Epic Hero Series - MANTIS!

Marvel Epic Hero Series - Guardians of the Galaxy V3 - Mantis - Hasbro 2023

I love a good 1:18 scale action figure line. When they are done right they can push out a lot of great characters in rapid succession without hurting your toy budget too severely. The unfortunate thing is these modern lines tend to be almost exclusively marketed to young audiences and the parents who purchase for them. Therefore they mostly focus on blockbuster movie promotions and rarely feature any female characters, so the aspects that would appeal most to me personally are usually non-existent. The Marvel Epic Hero series is a current Hasbro 1:18 line featuring evergreen comic representations and also Film and TV properties. This Mantis was the first female released in the line (back in 2023) and I had hopes that we would see many more. I thought for sure Black Widow, Captain Marvel, and Scarlet Witch would be announced soon. But two years later and we only have four females. The recent Ghost-Spider was a surprise drop this month though, so anything is possible. Let's check out Mantis below!

Marvel Legends - MANTIS!

Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (Cosmo) - Mantis - Hasbro 2023

I have a serious backlog of toys to open. Sometimes I forget what is buried in the back of my closet until a series of random events forces me to go digging. In this case, I found the new Ghost-Spider Epic Hero Series figure at Walmart last week. That made me think of how few female characters have been in that line so far - Rogue and Storm from X-Men '97 immediately spring to mind. But also that random Mantis from the third GOTG movie. I had her somewhere. But I couldn't review her until I also unearthed her Marvel Legends figure. Truth is, I didn't enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3, so although I always love Mantis and these figures are great (I didn't hesitate to buy them), I was just unmotivated at the time. But a few years later, with almost zero memories of the movie, I can fully appreciate these toys on their own merit. I even like the blue and red "Rawhide Kid" uniforms that disappointed me so much in the theatres. Time heals all critiques I suppose. Let's check out GOTG3 Mantis below!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 - MANTIS!

Marvel Legends - GOTGv2 Mantis Build-a-Figure Wave - Mantis - Hasbro 2017

One of the biggest surprises for me in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 was the heavy female presence. As popular as heroines have become in the print comics over the past few years, the movies have still been quite a boy's club. From all the advance merchandising, I had a clue that Ayesha and Mantis would have decent roles in the movie, but I had no idea that almost every scene would have such a strong female presence. Mantis is a character that has a bit of a convoluted history in the comics. Her origins, powers, and appearance have fluctuated quite a bit from her appearance in 1973. In the film, her origins are still a mystery, but her powers seems to be limited to empathy and telepathic suggestion. But considering how much they developed Nebula in her second film, I'm hoping we'll learn a lot more about Mantis in Avengers: Infinity War and GOTGv3 (both of which she's been cast in). This figure is extremely well made. The likeness and execution is practically perfect. Let's check out Mantis below!

Mini-Mate Women of GUARDIANS of the GALAXY V2!

Marvel Mini-Mates GOTG Vol. 2 - Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, & Ayesha - DST 2017

I just bought my tickets to go see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this Friday and I'm getting pretty hyped up. I've managed to accumulate a decent amount of merchandise from the movie already. Lots of Funko stuff, Marvel Legends, animated spin-off figures from Hasbro, etc. But the first figures I actually picked up were these Diamond Select Mini-Mates. Mini-Mates never fail with Marvel movie products. Even movies that are mysteriously never fully merchandised (like any of the recent X-Men films or Dr. Strange) will get a full lineup of characters in Minimate form. This GOTG2 series was actually the first time I saw that Ayesha would be in the movie. I was first exposed to Ayesha when she was known as "Her" (the counterpart to Adam Warlock aka "Him"). It's funny how there will be a Marvel Legends Adam Warlock (who I'm not sure is even in the film) but Ayesha is left out. At least DST will always give us a full roster. Let's check out the Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, and Ayesha below!

Funko Guardians of the Galaxy MANTIS Collection!

