Note:
Pictures will be somewhat limited in this post. Most of the reference
pictures from the weekend came from individuals taking pictures at
Toy Fair and I don’t want to steal their work. Where I do have
pictures they will be from official press releases that the
manufacturers put out. Since they haven’t all done this, there are
several items that I don’t have pictures of at all.
I
highly recommend you follow ActionFigureAttack on Facebook
and Instagram
for some excellent press photos. Toy
Ark
did most of the heavy lifting for me this year, with tons of
fantastic galleries. They got great pictures without posting the same
figures six times from slightly different angles and then overlooking
another figure entirely. Most of the links in this article will take
you there. For the full list of links to Toy Ark product pages, click
here!
It
is time again to gaze in wonder upon the magic and marvels that the
toy world will be unleashing upon us over the next year or so. That’s
right, Phantomaniacs, the New York International Toy Fair happened
this past weekend, and I am ready to deliver the highlights of the
show!
DC
Collectibles
Last
year I kicked things off with my excitement over DC
Collectibles’ Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile.
This year I’m starting with their Batwing, though I’m not nearly
as excited.
The
reduced excitement has nothing to do with the Batwing itself. This
thing is ridiculously awesome:
No,
my reservations stem from DC Collectibles’ recent dirty dealings,
by which I mean the fact that they’re offering improved versions of
things that I have already bought bundled with things that I do not
have – a newer, better Batmobile with newer, better Batman and
Robin figures and a Batsignal. It’s lame and it’s dirty and I do
not like it at all.
UPDATE
– According to TNI,
DC has stated that they will be offering the cloth-caped Batman and
Robin figures as a set with the Batsignal for $70. It’s not really
a fix, as my issue is that these and the Batmobile are superior
products to what I already bought. But at least it’s something and
might alert them to the hazards of such shady practices in the
future.
Beyond
that, some of their Toy Fair offerings are further double-dipping.
Let’s take a look.
Animated
Toy Line
When
I say “double dipping” I’m not talking about offering multiple
versions of the same character like Christmas Joker or Sexy Lingerie
Harley Quinn (yes, that’s a thing that’s happening) or the
different looks from The
Animated Series
and The
New Batman Adventures.
I’m talking about taking literally the same figure that I already
have and packing it in with a figure that I don’t have, which is
what they’re doing with Supergirl and Livewire by including them
with not just one, but three
figures that I already own – Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn.
I think this is straight-up lousy. This is the same kind of nonsense
that killed Mattel’s Justice League line, but at three times the
price.
Otherwise,
DCC had some fantastic Animated stuff to show including a Dark Knight
Returns 3-pack, a Batman Beyond 3-pack, the Ventriloquist and Mr.
Scarface, Detective Bullock, Talia al Ghul, and a New
Adventures
Joker.
It’s
worth noting that Supergirl and Livewire are from Superman:
The Animated Series
and are the first true non-Batman show releases. Good news for those
that plan to continue this line. I’m not sure yet if I am among
that number.
It’s
also worth noting that the MSRPs on this line are ever-escalating,
though the Batwing is being advertised at $150, which seems more than
fair for a huge item with electronic features.
Icons
Let’s
move on to a line that I managed to fall in love with last year
without getting married to – DC Icons. Their Batman
and Deadman
were excellent figures that far exceeded my expectations for both
detail and durability. The Icons line truly feels like DCC turned a
corner. Of course, that evolution is coming at a price, as every
couple of waves seems to be seeing an increase.
DCC
had some truly remarkable toys on display for this line. What most
impresses me is how they’re picking and choosing the best looks for
characters and having Iven Reis streamline them to Icons standards so
they all match. So you have looks that come from wildly varying
artistic styles across storylines that can stand next to one another,
like Deathstroke as he appeared in “The Judas Contract”:
And
Cyborg from “Forever Evil”:
Also
shown were Swamp Thing from “Dark Genesis”, who doesn’t look
great:
I
feel like he just didn’t translate very well. Bernie Wrightson’s
art isn’t exactly something that you can streamline. I’m curious
to hear what other people think of this one. They did a great job
with the Un-Man, though.
Grail
with a huge Darkseid that isn’t the one I’d like to have:
“Amazo
Virus” Wonder Woman, who looks very cool and is coincidentally very
similar to Gal Godot’s look in Batman
v Superman:
And
my personal favorite and an absolute must-have, Batgirl with her
motorcycle:
I
will pay a premium for that. No, really – it’s sixty bucks.
