Hey Phantomaniacs – I didn’t get to go to San Diego Comic Con and neither did you or you wouldn’t be reading something with “Non-Attendee” in the title! But SDCC is undeniably the most recognizable gathering of nerds and source of nerd news in the world, so I always feel obligated to provide some commentary on the things that happened over the weekend.
For me, the most exciting
thing about the weekend is always the toy reveals. The companies with
collector-oriented licenses – Mattel, NECA, Hasbro, and several
others - always save some big stuff up for this one; bigger stuff
even than their Toy Fair reveals. Mattel in particular are under
pressure to produce some awesome stuff because this is the time of
year where they offer their MattyCollector.com subscriptions for the
following year.
This year I actually know
a few folks that are out there on the Left Coast, reveling in all of
the dorkery. And I am jealous. Sort of. As much as I’d like to
attend SDCC, my Con is Dragon Con and if I had to put my efforts into
both I’d be in trouble. I have a
lot
going on this year at Dragon Con thanks to the unbelievably awesome
ESO Network and the equally awesome folks of the American Sci-Fi
Track. I’m not going to give anything away just yet, but this year
shit got
real.
I couldn't find a good source of pictures that I could show here, so check out ToyArk.com for a ton of galleries from SDCC.
MattyCollector:
Happiness In Slavery?
– It’s funny – I read over last year’s SDCC wrap-up
and saw that I firmly stated that I would not be renewing my
subscriptions from Matty for 2013. And yet here I am, with not only
the DC and Masters of the Universe subs, but also the new Filmation
sub. Truly, I am the chumpiest of chumps.
This
year I am only going to say that I am not subscribing to the DC sub
for next year. I might as well go ahead and sign up for Club Eternia
right now, because Matty has for-real blown my mind with their 2014
MOTUC lineup, not to mention the remainder of 2013. Check it out:
2013
August
– Castaspella, Shokoti (Filmation)
September
– Batros (Filmation)
October
– Sky High w/ Sky Sled, Lord Dactus, Horde Troopers, Nephthu
(Filmation)
November
– Geldor, Castle Grayskull, Sea Hawk (Filmation)
December
– Plundor, Strong-Or (Filmation)
2014
January
– Two-Bad
February
– Glimmer
March
– Hydron, The Unnamed One w/ map of Horde Empire (Club Exclusive)
1st
Quarter – Modulok
Traveling
Con Figure – Goat Man
October
and November are going to be expensive as a mofo. But I have to say
that I am totally stoked about the remainder of 2013’s releases,
particularly most of the new reveals. We knew Geldor and Sea Hawk
were coming and I have to say I’m pleased with how they turned out.
Nephthu and Strong-Or (who is Strong Arm from the old cartoon) look
very cool.
The
stars of the show were Lord Dactus, the Sky Sled, and the Horde
Troopers. I was totally surprised and blown away by each of those. I
never thought we’d be getting a Sky Sled, let alone with the pilot
(who looks very cool). Lord Dactus looks absolutely amazing. And the
Horde Troopers. I’m actually a little shocked that they didn’t
save these for next year. But they didn’t and they look fantastic.
Then
there’s Plundor. Plundor is a character from the Filmation cartoon,
and apparently Paul Dini created him. He is a giant pink bunny
(Plundor, no Paul Dini). I think the folks at Matty must be out of
their minds to have made this character. Not only that, it looks like
he’s part of the regular sub, not the Filmation sub. Now, I don’t
mind him because I like the absurd and a gigantic, evil, pink bunny
is great. I don’t know that I’ll even put him on my MOTUC shelves
because, quite frankly, he looks too stupid o go there, but I’ll be
happy to own the guy.
As
far as 2014 goes, I have to say that they got me again. Starting off
the year with an amazing-looking Two-Bad was a good plan. Although
I’d bet money that Two-Bad will get pushed back and we’ll end up
with Glimmer in January. Which is okay. Out of all of the Princess of
Power figures, Glimmer is one that I do think is a necessity and one
I want in my collection. Hydron looks awesome and is an underwater
guy, so I totally want him.
The
Unnamed One sounds fine as the Club Exclusive. He’s apparently the
god that the Snake Men worship and Matty is not going to officially
reveal the figure. The first glimpse you get (if you can control
yourself and not look at the inevitable leaks) will be when you open
the mailer. I’m good with that. Next year’s map is of the Horde
Empire.
As
for Matty’s DC offerings, I think they didn’t do anything but
piss people off. Here’s what’s from Club Infinite Earths:
2013
August
– Fire
September
– Huntress
October
– Ocean Master
November
– Ra’s al Ghul
December
– Batzarro
2014
January
– 90s Aquaman
February
– Ice
March
– Conner Kent
Sub
Exclusive Figure – some kind of Doomsday
I
have to say that I’m happy with most of the remaining 2013
releases. Ocean Master was a nice surprise, and while I’d rather
have a shirtless Ra’s, at least we’re getting him. I find
Batzarro to be a poor choice and feel like Matty threw him in there
so that they could pull the utterly lousy move I’m getting ready to
talk about.