GOTG Vol. 2 - Rock Candy, POP, Dorbz, & Pint Size Heroes - Funko 2017

One of the things I'm most excited about with the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 movie is to get to know the character Mantis better. I've always noticed her in the comics, but her character's origins and powers always confused me. Although her look has changed pretty drastically over the years, her signature antennae and Asian features have remained constant. But as far as her powers and origins go, I've always been kind of lost.  She can communicate with plants and certain alien races, she is empathic, she's a martial arts master, and she has bizarre control over her body (like heartbeat and bleeding). And now in her most recent incarnations she's also a telepathic precog. Her background is equally muddy. With depowerings, mindwipes, time travel, and celestial prophecies, it's kind of hard to keep straight. That's why I'm looking forward to the movie version. I'm assuming they'll take the best parts of the character and make it as cohesive as possible. Plus her look is very cool update of the comic design.

Wild Kratts - MANTIS POWER AVIVA!

Wild Kratts - Crawlers Set - Mantis Power Aviva - Wicked Cool Toys 2015

The Wild Kratts is a PBS Kids show that is now in its 4th season. I've been noticing the toys at TRU for years and was always intrigued by the animal themed costumes (and realistic animal accessories).  At some point I googled the show to discover if there were any female characters I should be keeping my eye out for (all of the toys seemed to be focused on the main two Kratt brothers in their Blue and Green animal power suits). Sure enough I discovered the character Aviva and found lots of pictures of her as purple-hued animals from the cartoon. I figured they would have to make toys of her eventually. A few months ago I discovered two versions of a civilian Aviva had been released.  Of course they were included in expensive boxsets and weren't all that interesting looking.  I wanted her in an animal form! Then my wishes were granted with this cool Mantis Power Aviva figure. These figures are small and unarticulated, but I think they are just great. I'm just hoping we see Aviva (or Koki) in more animal forms!

The Buggy Ladies of GLO FRIENDS!

A Spotlight on my 3 Favorite Glo Friends - Hasbro/Playskool 1986-1988
 
I know a review like this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but the mantra of this blog is "Uniting All Women of Plastic", and that means all.  I'm aware that the vast majority of my readership is anchored in the superhero arena, but I'm hoping that there's just as much interest in the awesome nostalgic 80's properties out there as well - because I'll be sure to pepper reviews like this in every few months.  In 1982, Hasbro created a plush toy sensation in the form of Glo Worm.  The "Glo" brand immediately took off and soon spawned a series of books, cartoons, and a popular line of small glow-in-the-dark figures called Glo Friends.  I think every child of the 80's had at least one of these.  They were the default stocking stuffers for years in my family, but I eventually melted or destroyed them all.   In 1986, these figures hit the market under the new-ish Hasbro subsidiary, Playskool (although some of the packaging still lists the maker as "Hasbro Preschool").   There were 28 figures in all.  Let's check out my favorite three below!

Beetleborgs HORRIBELLE!

The Evil Crustacean Horribelle - Beetleborgs Metallix - Bandai 1998

The evil villain costumes are my absolute favorite thing about all the Saban-produced Japanese properties that were so prevalent in the 1990s.  The Big Bad Beetleborgs was an American television show from 1996 that used footage from Juukou B-Fighter, and later when the series evolved into Beetleborgs Metallix, it used footage from B-Fighter Kabuto (with original American footage for the non-costumed scenes).  The villains in these series are always very detailed and creepy-looking.  Usually in some kind of insectile or demonic armor.  In this case, all the villains are supposed to be crustaceans.  Well, at least they're called "Evil Crustaceans."  Horribelle is pretty clearly a Praying Mantis (they should really be the Evil Arthropods if they wanted to include insects, but we can leave my nerdy semantics out of this).  Horribelle looks fantastic.  A lot of times these 90's Bandai females look way too masculine, but she is definitely an exception.  Let's check her out below!