There’s a lot of (justified) debate regarding some of the creative goings-on at Marvel. One of the few things that the House of Ideas has been unquestionably getting right in the past several years is the introduction of a fresh crop of heroes. New X-Men, Young Avengers, and Runaways have been great books with imaginative new characters that actually don’t suck ass. This week we’re looking at the only one of these teams to not have any ML representation with Sister Grimm from Runaways.
Last Week’s Poll Re-cap: With 58% of the vote, you chose Annihilation: Conquest Rocket Raccoon as the version of the character you most want Hasbro to make for Marvel Legends. Rocket as he appeared in his solo series came in second with 29%.
Make My Marvel! – Sister Grimm
At the age of 16 (which is legal for a Spears sister so long as it’s with a guy from church), Nico Minoru and several other children learned that their parents were members of the villainous Pride, a group of superhumans who performed annual human sacrifices to ancient mystical beings known as the Gibborim. The children, soon discovering and/or acquiring superhuman abilities of their own, rebelled and chose to fight the Pride and thwart their plans. When Nico’s own mother tried to kill the goth teen with the Staff of One, Nico was inadvertently bonded to the mystical item.
Using the Staff of One, Nico (now going by her IM screenname Sister Grimm) can harness magical powers limited only by her own imagination. She has since learned that she can only summon the staff by shedding her own blood and that any spell she casts can only be used once without unpredictable consequences.
During their initial adventures, Nico began to develop a romantic relationship with teammate Alex Wilder. That all went to pot when Alex betrayed the team to the Pride. The Runaways eventually stopped their parents’ latest sacrifice and the Pride, along with Alex, were subsequently killed by the Gibborim. Despite his betrayal, Nico attempted to raise Alex from the dead with no success.
With Alex’s death and the end of the Pride, Nico became the Runaways’ leader and convinced the others that they should begin using their gifts to undo the damage their parents had done. Despite swearing off men after her experience with Alex, Nico had several relationships with teammates Chase Stein and Victor Mancha, as well as a very brief flirtation with female teammate Karolina Dean. Nico’s initial intention of avoiding male relationships probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea, as Victor turned out to be a mechanoid created by Ultron and as Chase later attempted to trade Nico’s soul for that of his deceased love, Gertrude Yorkes.
Nico and the other Runaways opposed the Superhero Registration Act, but refused to join the resistance. The long term consequences of their opposition remains to be seen, as Nico and the others have recently become trapped in the past.
How to make it: Any of Niko’s costumes would require a new sculpt. For accessories, the only necessity is the Staff of One. Though, including an attachable mystical energy glob wouldn’t hurt.
Nico typically dresses like a Hot Topic employee (minus several pounds of piercings) and, while she has worn several outfits on repeat occasions, there’re few iconic looks for the character. Thus, I’m also throwing a few random looks into the poll this week.
Which version of Sister Grimm do you most want Hasbro to make?
Costume #1:
Costume #2:
Costume #3 (red):
Costume #4:
Costume #5:
Costume #6:
Mystic Arcana:
*Some images courtesy of ComicVine*
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