I just went down a rabbit hole watching all the animated appearances of Zatanna I could find. Since she is not typically thought of as a character who associates with Batman or Gotham City, I have wrongly thought for ten years that this was a Bruce Timm design from Justice League. (I say 10 years because this sculpt was originally released by DC Collectibles back in 2016). But when I compared her to the Justice League Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl figures, the scale and style didn't match. So I came to the conclusion that this figure is indeed a representation of her single-episode BTAS appearance in 1993 (S1E50 "Zatanna"), despite appearing in at least 7 episodes of Justice League Unlimited (FYI I believe she wears a white bowtie in all her JLU appearances). The TNBA stand this figure comes with further confused me. I watched Zatanna's single BTAS episode twice before I realized she was the dark-haired plainclothed wedding guest sitting with Jason Blood. (Like I said, quite the rabbit hole tonight).
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Animation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animation. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Batman the Animated Series - ZATANNA!
Monday, July 20, 2026
Digimon - SAKUYAMAN!
This figure has been a holy grail of mine for many years. She is one of the scarce female characters in the 6" line of original Digimon characters from Bandai. She's a popular character and it's almost impossible to find her complete for under $100. Technically, she is a genderless being, but the genders in this franchise aren't exactly subtle. My favorite thing about her is the fox/kitsune motif to her design. Beyond her fox armor and belt buckle, her characters has four tubes attached to her belt (unseen on this figure) that contain four Kuda-gitsune spirits (aka Tube Foxes) representing the elements of Fire, Water, Wind, and Thunder. These colorful fox spirits wrap around her from four directions and make the figure look super awesome. Coincidentally, these fox spirits are the missing culprits of the "incomplete" figures you see all over eBay. I picked up my Sakuyamon loose, and the fixes seem pretty firmly attached (except for the yellow one that pops off), but my previous owner might have glued them for safety.
Friday, July 17, 2026
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - TEELA!
I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of the character designs from the 200x Mike Young Productions He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. With Teela in particular, the impossibly-long gravity-defying ponytail seemed extremely silly. And her blue shoulderpads were an odd departure from her typically-simple color palette. That said, I really appreciate when an action figure is a good representation of an animated design. And this Cartoon Collection Teela is a great example of that. There have been a few Teela figures from this show in the past, but they didn't look anything like the source material. But this one looks really good and actually makes me like the 200x animated design a little more. I even splurged on the Mondo preorder after I felt my judgement waning. I'm now surprising myself by looking forward to the Sorceress figure coming in Wave 6 (and I always felt like her redesign was the most tragic). Here's to changing opinions! Let's check out Teela below!
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - LADY JAYE!
Lady Jaye has always seemed like one of the simpler characters to be made into a cartoon-accurate toy. She has a classic 2-tone green military uniform, a short haircut, and her signature weapon is a classic (looking) javelin. But her first figure inexplicably had a hat, a single-color bright green uniform, and they turned her simple javelin into some sort of gun. It was still a great toy and probably the best of the vintage female figures, but you never realize how off it was until you see this new Super7 ReAction+ version. Before this, the closest thing to a vintage-style cartoon-accurate Lady Jaye was her 5th version from 2006, but that was in the era where all the figures had disproportionately small heads. This new figure is perfection. It makes me excited to see their take on an update Scarlett - who suffered the most from the limitations of the 80's toy design. If this Lady Jaye and the previous Jinx are any indication, she will be great. Let's check out this classic Lady Jaye below!
Monday, July 6, 2026
Masters of the Universe - KITTRINA!
This time last year I posted the first review from my Altaya figurine collection. That was Dree-Elle, which I was excited to open because I had just gotten my Mondo Dree-Elle in the mail. That fateful day opened the floodgates and I knew I would have to finally open and photograph all 20 of the MOTU figurines I had purchased (of 77 total). The lone straggler of all those post was Kittrina, the fan-favorite single-episode character from The Cat and The Spider (1984) where she grappled with Teela and flirted with Battle Cat - all while sharing screentime with Webstor, who was introduced in the same episode. Despite her C-list status and minimal screentime, she is very much a fan-requested character. The funny thing is that both figures of her so far (the 2020 Super7 figure and this 2024 Altaya figurine) are pretty odd and lackluster. The main reason I delayed this post is because she is my least favorite of all my Altaya purchases. I'm probably too critical though. Let's check out the long overdue Kittrina post below!
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - DAINA!
