I recently became a co-host of the Geek Fallout Podcast and one of the fun things about each episode involves a top five countdown at the end. The first episode I joined in on featured a countdown of the greatest 80’s cartoon villains, which reminded me of a topic I have wanted to write about for some time now and that is: my favorite female villain toys! This isn’t solely connected to their cartoon counterparts but more so based off of retro toy goodness! Read on to see if your favorite made it.

5. Sour Grapes

She’s an old obnoxious woman with blue hair and a purple snake for a pet. She also smells of grapes. Everything I just typed describes the characteristics of this villainous doll from the original Strawberry Shortcake line and after taking in the entire grape smell one can only wonder what in the world Kenner was thinking when they made her. What kid dreams of owning a crazy old lady two shades away from becoming the next Ms. Havisham?

I was that kid. Growing up I was only sort of interested in collecting Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I loved that they were scented. I loved that they came with little rubbery pets. I just never knew which one to really collect. The truth of the matter was that Strawberry Shortcake was waning in popularity by the time I was ready to jump on the band wagon.

Sour Grapes ended up becoming my very first (though not my last) Strawberry Shortcake doll. I was head over feels in a barrel of grapes. My fascination for this doll was apparent from the moment I had her. She felt unusual for a doll. There was also a relatable quality about her. I felt as if this doll represented my future. A small part of me wanted to grow up and be the crazy kooky lady with blue hair and a pet snake dressed in a long maxi. Of course with the way things have been going lately, it seems like I’m just a pet snake away from becoming her.

4. Dr. Blight

While the world keeps shedding its tears in the hopes that a guy with a green mullet will save the planet, Dr. Blight will just continue her creepy relationship with her computer while also finding ways to pollute the world. Captain Planet was one of those toy lines in the early 90’s that was just too cool for its own good. It should have lasted longer than it did. Alas, all good things come to an end. Thankfully plastic takes a long time to biodegrade.

Dr. Blight was my very first Captain Planet figure. Her entire look screams evil doer that belongs in the Chemical Plant Zone of Sonic 2. I personally fell for her action feature. With her hair pulled over, we see a flash and sizzle of charred flesh! I remember being disgusted and giddy at this whole getup. She looks like a young Helen Mirren. Goodness I really miss this toy line. Dr. Blight was an interesting choice for a bad guy. She is yet another reason why I am glad I grew up in the time that I did.

3. Hexadecimal

When I think of this toy villain I can only think of one phrase, “She is batshit crazy.” I don’t know what it is about villains, but I do find myself drawn to them; at least the cool ones. I must admit, as great a show as Reboot was, I was always tuning in with the hopes that I’d see Hexadecimal chew up every scene she was in.

Once her action figure was released I felt like a little slice of heaven had fallen onto my plate. Oh the joyous possibilities! She came with a set of masks with different facial features like her appearance in the cartoon. The whole item made for a great action figure experience. She was unpredictable and always causing mayhem for my other toys. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

2. Vanessa Warfield

One of my favorite toy female villains ever was Vanessa Warfield. (The image above is not from my own Vanessa, but from eBay. I have not been able to find my Vanessa yet from the movie.) I also have a confession to make about her. I recall M.A.S.K. but I was clearly not their target demographic. My cousin Joe was though and when I’d go to visit I’d see his M.A.S.K. collection and ask, “How come they don’t have any girl characters?” You must understand, I thought everything was cool, but if I didn’t see a representation of any cool female characters I simply lost interest. My cousin quickly informed me though that there were indeed some female characters from M.A.S.K. and one was Vanessa with her Nissan Manta.

My parents were a little confused that I wanted one for Christmas, but may the world bless ‘em because they managed to find a Vanessa for me. It was weird to own her at first, because I was used to items being larger than the M.A.S.K. toys, but once that Nissan transformed into a Venom Assault Plane I felt as if I had freedom to take my figures to new heights. Vanessa wasn’t a confined villain. She had the freedom to go wherever she chose by road or air.

1. Entrapta

Ok, I know what you might be asking, “But Miss M, where’s Catra? Or Evil-Lyn? What kind of She-Ra and He-Man fan are you?” I’m the kind of fan that can be fickle. Of course toy Catra is impressive. However, Entrapta was in a whole unique league of her own. From the crazy hair to the vac gold metal paint application, this has got to be the coolest toy female villain ever. I was fortunate enough to have stumbled upon this vintage figure on eBay and her hair is in amazing shape after all these years.

I also like owning Entrapta as she was one of the rarer She-Ra toys to find in stores; back then. (She isn’t along the lines of Spinnerella, but she certainly has a fan club.) I just really enjoy the look of this figure. It’s also pretty enjoyable to have one after all these years. For the full scoop on why I never picked her up back then, head over here.

That’s about it for my top five female villain toys. Was I missing anyone? Does this list encompass every bit of evilness you hoped it would? Let me know. Also, if you listen to podcasts head over to the Geek Fallout podcast. It’s a really fun podcast and it’ll only be a matter of time before I share my Catra impersonation. Take care everyone!