Marvel Legends - DISCO DAZZLER!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Legends: Warlock BAF Series - Dazzler - Hasbro 2017

This newest wave of X-Men Legends figures has given us two very classic characters that were long overdue in Legends form. Polaris was the third female mutant in the Marvel universe, but she didn't appear in the Legends series for 15 years. Dazzler also has some major historical presence. She was created in 1980 as a bizarre cross-marketing scheme. Marvel Comics, Casablanca Records, and Filmworks planned on simultaneously introducing a comic book character, a real-life recording artist, and a motion picture based on a disco-singing bo-derek-lookalike mutant. The other platforms failed, but her life in comics has been impressively persistent. Her solo series lasted for four years, the movie script was turned into a graphic novel, and she has gone on to be a member of the X-Men, Excalibur, S.H.I.E.L.D. and most recently, A-Force (among others). That's pretty impressive for a character who is more of a performer than a fighter. So, yeah, it's about time. Let's check Dazzler out below!

Marvel Legends - POLARIS!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Legends: Warlock BAF Series - Polaris - Hasbro 2017

Polaris has always been one of my favorite X-Men. I remember being in my hometown comic shop as a kid and seeing a new Jim Lee X-Men poster the creepy owner had just hung up. The characters were all the typical mutants you would expect to see, but then off to the side was this green-haired beauty looking stern with crossed arms. I was in awe and immediately asked who she was (I was a single-minded 11 year old). In all my reading of Classic X-Men and the current X-titles, I had somehow completely missed the monochromatic estranged daughter of Magneto. She had the look, the abilities, and lineage to become an easy obsession for me. Which she did in spades. Unfortunately the Marvel writers seem to treat her like a punching bag. Between being perpetually depowered, brainwashed, and having mental breakdowns, her character never really gets a chance to shine. But I still see amazing potential in her. Let's check out this long-overdue Marvel Legends figure below!

Power Rangers - Morphin Power PINK RANGER!

Power Rangers - Morphin Power Light-Up Figures - Pink Ranger - Bandai 2017

Sometimes a nice gimmick is all I need to convince me to make a purchase. When I saw this Morphin Power Pink Ranger in stores last month, it was only the second style of Power Rangers movie merchandise I had seen. I wasn't blown away by overall design of the figure - at 7" tall, she just seems like a scaled-up version of her 5" figure. Plus she has extremely limited articulation: just five joints and a completely immobile lower body. However, once I hit the button and saw the pulsing blue glow in her chest, I was hooked. I don't even remember what light-up toys I had as a kid, definitely Gloworms and Blackstar figures, but something I had definitely reminds me of this feature and fills me with a vague nostalgia I can't put my finger on. It's going to be hard to decide which Power Rangers movie merchandise to invest in. There's already so much on the shelves and the movie isn't even out yet. I guess I'll just have to fall prey to the gimmicky ones! Let's check out the Morphin Power Pink Ranger below!

Lost Exo-Realm - COMERA & ECHARA!

Lost Exo-Realm - Comera (LER-05) & Echara (LER-06) - FansProject 2017

One of the things that has always kept me from becoming a full-fledged Transfromers fanatic is the lack of female characters. Sure, there were a handful of classic episodes with awesome fembots, but each time a fun new faction of autobot or decepticon was introduced, I was constantly wishing for a female member. Where was the lady Stunticon? Aerialbot? Constructicon? Protectobot? Insecticon? It was such a missed opportunity for true inclusiveness. That's why I was super excited when the 3rd Party Transformer company, FansProject, unveiled two long-awaited female DinoBots. Comera transforms into a Raptor and Echara tranforms into a Pachycephalosaur. I love the fact that they are fierce dinosaurs. I think if I had to imagine what dinosaur the first female "not-Dinobot" would be, a Velociraptor would be nowhere on the list. These figures are great. The design is top notch, the transforming mechanics are well thought-out, and I love the classic color scheme. Let's check them out below!

A Trio of Newly-Tooled DC SUPER HERO GIRLS!

DC Superhero Girls - Supergirl, Wonder Woman, & Batgirl - Mattel 2016

DC Super Hero Girls is one of my favorite toy lines from 2016. There has been a fantastic trend of female centric action figure lines lately. Starting with I Am Elemental in late 2014, we then saw Miraculous, Ghostbusters, and DC Super Hero Girls hit the shelves in quick succession (plus upcoming Mysticons by Playmates and RWBY by Jazwares). Of this group, DC Super Hero Girls definitely has the highest presence. I'm always anxiously awaiting additional figures - Catwoman, Starfire, and Hawkgirl seem like obvious additions to the line, but in actuality all we have been seeing is retools and redecos of existing characters (although Katana was a nice mid-year addition). This recent batch is a bit of a mystery. They seem very cheaply made, have a lower pricepoint, and are all on narrow cardbacks that are perhaps meant for stocking stuffers. Supergirl is the only original figure. Her head and body are all new, while Wonder Woman and Batgirl are composed of parts from previous figures. Let's check them out below!

