Agent Scarlett (2002)
Many of our familiar friends from the 80s ended up with extra name descriptors during the post-ARAH years. From Agent Scarlett to Sgt. Stalker, the Joes had to adapt to the needs of copyright. Such is the life of men and women of action. Of course, this kind of parsing of character names is mostly a concern of nerdy toy collectors like me. I imagine kids don’t much care, unless their parent is a nerdy toy collector.
Scarlett looks more machine-like now than woman, twisted and goofy. These first attempts at modern o-ring figures are just that–goofy. It’s not a looking through a modern lens issue, either. These figures looked odd from the get-go. Collectors were relieved when the following assortments eased up on the stylized, cartoonish designs. Of course, many later figures also fell victim to large shoulders and strange torso/arm/leg proportions. Despite that, in the coming years nothing approached the silliness of the early Scarlett and Baroness. Well, there was Spy Troops Lady Jaye. And Action Attack Duke. And CLAWS Commander. Okay, maybe I should’ve thought that one through a bit more, but you get the idea.
The color scheme is at least a departure from the typical classic Scarlett theme. The silver does give her a bit more of an armored appearance, and I suppose you could shoehorn this outfit into the Night Force sub-team.
I gave her the normal modern crossbow, as I couldn’t locate her Sound Attack version in my parts bin. You’re not missing much, as the thing is a monstrosity, with a giant tab protruding from the top. Hey, we’re not a historical or museum site.
Those are some awfully pale lips.
I’ll give the designers credit for putting her hair in a braid. But this figure really looks like a knock-off GIJoe.
It took until the line’s end before the designers really hit their stride with the JvC era. These early figures look even more horribly dated, now. The colors of the era, though, were strong and kept with the original line’s vibe. Too bad that didn’t carry over to the ARAH repaints of the same time.
She’s really rocking some serious child-bearing shoulders there…