Super7 has given us yet another unlikely neglected character from the original G.I.Joe cartoon.... Daina. As young superfan of the G.I.Joe cartoon in the 80s, I loved the episodes when the Joes would clash with the soviet heroes, Oktober Guard. They were only in two episodes (about a year apart). The first was an episode about alien abductions called The Invaders and the second was the famous Arise Serpentor Arise. I always lean toward Sci-Fi themes (as opposed to straight-forward military plots) in my G.I.Joe fandom, so these stories were some of my favorites. The Oktober Guard's lone female member, Daina, was a standout. She was reimagined as a blonde mercenary decades later in the comics (which is where all her previous toy decos come from), but this raven-haired, sherpa-lined sharpshooter version from the cartoon was always my favorite. She is just the latest addition to the deep-cut characters in the Super7 Reaction+ line. I can't wait to see who's next. Let's check out Daina below!
Monday, March 16, 2026
ALF the Animated Series - RHONDA!
ALF: The Animated Series (1987-89) was a prequel spinoff to the extremely popular live-action ALF primetime show (1986-90). While I wasn't the biggest fan of ALF overall, he was hard to avoid in the era of 5 television stations. Plus, as a young kid, the humor was just raunchy enough to make me laugh. I was aware of the animated series but only have vague memories of it (there was also another series, ALF Tales). Mostly I remember ALF's home planet Melmac having the feel of 50s diner, which I thought was a really unexpected choice. But the strongest memory was the new design of ALF's girlfriend Rhonda. Her outlandish pink hair and doo-wap outfits were very fun (and a far cry from her bland live-action appearance the year prior). But surprsingly, I had nearly forgotten all about this show until last Summer when I walked into a vintage seaside toy shop while on vacation and found this little PVC of Rhonda. The rush of nostalgia for this little piece of plastic was palpable. Let's check out Rhonda below!
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Masters of the Universe - QUEEN MARLENA!
One of my favorite bits of Masters of the Universe lore is the origin story of Queen Marlena. As a kid, I certainly didn't watch the episodes in order, so even though her backstory was first told in the second episode (Teela's Quest), it was a late revelation to me when I eventually watched it. Captain Marlena Glenn was an astronaut/pilot from Earth who travels off-course and crash-lands on Eternia. She meets Randor, they get married, and then she gives birth to the twins Adam and Adora. The fact that the two main heroes of the franchise are secretly half-Earthlings was my favorite piece of trivia as a child (and will probably be a story point in the upcoming movie). I love that this new Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena figure continues the MOTUC tradition and has the option to be displayed as Captain Glenn (sort of). This Queen Marlena is perfection to me. For a character who appeared in the majority of episodes, she has been really neglected in the merchandising department. Let's check her out below!
Friday, February 27, 2026
TMNT Dimension X - APRIL O'NEIL (IN SPACE)!
I recently found myself combing through my old external harddrives looking for a spreadsheet I used to keep of all my MTG Cards. I never found that spreadsheet, but I did find tons of old photos intended for blog posts that never came to fruition. I now plan to pepper them in throughout the year.. most likely at the end of the end of the month when I feel I won't make my (self-imposed) post quota. These posts will be amusing because I pretty much dislike all the figures (there was a reason they never made the cut after all). But time has softened my disapproval. I now appreciate this April O'Neil figure for the sheer absurdity of the "in Space" trope. Four Ninja Turtles and a reporter floating around in zero gravity... it's pretty amusing. But on a more genuine note, I truly do appreciate female astronaut action figures. Even if they are nonsensical. "Astronaut" is one of the tags I rarely get to use on this site, so I'll jump at the chance to add another. Let's check out Space Comrade April below!
Sunday, February 8, 2026
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - EVIL-LYN!
I remember when the Mike Young Productions He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series started in 2002. At the time, I had no television stations and relied on DVDs and VHS for my entertainment. I think I was able to get a few episodes pirated through Limewire or WinMX, but I honestly wasn't super impressed (and I still have never watched the whole series). I had first learned about it because I had some coworkers who were coming back from their lunch break with action figures from the show. I was super curious. My true adoration came later that year when Image Comics started publishing a comic based on the animated designs. I distinctly remember seeing a splash page of Evil-Lyn and being captivated. I loved the "bony" details added to her costume. She seemed more sinister and imposing. And of the three main females of the series: Teela, Sorceress, and Evil-Lyn, hers is the only redesign I liked. It's great to get another version of her in plastic. Let's check out Evil-Lyn below!
Friday, January 23, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - ARCTIC SCARLETT!
