As SDCC approaches this week, I find myself remembering back to the late aughts when Mattel was regularly blowing our collective minds with new product. Both DC Universe Classics and Masters of the Universe Classics began in 2008 and revolutionized the toy industry (I know Marvel Legends had started way back in 2002, but I think their female sculpts were pretty terrible until 2013). With all the focus on Mattel's 6-7" scale back then, it's easy to forget that their 3.75" DC Universe Infinite Heroes line also launched in 2008. It only lasted two years, but it gave us an absolute flood of characters. I believe there were 67 individual figures and 17 multipacks. That's roughly 3 new characters each month for two years. I recently dug out my old Starfire and Raven in anticipation of their new Super Powers figures on Entertainment Earth. I find the Infinite Heroes to be a little weird, a little awkward, and sometimes they're downright hideous, but I still adore them. Let's check out Starfire below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Skin-Orange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skin-Orange. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
DC Universe Infinite Heroes - STARFIRE!
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
New Teen Titans - STARFIRE!
Every time I get an old DC Direct figure into my photo tent I am blown away by the sculpt and attention to detail. I was very excitedly buying lots of toys back then. I loved all the Silver Age and Legion of Super-Heroes figures in particular. But in general, I was really taking this early-aughts toy renaissance for granted. I should have been buying ever single toy put out there. I think Starfire is a tricky character to get right. Especially when trying to replicate the early-80s George Pérez design. Honestly I've only seen it done right twice in toy form: the 2018 Funko mini figure, and this DC Direct figure from 2000. I desperately tried to find who sculpted this, but the information seems lost to time. My best guess is Tim Bruckner. But it could easily be Sam Greenwell as well. Both were very active with DC Direct at the time, but the sculptor names being featured on the packaging was inconsistent in those early years. Whoever the artist is knocked it out of the park though. Let's check out Starfire 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!
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
DC x Sonic - STARFIRE!
I love how modern interpretations of Starfire have been so covered up. I know her original barely-there costume is iconic and classic, but I always found it so cringey - especially in a team of teenagers. Ironically, the first time I truly started to love this character was in the New52's Red Hood and the Outlaws when her outfit was even tinier and her actions were portrayed as much more cold and sexual than she had ever been before. Something about the art and older appearance of Koriand'r made her super appealing to me. But since then, DC has really course-corrected and she's mostly been costumed in an almost prudish way. But honestly I love it. This DC x Sonic design is new to me, but I realize it's her primary costume in the most recent (2023-present) Titans series. She still has the iconic orange skin, firey hair, purple outfit, and bright green alien eyes, but the pulled-back hair and more utilitarian uniform really makes this design stand out. It's crazy that Jakks was the first to give us a figure. Let's check out Starfire below!
Monday, December 22, 2025
The New Teen Titans - BLACKFIRE!
Of all the character who deserve a figure in McFarlane's DC Multiverse line, or even a second re-do figure, Blackfire no even on my radar. Last year's Platinum edition Blackfire in her Titans Reborn design was a great figure (albeit in a lesser-known outfit). So I was shocked to see this redeco solicited in an odd design reminiscent of her first appearance, but missing her voluminous hair, large cape, and ornate headdress/tiara. I was fully planning on skipping this figure, but FOMO during the preorder blitz this past fall made me cave. She's a pretty cool figure, and I know a lot of collector's missed the Platinum release last year, so I kind of understand how she was awarded a coveted figure slot ahead of so many other contenders. And for someone who was on the fence, I appreciate how significantly different the color palette is, and the multihued purple/blue legs are mesmerizing. They have a color-shifting effect like an oil slick, and I've never seen that on a toy. Let's check out Blackfire below!
Monday, January 27, 2025
Super7 ReAction - JANICE!