For
2014, 90s Aquaman actually looks great. He’s not really one I need
to own, though. If I saw him in the store for fifteen bucks I’d
totally buy him.
Here’s
the dick move that Matty pulled – Ice is next year. That’s right
– Fire’s hetero lifemate, to the point where they really
should have come in a 2-pack together and as far as I know haven’t
really ever operated without one another, not only is in a separate
sub, but may
never get made at all.
Matty is doing their tired, old “If we don’t sell enough subs we
can’t do this” song and dance again.
Which
brings me to their Doomsday figures, which thankfully I do not have
to care about because I can’t stand Doomsday and don’t want a
figure of him at all. Matty has decided that if the subscriptions
reach an undefined “Tier 1” they will make Doomsday in his
prisoner outfit. I don’t think anybody wants this.
If they hit an
undefined “Tier 2” they will make regular Doomsday that everybody
recognizes. This is another dick move and I’m glad I don’t care
about Doomsday so I don’t have to play ball. I just hope I can get
Monkey to order an Ice for me with his Early Bird abilities.
Oh,
and they’re making Conner Kent, too. He doesn’t look all that
good.
Here’s
the big surprise from Matty – they’re making a 6” scale Ecto-1.
I was super-stoked when I heard about that, but as tends to happen
with anything Matty does, the feeling gradually changed to
disappointment. The first letdown was that the existing figures will
not fit into the Ecto-1 because Matty are dum-dums and made them so
that their proton packs do not come off. So if you want figures that
actually go in the car you are going to have to buy two new retooled
versions of Ray and Egon with removable proton packs. To Matty’s
credit these are at least slightly different versions of Ray and
Egon. The second letdown was the price of the vehicle. It will be
somewhere in the neighborhood of $215. Obviously that is insane. I
will not be owning an Eco-1.
I
will say that I’m not totally bitter about the price. This thing
requires a ton of brand new tooling and is a very large item. It is
not being made for the mass market, so it’s not like quantity or
retailer orders are going to make Mattel their profit. But I simply
can’t pay that for the thing.
Hot
Toys: Still makes figures for people who only buy their figures (and
nothing else – not even food)
– I didn’t even look at their stuff this year. I can’t afford
it. But I can tell you that Hot Toys premiered a number of
highly-detailed, realistic, and very expensive licensed sixth-scale
action figures. I assume.
Playmates
Toys: Has gone absolutely crazy-go-nuts Ninja Turtles bonkers
– Not only do they have a slew of new Turtle-related products
coming this fall related to the current cartoon series, the company
that spawned the Turtle craze in the first place is going back to
where it all began (again). They are re-re-(re?)-releasing the
original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures. I saw the four
Turtles, Shredder, and the Party Wagon in the pics from one of the
online presentations.
Marvel
Movies: Avengers
2: Age of Ultron
– This
certainly isn’t what anybody was expecting. How do they even do
this? If I didn’t have the faith I do in Joss Whedon I would be
terribly upset at the fact that this movie is named after a recent
crossover. And that they haven’t even established Ultron’s
creator, Ant-Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. I can’t
even wrap my head around how this is going to work. There doesn’t
seem to be any logical way that Thor
2, Cap
2, or
Guardians
of the Galaxy
could lead into an Ultron story. I am both excited and confused. On
top of that, there’s the whole question of whether or not the
existing cast will return.
In
other news, Ant-Man
is slated to release in November of 2015, 6 months after Avengers
2. Wha…
what? I’m so confused.
DC
Movies: Taking the road well-traveled, except with characters people
already care about
– This section took on a mind of its own and turned into a whole
post. Check back tomorrow.
Doctor
Who: The Moffatt lies
– Steven Moffatt said that he has been lying for months and we
don't even
know what's going on with the 50th,
certainly not cameo and guest star-wise. This pleases me. Unless he
was lying.
Mattel
Retail: More DC toys are coming! Again!
– Mattel had a couple of huge surprises ready on the retail front.
First,
they are launching a new line of 6” scale DC Universe figures that
are sculpted by the Four Horsemen but have nothing to do with comics,
TV shows, or the existing DC Universe Classics-style lines. This is a
totally bizarre move and I feel sure this line will not last more
than a year. The figures feature 14 points of articulation and are
very cartoony looking. I actually like them a lot. I won’t be
collecting them, but depending on the price Lil’ Troublemaker
might.
Second,
they are launching a new line of 4” scale DC Universe figures that
are based on comics, TV shows, and movies. This is a totally bizarre
move and I think this line might actually work if Mattel can pack in
some accessories and resist the temptation to make them fifteen bucks
apiece. The figures shown at SDCC looked okay, but in my opinion
didn’t really compare with Hasbro’s offerings in the same scale.
The appeal to me was that they are mixing all of the various forms of
media. Apparently a Michael Keaton Batman is coming in Wave 2 (if
that actually happens). I will buy that. Let’s hope this line takes
off so we can get a Batmobile. Meanwhile, I am going to hope that the
Keaton likeness means they will do a Movie Masters version as well.
