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 Venom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venom. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2026
Sunday, November 26, 2023
Marvel Legends - MANIA!
I always wanted a female version of Venom, but I never loved the 90s Bride of Venom figure. When I became aware of Mania in Venom #40 (2013), I thought she was perfect. The Mania symbiote was introduced nine years earlier as a clone made from a piece of Venom's tongue. By 2013 she had found her newest host, Andrea (Andi) Benton, and became a very buzzworthy character. Andi as Mania was young, punky, had a cool look, and best of all she was based in my city of Philadelphia. Besides an amusing interlude of Cyclops eating a cheesesteak a few years ago, this Venom storyline and modern Shazam books are the only mainstream superhero comics I know that is based here. In 2014 when the Anya Corazon Spider-Girl figure came out, I bought a second with intentions to modify her into Mania. Those plans never materialized, but she's always been on my wishlist. It's exciting to finally see her in plastic all these years later. And the execution of this character is perfect. Let's check out Mania below!
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Marvel Legends - AGONY!
Yet again (and in a very short timeframe) Hasbro has given me another of my most-wanted Marvel Legends figures. There has always been something special about Marvel's symbiote mythos. The dialogue between alien and host is a dynamic and original storytelling technique that only works in comic form. In 1993, in the pages of Venom: Lethal Protector, there were five new symbiotes introduced as experimental super-soldiers from the dubious Life Foundation - they were all spawns of Venom and in an unexpected twist for the time, two of the five were female: Scream and Agony. But for some reason all the merchandising ignored Agony. Scream got a ToyBiz figure in 1996, a Mini-Mate, a Heroclix, a Funko Pop, a Nano Metal, and even a Legends figure in 2018. I truly never thought there would be an Agony action figure in my collection, but I couldn't be happier with the results. I'm also happy that this Amazon exclusive three-pack came with Riot and a great new Venom. Let's check out Agony below!
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Marvel Legends - SHRIEK!
My fascination with Spider-Verse characters is relatively recent. In 2006 I started to get intrigued with Jessica Drew in The New Avengers, then by 2010 I was obsessed with Anya Corazon in Spider-Girl...and before I knew it, I was a fan of the whole spider-genre. Considering I had been an avid comics reader since the 1980s, I consider 2010 recent. And this new intrigue required a lot of catching up on old issues. But one character I still missed out on was Shriek. In fact, the first time I ever heard of her was from DST's Minimate in 2018. Shriek debuted in 1993 as a love interest to Carnage. She had been trapped in Cloak's Darkforce Dimension which triggered her latent mutant powers. Very similar to Black Canary, Shriek has the ability to manipulate sound. It can be used as a concussive force, sounds waves for flight, or subsonic frequencies to manipulate emotions. She appears to be quite a fan favorite, and I'm excited to see she makes such a striking Legends figure. Let's check out Shriek below.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Nano Metalfigs - AGONY!
It's not often that I would create a whole post to highlight a tiny 1.5" metal figurine, but it's pretty rare in this age of collectors that a character gets merchandised for the first time ever after 28 years. Agony is a symbiote in Spider-Man comics that first appeared in 1993; the same issue that debuted Scream, Riot, Phage, and Lasher (the entire Life Foundation), Venom: Lethal Protector #4. Agony was always my favorite with her multi-hued purple and her acid-spitting powers. But for some reason, she never had a toy made. She was notoriously absent from the 1996 Planet of the Symbiotes ToyBiz line when the rest of her team debuted. And she's never received any merchandising since. Not a single HeroClix, Mini-mate, or Funko Pop. Until I recently discovered her in this huge multipack. Yes, I'm aware she is simply a repaint of the Scream we got last year, but I'm still ridiculously happy to own this. And hopefully it will inspire that long overdue Legends figure. Let's check out Agony below!
Friday, November 6, 2020
Marvel Legends - GHOST-SPIDER!
Some figures are just notoriously difficult to photograph. This Ghost-Spider figure is a prime example. Her deep hood and dark bodysuit cast shadows and obscure her (limited) features. I took more than 80 photos to get this handful of good ones. But despite those hassles, she is a gorgeous figure. The dark colors with the stark white and the pops of bright pink and blue are very dynamic in person. I only wish Marvel and Hasbro would embrace the name Gwenom. This figure is labelled as Ghost-Spider, which is now the name of Spider-Gwen (a name oddly stolen from the Ghost Rider Spider). So this figure is technically Venomized Ghost-Spider, but everyone refers to her colloquially as Gwenom. So if VenomPool is an acceptable name, I argue that everyone can get on board with Gwenom. Now, as cool as this figure is, I concede I definitely would have preferred another symbiote. Agony, Mayhem, Mania are all deserving of figures (and my Scream is lonely!) Let's check out Ghost-Spider below!