Modern Muppets programs have a tendency to get canceled too soon. The Muppets (2025) lasted just 17 episodes, Muppets Tonight (1996) ended after 22, and most recently, The Muppets Mayhem (2023) was canceled after a mere 10. I'll be honest, I only ever saw one episode of Mayhem and it didn't immediately capture my attention the way 2015 series did, but I had friends and family who raved about it and I really like the creative team behind it, so I will start it again this week. The series features the Muppet band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem as they tour and create an album. It features lots of classic Muppets but most notable (for me) is the iconic spacey lead guitarist, Janice. Even if the series didn't have a massive cultural impact, it still prompted this great Reaction line from Super7. It would be awesome to get a whole Muppets line to go along with the Sesame Street figures, but in the meantime, this lone Janice is the only Muppet ReAction in my collection. Let's check her out below!
Sunday, January 26, 2025
The Muppets - JANICE!
It's sometimes a little odd to realize that for the longest time there were only two female Muppets in the main cast. Miss Piggy got all the attention, but the lead guitarist for Electric Mayhem, Janice, was there from the very beginning with her iconic lips, lanky stature, and valley girl drawl. I always knew the lore that she was based on Mick Jagger with Janis Joplin's name, but beyond the exaggerated mouth, I didn't see the connection. But then last night I saw her original concept sketch for the first time I finally saw the likeness. I've wanted a Janice figure forever, but back in the heyday of the Palisades line, I wanted the pink-shirted Chase version, but was unable to ever find her. Then all these years later I was finally able to add this amazing DST version to my Collection. This figure was originally released in 2018 in a set with Floyd, but this review is for the re-released "Best of" version last year. I'm playing catch-up with this line so I'm grateful for the reissues. Let's check out Janice below!
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Titans Rebirth - BLACKFIRE!
Sister rivals are one of my favorite tropes in Comics and pop culture. They're more common than you think (Alice to Batwoman, Elphaba to Glinda, Okiko O'Brien to Ann O'Brien, Zaladane to Polaris, Mortis to Dazzler, Dark Annisia to Red Sonja, etc) but I'm a sucker for that dynamic every time. I think the most famous adversarial sisters in the comic world are Princess Koriand'r (aka Starfire) and Princess Komand'r (aka Blackfire). Their sibling relationship had been a plot point in several Teen Titans animated series as well as the live action Titans show. Plus Blackfire has actually been merchandised a decent amount (a luxury that most evil sisters don't get). This McFarlane Toys figure is a clever repaint of the Collector's Edition Starfire released as a limited edition Platinum variant. And while this figure doesn't exactly look like Blackfire in her Rebirth design, it's still a fun representation of the character (and a great precedent for Platinum releases to be wholly new characters). Let's check out Blackfire below!
Monday, August 12, 2024
Titans Rebirth - STARFIRE!
For all of Todd McFarlane's crazy talk about female action figures causing young boys to become serial killers, his company sure does produce a lot of female characters (Google that cringey interview from March 2022 if you need a good eye roll). This Starfire figure is the latest in the Rebirth Titans lineup, and a character who was very notably absent from the Beast Boy wave last year. Starfire has gone through a lot of changes in the 44 years since her debut, but her orange skin, flame-colored hair, green eyes, and purple costume have remained consistent despite a ton of stylistic changes. She has an interesting distinction of donning more and more clothes as the years progress, but conversely becoming more sexualized in the story context (at least in the New52 reboot when her libido was making headlines). I always prefer Starfire's modern designs over her original. Her outfits are no longer ridiculously skimpy and her hair looks more flame-like. This figure is a great representation of that. Let's check her out below!
Friday, March 22, 2024
A.T.O.M. Alpha Teens On Machines - FIREKAT!
When season two of Action Man: A.T.O.M. (Alpha Teens On Machines) began in 2006, the villains got really interesting. It turns out that the villainous scientist, Janus Lee, Had been working on a secret plot to obtain DNA samples of each of the Alpha Teens in order to clone them into the genetically-altered Mu-Team. Each member of the Mu-Team has the hero's DNA spliced with specific animals. In the case of Firekat, she has Lioness' DNA merged with cheetah, lion, cougar, and tiger. She can run at super-high speeds and has razorsharp claws that can slice through metal. I'm a sucker for felinoid characters so this toy is what first attracted me to this cartoon and toyline. As far as I can tell, these toys were only released in Europe (but my only proof is that I have zero memory of them in stores and current eBay listings are rarely in the US). This Firekat toy is pretty rare these days, but still easier to find than Lioness. I'm glad I finally got her though, because she's awesome. Let's check out Firekat below!
