Shortlist: I miss buying figures just for the accessories...

Something about that panel of Azazel had been bothering me. But, I couldn't put my finger on it, until I saw this promo piece for Skullkickers.

I haven't read that one yet, but check out the link here. Just to hammer on the point, here's a page from Forgotten Realms #19, "Picking Up the Pieces" Written by Jeff Grubb, pencils by Rags Morales, inks by Dave Simons.

There's a lot more steins in that last one, but I was thinking goblets. Chalices. (I refuse to call them 'pimp cups.')

They would seem to be a much-needed accessory for your fantasy characters, although I doubt Mattel would want their Masters of the Universe to be seen as heavy drinkers, no matter how obvious it is that Ram-Man's had more than a couple. On the other hand, the recent DC Unlimited Dragon Age Duncan figure does come with a kind of cool looking cup, but I haven't played the game and don't know about the character. I can't really throw down on the figure just for one accessory...not for full price, anyway. Maybe if he came with two, or if Morrigan came with one. (And as usual, the Amazon links are for reference only, I recommend shopping around and if you do go Amazon, go through another site that'll get a kickback...)

I thought I used the Chalice of Kali that came from Colonel Dovchenko of the Indiana Jones line. There's actually a couple other figures that have come with goblets or chalices that would work with your six-or-seven inch figures; but be careful: the Marvel Select Dr. Doom figure comes with a goblet...-ed hand; an alternate drinkin' hand for the good doctor. Try the Spike figure from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which might be a bit spendy but also comes with a coffee cup and a kitty. Oh, and Spike, I guess.
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Shortlist: Killing two birds with one 1D4 stone.

Today's Shortlist pulls double duty, hyping up a book I loved that is actually in trade now! And monsters that absolutely should be figures--proper action figures, not little gaming miniatures: monsters from the AD&D world, and DC Comic, Forgotten Realms! Back around 1989 or so, TSR and DC partnered up for some comics, some of which were pretty good, especially the twenty-four issues (and an annual) of Forgotten Realms, featuring art by Rags Morales (loooong before he hit big with Identity Crisis) and following the crew of the Realms Master as they quest for dangerous magical artifacts. Of course, I'd love figures of the heroes (including Omen, a wizard with magically inexplicable hair...) but the monsters would be the big draw. Now, there were AD&D figures in 1982 from LJN (and you can check them out here) but they never made a Beholder action figure? Did we lose a war? Come on! And ideally, you would want your lower-level monsters to come in packs, for ease of army building. I mean, it's not like one gnoll or a lone skeleton ever gave your brave adventurers a challenge, right? IDW Publishing is doing some Dungeons and Dragons comics now, and they recently reprinted the first eight issues of Forgotten Realms in trade. Written by Jeff Grubb, art by Rags Morales and Dave Simons (and maybe a few others) and if you have fond memories of old campaigns, you might enjoy this one. Read more!

Shortlist: Why writers should do research.

He was a mystery writer that became a mystery man to research a book. Oh, and help people and fight Nazis and junk. From DC Comics All-Star Squadron and the Golden Age, the Tarantula!

Mystery writer Jonathan Law happened to see the Golden Age Sandman in action, which gave him the idea to give costumed vigilantism a try. Putting together a costume, suction cups for climbing walls, and a cable-shooting web gun; Law took the identity of the Tarantula. He would become a member of the wartime All-Star Squadron, and unlike a goodly portion of DC's Golden Age characters, Law would get old and eventually die in the pages of Nightwing. (Maybe. Even that was left open...)

The Tarantula's never had a huge presence in comics, but it's a cool costume and a good hook. I just picture him at the All-Star Squadron meetings taking insane amounts of notes, then having to make up some lame reason why.

Scans from All-Star Squadron #66, "The Origin of Tarantula," written by Roy Thomas, pencils by Alan Kupperburg, inks by Tony DeZunga; and Nightwing #40, "The Devil Dies at Dawn!" Written by Chuck Dixon, art by Scott McDaniel and Hector Collazo.

Oddly, it's been kind of a slow year for figures (for me, anyway) so far; I think I've written more of these Shortlists than I've bought figures. Well, maybe not, but it's close. Maybe I will cave on a couple figures I need to complete a Build-a-Figure...

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Shortlist: He's Marvel's Batman...no, not Moon Knight!

Nighthawk! Shown here in a badly retouched version of Erik Larsen's Defenders #5 cover.

I don't know if everyone likes his costume, especially the little wings on the mask, but I love the old-school, proper superhero look of it. Originally the bad guy Batman-analogue in the Squadron Sinister, Kyle Richmond would have a long and usually punishing trek to becoming a superhero. At various times, he's been a fake pretending to be a hero, a Defender, paralyzed by day, dead, stuck in hell, back alive with precognitive visions from Mephisto, and a Defender again. And all of that is before we even consider the various Squadron Supreme versions or the replacement Nighthawk. As such, his high and low points are subject to taste.