In the second episode of G.I.Joe, The M.A.S.S. Device Part II, Slave of the Cobra Master (September 1983). Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and Snowjob (and others) head deep into the Arctic to seek a red radioactive crystal (one of the three elements needed for the M.A.S.S. Device). The scene is relative brief, but memorable - especially because it is so early in the vast G.I.Joe canon. Super7 seems to love G.I.Joe The Movie and The M.A.S.S. Device. The number of ReAction figures they've made based on these two storylines is pretty amazing. A figure of Scarlett in an arctic parka was not on my bingo card at all, and if pressed I could come up with a handful of never-before-made characters I would have taken in place of her, but now that she's in my collection I'm pretty happy to have her. The exciting is that their character choices are getting so obscure that I have no idea what might be coming next. (I'm always hoping for Oktober Guard and more Cobra-La though!) Let's check out Arctic Scarlett below!
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - MARA!
Sometimes my childhood memories don't hold up to my adult scrutiny. As a kid, my absolute favorite episode of G.I.Joe was "Memories of Mara" (S1E45, Nov 15th, 1985). The story featured Shipwreck rescuing a blue-skinned woman from the ocean. You're led to believe her hue is due to cyanosis, but during CPR attempts, he realizes she has gills on her neck and climbs back into the water with her to continue his revival attempts. Turns out Mara was an escaped Cobra Eel lab test subject. She was supposed to be amphibious, but accidentally turned out completely aquatic and unable to breathe on land. As a kid I found this concept mind-blowing and one of the first mer-people I ever saw represented in my cartoons. As an adult, it's a pretty odd 22-minute story with some major logic holes. But even still the nostalgia is palpable with this new figure. Despite me begging for her on forums for years ("Please! Such an easy re-use of parts!"), I never expected to actually get her. Let's check out Mara below!
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Futurama - CLOBBERELLA!
A couple months ago I randomly saw an episode of Futurama, Season 5, Episode 6 "Less than Hero", wherein the main characters don superhero outfits as the New Justice Team of New New York. This episode was notable for me because (1) as much as I'm a fan of (the vast majority of) Matt Groening's work, I've only seen about 10 episodes of Futurama in my entire life. And (2) I loved Leela's Clobberella design. I liked the obvious nod to Barbarella with the name, and I was drawn to the costume parallels to Electra Woman from the Electric Company. Even Clobberella's weird rolling pin emblem is bizarrely similar to Electra Woman's "EW" logo. I decided to check if there had ever been a toy made for this costume, fully expecting to find nothing, but surprise surprise, all three heroes (Captain Yesterday and Super King as well) got figures in the 2009 Toynami line. I snagged her on eBay before the episode was over. She's essentially a statue, but she's really fun. Let's check out Clobberella below!
Saturday, December 20, 2025
Masters of the Universe - TEELA!
I'm pretty sad that my reviews of these Masters of the Universe Altaya figurines are coming to a close. I discovered them shortly after they started being released back in 2022 and it became a major obsession of mine to get all my favorites. There were fifteen female characters released, which were all a requirement for me, and I cherry-picked an additional four male characters. Honestly if I could afford them I would get the whole series. But eBay markups and shipping from Europe were a major roadblock. Teela was the figure that got me hooked. She was the 6th figure in the series and looked just like the 2014 Pop Culture Shock statue I was so covetous of. But when I got her in hand, she was the most disappointing of all due to a mispositioned hairpiece and a stunned facial expression (I fixed the hairpiece that you see in these photos, but when I got her she had a gigantic forehead). It almost made me think the effort to acquire them was too great for the return, but I'm glad I continued. Let's check out Teela below!
Friday, December 19, 2025
Masters of the Universe - SORCERESS!
The Sorceress has always gotten the short end of the stick in the merchandising department. For such an iconic, powerful, and maternal figure that is in almost every episode of He-Man and whose mysterious origins are a major keystone in all of Eternian lore, she simply hasn't ever had a great piece of merchandise produced. There have been some close ones, like the Super7 Club Grayskull figure from 2018, but all her figures have been slightly off. Similar to the Evil-Lyn post from yesterday, this Altaya Sorceress figurine shares a lot of design similarities with the 2015 Pop Culture Shock statue, which I personally feel is the nicest-looking Sorceress product made. Of course that statue was always very expensive, and this newer figurine is much easier to display and (slightly) less expensive. This figurine is a bit of a mystery to me. I believe she was a subscription-exclusive figure unavailable in stores. She fetches about 8x the price of the other characters, but she's worth it. Let's check her out below!
