In the late 80's I was about 9 years old and moved to a new town (from the boonies). This town had a main street I could walk to (alone) with three comic shops (plus ice cream parlors, newstands (with comics), and a Woolworths and a local drugstore that each had decent toy sections). It was amazing. Of course a few years later 90% of the storefronts were vacant - and the street still struggles to this day. But those comic shops kickstarted a lifelong passion for me. I only spent my meager allowance on G.I.Joe comics, but I browsed every item in the store with endless curiosity. I have vivid memories of this redhaired heroine wearing all the primary colors and seemingly holding her own in male-dominated titles. I never learned too much about her, and she didn't stick around very long, but I now know her as Sharon Ventura, the second Ms. Marvel. Sharon was a pro wrestler and love interest to the Thing. She underwent genetic enhancement, got powerhouse abilities, and took on a superhero persona.
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Toybiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toybiz. Show all posts
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Toy Biz - MS. MARVEL (SHARON VENTURA)!
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Toy Biz - MEDUSA!
I have a great appreciation for the 1990's Marvel action figures from ToyBiz. I remember seeing ads in comics as a kid and thinking that I should buy them all, but I just never did. In fact the first one I bought was near the end of the era, a Magik I found in a Kay-Bee clearance bin for a dollar circa 1999. But as an adult, I've become pretty obsessed with them for their character variety, classic costumes, and creative re-use of molds. I also have a strong compulsion to collect every piece of merchandise for certain characters (especially when there is a new Marvel Legends released to motivate me), so backtracking to pick up these old figures on eBay is a common occurance for me. The new Marvel Legends Medusa inspired me to dig out this old Medusa ToyBiz figure that I've had forever, but sadly never really celebrated. She's a prime example of what I love about the 90's ToyBiz figures: and unexpected character in a classic design (and easy to pick up cheap, even 30 years later. Let's check out Medusa below!
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.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
Toy Biz - PENANCE!
This blog often causes me to dissect what I like and dislike about certain characters. Because of this introspection, I can lump the majority of my favorite characters into one or two categories. But my very favorite category is one I rarely discuss, because characters that fit the description are rarely merchandised. It's also hard to describe succinctly. But here is an awkward attempt: I love a mysterious character, often noncommunicative, who is at first feared, has an otherworldly appearance, but who other characters quickly find themselves being protective of. Like a secret friend no one else could possibly understand. E.T. is a universal example. But I like them ever more when they are more human-like (my absolute favorite example being Skarrow from the Courtney Crumrin comics). A powerful example of this type of character is Penance from the the first few story arcs in 2004's Generation X comic. Later writers completely changed her backstory, but for a while she was my favorite thing in comics.
Friday, May 21, 2021
Toy Biz - FRANKIE RAYE NOVA!
Frankie Raye is a step-daughter of Phineas Horton, the scientist creator of the original Human Torch (the android Jim Hammond version from 1939, not Johnny Storm from 1961). Frankie was accidentally exposed to the same chemicals that created the Human Torch's flame powers. Her father decided to give her a skin-tight body suit to contain the fire and then hypnotized her into forgetting about the powers and the containment suit itself. She lived a normal life until she was a young woman dating Johnny Storm. Frisky Johnny discovered the bodysuit and eventually she broke through her mental block. She became an unofficial member of the Fantastic Four before fate intervened and she became a Herald of Galactus named Nova, complete with a Silver-Surfer-esque metallic makeover. Recently I've been thinking how she would make for a great Marvel Legends figure. There are enough flame-based characters out there to justify the hair sculpt and the body is essentially a featureless buck.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Toy Biz - SHADOWCAT!
With the exciting rumors of a possible Excalibur Marvel Legends box set coming this year from Amazon, I thought I would revisit the only real action figure of an Excalibur character that I own. In the late 90's, exclusive mail-away action figures were a real thing. It sounds like a bizarre concept now, but between Wizard and ToyFare magazines and various comic and videogame offerings, there were always exciting little exclusives to be had. These were mostly simple repaints, but were often surprisingly significant characters - like Feral, Firestar, and of course Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde has always suffered a bit of an identity crisis in the costume department, but I think her blue, puffy-sleeved look is the most iconic. And ironically it's the costume where she looks most like a mature adult woman, rather than the youthful energetic X-Man she is typically portrayed as. But still it's my favorite and I really can't wait to get her in legends form (along with Meggan and Rachel of course!). Let's check out Kitty below!
