Hallows' Eve was my favorite comic discovery of 2023. She was introduced as a new villain in the pages of Spider-Man the year before, but I didn't become a fan until her solo mini-series was released in TPB (appropriately during Halloween week 2023). Janine Godbe had been (an unpowered) character since the mid-nineties as the Scarlet Spider/Ben Reilly's love interest. A mere 29 years later during the Dark Web crossover event, she became the center of attention. Without spoiling too many origin details, her transformation involved the Goblin Queen, the demon S'ym, and the realm of Limbo. She now carries a bag full of traditional Halloween masks, that give her the powers and traits of that mask character. So when she dons the werewolf mask, she becomes a werewolf. But similar to The One Ring, the masks have corruptive qualities. For instance, the vampire mask threatens to completely overrun her humanity when she uses it. I think she's so cool and I can't wait to read more of her.
This Marvel Legends figure was unexpected, but not a total surprise. Her design is very toyetic and really ties to into the genre of "goblin" villains in Spider-Man's rogues gallery. There have been other female goblins in the past (Queen Goblin, Norma Obsorn, Menace, etc), but somehow Hallows' Eve already seems to have more staying power (and the solo title and action figure are solid proof of that).
Hallows' Eve comes with three sets of hands and two Halloween masks.
Her hood, tattered cape, and purple satchel are all removable. Her bag has been used before, the 2017 Mary Jane Watson comes to mind.
Here is Janine stripped down.
I was hoping her two masks could fit under her hood so she would appear to be wearing them, but I was unable to make that happen. I had dreams of Zartan-like engineering.
When I first heard about Hallows' Eve, my initial thought was that she seemed like a ripoff of Halloween Girl from Dan Brereton's Nocturnals (introduced in 1994). Halloween Girl is the daughter of the Nocturnals main character, Doc Horror, named Evening (aka Eve). She carries a plastic pumpkin bucket full of her possessed toys - most of which talk to her and can grow to monstrous proportions when removed. There are several blatant similarities; the name Eve, the Halloween theme, the magic possessed items toted along in a bag or bucket. But there are enough differences that I can respect Hallows' Eve as a unique character. The focus on the masks enhancing her abilities, the visual connections to Hobgoblin, Green Goblin, and Jack-O-Lantern, and the overall superhero aesthetic (Nocturnals is more of a dark paranormal adventure book) makes Hallows' Eve stand apart. By the way, if you haven't read Nocturnals, I highly suggest you do. It's one of the best creator-owned properties I've ever discovered.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment