Sonic the Hedgehog - DIGITAL AMY ROSE!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2.5" Series 25 - Digital Amy Rose - Jakks Pacific 2026

Jakks Pacific never ceases to amaze me with all their surprise releases. This Classic Amy Rose in an 8-Bit deco was just unveiled in an SDCC slide show about five weeks ago. And now I have her in hand thanks to a well-stocked Macy's/Toys'r'us. The existence of this figure itself is also a surprise. While the 8-Bit digital figures from Jakks have been fairly plentiful (I count nearly 30 so far between Sonic, Mario, Donkey Kong, and Megaman), Amy is only the second female (after the 2017 Princess Toadstool). This figure is great. Pixelated 8-Bit toys conjure an unmistakable nostalgia that's really fun and playful. I've tried to make my own (unarticulated) ones as a pandemic craft project with knockoff brick toys but it's very difficult to make look good. The process was so frustrating that I have a massive appreciation for figure like this. The sculpts capture the looks of the characters from every angle. I hope they make a 4" one to match the recent Sonic/Tails/Knuckles 3-pack. Let's check out Digital Amy below!

Marvel Legends - SPIDER-GWEN!

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider - Hasbro 2024

I remember buying this figure a few years ago in a fit of retail therapy after I almost died. It was around noon on the Saturday before Thanksgiving 2024 and I found myself driving on a steeply-inclined highway during an early-in-the-season snowstorm. IT was accumulating fast and I was sliding all over the road and losing traction on the hills... and there was only a flimsy guardrail between me and a huge embankment down into the dark woods below. When I next saw civilization I breathed a sign of relief, pulled in to a shopping center, and found myself walking through a Target for an hour while my nerves calmed and I waited out the storm. In my shaken state, I filled up my basket with all sorts of stuff I didn't need. I truly has no intention of buying this Spider-Gwen since I had so many figures of her already. But in retrospect, I'm really glad I did. The super-thin animated body sculpt is so unique and her punky hair color looks great. It only took me two years to appreciate her. Let's check out Spider-Gwen below!

Thrilljoy Pix - WONDER WOMAN!

Thrilljoy PIX - DC Comics - Wonder Woman (Event Exclusive) - Thrilljoy 2026

With all the Funko Pops I've bought of the years (dozens, possible even hundreds), I surprisingly never pickup up a single Wonder Woman. I have countless Batgirls and Harley Quinns, but for some reason Diana never made the cut. She is the most merchandised heroine out there, so I suppose I was intimidated by the notion of a potential deluge of star-spangled Amazons into my overcrowded toy room if I were to purchase a single one. Whatever the reason, it wasn't conscious. I've some to really appreciate the aesthetic of a "classic" Wonder Woman. I put that in quotes because everyone has their own definition of that word. For me, it's the Wonder Woman that I saw in coloring books and on lunchboxes throughout my childhood in the 80s. When I saw this Wonder Woman Thrilljoy PIX at Box Lunch a couple weeks ago, I immediately appreciated the design and knew she deserved to be purchased as the third figure in my new 80s' Ladies collection. Let's check out Wonder Woman below.

Marvel Legends - SPIDER-WOMAN!

Marvel Legends - Spider-Woman - Marvel Unlimited Exc - Hasbro 2025

Once again the Marvel Unlimited exclusive figure has given us a fun variant we might have never seen in plastic otherwise. In June 2024, there was a variant cover of Spider-Woman #7 by artist Peach Momoko featuring Jessica Drew in a black spider suit with some face markings that implied this was a symbiote. This was a one-off image that did not correlate to the story (very similar to 2020's Kamala Khan as Spider-Girl, which was also from a single cover illustration). But it makes for a perfect exclusive figure. Meaning: this is not a crucial, nor even canonical, figure to own; but she's awesome for super-fans; and she is made from some simple repurposed parts (The 2019 Polaris head was a surprising choice, but it works well). I'm already so curious what obscure figure will be revealed for next year's subscription. I have a ton of ideas. But I will personally get most excited for any new Spider-Lady figure to my collection (so I knew this Momoko design was an instant must-have). Let's check out Spider-Woman below!

Marvel Legends - JEAN GREY!

Marvel Legends Vintage - Uncanny X-Men - Jean Grey (X-Factor) - Hasbro 2025

I think the inevitable dilemma of any hardcore X-Men fan is "what is your favorite version of Jean Grey?" As arguably the most powerful of the core X-Men roster, she has been the epicenter of multiple iconic storylines and had numerous iconic costumes in the process. I personally love her in green and yellow. My favorite is her skirted costume with the domino mask from 1967-1976, but this X-Factor (1986) costume and her green Phoenix suit (1976) are close runners-up. X-Factor was a book with a great premise - the original five X-Men brought back as government mutant hunters who were secretly saving all their targets. In the beginning, they all wore these classic "X" costumes in bold colors. Jean's was classic green and yellow for the first 25 issues until she swapped it for the red and yellow costume (I fully expect this figure to be repainted in red someday). This figure was a Target exclusive in the Summer of 2025 and became quite the shelfwarmer. She's great though. Let's check out Jean below!

Thrilljoy Pixl - SHE-RA!

Thrilljoy PIXL - Masters of the Universe - Blind Box S1 - She-Ra - Thrilljoy 2026

I'm a sucker for a tiny cartoony She-Ra figure. Unlike a lot of iconic heroes, She-Ra doesn't get this playful treatment very often. She's had a handful of Funko Pops (2013, 2021a, 2021b, and 2022), a very cool Dorbz, a criminally-scarce Rock Candy, an "unreleased" Eternia Mini, and a recent Funko Mystery Mini. That may seem like a decent list, but He-Man literally has dozens of figures in this aesthetic, so her exclusion from a lot of these lines is very noticeable to me. Luckily, Thrilljoy, the new vinyl collectible company by Brian Mariotti (the former CEO of Funko), has produced a She-Ra vinyl in two scales so far (plus a variant). That's a very strong showing right out of the gate for me. The character selection for Thrilljoy seems a bit random without the clearly defined "waves" of characters belonging to the same license we've come to expect. But that kind of excited me because I immediately dreamed of a Cheetara and Jem to display along with her. Fingers crossed! Let's check out She-Ra below!

Thrilljoy Pix - SHE-RA (CHASE)!

Thrilljoy PIX - She-Ra Princess of Power (LE 6000) Chase - Thrilljoy 2025

I'm still pretty surprised the 40th Anniversary of She-Ra: The Princess of Power in 2025 didn't have more fanfare. There were rumors flying of a ton of Mattel product that unfortunately never surfaced. There were justifiable excuses of tariffs and shipping delays, but I now think they were simply wishful thinking. Still, we got a New Etheria She-Ra, Origins Despara and Shadow Weaver, the Origins Swiftwind set. And the (super expensive) Mondo She-Ra and Swiftwind pre-orders. A surprise for me was this Event Exclusive She-Ra Thrilljoy PIX. I discovered it after coming home from NYCC last year with my newly-acquired Batgirl '66 PIX and curiously Googling the Thrilljoy catalog. I'm not normally a fan of Chase figures, because they typically have a paint deco I don't particularly covet, and I get frustrating with the blind box experience. But in this case I really want the Chase variant (which has a shield) and I was luckily enough to get one on the first try. Finally got a lucky break. Let's check out She-Ra below!

Thrilljoy Pixl - BATGIRL '66!

Thrilljoy PIXL - Batman Classic TV Series - Blind Box S1 - Batgirl  - Thrilljoy 2026

No, you're not experiencing déjà vu. This figure is virtually identical to the Thrilljoy PIX Batgirl I posted yesterday, but half the size. Actually my only complaint with my scant Thrilljoy PIX purchases is that they seem fractionally larger than I would prefer, so these 2.5-3" PIXL figures are a great solution. I only fear that they won't have the wide characters selection I predict the larger figures will have. Plus the larger blind-box assortment cases mean it will be harder to get your specific character (I picked up mine on eBay to avoid the stress and because I didn't know where to buy them - I have since seen them at Hot Topic). I don't expect to be buying a ton of these vinyls. I have hopes I can get some more key iconic characters like Cheetara and Jem - that will honestly be the only way I stay engaged in this collection. But so far I've been enjoying my little foray into the Thrilljoy universe and I look forward to seeing their booth at NYCC in a couple months. Let's check out the Batgirl '66 PIXL below!