Marvel Legends Hellcat

Presenting Hellcat from the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Thanos BAF toyline.

To the uninitiated, Hellcat is Patricia "Patsy" Walker Baxter Hellstorm - though she divorced Baxter so we suppose she can just drop that name, and; she died so that kinda annuls her marriage to the Son of Satan Daimon Hellstorm. She currently just goes by the name Patricia "Patsy" Walker.

Marvel's Hellcat has a very interesting origin. She was created by Ruth Atkinson for Miss America Magazine in 1944 which was published by Marvel's predecessor, Timely Comics. The comics focused on the life, love and struggle of Patsy Walker presented in a manner akin to Archie Comics.

The teenage red-head was so popular that from the 1940s to 1967, Patsy Walker would continue to appear in Miss America, Teen Comics, Girls' Life, and would have her own-spin off: Patsy Walker; Patsy and Hedy (Her friend and "rival); Patsy and her Rivals, and; a one-shot - A Date with Patsy. Her stand-alone comic books would run till 1967, and she would make a cameo in Fantastic Four Annual # 3 which would cement her existence in the Marvel Universe.

She would later appear as Patsy Walker (Having recently divorced her teenage sweetheart, Former Air-Force Colonel Robert "Buzz" Baxter who was the Brand Corporation's security consultant and who was currently investigating the Beast - which is how Patsy met the Avengers) in Avengers # 141.

She would find and don Greer "Tigra" Grant Nelson's former costume back when she was "The Cat" and don it in Avengers # 144, becoming Marvel's Hellcat.



We're writing all of this because there's nothing much at the back of her blister card except:: " Fierce combat skills are unleashed when these heroes spring into action." Boring.

In a tribute to Timely comics, Patsy Walker became the subject of a comic book series that was run by her parents when she was younger, which was used to explain her love for heroes and why she idolized the Avengers - but ended up as a core member of the Defenders. She initially believed that "The Cat" suit was enhancing her physically, but it wasn't. That was a psychosomatic belief. She would receive psychic and fighting training from Moondragon and enhance her fighting abilities under the tutelage of Captain America himself.

She would later marry Daimon "Son of Satan" Hellstorm, and her genetically altered ex-husband would crash the wedding as the mutate "Mad-Dog"

Sadly Hellstorm's demonic nature would drive her insane and she would end up killing herself (Technically she let a demon kill her, but that's still suicide). Hellcat ended up in Hell (What were you expecting?), and ended up in the gladiator pits of Mephisto (The Arena of Tainted Souls) where she learned to fight with other weapons - which is probably why she comes with a pair of arnis that can combine to form a short staff.

Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts would fight through hell to recover her soul thinking that she was Mockingbird, Hawkeye's dead wife (Who wasn't dead, that was a Skrull, in Hell, still maintaining the guise of Mockingbird - the red hair while Hawkeye was unwrapping her, we believe should have been a dead give-away).


So Marvel's Hellcat came back to life as an even better fighter backed by mystical powers. She initially conjured - yes conjured - a reversed version of her costume, but has since gone back to her more traditional look.

By the way, if you're wondering why Hellcat is linked to Thanos? She kicked his ass a long time ago back when the Titan lord still  flew around in a "Thanos Chopper" and could be arrested by normal police officers:

For the full comic, check it out Spidey-Super-Stories #39 in Comic Book Resources

WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES HELLCAT?

FIRST: It's a simple, straightforward action figure. Almost boring actually.

Which is not necessarily a good thing.

The Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hellcat comes with very hight articulation, wonderfully clawed hands, and is an original sculpt - as far as we can tell.

We forsee a lot of customizers seeking out this body for customization purposes. Give it a while and we guarantee we'll see a Tigra, Cheetah, Feral or evey Catwoman made from this mold.

Let's take a look at that aforementioned SECOND wonderful articulation:

Yes, the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Hellcat can kneel quite well. She looks even better when you throw in stand support:

THIRD:  While Hellcat should be accessorized with claws and grappling hooks, the arnis and battle-staff look wonderful in her hands:

Maybe she's a prototype for Mockinbird? Here she is with her arnis combined to form a short staff:

FOURTH:  We like the detailing that went into her head sculpt and are happy that she is actually smiling instead of holding a dead-pan face. Ours has a quality control issue though on her left eye - a scratch that should be easy enough to fix.

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES HELLCAT?

FIRST: It's a simple, straightforward action figure. Almost boring actually.

Which is not really good.

Again.

We're not sure what to do with this figure. We like it, but.... it's not exactly a conversational piece or something you would have displayed out in the open.

It just is what it is. Nothing special - at least to us.

This particular Marvel Legends Infinite Series HellCat was purchased at retail from ToyKingdom Megamall here in the Philippines for PhP 1,499.75 (Roughly US$ 33.32). She is available of Amazon for US$ 21.16 (Roughly PhP 952.20 plus shipping)


Such a low price for what should be a chase figure. Get her if you need to complete Thanos and can't find Spider-Woman.