Friday, January 22, 2021
Marvel Legends - WASP!
One of my biggest wishes for the Marvel Legends line is to get a full-size classic Janet Van Dyne Wasp in her original red outfit and bullet helmet. The Wasp is actually a problematic character for me, because a big aesthetic of mine is for costume consistency. The majority of my favorite characters have had unchanged costumes for decades. Sure, all characters change it up occasionally, but most return to their original looks. But Janet van Dyne is a different story altogether. Her character evolved into a fashion fanatic and designer in the 70s and wore a different costume in practically every appearance. It became an endearing and unique character trait, but I crave consistency so this drove me nuts. I always wanted a classic full-size wasp in her 60's costume, and this 2006 Toy Biz version is the closest I could find (the 1999 miniature version is amazing too). In true Wasp fashion, this 2006 figure was intended to have three distinct variants, although only two were released. Let's check her out below!
Monday, January 18, 2021
Toy Biz - MARVEL GIRL!
It's difficult to collect vintage figures sometimes because every once in a while you come across a toy that has little to no redeeming qualities. One of my favorite collecting goals is to get all versions of a specific character and display them in a cluster. Especially when there is a unique costume that I'm especially drawn to. This classic green and yellow mini-skirt look for Jean Grey has always been one of my favorites. She wore it from X-Men #39 in 1967 until X-Men #100 in 1976. The reprints of these stories in Classic X-Men was my first exposure to the X-Men, so it is a very nostalgic look for me. Nothing made me more excited than seeing the return of this costume for 2019's House of X storyline. But at the same time, I just knew there would finally be a great Legends figure made and I would feel compelled to track down all the early awful offerings of this costume. That brings us to this 1997 Toy Biz figure. The first time this costume ever saw life in plastic, and it was pretty tragic. Let's check her out below!
Monday, January 11, 2021
Toy Biz - SHE-HULK!
I've been sick for a week but today the announcement of a new Marvel Legends She-Hulk figure thankfully brought me out of my funk a bit. I adored the Gray Hulk version of Jennifer Walters we got last year, and I eventually read and really enjoyed that comic (the 2017 Hulk series), but I'll admit, despite my admiration for gray Jennifer, I always had my fingers crossed for a classic green repaint of that mold. And today was that long-awaited day. So in honor of my happy green day, I decided to post a flashback review to the first She-Hulk figure from the 1996 Toy Biz Hulk line. It's actually surprising it took 5 years into the Toy Biz Marvel lines to finally get us this green goddess. She seems way more popular that most of the B-and-C-listers that came before her. It's probably because she required an original mold. And it's quite a unique mold too, at over 6", she towers over almost every other Toy Biz figure, especially the females. She's not perfect, but still a really fun toy to have. Let's check her out below!
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Marvel Legends Toy Biz - PHOENIX!
When Marvel Legends began back in 2002, I was instantly smitten. At the time I was a year into my first professional job and making decent money, yet still paying a mere $350/mo rent. That translated into a lot of expendable income. And as soon as I bought a series of young adult necessities (Ikea furniture, my first DVD player, etc), I was quick to revisit all my old hobbies. I found a comic shop near my office and quickly became a regular. My favorite toys at the time were the DC Direct LOSH, which I thought were amazingly advanced. But soon came the fateful day when I stopped in and found the first wave of Marvel Legends. I bought Captain America and Iron Man and was so excited to see the line eventually include female characters. But I think we all know how awkward most of those early attempts were. I didn't buy any for years, and even then it was under duress. But then last week I saw this Phoenix in a toy shop and suddenly thought she looked pretty great. Let's check her out!
Monday, June 15, 2020
X-Men Ninja Force - PSYLOCKE!
I've always had a fascination with Betsy Braddock. I was a huge New Mutants fan as a kid and when she made her debut as Psylocke in Annual #2, her purple hair and superhero lineage had me hooked. However, by the time I actually read this issue she was already sporting several new costumes in the pages of X-Men, so I had multiple versions of Betsy to fall in love with. Her monochromatic purple outfits and her butterfly-pattern telekinetic powers were everything to me. So I was the one nerd on the planet who hated her sexy ninja transformation. I just thought it was a cliche makeover of a previously weird and cool character. The one brief phase where I really started to dig this sleek look, though, was during the Crimson Dawn storyline when she was brought back from near death after an insane battle with Sabretooth with new teleportation powers, a cold demeanor, and a crimson dagger tattoo on her face. I think it adds the smallest detail that somehow makes the overall costume more interesting.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Marvel She-Force - TIGRA!
