Monday, June 29, 2020

Let's Make Some Toys

9 Action Figures I Need Made:

Okay, this list is REALLY not in any particular order.  Like at all.  But 

1: Earth-2 Dick Grayson as Batman
Okay, I know this is a long shot, but come on folks, this would just be a really cool deep cut action figure to get.  And they already have most of the parts needed to put this together at least @Todd_McFarlane does.  Plus I'm a huge Dick Grayson fan.  This cannot be overstated.  Dick Grayson is my favorite super hero and I'm not apologizing for it.  Seriously, I could have him on this list at least 2 maybe 4 more times than I do and that's just figures that haven't been made yet that I would like to see coming out.  But this one is special.  It's a deep cut from the silver age that would be absolutely amazing to see get brought to life.  It predates his evolution to Nightwing even.  This was the first time that he grew up.  My Dick Grayson collection is just begging to see this get added to it.








2: Superwoman: Lana Lang
So I just won the Superman Blue and Red figures on ebay recently.  I know this series had its detractors.  Frankly while I read a LOT of the comics back when Superman did it, it just wasn't right (though I still wish we could at least get a millenium giants TPB out there).  But I thought that bringing this power set back and giving it to a scientist like Lana Lang was absolutely in genius.  I also really enjoyed seeing her relationship with Steel.  And no, I'm not happy about how this take on the character ended.  I get it from a few vantage points, but I don't care, this was a great evolution of the character and seeing her carrying on would have just been tremendously fun to read.  But in action figure form?  This would be an awesome addition.  A superwoman figure that my daughter can play with when she quits chewing on everything, and one that'd look really good with the rest of the superman family (and right next to superman blue too).  That does lead into one concern, scale.  I am happy to be collecting stuff that is in the 7" scale, but they need to stay in scale.  Lana shouldn't be as tall as Superman, because she's just not as tall as Superman.  More on this later.




3: Tempest
Can somebody please explain to me how on earth this figure has like never been made?  Garth has been around forever!  He eventually even ascended to take the throne of Atlantis after Orin died (yeah I liked Peter David's run on Aquaman the Best).  He's one of the most powerful magic users in the DC Universe (depending on who is writing him.  He's one of the founding teen titans.  And Tempest was just an all around great character.  I always liked it when he showed up.  Even the Nu52 and Rebirth Garth is still so much fun to read when he's written seriously.  But this was him doing what Dick had managed to do, he's stepping out of the shadow of his mentor and becoming his own character, he grew up.  And with the accessories that could be included for this guy... I mean I challenge anyone to make him not look amazing on display.  We need this figure brought back.








4: Connor Hawke
By now it should be pretty obvious that I have a serious preference for "second generation" heroes.  Those that grew up beside heroes and became their own person.  Connor didn't grow up with his Dad, and he filled his Dad's shoes when Ollie died instead of becoming a new hero, so perhaps he breaks the mold.  But I would absolutely love to see this version of Green Arrow brought to life.  Rereading some of his old storylines right now has proven pretty insightful in some ways.  But I really enjoyed his naivety, his desire to do right by his Dad.  He's the sort of guy that you would be happy to hang out with in real life if you could.  And at the same time they did a crossover event where he basically demonstrated that he is one of if not the best martial artist in the entire DCU.  And yet for some reason he's never gotten any love in action figure form.  He's even referenced in Arrow, though the changed his origins a bit.  Connor deserves his place in plastic.






5: White Lantern: Kyle Rayner
Yeah, at this point, this is admittedly starting to sound like my personal Justice League wish list.  I did NOT like Kyle when he was first introduced.  Hal Jordan was my Green Lantern (growing up on old silver age reprints).  But you know what, he was better than Hal.  He was unsure, he made mistakes.  He made BIG mistakes, and it cost people.  He got hurt, he got beaten up physically and emotionally, and through it all he became the soul of the Green Lantern corps.  There are tons of figures of this guy, but I think the upgrade that he was given in the Nu52 was one of the best things to come out of that era of DC Comics.  Kyle became the White Lantern.  I loved the entirety of blackest night, and then to see Kyle make this evolution as a character, after having been Ion and dubbed the torchbearer.  I was really glad to see him evolve into the wielder of the light of life.  But for some reason, while there are several white lantern figures, the one person who ultimately became that character.  I know they've powered him back down since, at least for now, but this guy deserves to get his due here.






