costumed in that awesomely retro yellow and red outfit.  It's interesting to read all the creation stories about this character and how she came to be.  According to most tales, they originally wanted the trio in the cartoons to be Spider-Man, Ice-Man and the Human Torch, but either the legal rights to the human torch were tied up or they thought a boy engulfed in flames would send a bad message, so they had to create a substitute character in a hurry.  Apparently they took inspiration from Spidey's longtime love interest, Mary Jane, and viola!  (oh yeah, and she's apparently named after the creator's ex-girlfriend).  No matter how she came to be, I love her in all her microwave glory.