Once again the Marvel Unlimited exclusive figure has given us a fun variant we might have never seen in plastic otherwise. In June 2024, there was a variant cover of Spider-Woman #7 by artist Peach Momoko featuring Jessica Drew in a black spider suit with some face markings that implied this was a symbiote. This was a one-off image that did not correlate to the story (very similar to 2020's Kamala Khan as Spider-Girl, which was also from a single cover illustration). But it makes for a perfect exclusive figure. Meaning: this is not a crucial, nor even canonical, figure to own; but she's awesome for super-fans; and she is made from some simple repurposed parts (The 2019 Polaris head was a surprising choice, but it works well). I'm already so curious what obscure figure will be revealed for next year's subscription. I have a ton of ideas. But I will personally get most excited for any new Spider-Lady figure to my collection (so I knew this Momoko design was an instant must-have). Let's check out Spider-Woman below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exclusive. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Marvel Legends - JEAN GREY!
I think the inevitable dilemma of any hardcore X-Men fan is "what is your favorite version of Jean Grey?" As arguably the most powerful of the core X-Men roster, she has been the epicenter of multiple iconic storylines and had numerous iconic costumes in the process. I personally love her in green and yellow. My favorite is her skirted costume with the domino mask from 1967-1976, but this X-Factor (1986) costume and her green Phoenix suit (1976) are close runners-up. X-Factor was a book with a great premise - the original five X-Men brought back as government mutant hunters who were secretly saving all their targets. In the beginning, they all wore these classic "X" costumes in bold colors. Jean's was classic green and yellow for the first 25 issues until she swapped it for the red and yellow costume (I fully expect this figure to be repainted in red someday). This figure was a Target exclusive in the Summer of 2025 and became quite the shelfwarmer. She's great though. Let's check out Jean below!
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Thrilljoy Pix - SHE-RA (CHASE)!
I'm still pretty surprised the 40th Anniversary of She-Ra: The Princess of Power in 2025 didn't have more fanfare. There were rumors flying of a ton of Mattel product that unfortunately never surfaced. There were justifiable excuses of tariffs and shipping delays, but I now think they were simply wishful thinking. Still, we got a New Etheria She-Ra, Origins Despara and Shadow Weaver, the Origins Swiftwind set. And the (super expensive) Mondo She-Ra and Swiftwind pre-orders. A surprise for me was this Event Exclusive She-Ra Thrilljoy PIX. I discovered it after coming home from NYCC last year with my newly-acquired Batgirl '66 PIX and curiously Googling the Thrilljoy catalog. I'm not normally a fan of Chase figures, because they typically have a paint deco I don't particularly covet, and I get frustrating with the blind box experience. But in this case I really want the Chase variant (which has a shield) and I was luckily enough to get one on the first try. Finally got a lucky break. Let's check out She-Ra below!
Friday, August 14, 2026
Thrilljoy PIX - BATGIRL '66!
The last thing I ever expected was to start collecting a new Vinyl figure line. Funko provided me many years of fantastic products. I was an early adopter with the first Funko Force line in 2010 (coincidentally my first purchase was that 2010 SDCC Exclusive silver Batgirl) and I continued gleefully until recently in the last few years when the character selection just stopped being appealing to me (or were so scarce I couldn't obtain them). So I had checked out of the vinyl market and thought I would focus on true action figures going forward. But then at NYCC last October I walked by the Thrilljoy booth and saw this convention exclusive Batgirl '66 figure. Regular readers will know I'm a total sucker for a Yvonne Craig Batgirl. There was miraculously no line and I spontaneously bought her. And within a few months I also bought a She-Ra. I currently only own five Thrilljoy products (one purchased today at Box Lunch), and I'm kind of excited to see what random characters might come next. Let's check out Batgirl below!
Monday, June 29, 2026
DC Universe Classics - STARFIRE!
This figure stirs up a lot of old feelings for me. I remember the campaign for the first DC Universe Classics in the Mattycollector Exclusives program. The pictures online (and maybe in ToyFare?) looked great. But the reality of the figures were very different when they arrived. I felt a little ripped off. When the final product had such drastic differences from the preorder prototype images, the whole subscription process seemed unreliable and scammy. All these years later, I can appreciate her for what she is; scrawny limbs, limp hair, and anatomically bizarre cleavage and all. (Seriously though, she has more modest costume options that should have been used if they had to use this cloth-sculpted torso). In photos it doesn't look that bad, but in person there are a lot of sculptural details that just look off. The perfection of the Four Horsemen prototype compared to the sloppy Mattel tooling felt insulting to collectors who purchased these on good faith. 27 years later and I'm almost over it. Let's check out Starfire below!