6: Blue Bird
So I'd rather have just had a Blue Bird image, but this was the best one I found that included her BFG.  (don't misunderstand I'd love an Orphan with an alternate head with the bloody bat mask too).  But Blue Bird was an absolutely awesome character.  I for the life of me cannot figure out why on earth they didn't do more with her.  As tech savy as Tim and as raw as Jason, with Dick's color scheme.  Batman and Robin Eternal was where I met and fell in love with this character, it's a heartbreaking origin.  But seriously, we need Blue Bird suited up on our shelves people!  Why has this not happened yet?  Now this is another place where we have to talk about scale.  I love this character, but she's a teenage girl.  She should not be as tall as Batman.  So if he is 7" in height, then she needs to be down around 6.5" at the top of her mohawk.  True, staying in scale isn't the most important thing in the world, but it sure would be nice, and if I'm going to write out this whole dream list I'm going to dream for it all.


7: Dick Grayson - Agent 37
I said I was a Dick Grayson fan.  I was actually really excited for to see this take on the character.  In part because I like Tim Seeley as a creator.  But this was an entirely other take on the character.  Having to play a spy, who was himself spying on the spy organization, it was a fun idea.  In my opinion it didn't end as strongly as I would have liked, and I wish we would have gotten the Nightwing burial issue that was written and drawn.  But it was fun to see him pushed into having to work outside the bounds of being a superhero and into the realm of espionage.  It's a completely original evolution to a character that I have enjoyed for years, and that's a rare thing to see.  Plus it's a version of the character that has never been seen before in plastic.  Dick is in some ways the core of the DCU.  He's second only to Superman in how trusted he is.  And there are still things that come from the Grayson series which are influencing the DCU.  







8: Ravager - Rose Wilson
Can anyone explain to me how on earth Rose FRIGGIN Wilson hasn't been made into an action figure yet?  I mean seriously.  How?  Rose is an amazing character.  She's the X-23 of the DC Universe.  She's gone from villain to reluctant hero.  She's got Deathstroke for a father who forced her to hate him so that she would always have a family with the Teen Titans.  She overcame an addiction and fought every instinct she had to try and become a better hero.  She has a wild streak about a mile wide and yet she's constantly fighting to try and be a better person.  She can go toe to toe with Cassandra Cain, and that was when she was starting out.  We need a real Ravager figure already people.  C'mon, let's make this happen already.  I don't even care if you get the scale off on this one, just make her already.


9: Arsenal
Sure sure sure, we have a Red Arrow figure.  I really felt like that was a step back for Roy.  He became his own man as Arsenal I thought.  This also works nicely with Agent 37 as Arsenal entered the spy game (after overcoming a heroin addiction and dealing with some suicidal issues).  And he was a devoted father to his daughter.  Perfect father no, but he was there for Lian every way he knew how to be.  And he's another founding member of the titans.  He's also an expert marksman with anything.  The list of accessories that this guy could come with is... I mean his friggin name is Arsenal.  I know he's dead, for now, in the comics, but this was the character for a good number of years.  This was the one that reformed and led the outsiders.  This version of Roy deserves to be made alongside Agent 37 so we can have some high-spying adventures in plastic.  









10: Dark Claw - Amalgam
Alright, so I'm adding one to the list here.  But this one will really never get made.  I mean it should get made.  It's a version of both Wolverine and Batman that has never before been put into action figure form.  How many figures do you think they'd sell of this guy?  He's Bruce, he's Logan he's amazing.  This figure would have all the playability of both Batman and Wolverine give us hands with and without claws.  Plus just look at him!  Who in their right minds wouldn't buy this figure.  This is a chance to really showcase what you can do with a little love in a modern action figure line.    I know the character is co-owned by Marvel and DC and the toy rights for those are with different companies, but just imagine for a second what this would be like as a figure and then McFarlane can start the kickstarter campaign already.