Tiny Titans - CHROMIA, WINDBLADE & STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Tiny Titans Series 05 - Hasbro 2015

These awesome little figures were a complete surprise to me when I discovered them a few weeks ago. I was excited about the prospect of the Tiny Titans figures when series 01 first started showing up in the stores a little over a year ago. The token female of the Robots in Disguise animated series, Strongarm, was included in the blind bag first wave. I found her pretty quickly, but wasn't impressed at all. I didn't even think she was worthy of a review. I noticed a pretty quick succession of a second and third wave. No ladies were included so I pretty much just stopped paying attention. Then I stumbled across images of wave 5 which surprisingly had three really great looking fembots (including a second version of Strongarm that is vastly superior to the first). The fact that a G1 Chromia was included makes me super hopeful about interesting characters in futures waves. Arcee is a given, but my fingers are crossed for Elita-1, Firestar and Moonracer. Let's check out the three Wave 5 ladies below!

Funko POP! Asia - PRINCESS SAPPHIRE!

POP! Asia #55 - Osamu Tezuka Official: Princess Sapphire - Funko 2015

Several years ago I was in one of my local comic shops and picked up the first volume of the 12-volume manga epic, Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka. Many years prior I had notice an abundance of Phoenix figurines which prompted me to investigate and discover the manga. But at the time, the first volume was selling for well over $100. I was interested, but not obsessed enough to spend that much. So years later when I found it for cover price on the shelf I was really happy. Then overnight I became a huge Osamu Tezuka fan. I had heard his name all my life (I was a big fan of Astroboy in high school and I knew of the Tezuka manga award). His 44 year career in comics earned him the title "The Godfather of Manga" and in the course of his life he drew over 700 volumes (very few of which have been translated into English, relatively). I've read quite of bit of his work since then (and loved it all) but my favorite by far has been Princess Knight. For a comic published between 1953-56, it was shockingly relevant.

Marvel Legends - MARVEL GIRL (Original)!

Marvel Legends - All-New X-Men - Toys R Us Exclusive 5-Pack - Hasbro 2014

Jean Grey is one of the oldest Marvel super-heroines that's still active in modern comics. The only older character I can think of is Sue Storm. In her 50-plus years, I don't think any character has had a more dynamic life. She's changed names, teams, love interests, mortality status, and allegiances more times than I can count. And along with most of those changes came new looks. I've been a fan of a lot of them, but this original look is right up near the top. It reminds me of a random Sunday in the mid-nineties when I found a near-mint copy of X-men #15 at a flea market for 5 bucks.  I must have read it a dozen times. One of my greatest finds ever.  So, yeah, I'm pretty nostalgic about this costume and I'm super glad to get a decent Legends figure in this style. There was a pre-Legends ToyBiz figure in this costume from 1998, but this one is vastly superior. Luckily the All-New X-Men comic featured the original team displaced in time and made these suits popular again. Let's check out Jean below!

Titan Hero Series - BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel Avengers Titan Hero Series - Target Exclusive 5-Pack - Hasbro 2016

Hot on the heels of yesterday's 12" Wonder Woman review comes the first female in Hasbro's Titan Hero Series. It was a given that the first lady in the lineup would be Black Widow. I was expecting to see a boring figure, but I must say I really like this redesign. There's something so simple about the giant red hourglass that I'm shocked it hasn't been done before. I've always thought the various Black Widow outfits over the years have been too utilitarian and bland. I want flashy costumes. If realism were my thing I somehow doubt I'd be reading comics. The red accents on her costume and her bright red hair really make her look cool.  This figure should be released in a single-pack shortly (although the solicit images on the single pack seem to have much darker hair), but when I saw this surprise 5-Pack at Target last week, my impatience got the best of me and I splurged.  Hopefully the resale value on the boys can recoup some of my cash. Let's check out Black Widow below!

12" Batman Unlimited - WONDER WOMAN!

Batman: Unlimited - 12" Action Figures - Wonder Woman - Mattel 2016

I've kind of been ignoring the recent trend of 12" action figures. Over the past few years I've seen Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and Power Rangers break out into this new scale. I think they look cool, but the lack of any female characters has kept my interest at bay. Then last year I became very aware when a 12" Pink Dino Charge Ranger came out, but of course she was released in an expensive boxset that I couldn't justify splurging on. I thought I would be able to resist forever until I was was in Walmart last week and saw this 12" Wonder Woman that I didn't even know existed. I passed on the various large-scale BvS Wonder Women that have been popping up recently, but this Batman Unlimited version is the one I couldn't say no to. I love the style of this animated New 52 look. It's a great blending of comic and television styles and the figure itself is a bargain at $9.99. She was very difficult to photograph in my little photo tent, but I think I managed to capture her grandeur. Let's check her out below!

DC Comics Bombshells Keychain - HARLEY QUINN!