Marvel Titan Hero Series - GAMORA!

Marvel Titan Hero Series 12" Guardians of the Galaxy - Gamora - Hasbro 2017

Ever since I got the Marvel Titan Hero Series Black Widow last year, I've been anxiously awaiting for the next female to come out. I knew it would likely be Gamora and Hasbro did not disappoint. I'm really digging the animated-style Gamora from the Disney XD cartoon. The orangey-red outfit combined with her fuscia ombré and green skin violates all the fashion rules I thought I knew and actually looks cool. I really hope we get more female Titans, but not too many too soon because they're really not easy to display. I'm surprised there hasn't been a Spider-Woman or Spider-Gwen yet in the Spider-Man line yet. Maybe there will be some cool reveals at Toy Fair next week. The 12" Marvel Titans are pretty simple. They only have five points of articulation and re-use a lot of parts, but they are inexpensive and colorful and I'm a fan. The DC ones have much better articulation and have more females, but for some reason I prefer the Marvel ones. Let's check out the newest one below!

Civil War MiniVerse - SCARLET WITCH!

Captain America: Civil War - MiniVerse Iron Man vs. Scarlet Witch - Hasbro 2016

One of the things I'm looking to most from Toy Fair this year is news about more movie-related Mini-Verse figures from Hasbro. With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Logan, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok in theatres this year, I think there's a really good chance we'll see some more 2.5" Marvel ladies. Nebula, Mantis, Hela, Enchantress, X-23, and a re-scaled Gamora are all on my wish list. This Civil War version of Scarlet Witch was completely unknown to me until I was hunting the Marvel Legends Wanda this past fall and came across a (highly overpriced) listing for it. This second wave of Civil War MiniVerse figures never really hit the stores as far as I know. She shows up on eBay often, but usually at double or triple what I wanted to pay. Then one fateful day in December this I stopped into a Rite-Aid and found her on the pegs. These figures are simple, tiny, 5 point-of-articulation, overlookable toys, but I love them. Let's check out Civil War Scarlet Witch below!

The Walking Dead - LYDIA!

The Walking Dead - Comic Series 5 - Lydia - McFarlane Toys 2016

It's pretty sad that the 5" scale Walking Dead series seems to have drawn to a close. The new larger-scale staction-like Color Tops figures seem to be the new standard going forward. I'm not sure how I feel about the shift honestly. I haven't bought any yet, but the upcoming Labyrinth and Dark Crystal Color Tops will definitely be added to my collection. There are rumors that Walgreens will carry some additional 5" Walking Dead figures this year, so I'll be keeping my eyes out for that. I still haven't read any Walking Dead comics, so this Lydia character is unknown to me. I know she was a member of the Whisperers who wear skinned zombie heads as hoods to blend in with the walkers. I'm so disturbed and intrigued by this group. Lydia's mother, Alpha, is the leader (and was a Skybound exclusive figure in 2015). Lydia's story has her getting rejected from the Whisperers and joining the main group (eventually having a romantic relationship with Carl). That's all I've learned so far. Let's check her out below!

Power Rangers - PINK & YELLOW MOVIE FIGURES!

Power Rangers 5" Movie Figures - Pink Ranger & Yellow Ranger - Bandai 2017

I'm really excited about the Power Rangers movie. I think the thing I'm most excited about is Rita and her rumored origins as an evil Green Ranger. Hopefully there will be just as many Rita figures as we have been getting of the Pink and Yellow Rangers. So far there are 2" Pilot figures, these 5" figures, 6" Legacy, 6-7" Light-up action figures, and 12" Titan-style figures -- and I kind of want them ALL lined up on my shelf. (Speaking of which, I really hope Bandai releases a multipack of those little 2" figures. I want them all but don't want to shell out for zord vehicles). It should be interesting to see what additional products might be revealed at Toy Fair in a couple weeks. I can't imagine there being much more since they kind of covered every imaginable scale already, but Bandai always seems to surprise me. I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, let's check out the 5" scale Yellow and Pink Rangers from the Power Rangers movie line!

Marvel Tsum Tsum - WOMEN OF POWER!

Marvel Tsum Tsum Series 2 - Women of POWer! Walmart Exc - Jakks Pacific 2016

I can't say I really understand the Tsum Tsum trend. They started in Japan (of course) as a cute stackable line of plush Disney character collectibles. I always thought they were supposed to be gerbils or something, but apparently they are shaped this way just to be stackable. Either way, between the fact that they were plush, large (7-11"), over-stlyistic (in my opinion), and centered on characters I wasn't interested in collecting, they were just completely off my radar. Then the Marvel characters started and I began to pay attention. But I still wasn't tempted because of the plush thing. Then along comes Jakks with a license to produce small vinyl versions. I honestly wasn't planning to get any until I came across this 9-figure Women of POWer set at Walmart. Getting an instant collection like that was quite an incentive. I actually think I will try to get all the ladies in the collection now that I'm only missing a few. They're pretty cute little additions to my collections. Let's check out the Women of Power below!