Hasbro
Marvel: Showed a bunch of new Legends that you will never, ever see
at retail
– Iron Man Legends continues with Trevor Slattery (though I am
guessing they will call him Mandarin) and a great-looking Rescue. You
might actually find these.
The
main line continues with a sleeveless Thor with a removable helmet,
Moonstone, Songbird, Flash Thompson Venom (which looks great),
Batroc(!), and a build-a-figure Jubilee. There were probably some
others that were new but I couldn’t tell for sure because they all
share the same buck now.
But
that’s gonna be it for the erratic and poorly distributed regular
Marvel Legends line. After that the 6” scale figures will be
released only in relation to movies, the way the Iron Man Legends and
Amazing Spider-Man figures were (and the Wolverine figures that I
have yet to see). Hasbro debuted Baron Zemo from the forthcoming
Captain America line and Ultimate Beetle from Spider-Man. I hate to
say it, but this is a sound movie. Retailers will always order stuff
related to a movie, despite the fact that the tie-ins seem to be what
clog pegs up for months (and sometimes years) on end.
If
I sound like I’m over Hasbro’s ML line, it’s because I am.
Since maybe the third series that Hasbro released it has been one of
the most frustrating lines to collect. I don’t know why Hasbro’s
distribution is so bad on these, but finding the figures I want has
been difficult. And that’s not even counting Moonstar and Blade,
two that I spent a lot of time looking for only to find out that
Hasbro never
even made them.
Gentle
Giant: Is releasing that creepy Kenner Alien from 1979
– Except they are making it 24” tall because apparently Gentle
Giant is based in Texas, where everything has to be bigger. This odd
habit of making larger versions of old things started a couple of
years ago when these lunatics released a 12” version of one of the
old Kenner Star Wars figures. Who the heck wants that? Especially for
$80? A ton of people, apparently, since Gentle Giant seem to be
hell-bent on releasing all
of the old Kenner figures at that scale. It’s ridiculous.
Thankfully these size-obsessed madmen are showing some restraint with
the Alien figure. Rather than sticking with their normal ratio and
putting out a 38.4” monstrosity that would cost $256, they are only
doubling the size of the original figure. It will be 24” tall. I
probably would have paid the $80 or so for a reproduction of the
original figure, but I don’t think I’m going to pay over a
hundred for this extra-large version. As much as I’d like to own
it.
Sideshow
Collectibles: Is almost as pricey as Hot Toys
– But
I had to preorder their Baroness anyway. Because she looks amazing.
And
of course they showed Destro as well, who I will also order. I had to
fight myself to not go ahead and buy the Major Bludd that is already
available. I did schedule payments for Baroness though, so at least
she won’t be a massive burden all at once. And the first payment
isn’t even until November.
Which
is when Castle Grayskull ships. Shit.
NECA:
Didn’t show much new, and didn’t need to
– Thanks to NECA’s awesome Twitter feed, we already know most of
the tricks the frontrunner for the 2013 Best Toy Company of the Year
Phantie has in store.
By
the end of the year NECA will be releasing ED-209 from RoboCop,
the spider Gremlin from Gremlins
2: The New Batch,
a 2-pack of a retooled Corporal Hicks and a Xenomorph from Aliens,
more Aliens, more Predators, another John Rambo, more Pacific
Rim,
and more Gremlins.
The
things I didn’t
know about were pretty awesome though:
Thermal
Scan Dutch from Predator
– I love the look of this figure. I doubt I’ll get it because I
buy so much crap and I already own two Dutch figures anyway. But it
sure does look cool.
Cyborg Predator
– I’m not sure if this is another one from the Lost Tribe or Dead
End or
if it might be one of the Kenner ones and I didn’t realize it. But
it looks awesome and comes with what is basically a Glaive. But with
more blades.
Leatherback – I knew the second series of Pacific
Rim
figures included Striker Eureka and a battle damaged Gipsy, but I
didn’t know which Kaiju was in the assortment. I’m happy to be
getting Leatherback, but I really
need
Otachi.
I
just haven't had as much opportunity as I would like to peruse the
SDCC news. But these are the big things I saw. Come back tomorrow for
a thing about Batman/Superman.
In the meantime, please go and check out ToyArk.com for an unbelievable number of pics from SDCC.
-Phantom
Cyborg Predator is Neca's interpretation of what Lost Predator's mask and laser look like. It is totally BADass.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I have been "meh" on MOTUC for the last couple of years, I am surprisingly tempted to sub for 2014. I kind of hate myself for considering given that Mattel has pulled plenty of dick moves that pisses me off.
Also, I want a large Doomsday, I don't want to sub to get one. I definitely don't want to sub and end up with the "bound" version. Also, I have the DCSH version. Sure, he's small, but I think he looks great.
Ah, NECA's interpretation is fucking awesome. I'm stoked about the MOTUC sub, but I can't decide which shipping I want. And the DC is a total pass. Check out the next podcast. We discuss it further there. Should be up Monday.
Delete