Sunday, June 28, 2026
The New Teen Titans - STARFIRE!
The new Entertainment Earth DC Super Powers line from McFarlane Toys has me very excited. The main retail waves of these figures were pretty cool, but they were a total boys club (aside from 4 repaints of a Wonder Woman mold). But since the EE-exclusive waves were announced, we've already seen pre-orders for Supergirl, Power Girl, Starfire, and Raven. Anticipation for the latter two has put me on a bit of a Teen Titans kick. I've recently been photographing a lot of older figures that I never got around to posting about prior, and I'm really obsessed with the classic look of the characters. The 2018 Legion of Collectors Teen Titans subscription box from Funko contained 2 of 4 potential 3.75" classic Perez-era Titans figures. These are in the same style as the Batman '66 figures (Batgirl and Catwoman) from the year prior. For years these fetched about fifty bucks each on eBay, but now they can be found for less than retail. It's just a shame they didn't make the other characters. Let's check out Starfire below!
Saturday, June 27, 2026
The New Teen Titans - RAVEN!
Around ten years ago, collector's subscription boxes were all the rage. The most I ever subscribed to was two at a time, and honestly even that felt a little overwhelming. You would get a shoebox of surprise goodies every other month and it was an exciting aspect of the hobby for a while. I say "for a while" because the novelty wore off quickly. After several consecutive boxes with nothing particularly appealing to me, I started to feel like a sucker. That said, there were plenty of true gems that came out of these subscriptions. Funko was one of the leaders and I distinctly remember a Marvel subscription and a separate DC subscription. The second to last DC box was (in my opinion) the best of the bunch with two (of 4) 3.75" New Teen Titans action figures included. It was sad because it was hard to get all four, and even sadder that they never made more (like Beast Boy and Wonder Girl) like they hinted at in their YouTube videos. But the figures we were able to get are amazing. Let's check out Raven below!
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - LADY JAYE!
I love the trend of holiday repaints in all the Hasbro toylines. The Christmas and Halloween Star Wars figures have been a fun annual gimmick to hunt down in various stores. The unfortunate thing for me is that they've rarely involved female characters. I was theorizing with some friends this winter that the 250th Anniversary of the United States this year would likely prompt some patriotic repaints. And by Toy Fair time in February, I was proven right. We learned of Hasbro G.I.Joe and Transformers Walmart Exclusives in Red, White, and Blue, and also a Walmart exclusive wave of Super7 Reaction+ G.I.Joe figures. I was thrilled with this announcement because the Super7 set featured a never-before-seen Lady Jaye sculpt. Of course, as of today's announcement we now have seen images of a traditionally-hued Lady Jaye coming in the next Reaction+ wave, which is very exciting because I desperately want an O-Ring hatless cartoon Lady Jaye. Let's check out the 250th Anniversary Lady Jaye below!
Sunday, May 17, 2026
G.I.Joe Classified - CRIMSON BARONESS!
Right around 2002 was when I started collecting toys as an adult. I had just moved to a new city, had adult income for the first time ever, and was feeling super nostalgic about my youth. I started with a goal to get every female G.I.Joe ever. The only vintage one I still owned at the time was Baroness, and she was always my favorite character. The modern Valor vs Venom style G.I.Joes at the time were not very appealing to me, but it wasn't long until I realized that there was a steady flow of vintage-styled figures as convention exclusives and various collector packs. Later that year was a convention exclusive Crimson Strike Team set featuring red deco'd vintage re-releases of Baroness, Xamot, Tomax, and a dozen Vipers. I had never considered a Crimson Baroness before but I instantly loved it. Apparently everyone else did too, because every 3-4 years thereafter, we got another red Baroness. This Classified 6-7" scale version was part of the SDCC 2023 set with the Crimson Twins. Let's check her out below!
Monday, May 11, 2026
G.I.Joe Classified - COBRA C.L.A.W. PILOT!
A really fun thing about G.I.Joe in the 80's was the vehicles names, especially the Cobra vehicles with their reptile-themed acronyms. The bad guys embraced this trope early (the Joes didn't start for a few years, and they never really had a cohesive theme). But Cobra gave us gems like: F.A.N.G. (Fully Armed Negator Gyrocopter, H.I.S.S. (High Speed Sentry), S.N.A.K.E (System Neutralizer Armed Kloaking Equipment), A.S.P. (Assault System Pod, and C.L.A.W. (Covert Light Aerial Weapon). Once again, Hasbro's G.I.Joe Classified team has found a way to get us another female soldier. There was never an original C.L.A.W. pilot, so I don't believe the design of this figure has any vintage references. I really like the red Officer's Helmet. It's visually very bold but fits in the with the Cobra soldier aesthetic nicely. I find myself pondering what troop builder should be next. The obvious answer is a generic green shirt female, but an Iron Grenadier or Python Patrol would be fun too. I can't wait to see what's next.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Three's Company - CHRISSY SNOW!
