Fantastic Four Classics - INVISIBLE WOMAN!

Fantastic Four Classics - Series 02 - Invisible Woman - ToyBiz 2006

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!

This packaged pic was swiped from MarvelLegends.net.  Click the image to go the site and see the other great figures in the wave.

The Sam Greenwell sculpt is beautiful.  He has an amazing talent for translating a contrapposto'd design into an articulated action figure.  The cocked hips and shifted center of gravity is definitely a signature of his.

The face always looked slightly off to me, but I always liked it anyway.  I don't need all my figures to look like cloned supermodels.  Plus I think that her odd facial qualities are a matter of paint application rather than sculpt.  (To me she always looked like Beverley Mitchell from 7th Heaven)

Check out the paint master from Toy Fair 2006.  The face looks very different with some paint changes.

Sue comes with a shield and a "force missile blaster."

Her slightly pre-posed stance makes her a little difficult to put in alternate poses, but you'll see this a lot in figures that don't sacrifice sculpt for articulation.

Just for comparison sake, here are two Marvel Legends ladies from the same year (2006).  

To me they look gaudy and awkward.  That's why this Invisible Woman has such a huge impact on me.  It was like a blend of Marvel Legends articulation with DC Direct's sculptural aesthetics.

And here are a few of my favorite Sam Greenwell sculpts that I've reviewed over the years.  You can definitely see his style when they are side-by-side like this.  Click an image to go to the review.

She also came in a clear variant.  I'll never understand the appeal of these.  In my mind, these variants make the details of the sculpt disappear and the mechanics of the articulation expose.  Pretty much the exact opposite of what I want in my action figures.

Time for a Group Pic!

Cheers!