MIA 80s Ladies: Dungeons & Dragons' Diana & Sheila

[@Allison_Troy]

I always found the disconnect between the toyline & the cartoon confusing and stressful as a kid -- so much that I would glare at the toys on the shelf in bitter seething anger as a kid.

[@gaytiestoys]

It was big Wheeled Warriors energy where we were all like what are we DOING here, Mimi?

[@TitularHeroine]

Strongheart and Warduke from the toy line made pretty significant appearances in the cartoon -- so why not the other way 'round?!

[@cheffou79]

I was obsessed with MOTU & got Castle Grayskull for Xmas ‘85- as much as I enjoyed he-man I needed Diana, lol. I only watched Dungeons & Dragons for Diana, silently begging the toy gods to magically drop her into my hands~ literally fingers crossed every time I entered a toy section hoping she would be on the shelf. Finally 40 years later I get my wish. Really thank goodness for her. She helped my friends understand me 🤞🏿✨

[@gaytiestoys]

Thank you for sharing that! I'm a middle aged white dude but then, and especially now, I see how important she was on screen. The Uhura of the 80s who hasn't gotten her flowers until recently.

[@shallendor]

The Satanic Panic was the best thing to make D&D popular! The Brazilian Renault ad was a perfect tribute to the cartoon, and had great actors and actresses play the kids! I consider that the finale!

[@gaytiestoys]

Honestly, it was the best PR. OH, it's making moms mad? Tell me more...

[@thomriley1036]

Also worth noting is that Hank the Ranger was played by Willie Aames, who later went on to become the Christian superhero 'Bibleman'. Katie Leigh played Sheila the Thief, and she went on voice characters in the Christian children's program 'Adventures in Odyssey', which also included an anti-D&D episode titled "Castles & Cauldrons". Lolth the Spider Queen from Drizzt Books and Module Q1 fame makes a short appearance in the D&D cartoon in the episode titled "Hall of Bones".

[@rhindlethered]

2:33 "...a number of kids between the ages of, say, nine to fourteen..." 5:06 "...she and Hank were boning..."

[@gaytiestoys]

Hey, teenage hormones and the constant threat of danger bring people together.

[@mgmcu]

I was a big fan of the cartoon back in the day and Sheila was my favourite character. I always found it odd in the 80s when a cartoon didn't have a toyline. I picked up the Super7 Sheila and I'm very happy with her (they seem to have improved their quality of late), so hopefully we aren't left waiting too long for Diana.

[@gaytiestoys]

OH yeah, Super7's been improving lately. I can't in good conscious suggest the Hasbro D&D ones, especially with Super7 seemingly all in

[@TitularHeroine]

I have the invisible variant and am really happy with her. I was going to get that one no matter what, but now I'm comfortable with their quality control as I look for the other characters.

[@andreaso8886]

I was always hoping Diana and Hank would hook up and that Sheila would straighten Eric's head. Ahh, swell. Still, I can hope for a reboot.

[@gaytiestoys]

Hah I kinda shipped them too cuz Diana would NOT put up with Eric's nonsense.

[@TitularHeroine]

That does make the most sense, now that I read that. Even as a kid it seemed that Hank & Sheila were the Freddie and Daphne of the swords and spells milieu....

[@TitularHeroine]

I was the exact mark for this particular nostalgia scam, because when I saw the kids cameo in the movie I was all-in. It's my collecting mission to get every 6" and 7" D&D figure no matter who makes them. Yeah... the QC in the Hasbro ones kinda sucks, but the hot water or blow dryer trick did work well enough. Funko's 6" Magic: The Gathering series had some **amazing** women characters, who were fully half of the line. The sculpting, engineering, character design, and paint apps are top-notch. (I count these as part of my D&D collection because one of the worlds was fully detailed as a D&D setting later. Kinda the same with Critical Role: Vox Machina. But as usual I digress.)

[@gaytiestoys]

I mean, the timing wasn't by accident. They knew they had a year to get out AS MUCH product as they could during the movie hooplah. Now Super7 gets the scraps

[@Urizen61]

Well, if you were going to mention Karina, you might as well have mentioned Terri, the girl who dreamed tomorrow, who was, I thought, a lot like Sheila.

[@gaytiestoys]

Certainly thought about it. When I do these I try to wear both fanboy and business hats so Karina seemed more intrinsic to the overall story versus Terri

[@lindabutler9523]

Those Hasbro figures would have been a must have for me, if they hadn’t been in packaging where you couldn’t see the toy you’re buying! Also. +1 to the unreleased redheads counter…

[@gaytiestoys]

GINGER ERASURE

[@TitularHeroine]

I didn't mind the blind packaging too-too much; I tried to look at it the same way as ordering from an online retailer. I couldn't examine those figures either but wanted to get them somehow. But yeah, I get it. It was a weird experience in-store.

[@TitularHeroine]

​@@gaytiestoys geez, I better not dye auburn like I was planning then... 😆

[@ashleyvanhammer3448]

We were just talking aboit this! "When is he going to look into the DnD cartoon?" Half our household grew up wuth this series and we all wondered if we'd ever see most of the cast, particularly these gals, in toy form. They all had great looks, very toyetic, iconic designs for their classes. If I had a set Hank and Eric would definitely hook up. 😁 but whaddaya gonna do? Love the glassrs by the way. 💜👍 Very nice.

[@gaytiestoys]

Hah thanks! Getting old, need to see. And I wasn't a huge fan of the show but did love the more classic D&D line we did get. That Fortress of Fangs was amazing.

[@princebloodgrave8097]

The D&D movie came out last year, not this year. :)

[@gaytiestoys]

Hah it all blends together