One of my earliest TV memories is a random episode of Three's Company where the bubbly blonde Chrissy Snow (brilliantly played by the late Suzanne Somers) injures herself while wearing roller skates in the bathtub. I forget if she breaks a leg or an arm, but I feel like she's in a cast for the rest of the episode. This stood out to me because it was the first time I ever saw an adult doing something irresponsible while an audience laughed. I distinctly remember darting my eyes back and forth from the screen to my parents wondering why they didn't think this scene wasn't dangerous, scary, or bad. It's a lesson/distinction we all must have learned early on, but Chrissy burned this into my fragile young psyche and I remember it clearly. Of course I saw a million examples in the following years; Jerry Lewis, Dagwood, Amelia Bedelia, Inspector Gadget, etc - it's a trope that know no bounds. Chrissy Snow was the breakout character of the show, with Suzanne Somers appearing on a whopping 50 magazine covers in 1978.
Monday, March 30, 2026
Three's Company - JANET WOOD!
Three's Company was a super formative show from my youth. It originally ran from 1976-1984 and was in regular syndication for many years after. I awkwardly find myself circling back to the show in the midst of first-date conversations -- it was that level of formative for me. I truly never expected to see action figures from this show, but I shouldn't be surprised by anything these days. The show was an American remake of the British show Man About the House - both about three platonic roommates (one man and two women) living their young single lives, hiding from their landlords, and getting into hijinks with their flirty neighbors. Joyce DeWitt played Janet Wood, a petite quirky florist who was portrayed with the air of a tomboy (at least in comparison to the bubbly blonde Chrissy), but beyond the short hair and boyish nightshirts, she really wasn't a tomboy at all. Of the three figures in the line (so far... c'mon Ropers 2-Pack!), she has the worst likeness, but she's somehow still instantly recognizable.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
NECA GITD Retro - BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!
The 70s and early 80s were a dark time for female action figures. Despite some iconic ladies in pop culture like Wonder Woman and Princess Leia, they had almost no merchandise. You could fit all the female action figures in existence into a shoebox (I'm excluding soft Mego figures). With Universal Monsters, it seems there was always toys around (notably from AHI and Remco), but the Bride was always excluded. In fact, I believe (with the exception of an old Aurora model kit) she was never represented in plastic until 1998 when both Hasbro and Sideshow released figures. The TMNT April O'Neil as the Bride (1994) has such notoriety, because it was the first time her image (even in homage) was in action figure form. Since 2023, NECA has been gifting us with Remco-styled redeco's of the Ultimates figures on vintage cards. I had assumed this line would be limited to the original 6 Remco characters. But then we were surprised by the inclusion of The Invisible Man, Nosferatu, and of course, the Bride.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Hocus Pocus - THE SANDERSON SISTERS!
Hocus Pocus is a movie that was almost completely off my radar until very recently. It was released in 1993, when I was in high school, but I was only vaguely aware of it. I gather that it flopped at the box office but gained a massive cult following through continual airing on the Disney Channel and Freeform in the three decades since (neither of which channels I has access to until the last 5 years or so). I even worked at video rental stores for many years and we just didn't stock it. I was forced to watch it a few years ago for the first time. This was by friends who had a deep nostalgia for it from their childhood. Without that wistful slant, I honestly wasn't a huge fan. It was very over-the-top and silly with caricatures I found too childish (and I am very immature). But that said, I was glad to finally see this cult hit. I loved the colorful design of the Sanderson Sisters as well as the actors playing them. I've wanted to add them to my collection in some way, but none of the product so far felt quite right.
Sunday, October 19, 2025
G.I.Joe Classified - PYTHONA!
As a kid I was always mimicking the cartoon characters I idolized. It wasn't necessarily blatant or intentional. I wouldn't hold a stick aloft and shout "By the Honor of Grayskull" or anything so obvious. In fact, I think it was largely subconscious. I went through a phase where I couldn't pass a broomstick without performing some type of acrobatic vault. I realize as an adult I was mimicking Diana from Dungeons & Dragons. I once leapt off a dresser fully expecting to glide across the room to my bed a'la Princess Peach in Mario II (I was on crutches for months), and most disturbing to my young classmates, I went though a phase in 1987 where I chased kids around the playground with worms and slugs acting out all my Pythona fantasies. The opening sequence of G.I.Joe the Movie (1987) features the mysterious Pythona stealthily infiltrating the Cobra Terror Drome with a menagerie of gross biological weapons: electric eels, shellfish, tentacled larvae-like things, exploding spores, and her own acid-tipped claws.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Toy Biz - FERAL!
