I told myself a long time ago that I would never buy an April O'Neil figure unless she was wearing her signature bright yellow jumpsuit. This was both because I display characters in groups (and I love visual uniformity) and also so I could avoid trying buy any odd variations or blue-suited comic versions. But tempting figures keep coming out that I just can't resist. I thought I would certainly be skipping this Granny April figure. I never read the Last Ronin comics, she isn't in her signature yellow, and utilitarian-looking characters just don't appeal to me. But I somehow missed the announcement that she would be coming with mini figure of young Yi and Moja, the two sisters in the second generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm rather obsessed with these new turtles. Their varying body types/species, genders, and secondary mutations are fascinating and very visually appealing. I bought Granny April as soon as I saw her and her adorable pack-ins. Let's check out Granny April, Yi, and Moja below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label April O'Neil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April O'Neil. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2026
TMNT The Last Ronin - GRANNY APRIL!
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
April O'Neil as THE FIFTH TURTLE!
When I first started collecting action figures seriously (about 25 years ago), I was obsessed with finding female characters from all the iconic properties of my youth. I was especially intent on finding a female Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. This is when I discovered Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa. But I also learned about this infamous 1994 issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures Special #11 wherein April O'Neil became the Fifth Turtle for a single 26-page story. April had infiltrated a lab to get some Anti-mutagen for Splinter's birthday (she wrongly assumed he wanted to return to his human form). But she was captured and turned into a turtle by the aliens secretly running the lab. In the end, there was only enough Anti-mutagen to return her to human form (and defeat the mutated alien enemy). It was a simple one-off story, but it notably had the first female turtle (three years before Venus). The comic issue is notoriously hard to come by, regularly fetching hundreds on eBay in good condition.
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!
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - APRIL O'NEIL!
April O'Neil has had a lot of very distinct looks since her comic debut over 40 years ago. Even in the initial Mirage Comics run before the cartoon ever began, she had several drastic changes in appearance. You would never know it was the same character year-to-year based on looks alone. For a while, she had an appearance that many casual readers might have interpreted as African American (she was not). But the half-tone print of the black-and-white comics made her complexion darker and her (very 80s) perm (which was a plot point) combined to to give her a racially ambiguous appearance. I've heard that this era was even the inspiration for some of the modern interpretations of April as a young black woman (or child) in properties like Rise of the Teenage Mutant Turtles or the Mutant Mayhem film. This NECA figure perfectly captures this early look. Ironically, the original NECA April figure looks completely different, but that's just how the comics were. Let's check out April O'Neil below!
Friday, February 14, 2025
Turtles of Grayskull - APRIL O'NEIL!
This figure is one of the biggest surprises for me in 2024. I had a total turnaround in my appreciation level in the span of a few months. When she was first revealed earlier last year, I was very excited to be getting another female character in the Turtles of Grayskull line, but I was very underwhelmed with the design. I viewed her as an unimaginative mashup that didn't satisfy either the TMNT or MOTU genres. But now that I have her in hand, I don't know what I was thinking, because I think she's incredible. I like her very specific visual references to Sorceress while paired with unmistakably April O'Neil face. Plus the the newly-tooled wings have tons of potential applications. I know Vultak has been shown, but Queen Angella and a 200x Sorceress would be awesome uses as well. I don't know if there will be any more ladies in this line, but I hope the same level of quality and fun goes into the ThunderCats figures. The early pics look great. Let's check out April O'Neil as Sorceress below!
Friday, October 28, 2022
April O'neil as BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!
I get really overwhelmed with the amount of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles products coming out these days. Between NECA, Super7, and Loyal Subjects, I am constantly seeing new figures and it's hard to keep track of them all. Thankfully (for me) there are very few females in the mix so I'm not nearly as tempted as the average collector. In the 90s, Playmates Toys created countless thematic variations of the TMNT gang: Samurais, Cavemen, Farmers, Surfers, Troll Dolls, and even Star Trek. I would be willing to bet, however, that the most popular was the Universal Monsters line. Even as a non-collector, I was very aware of these toys. That's why when NECA announced it was producing the same mashup, I knew it would be a hit. And their decision to base the aesthetic off the movie sculpts was very smart. I have no recollection of the TMNT movies personally, but the realism of these sculpts works very well with a Universal Monsters mash-up. Let's check out April below!
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Super7 Ultimates - APRIL O'NEIL!
