Be@rbricks - SPIDER-WOMEN!

Marvel Comics Be@rbricks - Happy Kuji Spider-Man - MediCom Toys 2022

Be@rbricks are a 2001 spin-off of Medicom Toy's popular Kubrick line. The standard Be@rbrick figures are 7cm tall and feature a generic anthropomorphic bear sculpt with a potbelly and ears in a block-figure style. I find the combination of this default sculpt overlayed with recognizable character designs to be fun and quirky. The concept has been duplicated often, notably with Disney's 2008 Vinylmation line, but I find the original Be@rbricks to be the most appealing. Twenty-five years into the line, and the character selection is predictably daunting. Luckily I always narrow my focus my to superheroes which makes the hunt a lot more reasonable. Recently I discovered that a Spider-Man wave was released in 2022 with a variety of Spider-Ladies. They were pretty easy and inexpensive to pick up on eBay, but now I'm inspired to pick up others like DC and MCU. I suspect I will have a large assortment of these odd little bears by this time next year. But in the meantime, let's check out the Spider-Ladies below!

Tron Kubrick - YORI!

Kubrick Disney's Tron - Set (A): Tron, Yori, & Orange Light Cycle - Medicom 2002

I've had this set for ages but finally got around to opening it last week. I frankly don't remember purchasing this, but when I was moving house four years ago, I found it buried in a closet encased up in bubble wrap with zero recollection of how I got it. I probably paid a fortune and blocked out the memory over guilt. It was funny to mark it off my "must have" checklist by accidentally discovering that I already owned it. I also found multiple Planet of the Apes Kubrick sets in the same box so it was a thrilling discovery. This figure is notable for being the first toy of Yori ever. As the token female of Tron (1982), and a pretty significant character, she was criminally neglected in the merchandise department. So far I have three Yori items, but hopefully there will be momentum for more in the future, but I definitely would love to see more. I think a company like NECA should take the reigns and give us a full vintage line (hopefully with characters unmade in the DST line). Let's check out Yori below!

Suicide Squad HARLEY QUINN Bearbrick!

Bearbrick Series 32 - Suicide Squad (Secret) Harley Quinn - MediCom Toy 2016

I have a real love/hate relationship with Medicom's Be@rbrick series. I find them very aesthetically... unpleasant. But conversely, I love odd creepy things, even if I find them ugly. Bearbricks started in 2001 as a spinoff of the popular Kubrick line that had started the year before. All Bearbrick figures share the same mold of a potbellied cartoonish bear. You've seen this same gimmick used with Vinylmation and Qee figures since, but Bearbricks are the earliest versions I can think of (excluding "plain" block figures like Lego and Minimates). I appreciate their legacy and the odd-looking superheroes that have come from the line. I have a list of four or five more that I have my eye out for, but they can be expensive so I'm in no rush. The female superheroes are often the "secret" figures that aren't listed on the back-of-the-box checklists, so they can be pricier and harder to track down. Let's check out the Suicide Squad Harley Quinn Bearbrick below!

DC Comics Kubrick - SPOILER!

Kubrick - Batman: Series 1 Secret (1:96) Figure - Spoiler - Medicom 2003

I never thought I would get my hands on this figure. As one of the only pieces of Spoiler merchandise out there, it's been on my radar for over a decade. However, being the rare "Secret" figure of Series 01 makes her especially hard to find. The Kubrick collectors are pretty thorough, too, so that doubles the competition trying to get their hands on lil' ol Steph here. You can almost always find her on eBay for around $100, but that was always far beyond my budget for a tiny, undetailed brick figure. Luckily I snagged her super-duper cheap recently and I'm ecstatic. Stephanie Brown was completely off my radar until she became Robin in 2005. Unfortunately that was a very brief (and tragic) stint. I didn't notice her again until she became the new Batgirl in 2009. Then I was completely hooked. I quickly backtracked and became obsessed with her earliest incarnations as Spoiler, daughter of Cluemaster who was dedicated to "spoiling" the criminal plans of her father and other Gotham villains. Then New52 got her. She was shockingly absent in comics for years, but thankfully re-emerged again as Spoiler in 2014. Let's check her out!

Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN BEARBRICK!

Bearbrick Series 24 Secret Figure from MediCom Toy Inc

The Medicom Company of Japan makes the most wonderfully quirky toys.  Their line of Kubrick brick figures continues to amaze me with adorable representations of some of the most randomly awesome characters.  Where else will you find a toy of Gumby's mother, Edward Scissorhands' topiaries, or Audrey Tautou as Amélie?  The whole line is a collector's dream because nothing about it is predictable or boring.  Their Bearbrick line is somewhat less appealing to me.  This line uses a standard buck of a potbellied teddy bear, which in my humble opinion can tend to limit the aesthetic of the toys, especially when it comes to female characters.  When the first DKR products started being revealed, I started googling for a Catwoman Kubrick from the movie (which I still assume is inevitable).  One fateful day my search returned images of this Catwoman Bearbrick.  She was a "Mystery Figure" meaning that she wasn't included in the Series 24 solicit images (which had been circulating for a while) and only became known once she hit the stores.