This year has been a fantastic year for fans of female action figures. Our shelves now showcase the previously prototype-only Star Sisters in MOTU Classics, Power Rangers’ original big-bad Rita Repulsa, DC Universe Classics Poison Ivy, on top of first time action figures of “dolled” ladies like the rebels and villains from She-Ra Princess of Power and the soon-to-be Sailor Moon from S.H.Figuarts. Did you see that Marvel Legends Jim Lee Jean Grey? FINALLY! However, it wasn’t always this exciting. Even though toy companies of the ’80s and ’90s sprinkled in a Scarlett, a Wonder Woman, a Teela, along with about a dozen variations of April O’Neil, the ladytoy was still considered by and large a risky sell to the boys market. More often than not, strong female leads and supporting characters were overlooked for toy treatment for sometimes practical, sometimes financial, and sometimes socially-paranoid reasons. This resulted in some of my earliest childhood nerd-raging. So, without further ado, we, or rather me, at the Fwoosh are/am casting a well overdue spotlight on the biggest female omissions in the world of action figures. These five are the most outstanding, so now is the time!
5. Madame Razz & Scorpia (Filmation He-Man/She-Ra)
Two things are amazing about this entry. First are the characters themselves, which are awesome on their own and should’ve come out in POP, or, maybe in Scorpia’s case, MOTU. And two, we are very damn close to it being a reality! With MOTU Classics still alive and kicking, we have a shot. A seriously good one! I know Scorpia is a personal favorite of the Horsemen, and she’d make a striking toy (pun intended). Madame Razz would be so interesting to see how the Four Horsemen would execute her. Throw her in a pack with Broom, Kowl and a Light Hope backdrop and you can cross off all of Adora’s secret keepers in one pack! Keep supporting this line!
4. Pythona (GI JOE)
She’s pretty much the only GI Joe character fans ask for that hasn’t been made. A main character in the GI JOE movie (the GOOD one, I mean), it’s really sad that she never had an action figure at all. We even had a second chance during the 25th Anniversary. Hopefully the 30th or 35th will be time for Hasbro to say enough is enough and grace us in with a Pythona figure. Heck, she could even sweeten the deal by including the mutated Cobra Commander to wrap around your Roadblock figure. Whenever you think of unmade female figures, this one is usually the 1st to come out of people mouths. It’s past due to get her name crossed off the list.
3. Gloria Baker with Aura Mask & Shark (MASK)
This is one of those things that growing up absolutely confused me. Gloria Baker was the lone female in MASK, and easily one of the most “boy-friendly” ’80s characters in animation. She was a martial artist (blackbelt in Kung-Fu), she drove a Porsche (that transformed into a sub), was a champion race-car driver, and had a sweet mullet. She was the ultimate tomboy! Her uniform had bright colors, she was heavily featured on the show, but instead we got Vanessa Warfield, the female VENOM agent, but no Gloria. That was a crime. If they made the female bad girl, they should have made the good girl, too. To make things worse, people told me Gloria and Shark existed, but was very very rare. I looked for that thing everywhere! I even dreamt that I found her and I couldn’t remember if it was a dream or a memory. It was the WORST! Even if Porsche possibly didn’t give Kenner the rights to making Shark (which was the rumor), she was also a co-pilot on Gator. She could’ve had a carded release like Scott and T-Bob. A repaint of her eventually surfaced with Collider Mask, a repaint of her classic Aura Mask. Some amazing custom repaints of both her and Shark exist online just to make me linger onto what would’ve been such an amazing figure. I’m hoping that Matt Tracker joining GI Joe was the beginning of a MASK revival. It would make a great bridge between GI Joe and Transformers.
2. Arcee, Elita-One, and other female Autobots (Transformers Generation 1)
I know we’ve had a lot of Arcees already and some of them are really well done. I’m going to plead the Jean Grey defense. We had Onslaught Jean Grey, AOA Jean Grey, Space Rider Jean Grey, and a slew of many others. Flying Fighters Jean Grey was the definitive one we wanted before it was cancelled. Arcee is the same thing. Two Arcees would be definitive: one that’s on-model to the ’80s cartoon and movie and in scale to them, or a Transformer Masterpiece Arcee. I can’t believe we don’t have that one yet! When fans are still asking for Arcee, they mean the original. Elita-One and the other female Autobots would be icing on the cake, but at the very least, how has Hasbro not heard the cries of an entire generation consistently for these many years, and made other versions of her EXCEPT her definitive Generation 1 design? I’m not saying anything that Transformers fans haven’t been saying for about 25 years.
1. Granny Goodness & the Female Furies (DCUC)
Ok, time to move the little kid in me aside and speak on behalf of the big kid I am today. Jack Kirby created character after character of every color, age, shape, and size. Although we got Lashina in JLU we need them in DC Universe Classics. NEED! They are the biggest holes in my toy collection. In the last ten years, Granny and the Furies have become much more visible in media. After they arrived in Superman the Animated Series, Justice League Unlimited, plus numerous comic appearances, and Darkseid having a much bigger presence as THE biggest threat in the DC Universe, at this point, not having a Granny Goodness figure is like the DC version of no Baroness or no Evil-Lyn. We got two Parademons figures, two Steppenwolf figures, and two Mantis figures in DCUC. Darkseid’s Elite is missing her. And she is naked (scary thought) without her Female Furies flanking her (Aware Lashina has a JLU figure… I plead the Jean Grey defense). Can you imagine an SDCC set or a Four Horsemen prototype image of Mad Harriet, Lashina, and Stompa? Bernadeth? That would be a dream come true. Bad guys, females, older characters, and unique tooling, are a tough sell and she’s all of those. She’s also worth it. Make her an SDCC exclusive. Make her with the Furies as a one-off thing. Twenty assortments and two years of subscriptions have culminated in a very loyal fan base. This would be my Christmas miracle by far. Give us Granny. The Horsemen want it. DC fans want it. So do I. Please, Santa Matty!