Val's Toy Chest- Arrow Action Figure Edition

We don’t have a lot of new toys coming in this week from what I know of so far, but that could change between the time I write this and the shipments actually start coming in. I know that we are scheduled to have a couple of Anime/Manga based characters including a great CardCaptor Sakura action figure and a few static Sailor Moon figurines. There will also be a cutesy anime style version of Batman in the Nendoroid series and a Mafex Joker figure hitting our shelves for those who like those series. I have also been informed that we will be getting a new Hot Toys figure in within the next few weeks- the gorgeous Gamora fresh off her appearance in last year’s surprise hit film “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

This week I want to talk about the CW shows which include Arrow and the Flash. Both series are speeding towards their season finales and have also been renewed for the 2015-2016 season. When I first heard the initial reports of the Arrow TV series, I was skeptical since it was on the same network as Smallville (which I never got into) the previous DC CW WB TV series and I was expecting it to be a direct spinoff of that show. The only thing I knew about it was that they had cast Katie Cassidy (whose work on the CW’s Melrose Place reboot and the Nightmare on Elm Street remake I’d enjoyed) as Dinah Laurel Lance- a.k.a. my favorite superhero of all time- the Black Canary. I ended up picking up season one of Arrow on the cheap two Black Fridays ago when I heard that it had nothing to do with Smallville and started watching the DVDs sometime in January of 2014 and have been hooked ever since. The darker tone the series began with was great and I liked that a lot of the characters were morally grey. This current 3rd season has its issues but I still enjoy the series for the most part. My enjoyment of Arrow this year has been heightened due to seeing Laurel Lance finally taking on the Black Canary persona which I have been waiting for since meeting her in the pilot. She’s been my favorite on the show since the beginning and I’m in full support of her character arc this year. The Flash has also been good though I admit I will need to catch up with it when the DVDs release in the fall since I fell far behind, what I have seen I’ve enjoyed immensely.

Tying it all back into toys though- DC Collectibles has managed to strike while the iron is still hot and has released a slew of Arrow action figures already with even more on the way. To date we have seen an Arrow/Deathstroke Two Pack, single figures of Shirtless Oliver Queen, the Sara Lance Canary, an updated Deathstroke, Season 2 Arrow, The Dark Archer a.k.a. Malcolm Merlyn and the assassin Deadshot, along with the first TV Flash figure. As I write this at home on Sunday night, I know we still have Shirtless Ollie, The Dark Archer and Deadshot figures in stock if you were wanting to fill in your Arrow TV Action Figure collection. There’s even more coming both from DC Collectibles and Funko. As part of the toy department I get to go to Toy Fair and I have seen some of the shiny new toys up close and personal, most of these have since been solicited but here’s what else is coming: John Diggle and Felicity Smoak will get figures alongside Roy Harper as Arsenal and the Flash’s Captain Cold sometime this year- possibly summer but most likely fall. JUST ANNOUNCED in a really awesome video DC Collectibles posted this past week on Twitter was the brand-new never before seen LAUREL LANCE as the BLACK CANARY Action Figure. I cannot wait. Funko on the other hand will be doing POPs for both series as well as their throwback ReAction line of 3 and 3/4 ” Action Figures that are throwbacks to the retro Kenner Star Wars style.