Everytime I begin to review a new G.I.Joe figure I get really upset. The figures are great, but I've truly been priced out of this line and I just can't catch up no matter what I do. My first venture into collecting female action figures was an attempt to get every female G.I.Joe. And I was very very successful until the past few years. I even have an original Glenda in my collection. But Hasbro's convention exclusives have made my collection incomplete. It took me forever to get the exclusive Zaranas and Zanya, and I've never been able to get any of the exclusive females since. No Jinxes, no Crimson Asp, no Daina, no Freestyle, no Night Force Lady Jaye, No Baroness and Ravage, and none of the collector's club ladies. The secondary market prices are far above my budget. When I saw this Jinx figure at TRU this weekend, I was like a deer in headlights. It had been forever since I had bought a 'Joe. Do I even collect them anymore? I ended up buying her, but with a really sad notion that she may be my last. Please Hasbro, stop making the females so hard to obtain! There's a very sad boy in Philly with a stagnant G.I Joe shelf pleading.
Enough of my woes! This figure of Kim Arashikage from the G.I.Joe: Retaliation movie is amazing. The yellow and black color scheme is a fantastic departure from her classic red. I think it's interesting how this movie made her part of the Arashikage Clan. This was never mentioned before. But I think it's really cool how they kept the Arashikage symbol that I first noticed as a tattoo on the arm of the 1988 Storm Shadow. This Jinx figure sports the pattern on her biceps and her back.
Fun fact about Jinx. According to her old filecards, she and Lady Jaye both attended Bryn Mawr college. (Which I happen to drive by every day -- and my lcs is there!). I haven't seen the entire movie yet, but I wonder if Jinx and Lady Jaye were presented as old roomies or something. Hey, if Jinx can suddenly be Storm Shadow's cousin, anything is possible.
Jinx comes with a ton of accessories. The red box serves as the anchor for her "Ninja Zip Line" as well as a weapons case.
She's extremely poseable like we've come to expect from modern G.I.Joes, but she's actually a little more fun than usual because of the whole ninja design and accessories.
Here are some images of Kim Arashikage from the movie
And here is a video clip of her legendary cliffside fight scene from the movie
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
I totally agree with you. The girl joes are a nightmare to find. I still want cover Girl and Crimson asp. But I am not paying those stratrosferic. I do have the white Jinx, and Zanya with the bike. Same problem with some of the MOTUC ladies.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to pay so much for a bit of sculpted plastic.
The fact that the range in price from $50 to $500 is what boggles me. It upsets me when I realize that they're made so intentionally rare. I would love ot be a completist, but at this point I could literally buy a car for that amount of money. I'm looking forward to the Baroness and Lady Jaye 2-Pack. It looks like Lady Jaye will be a green repaint of the Night Force sculpt and maybe the Baroness will be a tweaked SDCC Ravage version. I can hope :)
DeleteI did get the one with Ravage and is still on display a year after. My other favorite Baroness was the 25th anniversary with the flows hair. I do have a great Lady Jaye, but must check this one you mention.
ReplyDeleteI posted a solicit pic of the two-pack after ToyFair this year. The Baroness looks the same as a previous release, but I feel that might be subject to change. It's hard to tell, but It looks like the Lady Jaye has the Night force head. http://www.shesfantastic.com/2014/02/toy-fair-2014-coverage-mattel-hasbro.html
DeleteI'm still looking at obtaining the White training outfit SDCC Jinx (lucky enough to have the Red one and this Retaliation version).
ReplyDeleteJinx was one of my favourites when I was a little kid, I was never put off by having female characters in the toylines I liked as a little boy. And to this day I dislike the common excuse of girl action figures don't sell.
I would love to snag that white training outfit version. Did you see the blue Vypra figure as part of the next series of Collector's Club exclusives? She's pretty cool, and it's a great nod to the fact that the original Vypra was just a Jinx repaint as well. GIJoe the Movie wad numerous scene which really played up the awesomeness of the female characters (the Pythona opening sequence is brilliant), but the second best for me was when Jinx finally put on her blindfold and whupped Beachhead's butt. Amazing. I'm glad they brought her to life again in the new film.
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