DC Comics Bombshells - Collector Series Keychains - Elephant Gun LLC 2016

Check out this tiny little beauty! It's amazing how much detail they can cram into a 3" tall keychain these days. If these existed in my school days, I totally would have been one of those kids with a tricked out backpack that jingled and rattled as I sprinted late to every class (tardiness is forever one of my biggest flaws). These keychains from Elephant Gun are amazing to me. I really enjoy Ant Lucia's DC Bombshells designs. I have an affinity for pin-up art, and regular readers will know I'm gaga over my DC ladies. So this property seems like a perfect fit for me. However, I never even considered buying the Bombshells statues due to price and lack of display space. I have kind of made it a habit to ignore anything related to the Bombshells during the past three years for just those reasons. However, these tiny keychain versions are well within my budget and they can easily squeeze into any of my shelf displays. I'm very excited to buy them all as they come out. Let's check out Bombshell Harley below!

Marvel Legends - BEETLE!

Spider-Man Legends - Absorbing Man Series - Edge of Spider-Verse - Hasbro 2016

This figure was quite a surprise. When there was a leaked list of Spider-Man Legends figures last year including a female Beetle I immediately had to resort to google to find who she was. I was really excited about the prospect of this character, but I had honestly never heard of her. The list was apparently from a Walmart computer and was met with initial suspicion. That is of course until the first half of that roster was shown at SDCC. I still haven't read any comics with this particular Beetle in it (her name is Janice Lincoln), but I love a good insect-themed character. When we got the Wasp figure last year I was in love with her wings and was desperately trying to think of another character that they could be re-used on. The only idea I had at the time was Pixie from the X-Men, but that's before I was aware of this female version of the Beetle.  She's a pretty awesome looking figure and she makes a great addition to my Marvel Legends collection. Let's check out this purple winged beauty in detail below!

Marvel Legends - MOCKINGBIRD!

Marvel Legends - Captain America (Red Skull) - Agents of Shield - Hasbro 2016

Hasbro has been doing an awesome job of making first-time Marvel Legends figures of deserving characters lately. Mockingbird has been around for over 40 years but has received very little merchandising. The recent Valkyrie, Medusa, Hela, Gamora, and Hellcat figures are just a few similar characters who are highly recognizable in the Marvel Universe (and who have been around for decades), but always seemed unlikely for Marvel Legends treatment. This is actually kind of bad because now I think that anyone is possible. Maybe a classic Polaris or Firestar will be unveiled next week at Toy Fair. At this rate we're bound to see them eventually.  Of course, Mockingbird, Hellcat, and Gamora all have media tie-ins to TV shows and movies now, which is a sure-fire way to get the green light for a Legends figure. Perhaps I need to start bribing TV writers to incorporate my favorite characters into the shows. I need to start scheming. Let's check out the long-awaited Mockingbird below!

The Women of Marvel MINI-MATES SERIES 64!

Marvel Mini-Mates - Series 64 - Capt Marvel, Thor, & Dazzler - DST 2016

Here's the second part of the amazing Mini-mate day from a month ago. Marvel Mini-mates Series 64 was Secret Wars themed and included the new Lady Thor, Carol Danvers Captain Marvel, and the long-awaited Disco Dazzler. Each of these characters seem like they would be prime candidates to anchor their own waves, so to get them all together (let alone on the same day as the awesome ladies in the Deadpool wave) was a little mind-blowing. Hopefully there will be many more waves like this in the future. I'm really looking forward to what DST shows at Toy Fair next week. The only character I'm really wishing for is Silk, but other than that I'm just expecting to be pleasantly surprised. I'm going to have to seek out some new display options for my Minimates soon, as I've somehow managed to amass a small army in the past few years. Maybe I can finally put my old spice racks to good use. Let's check out Captain Marvel, Lady Thor, and Disco Dazzler below!

The Women of Marvel MINI-MATES SERIES 65!

Marvel Mini-Mates - Series 65 (Deadpool) - Siryn & Copycat as Domino - DST 2016

A few weeks ago on January 6th, there was a day of Mini-mate releases that blew my mind. On that one day there were six amazing female characters released, several of which I never thought I would see produced in plastic. Of course it happened to be on a Wednesday when I was out of town. It took me weeks to track them down.  Mini-mates have a long and wonderful track record for team completion. I think the first team I completed was Alpha Flight, followed by Excalibur, Thundercats, and the New Mutants. At one point I thought I also had a complete X-Force set as well. But then DST made a Siryn and Copycat.. two characters I never expected to see in the lineup. It's great that the popularity of the upcoming Deadpool movie made these two obscure ladies possible. Maybe some miracle will give us a Rusty and Skids set next.  That would be amazing. In a short 12 days I'll be on the showroom floor of NY Toy Fair and scoping out all the new Minimates (And you just know there will be some awesome ones!)