Sunday, September 27, 2020
POP Funko - LADY SYMBIOTES!
Who would have ever thought that Funko would be leading the race for the most female symbiote toys? In the past year, they've surpassed Toy Biz (who had an early lead with their 90's Scream, Bride of Venom, and Earth X Venom). And surprisingly DST Mini-mates and Marvel Legends haven't been tough competitors at all (and they usually cream the competition!) These three ladies: Scream, Mayhem, and Carnage (Carla Unger) are original symbiotes, but Funko has also released venomized versions of Spider-Gwen, X-23, Storm, and Captain Marvel. It's a pretty impressive collection. But my wishlist is nowhere near complete. Agony, Ann Weyling Venom, and Mania would be a great start. I find it interesting that these three ladies were all exclusives, too; one for Walgreens, and two for Pop-In-A-Box. I think this is likely the new normal for the more obscure female characters, but I don't mind as long as they aren't too difficult to procure. Let's check out these three wicked Spider-ladies below!
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Titan Hero Series - GWENOM!
I don't know anything about Gwenom, or Venomized Ghost-Spider/Spider-Gwen, but I've definitely been drawn into her design when I see her on a random comic cover. I've even picked up couple pieces of her merchandise in the past year. As a tie-in to the Venom movie sequel (due in theatres in October 2020), Hasbro seems to be ramping up their Venom-themed products in the toy aisles. There is a Marvel Legends wave due later this year (coincidentally with a Gwenom figure), many weird gimmicky slime/gummy toys, and the first to start hitting the market, these Marvel Titan Hero Series figures branded with the Spider-Man: Maximum Venom logo. There is also a Venom and a venomized Mile Morales with new tooling. Although I wish her hood had been resculpted at the edge to capture that jagged look from the comics, I still think this is a great representation of this design. Plus I'm hoping the Spider-man push this year might finally get us a Titan-scale Spider-Woman. Let's check out Gwenom below!
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Marvel Legends - SCREAM!
I'm really obsessed with this new Marvel Legends Scream figure. My infatuation is likely due to the fact that I just spent weeks frantically hunting her down... and she'll now circumstantially have the rank of "Newest Marvel Legends" in my collection until sometime in 2019. But regardless of that, she is legitimately a great action figure. The yellow and maroon color scheme contrasts very interestingly with my other Spider-ladies and it's nice to get a villain in the group. With all the potential female characters that still need inclusion in the line (Julia Carpenter anyone?), Scream seemed like quite a random choice. Of course, since her first reveal, we've learned that she will be a character in the Venom movie played by Michelle Lee. Hasbro never seems to miss an opportunity to sync-up their character selections to the newest movie tie-ins. Of course having just one female symbiote won't do. I think we need an Agony, Mania, and Bride of Venom at the very least. Let's check out the Marvel Legends Scream 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!
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Marvel Mini-Busts - SPIDER-GIRL(S)!
Six years ago I was in a totally different place collection-wise. I was extremely streamlined, I had many rules and guidelines, and I had a much more restrictive budget. But that doesn't mean I didn't crave lots of product that was hitting the shelves back then. Missing this Spider-Girl 2-Pack was one of my big regrets. At the time the only statue had ever let myself buy was a clearanced Firestar bust from a store that was going out of business, but I wanted these two Spider-Girls so bad. Years later I finally own the set (at a fraction of the original price I might add). And it's just in time for my burgeoning Spider-Lady collection. Within a month or so we'll be getting Silk and Ashley Barton Marvel Legends figures and I'll be dedicating a whole shelf to the collection. As much as I enjoyed the character of Spider-Girl, I never took a liking to her comics. So these busts were the first exposure I had to the black symbiote Spider-Girl. It's a very cool look and I'm glad to have it represented in my collection finally.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Mini-Mate Women of SPIDER-MAN!
Spider-Man has one of the best rosters of supporting female characters out there. There's the lovable family characters like Aunt May and Mary Jane, awesome "copycat" heroes like Spider-Woman and Spider-Girl, and of course a few villainous vixens like Black Cat to add some spice. DST and Art Asylum have just about the world's best character production out there. It's between them and heroclix and someday I'll make an in-depth comparison. Over the years we've received Mini-Mates of almost every Marvel character I can think of. It's amazing what they've been able to accomplish in ten years. The best part is that they always surprise the fans with something new and unexpected. I'm excited to see what they have displayed this weekend at Toy Fair (I'll be there reporting by the way). I'm hoping to see Young Avengers, New Warriors, and Guardians of the Galaxy (classic) - and I love the fact that there's a legitimate chance I'll see some of those. This review is huge so I'm skipping the in-package shots. Let's get started!
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