DCC
also showed some fantastic accessory packs. Fans
Customers were asking Mattel for such things years ago, so it’s
very cool that DCC seems to have listened. I can’t get over how
neat these are:
DC
Icons is a fantastic toy line. I can’t go all-in because of the
price, but I’m certainly going to pick up favorite characters here
and there. And probably the accessory packs. Let’s see if DC
Collectibles can go really bonkers and release a Hall of Justice
playset.
Designer
Series
A
whole line of Harley Quinns designed by Amanda Conner. Must-have!
Films
Series
The
headline from the DCComics.com DC Collectibles blog reads:
DC
COLLECTIBLES ROCKS NEW YORK TOY FAIR WITH FIRST-EVER ACTION FIGURE
LINE BASED ON DC FILMS
Which
is, of course, entirely wrong. Even if you discount Mattel’s
Nolanverse figures, they produced toys for Man of Steel and right now
as we
speak
have not one, but two
toy lines based on Batman
v Superman.
If
I were Mattel, I’d be slightly annoyed by this.
Now
that I think of it, Mezco also just announced their One:12 Collective
BvS
figures. Way to be obtuse, DC.
And
yes – I realize they probably meant their
first-ever line based on films, but that’s what they should have
said.
Anyway,
from what my pal, ActionFigureAttack
tells me this line is supposed to compete with foreign stuff like
MAFEX and all of those other fancy-pants Japanese lines. Now that I
have that perspective, I understand these a little more. They are
priced around $45. I thought that was outrageous at first, but it
makes sense. I also see that these aren’t my thing. The
articulation seems to have taken priority over the aesthetics, and
while I love my articulation, I’d prefer realistically-styled toys
look more… realistic.
Mezco
These
guys got the jump on everyone this year by providing an early look at
their Toy Fair reveals online. They made a huge impact not just
because of the head start, but because Mezco had some of the slickest
and most noteworthy toys thanks to their One:12 Collective line.
Mezco’s
One:12 Collective has turned out to be one of my favorite toy lines.
The figures are the best I have ever owned. And now they’re doing a
One:12
Batmobile.
It looks incredible. If the Lawmaster from the line is any indication
it should have lights and sounds.
As
far as actual figures, Mezco displayed what looked to be final or
close-to-final versions of Daredevil, Punisher, Captain America,
Flash, Superman, Shazam, Reverse Flash, Green Arrow, Captain Kirk,
Mister Spock, Lieutenant Sulu, and Frankenstein’s Monster. They all
looked unbelievable. If I could, in one swift transaction, sell all
of my Marvel Legends and DC Universe Classics in order to just bank
the money towards this line, I totally would.
It’s
interesting that the Marvel figures had variants on display and the
other figures did not. There were two different Punishers, two Caps,
and three Daredevils. I wouldn’t be surprised to see variants of
the others pop up eventually. Actually, now that I think about it I
recall seeing a black and white Frankenstein’s monster at SDCC.
I
think it’s possible we could see “Mirror, Mirror” Trek
variants. What I’m truly hoping for are movie uniform versions of
the crew, but I don’t know if the films are part of the license. If
they are, I should probably start saving now.
The
fantastic One:12 lineup wasn’t all Mezco had, of course. The 24”
Bugs Bunny figure
from last year’s show was back with a July 2016 release date.
There
were also a number of Gigantor/Tetsujin
28 figures
in different colors. These looked to be around 18” tall with some
pretty good articulation.
Funko
Funko
have spent the last few years taking over the toy industry. It
started with their Pop! line, but has quickly grown into a
license-rich assortment of figures, collectibles, and tchotchkes.
Every retailer from Walmart to Target to Toys R Us to your Local
Comic Book Shop is inundated with Funko’s various styles of unique
merchandise, with no end to the licenses or variety of toys in sight.
Legacy
Collection
Nothing.
Not a sausage. Apparently this style is dead. I can’t say I’m too
upset. Funko wasn’t producing them fast enough to maintain
collector interest. I also think that by the time they did get a
little more on top of things many of us were too turned off by the
early quality issues to want to continue.
Five
Nights at Freddy’s
I
mention this only because I know the kids love it. We’ve had to
lock down YouTube in our house because when I hear my eight-year-old
son talking about some horror game, I am not happy. Nothing but bad
has come of him being in school.