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Masters of the Universe - EVIL-LYN!
Something I especially like about these French/Spanish Masters of the Universe figurines from Altaya is that they have very similar poses and styles to the Pop Culture Shock statue series (distributed by Sideshow). I always coveted these statues, but they were way out of my price range. These newer figurines are like miniature versions of those masterpieces. Despite all of Evil-Lyn's transformations over the year (thankfully almost always true to her signature design), I will always be most fond of her original 1983 Filmation design with pale yellow skin, purple and blue clothing, and a long black cape. Her scenes from the first (aired) episode, The Diamond Ray of Disappearance, are dynamic and amazing. The image of her standing atop a mountain with her cape billowing while Skeletor announces her, "Evil Lyn, Sorceress of Night!" was fused into my young brain. Having a new representation of her from that era to add to my collection thrills me. Let's check her out below!
Saturday, December 6, 2025
The Simpsons - SELMA & PATTY BOUVIER!
The Simpsons is one of those franchises that been a constant source of entertainment for most of my life. It's hard to think of a single episode that doesn't make me laugh out loud at some point. But when it comes to my toy hobbies, the overabundance of toys always seemed too overwhelming to even consider collecting. Plus the civilian nature of the the characters doesn't really fit in with my collection. But there are a few iconic B-characters that I always knew I would make an exception for. I'm obsessed with villainous twins, and surprisingly The Simpsons has graced us with two pairs; the troublemaking classmates of Bart's, Sherri and Terri; and Marge's grunting disapproving sisters, Selma and Patty. I stumbled across Selma at FiveBelow back in August and have been anxiously awaiting her sister Patty ever since. And only three months later I have the set. They make a fun grumpy pair (even if they don't come with their signature cigarettes). Let's check out the Bouvier twins below!
Sunday, November 30, 2025
Super Friends - JAYNA!
If there have to be unnecessary add-in characters for a cartoon franchise, I appreciate when they at least fit the aesthetic and make an interesting addition to the roster of established characters. Zan, Jayna, and Gleek first appeared in the 1977 animated The All-New Super Friends Hour, the successor to Super Friends (1973), where they were the replacements for the previous Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog characters (who I personally found pretty awkward alongside the other heroes). But Zan and Jayna has cool costumes, weird powers, and interesting origins. Considering these characters were presumably added for marketing and kid appeal, they surprisingly weren't actually merchandised (aside from an occasional coloring book or lunch box) for over 30 years. This newest figure from the McFarlane Retro line is my favorite yet (at least the Jayna is, Zan looks a little bloated). The "best" figure of her before this was a SDCC exclusive DCUC figure from 2009, but she truly looked frightening.
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Masters of the Universe - SHADOW WEAVER!
As 2025 winds down, I won't lie that I have a little disappointment over the She-Ra 40th Anniversary year output. We've had some great releases, and there is still a heavily rumored Glimmer on the way. But I had high hopes for some deep cuts. I wanted Octavia, Peek-a-Blue, Castaspella, and a million others. Perhaps there is a whole lineup of additional POP characters stuck in tariff limbo, but for now I'm trying to be grateful for the one we already have. Shadow Weaver is easily the most iconic villain from the original She-Ra cartoon. She was in 52 episodes and her simple sinister design was hard to forget. I always knew she was a shoe-in for the Cartoon Collection line, but I'm a bit surprised that her head looks the least like her Filmation design than almost all of her previous figures. The shape of the face hole, the overly-pronounced nose sculpt, and the overall hood silhouette just looks off. But the draping cloak and sleeves look incredible. Overall I'm pretty happy with her. Let's check out Shadow Weaver below!
Friday, November 14, 2025
Super Friends - THE CHEETAH!
I think Cheetah is one of the coolest comic villains out there. Granted, I'm obsessed with cat-themed characters and retro vibes, so she has a major unfair advantage in my ranking. Her bright yellow cat suit is both ridiculous and awesome. As later incarnations of the character became more and more feline (fur, fangs, claws, etc), I found her less interesting and always returned my adoration to the original Priscilla Rich design. I thank the Super Powers animation of the late 70s and early 80s for cementing her in the public consciousness. Despite being a regular fixture in comics, it often takes some other significant entertainment media to break a character out of comic book obscurity. That said, she wasn't a major character in the show, but I still think this role is the reason why the retro Priscilla catsuit hasn't been completely overshadowed by the modern werecat versions. Plus the occasional piece of merchandise celebrating her from in the Super Friends cartoon is always a treat. Let's check out Cheetah below!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)