I love buying inexpensive action figures from the 90s and opening them fresh. It's like a time machine to the infancy of the toy collecting hobby. I really wasn't into superhero action figures back when these were coming out (I was really into collecting monster toys!), but honestly I'm kind of glad all these Marvel figures were off my radar, because I don't think I would have had easy access to actually buy any of them. I had three comic shops in my little town when I was a kid, but by the late 90s they were struggling (if not closed already). Same with the Kay-Bee Toys at the local mall. And I didn't discover eBay until 1998. Plus, my taste in superheroes was probably suspect. I think Tigra is awesome now, but back then I just knew her as the cat-girl that was always in those weird Marvel Swimsuit Special magazines. So all-in-all, I'm glad I unintentionally waited 23 years to start collecting them. The timing lets me overlook the aesthetic and engineering faults and just focus on the fun. Let's check out Tigra below!
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Marvel Toy Biz - BLINK!
I love to collect by character. To me there's nothing quite so appealing as having a cluster of figures of the same character, especially when that character has a unique and consistent costume and has been produced in a variety of product lines. Lately these little character clusters have been inspired by a new action figure, usually from the Marvel Legends or Multiverse lines. Then I will become obsessed with that character and hit eBay and all my local vintage toy shops to collect all their toys. This method of collecting has the wonderful side-effect of re-exposing me to the various Toy Biz and Kenner lines of the 90s. I would see these figures in comic shops, Kay-Bee Toys, Sam Goody, and Tower, but I rarely bought any back then. When collecting modern figures, it's easy to look back at these older figures and sneer, but I'll be the first to admit I am pleasantly surprised by most of these figures. The sculpts are cool, the articulation is good, and the accessories are fun. True transitional relics. Let's check out Blink below!
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Marvel Toy Biz - SCREAM!
This original Scream figure from ToyBiz was honestly one of my first big disappointments as a young collector. I love how (relatively) obscure she was and I was very excited to get a toy of a female character who was never intended to be pretty. But when I actually got her I found her to be oversized and cumbersome. Don't get me wrong, I never even considered parting with her, but at the same time I disliked her so much that I've never had her displayed for more that a couple days before hiding her away again. But in celebration of the new Marvel Legends Scream, I wanted to bring her out and try to appreciate her for what she is. It turns out she's a lot more photogenic than I gave her credit for. I still have the same criticisms of her, but my initial teenage disappointment has dissipated quite a bit. Maybe I'll give her a spot on my ever-expending spider-lady shelf, back row, but still a spot. Let's check out the original Planet of the Symbiotes Scream figure below!
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Miniature Classic WASP!
I have a real fondness for "First Appearance" versions of comic heroes. I love retro styles, I like character histories, and I have great respect for the original visions of the artists and writers behind the heroes. I didn't even know this figure existed until I watched Ant-Man for the first time a few months ago (I'm always really behind on my superhero movies) and I was trying to explain to my better half who the Wasp is and how she was an original Avenger, etc, etc. Anyway, I couldn't think of any action figures of classic Janet until I discovered this little beauty. And it's a total bonus that she fits right in with my growing 2.5" action figure collection. I've been waiting for Janet to get some screentime ever since she was subbed out for Black Widow in the first Avengers movie. I'm hoping that 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp film will give us a handful of classic and modern figures like the male-centric movies seem to do. In the meantime though, this figure totally fits the bill for what I was looking for. Let's check out Wasp below!
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Character Spotlight on SNOWBIRD!
A Collection of Alpha Flight's Most Mysterious Inuit Demi-Goddess Snowbird
I discovered Alpha Flight very late in the game. I believe I was in college in the late nineties and I won an eBay auction for the first 50 issues for like ten dollars. I had become a fan of John Byrne through all his Legend titles and realized that he was the man behind Alpha Flight. I loved this series. The characters were interesting and weird, the stories were compelling, and the art was on point. I liked all the characters, but Snowbird always stood out to me. I always leaned towards Sorceress-type characters. Wise, powerful, mysterious, and animal-themed - it's like she was custom-made for me. Snowbird is the daughter of the Inuit Goddess Nelvanna and a mortal man. She is tasked with protecting Canada against the Great Beasts and is mystically bound to Canadian land. She can transform into any native animal, albeit snow-white in color. I always thought she was an odd addition to the team, but she captured my imagination like no other (except maybe Marrina). Let's check out her collection below!