Anyway,
it’s a big deal that Funko scored this license; good for them.
ReAction
This
style might be on its way out. The only new items were an Aline Queen
and Ripley in the Power Loader. I don’t think it’s news to anyone
that the market is absolutely flooded with these things. Any store
you go into has tons of them just sitting on the pegs. What’s
interesting is that Funko had some 3.75” Game of Thrones figures on
display. They had more articulation and were slightly
more detailed than ReAction figures. I’m curious to see what
happens there. I’m not sure how many adult collectors are into a
style like that. The failure of Underground’s similarly-styled
Doctor Who figures would suggest not many. Of course, the Who toys
were way overpriced, so that could make a difference. Or not,
considering that ReAction figures are ten bucks apiece and this new
style must cost more to produce.
Playmobil(?!?)
Funko
is producing licensed figures
in conjunction with Playmobil.
I am utterly baffled by this. In all of my life I’ve known two
people who were into Playmobil. Regardless, Funko is producing Doctor
Who, Sherlock, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Back to the Future,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and probably more. Is this a thing
you guys are into? Are you excited? Let me know.
Rock
Candy
I
must not be the only one who wasn’t a fan of the style of Funko’s
Vinyl Vixens. Well, I know
that I’m not because my wife didn’t like them either. But
apparently they didn’t set the world on fire because Funko is
already launching a replacement line – Rock
Candy.
These are smaller and just seem more aesthetically coherent.
Barbie(also
?!?)
This
one is even more surprising than the Playmobil reveals and might well
be the biggest surprise of Toy Fair this year. I’m shocked that
Mattel would license out their biggest money maker rather than just
doing Funko-style products themselves. It looks like Funko is
producing two different lines of vinyl toys – one in the same style
of the above Rock Candy figures, and the other a line of Mystery
Mini-type figures.
I think this is a brilliant move and will make
tons of money.
NECA
Quarter
Scale
NECA’s
quarter scale figures have definitely become a thing. My only
experience with them is the Michael
Keaton Batman,
which I wasn’t entirely happy with, but apparently collectors are
going bonkers for the things. I’m guessing NECA must have upped
their quality control. Or maybe have just been luckier.
Either
way, they showed an item at Toy Fair that I can’t resist – a
quarter
scale Donatello
from the 1990 Ninja Turtles movie. I’ve been dying for good figures
of these since
1990. I didn’t necessarily want them to be a hundred bucks (or so)
and a foot-and-a-half tall, but I’ll take what I can get. He looks
fantastic and that facial expression is killing me.
They
also showed Slimer, Age
of Ultron
Hulk, and a Dawn
of Justice
Batman, as well as Harley Quinn from Arkham
City. I
think that’s the first female in this scale from NECA. I’m
surprised they didn’t go with Suicide
Squad
Harley.
Finally,
a quarter scale Alien Warrior from Aliens
is on the way in June. This thing stands 22” tall and looks
amazing. The construction of some of these large scale figures might
be suspect, but the sculpt and paint are usually spot-on.
Video
Games
NECA
has done big business repainting their Reel Toys figures to resemble
their classic video game counterparts. It’s genius, because they’re
just repaints but NECA actually charges even more for these than they
did the original figures. Now, for the first time, they’re
releasing original video game characters (that are only partially
repaints) in the form of a two-pack
of the characters from Contra.
This is a huge deal for pretty much anyone that grew up in the 80s.
Aliens
& Predators
NECA’s
longest-running line of licensed figures continues with Ultimate
versions of the Predators from the original movies. I have a crap-ton
of their Predators, but as long as they keep releasing updates of the
old
Kenner line,
I’ll keep buying them. Those things are wacky fun! You guys know
I’m all over that
glow-in-the-dark one.
As far as the Ultimate versions, if they’re as ultimate as the
Sarah Conner and Freddy Krueger figures, I suppose I’ll be buying
those again.
I’m
a little surprised that NECA didn’t sit on Alien
3
product until next year, the 25th
anniversary. But I’m glad to see it, as I dig that movie. I wish
there was a chance we’d get some of the prisoners, but I’m sure
that won’t happen. I’m happy enough we’re getting Ripley and
something as odd as the Weyland Yutani Commando. It’s funny – to
this day the only figure from either of these lines that I’ve never
seen at retail is the Alien from Alien
3. I
still don’t have one, but it looks like a variation of the Dog
Alien is being offered in series 8.