Kyle had a modified costume in his 1998 limited series, which was fine there, but lacks the charm of the jetpack-and-laser equipped cape he usually sports. Besides, it had a utility belt, even though I don't think he's ever been seen using one. (I have the same quibble for Captain America, for that matter.) Panel from The Order #2, "It's Our World" Written by Jo Duffy and Kurt Busiek, pencils by Chris Batista, inks by Dan Panosian.

Heck, I do kinda like his old-school outfit, from when Kyle was still a bad guy, in this scan from "Quoth the Nighthawk, 'Nevermore!'" Originally from Daredevil #62, written by Roy Thomas, art by Gene Colan, inks by Syd Shores. And getting him would help fill out the Defenders roster on your action figure shelves. 'Course, then you'd absolutely need a Hellcat...but considering they haven't had a proper Defenders team in years, a Marvel Legends two-pack of Nighthawk and Hellcat seems like a longshot. Pity, since I think they look cool enough to sell even without a major comics presence. Maybe someday.

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Shortlist: She-Devil with no action figure?

Back in Marvel Toys first wave of Legendary Heroes, they made a Witchblade figure, even though she had her own line of figures from Moore Toys. But since Conan would get a figure later from Marvel Toys, I can not figure out why they went with Witchblade instead of Red Sonja.
It's not like Sonja is any less covered than Witchblade...well, maybe. And between the Brigette Nielsen movie version, the possibly-maybe upcoming new movie, and various other incarnations; I concede the rights for making an action figure of everyone's favorite chainmail-bikini wearing barbarian might be a tangle.
Although the later outfit (around the 80's, I think, shown here from the Official Handbook of the Conan Universe) doesn't look bad there, it would probably be a terrible idea to do a Red Sonja figure in anything other than said chainmail bikini; at least at first. It's her most iconic and lasting look, plain and simple. That said, there has been a variation or two, as seen in this oddball Frank Thorne story from Savage Sword of Conan #29.

Not to repeat rumors, but I did read somewhere that Shocker Toys was possibly hinting at giving Red Sonja her action figure due. But I don't think any announcement has been made or prototypes shown; and it's all too likely the prospect of movie licensing is holding her up. In the meantime, Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line is going to beat Sonja to the bikini-barbarian punch with Battleground Teela. That looks like it's going to be a sharp figure, but here's hoping Red Sonja sees the action figure aisle someday.

First scan from Dynamite's Red Sonja #0, written by Michael Avon Oeming with Mike Carey, art by Mel Rubi.
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Shortlist: No, not the one from the Incredibles...

Today's Shortlist candidate is one I was expecting to see, but hasn't turned up yet, and the name confusion with the Incredibles Elastigirl isn't helping: the Doom Patrol's Elasti-Woman, formerly Elasti-girl.

I love her current costume, and not merely because she's giving her ex Mento the heave-ho in it. Look, a fifty-foot tall woman probably might prefer not to wear a short skirt, right? Mind you, I'm not complaining...

In the original Doom Patrol stories, Rita Farr was an actress, who was exposed to strange gases and gained the ability to shrink and grow at will. She was the least freakish of her teammates (Robotman and Negative Man) but her identity was public, which may have made her feel more of an outcast than them. When the Doom Patrol sacrificed themselves to save a small town, Robotman and Negative Man would both return, while Rita was dead for many years, returning in Infinite Crisis and John Byrne's reboot.


In Doom Patrol #13, "I'm Still Rita," the secret of her resurrection is revealed: the Chief, Niles Caulder, grew (or regrew) her from a piece of her skull and protoplasm. Like the rest of her teammates, she now struggles with the notion of how much of herself is really her. I picked up that issue last week, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

Unfortunately, although I just added Doom Patrol to my pull list; the book is scheduled to end with issue #22. Worse, although she did get a figure in the Justice League Unlimited line, Rita hasn't yet joined Robotman and Negative Man in the DC Universe Classics. While I have to figure most fans would prefer to have a Collect-and-Connect version...man, I would be just as happy to have her regular-sized. While she can shrink, she doesn't seem to do that much anymore; and the DP has added old-school Teen Titan Bumblebee as a member. A plain Elasti-woman with a pack-in Bumblebee would be ideal for me.

Scans from Doom Patrol #13 and #6, "Negative Incentive" Written by Keith Giffen, art by Matthew Clark and Ron Randall, inks by John Livesay.
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Shortlist: In San Futuro, he is the Law!

On today's Shortlist, we have a character I don't have a lot of comics from, that isn't hugely popular or about to be made into a movie, and isn't appropriate for small children, the elderly, or the easily offended. But my god, he'd look cool on the action figure shelf: Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill's Marshal Law.


(Cue booming voice:) In a world...where genetic manipulation, cybernetic implants and anabolic steroids (lots and lots of anabolic steroids...) gives rise to super-soldiers. After the war, the soldiers return home, some becoming super-heroes--glory hound, cult of celebrity, perverted super-heroes--and others becoming straight-up gangsters. Marshal Law is the guy they call when they go bad, the licensed "cape-killer." And while he hates his employers, the capes, and himself; the Marshal loves his work.


