MOTU Revolution - MOTHERBOARD!

Masterverse - Mattelcreations Exc - MOTU Revolution - Motherboard - Mattel 2023

Few things are as gratifying to me as when old lore is expanded upon in a smart and creative way. Especially when it fills in some story gaps. Flashback to a young me in 80s expaining Zoar and Screeech to my younger brother. "Who's this?" "That's Zoar, a magical falcon that turns into this character, the Sorceress." "Cool. Who's this?" That's Screeech, the evil version of Zoar." "Cool. Who does Screeech turn into?" "No one. Screeech is a robot." "Oh." Flash forward to this Summer when that old dead-end storyline gets new life. Meet Motherboard, the female form of Screeech. As we saw in Revelation, Tri-Klops had formed the Cult of Motherboard, a group that worshiped technology with a religious fervor. Whiplash, Trap-Jaw, Blast-Attak, and a slew of Skelecons were in the cult as well. The upcoming second series of Netflix's MOTU series called Revolution will apparently show the cult successfully summoning Motherboard, a sort of techno-Sorceress. Information is scant so far, but I'm very excited to see her.

Boss Fight Studio - LIME CHIFFON!

World of Strawberry Shortcake - Lime Chiffon w/ Parfait - BFS 2023

In the world of geeky pop culture we are often exposed to the design theme of a group of similar characters in different color motifs. The Magical Girl genre comes to mind with Sailor Moon, Glitter Force, and Magical DoReMi. Each featuring stylistically similar characters with differentiating hair color and outfits. But action genres had it too with Power Rangers, Power Pack, and Voltron. Not to mention kid properties like Teletubbies and the Wiggles. But my very first exposure to this spectrum-of-characters concept was Strawberry Shortcake (and a few years later rather literally with Rainbow Brite). I remember rummaging through bins of donated toys in a church basement when I was about six years old and finding a slew of small Strawberry Shortcake dolls scattered around. I had never seen these characters and quickly became obsessed with finding them all and lining them up. When my sister approached and informed me they were scented, my mind was blown (and I became a fan for life). 

Boss Fight Studio - ORANGE BLOSSOM!

World of Strawberry Shortcake - Orange Blossom w/ Marmalade - BFS 2023

One of my favorite Strawberry Shortcake characters as a kid was Orange Blossom. I was always drawn to the color orange (except I never wear it) and oranges have always been my favorite fruit. Add to that her artistic characteristics (she is often depicted with a paintbrush in hand) and her pet being a butterfly, and I was hooked (one of my many hobbies is raising butterflies and moths from eggs found in the wild - for release after metamorphosis). Plus, even as a kid I was aware of race and gender representation, or lack thereof, and I knew Orange Blossom had yet another reason to be unique in the 80s toy landscape. I'm really glad she was chosen for the first wave of the BFS Strawberry Shortcake line. Because there's always a chance for cancellation before wave two, but Orange Blossom was high on my wish list. Luckily Wave 2 has been revealed with Lemon Merinque, Raspberry Tart, Apple Dumpling, and Blueberry Muffin - so she'll have plenty of friends soon. Let's check out Orange Blossom below!

Boss Fight Studio - STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!

World of Strawberry Shortcake - Strawberry Shortcake w/ Custard - BFS 2023

I have a great appreciation for the doll lines of the 80s. A significant portion of my toy nostalgia is based in Jem, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, and She-Ra. But I have these OCD tendencies that make me shy away from rooted hair and soft goods clothing. It's problematic enough that the anxiety I get over maintaining a doll overshadows the actual enjoyment of owning it. Because of that, I always assumed there were huge swaths of 80s licenses that would never have representation in my collection. Sure, some of the these brands are action-figure-esque, like She-Ra and Jem. But I had assumed the majority of 80s dolls were a lost cause. But then Boss Fight Studio announced this Strawberry Shortcake line and some new doors opened up. Finally an action figure with all the design elements of the "girl toys" and the playability of the "boy toys." I can't wait to see if all my other beloved brands get similar treatment in the coming years. Let's check out Strawberry Shortcake below!