Ash
vs. the Evil Dead
These
hit in July. Old Ash is a given – everybody is going to want that
one. I think S-Mart Ash (except it’s not S-Mart – I know) might
be a tougher sell if not for one thing – they’ve shown a sculpt
of the evil, possessed baby doll. And everyone wants that thing. It
was one of the best new things on the show.
As
far as the Resident Evil knockoff monster, they can keep that. I
didn’t like it on the show and I don’t care for it here. I would
have much rather had a Deadite or even one of the supporting
characters.
Retro
Cloth
NECA’s
Mego-style figures have been fantastic, not just in design, but in
subject matter.
From the Misfits’ Crimson Ghost to a Part
VI
Jason Voorhees to Snake Plisskin, this line has seen some of the
coolest and most iconic versions of some of my favorite genre
characters. And now we get Captain Spaulding! This is great news not
just because Spaulding is so quotable and cool, but because it could
lead to other members of the Firefly family.
We
already saw the announcement for the Weird Al figure, but we’re
also getting Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan!
Between these and Captain Spaulding, NECA has provided some of my
favorite reveals at this year’s Toy Fair – check out the end of
the post to see if any of them win Phantom’s Best in Show!
Diamond
Select Toys
I’ll
go ahead and get this out of the way so as to save words in later
paragraphs – everything that DST is doing lately looks great
to me. Most of what they announce and release gets me excited, even
if it’s not something that I am necessarily going to buy. They have
fantastic artists like Jean St. Jean working on their lines and they
seem to have been observing other
companies’ products for the past few years and making some good
decisions as far as distribution and features go.
For
the most part I’m not interested in the
Gotham
line.
I dig the show for its seeming primary goal of being absolutely
bonkers, but for as wild as it is, the characters are mostly just
plain humans in plain clothes. I love some of the actors like Sean
Pertwee and Donal Logue, but I don’t need little plastic versions
of them. Here’s the thing, though – DST is packing them with big,
generic accessories like office desks and fireplaces and
not-so-generic accessories like the gates to Arkham Asylum. I want
all
of that stuff.
DST
had the Batcave-door-opening
bust from Batman
’66
on
display. Diamond being Diamond, they have repurposed it as one of
their vinyl bust banks. It’s only $65 and it’ll be out this Fall.
They
also had a huge
Cthulu figure
that looked decidedly more menacing and gruesome than a lot of
Lovecraft stuff we see. It almost looked like it could have been a
deluxe figure from the Creatureplica line, and may well have been
sculpted by Jean St. Jean.
It’s
exciting to see that we’re getting a Romulan
Bird of Prey
in the Starship Legends line. While I love pretty much every
Enterprise design, it’s nice to see a non-Federation ship added to
the line. As I’ve said before, if you’re a Star Trek fan you owe
it to yourself to buy at least one ship from this line. They’re
fantastic.
I
am fighting the urge to start DST’s
line of Muppets action figures.
Like the Gotham line, they’re coming with huge and meaningful
accessories. And of course the figures themselves look great. It’s
worth noting that they’re scaled to DST’s usual 7”, so if you
want to have Liv Moore or Alfred hang out with Kermit, you can.
That’s a selling point for me. At Toy Fair we saw Statler and
Waldorf with their balcony box, Animal with his drum kit, and Dr.
Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker with as-yet undisclosed
accessories.
The
Ghostbusters
Select figures with their completed diorama
are insane. I recently sold my Mattycollector figures and will be
buying these. I believe Walter
Peck,
Gozor,
and a battle
damaged Ray
(referred to as “End of Shift Ray”) were shown for the first
time. I’m not crazy about getting a character twice, but I also
think everything else (except that rough-looking Dana Barrett) looks
great and I HAVE TO HAVE that rooftop. I particularly love Slimer
with his mouth full of hot dogs head.
Update
– DST also announced but did not show a Slimed Peter Venkman
figure. I’m not super happy about that one, either.
Also
there were billions and billions of Minimates. Super fun, but not my
thing.
Super
7
These
guys had a lot of cool stuff to show, including the color versions of
the Masters of the Universe ReAction figures that I predicted back
when they released the Power of Greyscale series. These look perfect.
From the packaging to the figure design, if He-Man toys had been this
style, this is exactly what would have been on the pegs. I don’t
know for sure if I’m going to buy them, but I dig ‘em.