I discovered Alpha Flight very late in the game. I believe I was in college in the late nineties and I won an eBay auction for the first 50 issues for like ten dollars. I had become a fan of John Byrne through all his Legend titles and realized that he was the man behind Alpha Flight. I loved this series. The characters were interesting and weird, the stories were compelling, and the art was on point. I liked all the characters, but Snowbird always stood out to me. I always leaned towards Sorceress-type characters. Wise, powerful, mysterious, and animal-themed - it's like she was custom-made for me. Snowbird is the daughter of the Inuit Goddess Nelvanna and a mortal man. She is tasked with protecting Canada against the Great Beasts and is mystically bound to Canadian land. She can transform into any native animal, albeit snow-white in color. I always thought she was an odd addition to the team, but she captured my imagination like no other (except maybe Marrina). Let's check out her collection below!
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Avengers: United They Stand - WASP!
Avengers: United They Stand was a very short-lived animated series from 1999. It lasted only 13 episodes, but it the first time that the Avengers were featured in their own series. It was essentially the Avengers version of X-Men the Animated Series. They had made previous appearances in X-Men, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, but for the most part the Avengers were unknown to the general public and the show was not a success. With only 13 episodes, I'm totally going to find it on YouTube and binge it all. It will be interesting to see how the earliest non-comic representation of Marvel's super-team was portrayed. The toys they made from the cartoon are pretty awesome. Hawkeye is a dud, but most are pretty sweet. I've always liked this Wasp figure and definitely thought it was way nicer than the first Marvel Legends Wasp from 2006. There is going to be a film titled Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 so I'm curious to see how popular the character gets. Let's check out this 1999 figure below!
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Marvel's M2 1st Appearances WILD THING!
Marvel's MC2 Universe is one of those odd blips in the comic world where the stars seemed perfectly aligned for my tastes, but I was somehow utterly uninterested. An entire female-centric Marvel spin-off universe? It seems tailor made for me. But the art and stories just were not my cup of tea. I even waited 17 years to complete the action figure line! Toy Biz created a 4-figure Previews-exclusive line of the most popular characters from the MC2 universe. I've reviewed the 3 others over the years, but only picked up Wild Thing a couple weeks ago. Wild Thing is Rina Logan, the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra in this alternate future storyline. She appeared in J2, Last Hero Standing, Spider-Girl, and her own shirt-lived solo series (not to mention the 2007 Avengers Next reboot). My real inspiration is my recent adoration of Laura Kinney as the All New Wolverine. I'm guessing we'll probably see her in Marvel Legends form soon and knew I couldn't not have Wild Thing by her side. Let's check her out below!
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Spider-Man Sneak Attack - MADAME WEB!
It's funny how long I avoided this figure only to spend the last year trying to hunt her down at a decent price. In all honestly, this figure isn't the greatest, but the fact that they made an action figure of an elderly woman blows my mind. Not to mention the fact that she is blind and paralyzed. Toy Biz gets a zillion diversity points for this one. Cassandra Webb was a clairvoyant and precognitive mutant who aided Spider-Man on occasional missions (I say was because she is deceased). She was an ally for sure, but she always seems creepy and dubious to me. This line is from the 1994 Spider-Man animated series and was released just as the show was coming to a close. Considering this is likely the only Madame Web figure we'll ever see, it's a shame she's wearing the goggles from the animated series. Her blindfold look is much more iconic. I just learned a fun fact that Stan Lee's wife Joan provided Madame Web's voice for the cartoon. I'll bet that played a role in the green-lighting of this unlikely figure.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Fantastic Four Classics - INVISIBLE WOMAN!
For a long time this rare little beauty was the best looking female action figure in Marvel Legends style. Back in 2006, we were so happy to be getting female characters in the line at all that were gladly accepting the awkward overly-jointed spider-like bodies that plagued the Marvel heroines. Then came this random series of comic-style Fantastic Four figures (riding the wave of popularity from the 2005 film) with an Invisible Woman figure that absolutely blew all the previous Marvel ladies out of the water. The dynamic sculpt and thoughtful articulation are what set her apart from the crowd. She looked feminine, strong, and awesome. It was a shame that she wasn't easier to come across on the shelves. I only remember seeing this line in stores like FAO Schwarz and small Mom & Pop toy shops. If they got wider distribution, I never saw proof of it. That definitely explains the extremely high eBay prices for these beauties though. Let's check out Sue Storm in detail below!
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