Lyde1848 Customs

Like the poisonous plant she’s named for, Nightshade is beautiful and easy to underestimate, but extremely deadly. Although a relatively minor villain, Nightshade’s scientific and criminal genius have made her a thorn in the side of many Marvel heroes – including Captain America, whom she once turned into a werewolf!       Nightshade premiered in 1973, during the “Blaxploitation” phase that sparked a surge of black heroes, villains, and storylines. This trend was a great leap forward in terms of representation and diversity (giving us Falcon and Luke Cage, for example), but it also often relied on negative stereotypes of black culture as lower-class, urban, and criminal (both Falcon and Cage emerge from this kind of environment).  The story of Nightshade parallels these trends as well. Created by writer Steve Engelhart and artist Alan Weiss, she was Marvel’s first major black female villain, and from her very first appearance in Captain America #174...

One of Marvel’s more bizarre villains, Mandrill has tormented a wide variety of heroes and heroines. Born with ape-like features, Jerome Beecham was cast out by his parents to die. But instead he survived -- and also learned he emits natural pheromones that enslave women to his will.  Mandrill was first introduced in 1973 as a villain for the jungle-based Shanna the She-Devil. While credit must be spread between plotter Caroline Seuling, writer Steve Gerber, and artist Ross Andru, personally I believe Gerber’s affection for truly weird characters had a lot to do with his creation. In his first few appearances Mandrill was presented a serious geo-political terrorist with vast political ambitions. He first staged a coup in several (fictitious) African countries, with the goal of creating a safe haven for outcasts like himself. Then, alongside his fellow mutant and childhood friend Nekra, he brought his war to America, and even actually succeeded in taking over the White House! Tho...

Shooting Star is the quintessential blonde-haired, blue-eyed, rough-and-tumble, bronco-bustin’ Texas rodeo gal. Combining the flawless aim of Hawkeye with the dauntless courage of Captain America, she is the heart and soul of the Western superhero team called the Rangers. In her first appearance in Incredible Hulk #265, Shooting Star was presented as a brash but highly competent sharpshooter, whose pistols had been tricked out by her father to fire special paralyzing bullets. She and her partner Texas Twister leave the rodeo circuit to answer a distress call from Rick Jones. Together with other western-themed heroes, they faced down a mind-controlled Hulk and establish the Rangers.  Besides her modified pistols, Shooting Star’s creators clearly intended her to have the power of flight. Artist Sal Buscema shows her flying in multiple panels, and writer Bill Mantlo expressly mentions her “stellar powers.” (It’s also right there in her name, which was originally a pun—she is...

Blastaar is a powerful interdimensional warlord created by Marvel founding fathers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. From his base in the Negative Zone, Blastaar has been a persistent threat to Earth’s heroes for over 50 years. He has definitely earned a spot in the Classic Marvel Figurine Collection. Most of Blastaar’s early appearances follow the main lines established in his first appearance in Fantastic Four #62 from May 1967: a portal to the Negative Zone somehow opens (usually due to Reed Richard tinkering around in his lab), Blastaar comes through and begins rampaging on Earth, and a group of heroes must assemble to beat him back. Usually this falls on the Fantastic Four's shoulders, but many other heroes have battled him as well, including the X-Men, Avengers, Inhumans, and even the New Warriors.                       Blastaar's main characteristics are strength, durability, energy blasts, and announcing his name to everyo...