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Marvel Legends - TIGRA!
Once again, I must sing the praises of the West Coast Avengers Marvel Legends box set. A little under two years ago we got a long-awaited modern figure of Tigra in the Marvel Legends Vintage line. While not the most A-list of characters, she has an iconic look and has been a regular feature in various Marvel titles since the mid-70s. The 2021 figure was beautiful and amazing, but not perfect. The color was distractingly vibrant and the hairsculpt on the calm-faced head looked good, but didn't really capture her comic look. For all we know, those design decisions might have been meant to reflect the Tigra & Dazzler (2020) animated series that was cancelled by Hulu before it was ever produced. But either way, I was satisfied, but secretly hoping to get a first appearance redeco with lighter hues and black hair with a widow's peak. While that version hasn't been made (yet), this updated figure presents her classic comic look with lighter yellow-orange fur and skin and long reddish-brown hair. She looks amazing.
Thursday, April 27, 2023
Star Wars Retro Collection - AHSOKA TANO!
I was reading recently about how when Ahsoka Tano was first introduced, she was met with a lot of fan hostility. I never watched the animated Clone Wars series (or movie), but this is where Ahsoka Tano was introduced as a 14-year-old Padawan under the tutelage of a 19-year-old Anakin Skywalker. Without reading any more details, I can imagine the writers falling prey to same tropes of teenage character stereotypes. I bet she was surly, cool, obnoxious, witty, and scrappy - yet promising. And I'll bet she came off as annoying. That's all just my hunch based on decades of seeing teenage elements inserted into a serious genre. But thankfully the fanbase came around and the character matured. Because the character we see today is pretty awesome. Rosario Dawson's portrayal in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett was masterful. And the fact that her solo show, Ahsoka, is premiering in August 2023 is no surprise at all - and I can't wait! Let's check out the Retro Collection Ahsoka Tano below!
Saturday, July 23, 2022
The Mandalorian - AHSOKA TANO!
I love how popular Ahsoka Tano has become. She was introduced in 2008's Star Wars: The Clone Wars CGI animated film, and was a major character in the following animated series as well as 2014 follow-up series Star Wars: Rebels. I admit I've never watched any of the modern animated Star Wars installments, but I would see this character in the toy aisles all the time and her design intrigued me. She was the only character in the preschool Galactic Heroes lines (which I was obsessed with) to get multiple figures (aside from Leia and Amidala). And I even got a PEZ dispenser of her. But I still didn't know anything about her character until she stepped out of the fog in that amazing 2020 episode of The Mandalorian. Almost immediately there was buzz about an Ahsoka solo series for 2023. And then we were treated to an unexpected appearance in The Book of Boba Fett earlier this year. I'm impressed by what I've seen so far and am excited to see more of character when the show debuts next year.
Monday, March 28, 2022
Galaxy of Adventures - AHSOKA TANO!
Of all the recently-introduced Star Wars toylines, I think Galaxy of Adventures is my favorite. Unfortunately, I also suspect it is also dead in the water. The animated series was a short-lived webseries in 2018 and since the toy line's debut in 2019, there have only been about 20 releases, with only one in all of 2021 (an exclusive Mandalorian set). This Ahsoka Tano figure was released in 2020, but I didn't find her until almost a year later when Walmart did a holiday restock with big assortments of Galaxy of Adventures toys. But even so, there was only one Ahsoka in a giant shelf display of 40+ figures (in my experience at least). And it's a shame because this is a really great toy. My favorite part is the elfin-like face sculpts. They are adorable and quirky, but oddly enough they don't look too juvenile or cartoony. It's a lost cause, but it would be awesome to see Princess Leia made. (She is the only other notable female I remember from the show). Let's check out this adorably awesome Ahsoka Tano below!
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Star Wars Toybox - AHSOKA TANO!