Super7 has a lot of my money tied up in pre-orders. I literally have 19 Ultimates figures destined for my toy shelves (eventually). It will be a selection of characters from ThunderCats, Silverhawks, G.I.Joe, and 2001: A Space Odyssey - and I'm very excited to get them all. While I have a handful of Classics-scale MOTU figures from the company, I consider this April O'Neil my first true in-hand example of a Super7 Ultimates. And I must say, this makes me more excited than I already was. I was surprised by the toyetic quality of this figure. While a lot of modern collector figures have a dull rubbery texture and realistic paint details (which I love), this figure is shiny, simple, and nostalgic - and appeals to me on a totally different level than most toys. You could convince me that this was a toy made for a kid in the late 80's... but a rich kid and a toy company that pulled all the stops. I expect the other properties will be equally impressive (but in different ways). Time will tell. Let's check out April below!
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - APRIL O'NEIL!
I am well aware of April O'Neil's iconic status among action figure collectors. When I hear like-minded hobbyists rattle off their favorite vintage female characters, she's always right up there with Teela and Scarlett. But until very recently I never saw the appeal. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wasn't my favorite property. I had a personal aversion to martial arts, I liked more serious cartoons, and I never saw the appeal of surfer dude culture. So in the midst of this immensely popular cartoon, that I had very unpopular opinions of, was a sole female reporter who inexplicably wore a bright yellow jumpsuit all the time. She just failed to capture my imagination. It honestly wasn't until Super7 unveiled their TMNT Ultimates figure that I looked back and really began to see the appeal. I received this figure MOC in a random eBay lot many years ago but only recently opened her. While this orange-pocketed reissue isn't an ideal vintage representation in my opinion, she's a perfectly suitable stand-in for the yellow one.
Sunday, September 13, 2020
TMNT Cartoon - APRIL O'NEIL!
Unpopular opinion: I'm not the biggest fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was just never into characters that were supposed to be "cool" - the more hip slangy language a character used, the more bored I got. There were a handful of annoying G.I.Joes (hence my preference for Cobra), Bart Simpson was intolerable (but I grew into him eventually), and of course the Turtles. I'm that one odd kid who wished they were more melodramatic and reminiscent of their artist namesakes. But no, it was all surfer/mallrat lingo and pizza and I wasn't having any of it. But visually I was intrigued and I appreciate their place in pop culture. April O'Neil, as the token female of the show, never really intrigued me because (despite her yellow jumpsuit) I still considered her a boring plainclothes character. However, I recently had a big change of heart and I suddenly own a handful of Aprils. This NECA Animated figure was a actually the big incentive for me to finally start my collection too. Let's check out April below!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Ninja Turtles Movie Figures - APRIL O'NEIL!
I have a feeling that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that will continually reinvent itself. I'm not a diehard fan by any means, but I'm still excited for the new movie. I love all the classic cartoon toys coming out. And I definitely love the original comic figures. Not to mention all the weird animated and live action versions in between. Seriously, I can't imagine what a TMNT superfan's collection might look like. I'll bet it's pretty awesome though (my favorite color is green!). April O'Neil has become such a classic pop culture lady. A modern Lois Lane in a yellow coat. I sometimes imagine myself amassing a whole shelf of canary-hued journalists, but alas, I only have three. This newest toy depicts Megan Fox as April in the upcoming live action film. When I found her in the stores this week, it was the first good look I had of this figure. The blurry pictures on the internet up till now made me think she was going to be a larger deluxe figure, but in actuality, she's a 5" basic figure with limited (but good) articulation.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - APRIL O'NEIL!
More than any other reporter in comics and cartoons, I think April O'Neil embodied an iconic look that none of her predecessors were able to achieve. Lois Lane and Betty Brandt pretty much have to be introduced each time they appear because the rarely look the same twice. But April O'Neil, throughout all her iterations, is always recognizable. The newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series from Nickelodeon has the most drastically different April so far, but she's still very recognizable with auburn hair and a yellow outfit (it doesn't hurt that she's the only girl in a handful of green mutant turtles either). This version of April isn't actually a reporter at all, but rather a high school student whose parents have been kidnapped by the Krang (now a whole race of brain aliens). April still fulfills her role as the Turtles' link to the outside world and it's a fun modernization of their classic dynamic. The CGI look of the new series is an interesting departure from the classic looks as well, but it's a change that seems to be working as the toy aisles are filled with TMNT lately. Let's check out April below!
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