They
also had M.U.S.C.L.E.-style garbage cans of the M.O.T.U.S.C.L.E.
figures. These are rad and I will buy them. I like that they’re
going with multicolored figures for these.
Super
7 is also doing ReAction figures based on Mega Man, Street Fighter,
and Hellboy. They didn’t have products on display, just pictures of
prototypes on package samples.
Everything
Super 7 does is cool, but their distribution tends to be at cons or
from their online store. I’m a little concerned about the
availability of anything they produce. None of the Masters stuff is
coming from Funko, so they won’t have their distribution.
Update
– The Masters of the Universe Retro Figures are currently available
to preorder here. Also, according to Mr. Beau Brown, the M.O.T.U.S.C.L.E. garbage cans might be Power Con Exclusives. So darn.
Hasbro
Hasbro
dominates the market. Between Transformers, Marvel, Star Wars,
Jurassic Things, and whatever else Hasbro has the license for they
are the Big Boys of the toy aisle every time a new movie is coming
out. It’s actually not great for other companies because smaller
licenses or toys that aren’t related to a movie or TV show have to
fight the juggernaut (and sometimes literally The Juggernaut) for
retailer attention and shelf space. That’s why Walmart being the
biggest toy retailer is such a bad thing.
Marvel
Legends
Marvel
Legends doesn’t mean what it used to, which was 6” scale action
figures. Some idiot at Hasbro decided that they were going to start
calling all scales of a license the same thing, probably so that they
could say things like “Shipped more than 8,000,000 Marvel Legends
figures since we took over the line”, which is a thing that they
said at Toy Fair.
Last
year they started calling the 3.75” figures Marvel Legends and this
year they are launching a line of 12” Marvel Legends. It’s really
frustrating and stupid and I wish they’d stop. Same thing goes for
Star Wars Black.
The
first 12” releases are Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America.
They look great, but I don’t have any use for this kind of figure
in this scale. I don’t know what the price point will be, other
than “probably too much”.
I’m
not covering the smaller scale figures because I don’t collect
those and they’re also just too hard to keep track of.
As
far as the 6” Legends, we have another big year ahead. I want to
drop this line, but Hasbro keeps putting out just enough awesome to
keep me picking up figures here and there. I can mostly avoid the
build-a-figures now, but I did find the Rhino wave worthwhile and now
that I have a few parts of Hobgoblin I want the rest of him.
Fortunately people sell that stuff on eBay and I don’t have to buy
figures I don’t want like Anti-Venom.
Anyway,
here are the new figures that I want. For the full list, check out
ToyArk.
Cable
– I need a Cable because I don’t have one and I like Cable. I’m
glad it’s modern, but I’d buy a Liefeldian classic version if
they did a new one.
Nuke
– I mostly know Nuke from Wolverine
Origins
and this version looks pretty much like that. This is a character
I’ve been wanting for a while, so I’m glad he showed up in
Jessica
Jones
to maybe help this release happen.
Cinematic
Universe Black Panther
– I love this costume. The MCU is my current favorite Marvel
continuity (unless Silver
Surfer
and Howard
the Duck
can be considered their own continuity) and I’ll buy pretty much
anything from it.
Cinematic
Universe Scarlet Witch
– YES. It’s about time. I think it’s a shame we didn’t get a
Quicksilver, though it’s mostly a shame they Whedoned him for no
damn good reason.
Deadpool
– I’m not crazy about this Deadpool. I’ve already got two and
don’t need a third unless it’s awesome, so I want to see it in
person. If it was movie Deadpool I’d buy it no questions asked.
That movie was awesome. It wasn’t great, but it was awesome. I
honestly think they leaned too much on the raunch and it could have
been a whole lot smarter. But it was still fun.
Nico
– I would pay a premium for a box set of figures of the original
Runaways. That’s one of my all-time favorite comics. Those
painted-on sleeves are pretty weak, but I suppose I’ll have to get
over it.
Havok
– While rearranging my Legends recently I realized just how stupid
the old Havok figure looks. I’m thrilled we’re getting a new one.
I dig the radiation effects, too.
Iceman
– The old Iceman is pretty bad, too. For some reason he’s way
taller than everyone else and the joints on mine are so loose that he
can’t stand up. I had always wanted the Ultimate Iceman they made a
few years ago, but now I don’t have to worry about that. Provided I
can actually find this one.