A sad thing has happened in my little corner of the world since this Summer: all my local Disney Stores have closed. I was lucky enough to have four in a relatively small area, but one-by-one they shuttered their doors since July. I travel semi-regularly to two additional nearby stores (including the Times Square location), but they oddly never carry any action figures besides some perennial Marvel Select figures. Over the past few years I've grown to really love the unpredictable releases of the Disney ToyBox figures. Sure, they are their own unique scale and have stylized sculpts that don't blend with other toy lines, but there have been enough figures that they have established their own specific category. This Ahsoka Tano figure figure is exciting to me because I consider it a positive benchmark of a Star Wars toy line when they make a non-human female character. Most usually make Leia or Rey then quit. But I love the colorful aliens so I'm always wishing for more. Let's check out Ahsoka Tano below!
Monday, October 4, 2021
Marvel Legends Vintage - TIGRA!
This is proving to be an insane year for classic Marvel Legends figures. Several of my most-wanted figures have already been produced. Firestar, updated White Queen and She-Hulk, Silver-Age Jean Grey in her green costume (short legs and all), and of course Tigra have all entered my collection (as well as amazing modern characters like Ironheart and Captain Carter). This Tigra is surprisingly stunning. Her face sculpt and all the fur details on her body are terrific. The potential for the fur-textured limbs alone make me giddy with anticipation of who we will see next (Wolfsbane, Feral, and Hepzibah in 2022, please!) The only potential issue with this Tigra figure is that her coloring is super-saturated and bright. I wouldn't mind a redeco someday with lighter yellowy skin, dark orange stripes, and the classic voluminous black hairdo with pointy bangs. FYI There was a highly enjoyable Tigra: The Complete Collection TPB (2019) that collected 424 pages of her classic stories. Go read that then buy this toy!
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Marvel Legends - TIGRA!
I had a conversation with a friend the other week and he started scoffing at this old Tigra figure. I agreed that it wasn't terrific, but that it's also not that bad. The sculpt is decent and I have no complaint about the paint application. The only problems are a bland facial expression and the awkward articulation (this was about 5 years before Hasbro perfected the female Marvel Legends buck). So I thought I would dig out my figure and give her a little love with a photo shoot. Especially since I have a hunch we'll be getting an updated figure very soon. She's definitely one of the Marvel characters most deserving of an update, and the recent Tigra: The Complete Collection TPB (that was released today!) is a definite sign that the character has something brewing. It would be especially interesting to see her get some attention at the same time that Cheetah has a starring role in Wonder Woman 1984. It could be a clash of the felinoid women, and I would love every second of it. Let's check out this 2009 Tigra below!
Sunday, August 25, 2019
DC Multiverse - STARFIRE!
I've really been liking all the modern redesigns of Starfire. I know her New52 look got a lot of flak for being too provocative (and her having a sexually disassociative personality), but I liked it. I thought it was an appropriate adaption of the character, considering she was historically always making awkward sexual advances and basically wearing suspenders as an outfit. She's had two noticeable design changes since then. One was her solo series redesign by Amanda Conner, and the Rebirth design seen with this new DC Multiverse figure. I like that she always has the same consistent color palette with orange skin, reddish hair, and a purple and silver outfit. Starfire is one of those characters that will always be provocative, no matter how much flesh is being bared. So taking that into consideration, I actually much prefer the more covered version that we see here over her signature strappy getups. I'm glad we got a figure of her in this version since I'm sure it was change again soon. Let's check her out below!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
DC Direct Green Lantern ARISIA!
With the new DC Multiverse Jessica Cruz figure in my sights, I really wanted to finally review this older Green Lantern Corps member that I've had in storage forever. The Blackest Night and Green Lantern waves from DC Direct released dozens of Lantern characters in only a few short years (The Blackest Night line alone had eight waves and over 37 figures!) I wish there was a bat-family line with that kind of dedication (Hush was the biggest with 16). Over the course of the Green Lantern boom we got a lot of classic characters in plastic for the first time. Arisia was a Corps member first introduced in 1981. She is from Graxos IV where the inhabitants have golden-orange skin and elf-like ears. She's run the gamut of predictable storylines for a supporting female characters: death, resurrection, love interest for the title character, etc. I avoided this figure for a long time because I thought she looked like a scantily clad blonde meant for more titillation than substance, but she's grown on me. Let's check her out below!
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