Magdalena

Can you believe this is a nun? The Magdalena, guardian of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, is a descendant of one of the earliest followers of Christ, blessed with the ability to reveal the sins of one's past. Utilizing her special gift, she gives others the chance to repent and obtain redemption for their wrongdoing. Wielding the legendary Spear of Destiny, the Magdalena is always there to serve the church when dire need arises. When Image Comics was founded in the early '90s, its Top Cow division produced mainly non-spectacular superhero comics; sales were decent, but it wasn't until they came out with Witchblade that they finally found their niche. The saga of a woman who found a mystical artifact that gave the bearer great power, Witchblade proved to be a phenomenal success and led Top Cow to shift more towards a supernatural line of comics; Witchblade spun off into The Darkness (the tale of a mob hitman who could summon and control tiny demons when the lights went out) and, in a pop culture line of succession not seen since the Love American Style/Happy Days/takeyourpick set, the Darkness spun off Magdalena (the story of a, well... see above). Now that's a distinguished lineage! Magdalena is one of three figures - along with Jackie Estacado and a pair of his Darklings - in the new Darkness line from Moore Action Collectibles. MAC is renowned for their stunning female sculpts, and Magdalena certainly carries on that tradition; sculpted by Dene Mason, she stands in classic contrapposto style, ready to draw her weapons and fight in defense of her Church. The detailing on her costume is superb: every seam, buckle, strap and insignia is clearly sculpted. Her face has a slightly animated appearance, which looks very much like the way she's portrayed on the printed page. My only complaints are that she didn't come with a cape - in the comics, she's generally wearing a hooded cloak, which is an accessory not unknown in the world of Moore - and she does not have the Spear of Destiny. Selling for just under $13, Magdalena stands 6" tall and has 13 points of articulation, which are actually of fairly sturdy construction and should be able to hold up to a fair amount of play. She comes with a handgun, dagger, and 1¼" tall cobblestone base. There are also two variants of the figure - Turquoise Magdalena and Metallic Silver Magdalena - which were sold at the summer comic conventions of 2001. -- 08/25/02

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