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...