Assassin's Creed AVELINE DE GRANDPRÉ!

Assassin's Creed: Series 02 - Aveline de Grandpré - McFarlane Toys 2014

McFarlane Toys never ceases to amaze me recently.  Between Walking Dead, Halo, and now Assassin's Creed, they have produced some of the best female action figures of the past few years.  I know nothing about Assassin's Creed aside from what I read about in preparation for this review, but I know this is a beautiful toy.  Aveline de Grandpré was an assassin of French and African heritage who lived in New Orleans during the mid-18th century.  She first appeared in Assassin's Creed III: Liberation from 2012 and has appeared in subsequent games as well.  I first became aware of this figure when a drawing of the figure was shown in the McFarlane booth at Toy Fair two years ago.  (I enter that booth every year in hopes that a new line of Saga toys will be unveiled.  I think McFarlane is the only modern toy company that could do that property justice.)  But alas, no Saga, but I was very intrigued with this female assassin and two years later I decree she was well worth the wait.  Let's check her out in detail below!

Transformers Rescue Bots - DANI BURNS!

Transformers Rescue Bots - Blades & Dani Burns - Playskool/Hasbro 2014

Something is going on this Summer with all the popular preschool toy lines.  For years we've seen more and more toy aisle real estate being taken over by Preschool-age action figures.  Imaginext, Marvel Super Hero Adventures, Star Wars Jedi Force, and of course Transformers Rescue Bots, are all the rage, but the lines have been notoriously void of female characters since their inception.  Yet this Summer we suddenly have Black Widow as the first Marvel lady, Wendy Waters as the first non-DCU female Imaginext, and now suddenly we get Dani Burns as the first Rescue Bots figure.  I don't know what is prompting this long-overdue diversity, but I welcome it with open arms.  Rescue Bots is a cartoon and toy line about a group of four (non-canon) Transformers (Chase the Police Car, Blade the Helicopter, Heatwave the Firetruck, and Boulder the Bulldozer) and the Burns family who team up/pilot the Bots for various rescue missions.  Considering the small cast, it's surprising we haven't seen Dani until now.

Skysurfer Strike Force SLICED ICE!

Skysurfer Strike Force - Fully Poseable Action Figures - Sliced Ice -  Bandai 1995

Skysurfer Strike Force was an animated series from 1995 that never got its proper time in the sun. It lasted two seasons and was fairly popular.  But for some reason it was lost to time and you almost never hear mention of the cartoon or the toylines. The story in a nutshell is that there are five protagonists with powerful watches that transform them into the Skysurfers - and also turn their vehicles into giant hovercraft/surfboard things.  The bad guys are a group of "bio-borgs" led by the evil Cybron, who stole a technologically-developed brain from Skysurfer-One's Dad and connected it to his own brain to make himself an evil genius. Yeah, the plot is weak, and so are the surfboard gimmicks to be honest. But what is great about this series is the throwback to 80's cartoon culture by means of outlandish character design and wonderfully repetitive transformation sequences. When watching this show, I see correlations to Bravestarr, Silverhawks, C.O.P.S., and so many more, despite airing at a time when most cartoons were in the choppy early stages of CGI. This show just had a classic quality about it that I really appreciate.

Snoopy's Sister BELLE!

Peanuts Collectible Miniature Figurines - Series 01 - Schleich 2014

Peanuts is one of the longest running comic strips of all time.  The characters are recognized worldwide and are virtually unchanged from their original designs.  That's why I was surprised to see a "girl Snoopy" show up in a random ebay search of mine a few months ago.  I had never heard of such a character - despite some heavy exposure to the property throughout my life.  I called my brother who is a bona fide Peanuts fanatic (and the reason behind the "heavy exposure" mentioned above) and he informed me that this was Belle, Snoopy's sister (i was half hoping it was Snoopy in drag a'la Bugs Bunny).  Then last week I was in TRU and saw a new Peanuts display from Schleich. While some characters were glaringly absent (Peppermint Patty), there was indeed a Belle.  It was kismet and she left the store with me without a second thought.  Belle was introduced in 1976 among a litter a long-lost siblings of Snoopy.  She was raised a block away from Charlie Brown's house but they never knew. 