There's an interesting trope when it comes to superhero team building in bronze and modern age comics. You typically see a big looming muscle guy in the background, a token female, some sort of "alpha male" leader, and there is almost always an animalistic growling character squatting on the side. I loved the rare occasions when the wild character was female. To me, the most famous example of this is Feral, the runaway Morlock who joined up with Cable and the remains of the New Mutants just as X-Force was forming. I always found her very appealing, even if she could be chalked up to a simple Wolfsbane stand-in. Her backstory is very gritty in a typical 90's style with abuse, death, and drug addiction taking center stage. But I mostly found her design and aggression fascinating. Also, her antagonistic-but-protective relationship with her visually-similar mutant sister, Thornn, was amazing. This Toybiz exclusive figure is an awkward mash-up of the Deathbird head paired with the Tigra body.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Princess of Power - DESPARA!
One of my favorite things to arise from the modern Masters of the Universe stories was the introduction of Despara. While not a wholly new concept, the name and costume of this character are a welcome reimaging to one of the glaring issues (in my humble opinion) with the original She-Ra, The Princess of Power cartoon. We all know that an infant Adora was kidnapped by Hordak from Eternia and raised in Etheria to become a powerful Captain in the Evil Horde. But when we met Adora in this role, despite having the cool title of "Force Captain Adora", she looked and acted identical to the pleasant and pretty member of the Great Rebellion we followed for the rest of the series. I always thought this was a missed opportunity to give She-Ra a wicked side. Well, more than 20 years later, DC published a digital MOTU comic that reimagined Adora as the evil Despara, complete with a mask resembling her abductor "father" Hordak. This was actually a more extreme redesign than I imagined, but I really like it.
Monday, September 22, 2025
Powers of Grayskull - SHARELLA!
The origins of Sharella have always been a bit confusing to me. I was aware of the tiny anonymous female character sprinting in the background art on the 1987 Megator box, and that she was some unnamed warrior from the Powers of Grayskull pre-Eternian storyline. But at some point she was given the name Sharella and tied into the earliest Masters of the Universe lore. Currently Sharella is generally accepted to be the "human" form of the Pre-Eternian Snake Goddess (sometime errantly referred to as "Green Teela" or "Green Goddess"). When I think of Teela and her eventual transformation into the feathered Sorceress of Grayskull, I can grasp that Sharella is the warrior (or priestess) that eventually becomes the Pre-Eternian Goddess. This figure is the prefect type of release for the Mattel Creations Club Grayskull exclusives. Diehard fans (who would subscribe to the Club) would be the target audience for such an obscure character. It certainly made me happy. Let's check out Sharella below!
Monday, September 15, 2025
Void Rivals - SOLILA (and DARAK)!
Void Rivals is one of the best comics I've read in recent years. I was a little late to the party and only picked up the Vol 1 TPB this time last year, just as the Vol 2 TPB was being released. I had read the Cobra Commander TPB a few months before and was thoroughly impressed by the art and story. The way they tied in so much great 80's G.I.Joe lore and told an engaging origin story with that modern Image Comics edge just blew my mind. The Transformers crossover was a surprise to me as well. I decided to dive deep into this new Energon Universe created by Robert Kirkman and Skybound for Image comics. This universe merges the Transformers and G.I.Joe properties while also including original titles, like their inaugural release Void Rivals. The story starts out with two lone representatives of warring worlds, Solila the Zerkonian and Darak the Agorrian, crash landing on a rocky planet (or moon, asteroid, or comet? It's desolate and barren and far from home) while each attempting to capture a
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Amazing Heroes Retroverse - BLACK CAT!
Black Cat first appeared in the August 1941 issue of Pocket Comics #1, published by Harvey Comics and created by Al Gabriele. Black Cat was a stunt woman and actress who used her skills to become a costumed heroine and thwart Nazi spies in Hollywood. She proved very popular and got her own title by 1946. I personally have always loved this character because it is one of the earliest examples of the style of pointed domino mask later worn by so many of my favorite comic characters. Of all the nearly-forgotten Golden Age heroines who have entered the public domain in recent years, I think Black Cat has had the most interesting second life. I don't know if this is just my experience, but when I go to conventions and art shows, I see her image everywhere. Painted on clocks, glued onto magnets, dipped in epoxy. There must be something about her simple stylish costume and penchant for acrobatics and motorcycles that appeals to these artists. Either way, I approve. Let's check her out below!
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