Marshal Law shares a lot with Mill's other (co-)creation, Judge Dredd: it's a satire disguised as an action book, and like Dredd, Law is kind of unlikable most of the time, but is still usually in the right. Coupled with O'Neill's frenetic, insane art; Law would be the lone sane man in an insane world, except he's probably a bit nutty himself.


But that costume--basically bondage gear in primary colors with a few slogans on it--and the giant guns--almost always with a little graffiti on them, like 'phone this' for fighting E.T.'s--would be eye-catching even on a shelf full of superheroes. A removable hat would be a necessity as well, although I don't think he looks quite right without it. Odds of it happening? Um, like negative none. Even if DC Comics collects and reissues Marshal Law, I still don't see DC Direct hopping on that one.

Scans from Marshal Law #4 (Epic) and Marshal Law: Secret Tribunal #1, both written and co-created by Pat Mills, art and co-created by Kevin O'Neill. Man alive, if a Nemesis the Warlock figure wouldn't look cool as hell too...
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Shortlist: Magnus, Robot Fighter

Created by Russ Manning for Gold Key, Magnus: Robot Fighter has done tours of publishing duty with Valiant, Acclaim, and currently Dark Horse Comics. (Their first issue wasn't too bad, and included a nice reprint of the first Gold Key issue.) In the year 4000 AD, the robot 1-A raises and trains Magnus to defend humanity from rogue robots, aliens, and laziness. (If you've seen WALL-E, you've seen how the average person would get with robot servants, although you never see that many fat people in Magnus...)

How Magnus hasn't to date got a video game, to say nothing of an action figure, is beyond me. The guy's whole deal is karate-chopping robots. A sandbox game where robot crime escalates as Magnus's robot-fu technique improves wouldn't have to be especially deep plotwise to be fun. Some of those robots got mighty big, and he's also fought aliens, including a crossover with Predator.


Magnus not only deserves an action figure, but by god he needs an action feature, too: if any figure needed karate-chopping action, he does. (I wonder how that would work: your basic DCUC or Legends style articulation, but with one shoulder given over to the spring-loaded chop? Traditionally, the karate-chopping arm is a unarticulated piece, and I wonder how well it would go with elbow and wrist joints.) Hell, I'd go for a Gold Key wave: Magnus, Turok, Dr. Solar, and...um, I don't know. Mighty Samson? Andar, Turok's sidekick? Dagar the Invincible? It'll never happen, although if movie versions ever pan out, Turok or Magnus might get lucky.


I don't know the character very well, but I think Dr. Solar might be interesting for a live-action adaptation. That said, it would probably become Dr. Manhattan: the Movie. Still, a figure of him with a light-up chest emblem; or to go old-school, a face that turns green in cold water, would be neat.

Scans from Dark Horse's Magnus, Robot Fighter #1, "Metal Mob, part one: Taken" Script by Jim Shooter, art by Bill Reinhold; and reprinting Gold Key's Magnus, Robot Fighter #1, script and art by Russ Manning.

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Shortlist: In case I don't have enough plastic...

Over the last few years of collecting action figures, I would have to admit to being pretty fortunate in terms of characters I want, being made into figures, as if just for me. A Scud figure? Enemy Ace and Blackhawk? Heck, there's even three different versions of Jonah Hex that you could buy! Tons of characters that may not get the respect they deserve on the comic racks, but I'm thrilled to have on my shelves.

But have I got every figure I want? Obviously not! (And what would I do if I did, take up knitting?) No, there are still reams of characters, big names and niche properties alike, that I would love to see made into proper action figures. (For our purposes, assume I mean in about the same scale as Marvel Legends or DCUC, with a reasonable amount of articulation...and priced less than it's weight in gold.) So, every Friday for the next stretch, we're going to take a little look at my personal Shortlist.

Today, one of the few figures that I would buy a bronze version of: from Astro City, the Silver Agent:

Without having the back issues next to me, I almost think you see his statue before you see the Agent himself, and it's implied from the start that his ending is not a happy one. Introduced in 1995, it would be fifteen years before his full story would be told...maybe.


Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson would take inspiration from a number of sources for the Silver Agent, in particular, from Captain America. As you might suspect from his name, he's designed to be an almost archetypal silver-age character; except I'd have to say his chainmail armor would've been a bit too intricate for the printing then.

From a company called Toy Vault, Astro City's Samaritan and Confessor would get action figures back in 1999; but that's just scratching the surface. Still, an Astro City movie is currently in the works, so maybe eventually; although then it would come down to what Busiek can get crammed in there. (Hopefully, it doesn't take the path of Wanted: taking a superhero comic, and bleeding all the superhero elements out of it for the movie...y'know, I say that, but I think I honestly prefer the movie of that now.)

This Shortlist is something I've had in mind for a while, but now I'm putting a name to it. Still, over the last couple of weeks, you probably could add Elric, the Shadow, more characters from Planetary, and Claw the Unconquered. There will be more...
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