POP Funko - STAR SAPPHIRE!

POP! Heroes #456 - Star Sapphire - NYCC / Entertainment Earth - Funko 2022

Star Sapphire is a character that has undergone a lot of characters transitions. Her costumes, human hosts, allegiances, and power sets get revamped and retconned every few years. I always enjoyed this character as a cool pink female version of Green Lantern, but I honestly never fully invested in her because I thought the costume was embarrassingly skimpy and clearly catering to the lustful male gaze. Scantily clad female superheroes, especially when their outfits defy the laws of physics, rarely make it into my collection. I had accepted that Star Sapphire would always find herself excluded. But one of the great things to come out of 2011's New52 reboot at DC was that Star Sapphire finally had a costume that both looked cool and wasn't composed of hot-pink pasties.  Aside from a couple Heroclix pieces, this NYCC Exclusive Funko Pop is the first time we've seen this costume in plastic. I hope McFarlane is taking notes and prepping a Multiverse figure as we speak. Let's check out Star Sapphire below!

Gargoyles - ELISA MAZA!

Disney's Gargoyles - Ultimate Action Figures - Elisa Maza - NECA Toys 2023

A common staple of a fantasy-based story is to have a touchpoint character to lead the audience into an unworldly tale. This character has to be both relatable and unique enough to remain interesting as a main character. This character in Disney's Gargoyles was Elisa Maza, a Detective with the 23rd precinct in Manhattan who first discovers the Gargoyles and ends up being their main contact to the human world. She is a strong and competent character who protects the Manhattan Clan from the humans who would fear them. Her Native American and African American heritage plays a role in her character development throughout the series and makes her even more interesting. I often shy away from buying action figures of plainclothes characters, but something about the sculpt and presentation of this figure drew me in and I had to get her. Plus it helps that she wore this outfit very consistently so it's pretty iconic in its simplicity. I can't wait to see what this line gives us next. Let's check out Elisa!

Marvel Legends Vintage - ELEKTRA DAREDEVIL!

Spider-Man Legends Vintage - Elektra Natchios as Daredevil - Hasbro 2023

When I started collecting Marvel Legends (my first purchase was Captain America from Wave 1 in 2002!), I had this dream of collecting three versions of all the main heroes. I wanted a classic modern version, a 1st Appearance version, and (this is a stretch) a female version. This meant having a modern Captain America, 1st Appearance, and maybe an American Dream or Miss America. Or a modern Thing, 1st Appearance Thing, and Sharon Ventura as She-Thing. Clearly the female wishes didn't pan out at first. But over time they kind of did. I have She-Hulk, Jane Foster Thor, Mayday Spider-Girl, Pepper Pots, Shuri as Black Panther, Kate Bishop, Laura Kinney as Wolverine, etc. It's pretty impressive. But the one roadblock was always Daredevil. We have had many iterations of Matt Murdock, but there just wasn't a female version of the character. Then in early 2021, my prayers were answered. Matt Murdock was in jail, and who would step in to protect Hell's Kitchen other than Elektra Natchios. 

Marvel Legends Vintage - SPIDER-WOMAN!

Spider-Man Legends Vintage - Jessica Drew Spider-Woman - Hasbro 2023

In the 2013-2015 timeframe, Hasbro's Marvel Legends line made some major advancements in the quality of their female figures. Prior to this, the females were all rather unfortunate-looking. They had spindly limbs and waists, with oversized heads and hands, and had an overall spider-like appearance. But then the Moonstone (2013) figure unveiled a new female sculpt and the awkward phase was over. One of the best early uses of the buck was a classic Jessica Drew Spider-Woman. So flash forward 8 years and I'm excited to see this modern redeco of the same wonderful sculpt and it brings back lots of great memories. Jessica Drew began wearing this costume in the 2020 reboot of Spider-Woman (technically volume 7), and wore it for about ten issues before reverting to her classic red. It was a brief blip in the grand scheme of things, but is easily my favorite Jessica variation and was definitely deserving of a figure (and a fun chance to see this sculpt again). Let's check out Spider-Woman below!