[VonPooten]

Happy New Year everyone! What a good year it's been for ML collectors, I never thought we'd see this many releases again. I brought pretty much all my Avengers figures this year, so I'd say it's been a success!



Some quality figures came out this year (albeit with a gummy joint or two), so let's see what 2016 brings. Come on, Wonder Man, All-New Herc and Spectrum!

Quote:

Originally Posted by warmachine6

I did a random head count of figures this morning and found out this guy was my 75th character !!!! got 85 figures in total/displayed on my wall 86 when Thanos is complete but this guy was before thanos
so 75th character achieved!!!!

Congratulations mate on your 75th figure! Are they all recent acquisitions? Hasbro has released a LOT this year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Yeah, Wanda. Even when the Avengers JLA crossover occurred, league members quickly determined that Wanda was the cause and that she was the single greatest threat. We know she can warp reality thanks to House of M and Avengers: Disassembled. But so can a few other characters like Jasper, Korvac, Proteus, and Sersi (another femme to add to the list of uber-power). Additionally, she took out one of the Enchanters (Magnir) on her own without the aid of Thor or Odin. The Enchanters function more as enemies of Odin than they do Thor, quite an impressive feat. However, her mortality, inability to survive the vacuum of space, and vulnerability to physical injury all make her more of a runner-up in comparison to that upper echelon of over the top power.

Jasper! What a wonderful character. Wanda could wipe the floor with almost any Avengers villain, but of course a bump to the head can take her out of commission like that. Unfortunately, her powers present a threat to the writer above all else due to her deus ex machina abilities. Although, again, Strange has deus ex magic, and he's written perfectly well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Rachel is another beast entirely (and I mean BEAST). Her considerable TK powers, combined with her telepathic abilities, all of which augmented by the Phoenix force, make her very much like Maxima of DC (although, I think Rachel is potentially more powerful in spite of Maxima demonstrating more 'on-hand' physical power). Her TK gives her a measure of invulnerability and super-strength, theoretically. More significantly, her Phoenix Force makes her a power cosmic wielder. Unfortunately, as you alluded to, writers can either carry or ruin the day by limiting her access to the Phoenix Force.

Rachel has had many standout battles; a starving Galactus featuring prominently. However, I cringe when this technique is employed in order to make a statement about a hero or villain's level of power i.e. Thanos and Odin doing the same to Galan when his strength was waning (fight Glactus straight up dammit! lol I just might be a Galactus fan ). Using this logic, Silver Surfer is by far the most powerful being among Marvel heroes given that he defeated not one, but two fully powered proemial gods in the form of Tenebrous and Aegis. A feat that even Galactus was shocked to learn. Ahem...fanboy mini-rant done and I'm most definitely a Surfer fan!!! ...back to Rachel. She also defeated/overwhelmed the Beyonder by giving him all of the Phoenix's power. That's pretty crazy stuff right there. Then there was her fight with Necrom, a former Phoenix Force user AND sorcerer supreme of his reality. I believe that was when I was most impressed by her might. They were going at it and she attacked him with planets....Planets!?!? But of course, her conduit to the Phoenix was on full-tilt because it (the Phoenix) wanted to reject Necrom...if I remember correctly.

With all of that said, it's obvious that she's a heavy weight. But I'm left wondering (as with Wanda) exactly how 'heavy' she might be. She acquitted herself well against an energy leech like Vulcan, but was clearly out-matched against Gladiator (one of Marvel's many Superman-like characters...along with Sentry, Blue Marvel, Strontian/Xenith). How would Rachel fair against Thanos?...Odin?...Zeus?...Mikaboshi?...Mephisto?.. .Tenebrous?...Aegis?...Dormammu?...Franklin Richards?...X-man?

Oh man, she's so inconsistent. She did fight Gladiator (mostly off-panel, mind you) 'to a standstill' during the Rise and Fall of The Shi'ar Empire arc, but as you say BM that might just be Ed Brubaker's version of "see how powerful she is!" However, this was with the aid of the Phoenix Force, which in turn had been augmented by her connection with Korvus' Phoenix Blade. So she isn't regularly that powerful, but then again she beat down on Thor during AvX.. That wasn't a true battle though, and more of a "smackdown then escape" scenario.
On topic, if this "Phoenix" character in the new ML X-series happens to be Rachel in her Jean Grey School outfit, I would be over the moon. She's never looked cooler than in that trenchcoat with the spikes and cropped hair. Would Hasbro sculpt that much detail?! Who knows. I'd even take her as a BAF if that means we'd get her in all her fiery glory.

I also third a plea for Clea! Why she's not included in the ONE chance she could be included in a wave is beyond me.