Sonic the Hedgehog's ROUGE THE BAT!

Sonic the Hedgehog: SonicX - Rouge the Bat - Toy Island 2005

Sonic the Hedgehog was a major obsession for me as a teenager.  I only had the game on a Sega Game Gear but it still made a lasting impression.  When Jazwares got the toy licence several years ago, my interest was renewed and I started buying all the highly-articulated tiny figures without hesitation.  In the process of collecting these new figures, I discovered a previous line produced by Toy Island.  This earlier line is especially notable to me because they produced two females which Jazwares never got around to: Cream the Rabbit and Rouge the Bat.  These figures are super hard to come by so hopefully Tomy (who now has the license) will get to them eventually.  Their rarity on the secondary market makes direct comparison with the more modern versions hard to come by.  I was personally shocked at the large size of Rouge when I finally got her.  She towers over the Jakks figures, but she's still an awesome addition to my tiny Sonic collection.  Let's check out Rouge below!

The Great Rebellion's FLUTTERINA!

Masters of the Universe Classics - Club Eternia Mattycollector Exc - Mattel 2014

It's surreal to think how many very unlikely characters have been produced in the MOTUC line so far. And as of Monday's announcement that the 2015 line got the green light (barely), we know we'll be getting the final three POP ladies next year. When the first Princess of Power figure, Adora, was released in 2010, I don't think anyone would have expected the entire vintage POP roster to follow suit. I'm ecstatic. Flutterina was always a very notable character for me - even though she only appeared in 5 episodes. I guess I noticed her because her butterfly wings were such a dominant feature. Despite having a fondness for the character, I honestly wasn't expecting her to make such a formidable-looking action figure. She stays extremely true to her classic look, but somehow I now view her as a tough fairy warrior as opposed to a "flying lookout." This makes me really excited to see how the Four Horsemen work their magic on the remaining characters. Let's check out this unexpected beauty in detail below!

Angry Birds Stella - GALE!

Angry Birds Stella - Telepods - Gale - Hasbro Gaming 2014

I'm not a big player of video games. In high school, I was a total addict though. I was only allowed to play on weekends and on more than one occasion I would plug in on Friday and in a blur of stars and explosions it would be Monday again. I gave up games cold turkey my freshman year of college and haven't looked back. Then along came the smartphone (and my need to take long unwarranted bathroom breaks to clear my head at work). Angry Birds quickly became an addiction for me. I am super OCD so I had to get full stars on every level and all bonuses. I felt like a high school kid again. I beat the first game, then Seasons, but then I gave up halfway through Space and skipped Star Wars altogether. I've since dabbled in Candy Crush and Farm Heroes, but nothing has matched that initial thrill of Angry Birds. Then a month or so ago I saw news of a new game: Angry Birds Stella - starring the fan favorite pink female bird (the only girl) that first appeared in Birdday Party pack of the classic Angry Birds in 2011.

Princess of Power's MADAME RAZZ (and BROOM)!

Masters of the Universe Classics - Club Etheria Mattycollector Exc - Mattel 2014

Madame Razz was never a high point of the She-Ra cartoon for me. I've never been a fan of comedic slapstick characters (or overbearingly cute characters either). Orko, Snarf, Imp, Slimer, even Cringer.. they are all characters that annoyed the crap out of me.  Madame Razz was no exception. But something interesting is happening in my adult life where I no longer take the cartoons so seriously (I realize I probably shouldn't have ever been taking them seriously), but now I view them as camp-fests; I try to do impressions of all the crazy voices; I laugh at the extreme cheesiness (especially the "dramatic" parts that I used to watch so solemnly). So, lately I've taken an amused liking to Madame Razz. But the arrival of this figure in my mailbox this week has made me love her. Holding this amazing figure in my hands, seeing her in comparison to the other Great Rebellion ladies, and especially reading her great bio made me elevate her to the next level in my mind. Let's check out "The Magical Witch of the Whispering Woods"!