Kitty
Pryde
– I think I’m pretty happy with the Kitty I have, but I’ll give
this one a look when I see it in person. If it’s on the smaller
female buck I’ll definitely pick her up.
Rogue
– I don’t have a Rogue. I’d honestly rather have the Xtreme
X-Men Rogue that came out when the aforementioned Ultimate Iceman did
because this one looks kind of clunky. And while I thought spandex
and leather jackets were sexy in 1992, I think it’s a pretty silly
look now.
Ultimate
Spider-Man Peter Parker
– Sold. One of the greatest comic book runs ever written. I love
the look of this figure, sort of a more realistic take on the look in
the Spectacular
Spider-Man
cartoon, which is still the best Spidey cartoon that doesn’t have
Amazing
Friends
in the title.
So
yeah, there are still characters that I want figures of, or that need
to be updated. And Hasbro can still throw together a figure that
isn’t a character I necessarily want, but that just looks so cool I
have to have it.
Star
Wars
Hasbro
didn’t show anything that I collect. But to find out what they did
show, be sure to tune in to Friday’s Needless Things Podcast and
listen to Ryan and Josh run down all of the new Star Wars news!
Transformers
Speaking
of Josh from The Oncoming Storm,
he’ll be filling us in on Hasbro’s Transformers plans, as well.
There’s a ton of news this year including the return of one of my
favorite toy concepts – the Headmasters!
Mattel
Mattel
was in something of a rut last year, but this year they have a quite
a few noteworthy products. I give Mattel a lot of crap for putting
out sub-par product, and I mean it, but there’s no getting around
the fact that they have some of the coolest toy properties out there.
And when they do things right, they’re awesome. They just choose
not to more often.
DC
Multiverse
DC
Universe Classics is sort of back but not really. DC Multiverse is a
line of 6”(ish) scale figures from Mattel that covers everything –
movies, television, comics, whatever. These are not being designed by
the Four Horsemen like DCUC was, so the quality is all over the
place. I reviewed the Wonder
Woman
and Batman
Dawn
of Justice
figures and found them to be varying degrees of wanting.
I
will say that it’s nice to have all of the TV and movie stuff in
one line, though. Granted, DC Collectibles’ releases look much
nicer and are easier to obtain, but at least Mattel has something to
offer. Plus, it looks like going forward DCC’s are going to be mad
pricey, so Mattel isn’t a bad option.
I
was actually surprised to see the assortment of Suicide
Squad
figures. It didn’t seem like a project that would necessarily call
for mass market toy support. Mattel showed Katana, Deadshot, Captain
Boomerang, Killer Croc, and a couple of Jokers because the addition
of a purple trenchcoat calls for a whole other figure rather than an
accessory. The absence of a Harley Quinn is odd considering she seems
to be the focal point of the movie and marketing.
Looking
over the figures I saw a lot of soft sculpting and weird deco
choices. It’s not that there isn’t enough paint, but sometimes it
seems applied poorly, like the aforementioned Batman’s gigantic
eyes.
Other
movie figures include Aquaman and trenchcoat Batman from Batman
v Superman.
They look okay, but not great. I’d like to have good figures of
both of those because I dig both of the looks. Mattel also displayed
(SPOILER), but I’m not going to mention that here. If you want to
find out for yourself, click
here.
I have to admit that it was one of the better looking figures.
The
figure that I was most excited for was a Supergirl from the TV show.
It looked good. Of course, if DC Collectibles does one, I think I’d
rather have that. Not just because it will look better, but because
they’re more likely to produce a Cat Grant, who is integral to the
success of the show.
There
were a
few new comic book figures on display,
but honestly nothing I’m personally interested in. Dark
Knight Returns
is apparently big business this year (possibly because Dark
Knight III: The Master Race
is going to end up being spread out across all of 2016 – HEYO!).
Mattel had a new armored Batman and the Mutant Leader and I saw
several items from other companies, as well. The big surprise was
Doomsday. I don’t know if he’s a build-a-figure or what, but
considering how much heartache he caused the poor, unfortunate
subscribers to Mattycollector’s DC line, I’m curious to see how
they receive this. I don’t give a rat’s ass about Doomsday, so I
don’t care.
Mattel’s
biggest challenge with DC Multiverse is their past poor performance
with completing things. Why am I going to buy their Suicide Squad
when I have no idea if they’ll ever make the whole Squad or if
they’ll have good enough distribution for me to be able to find
them if they are
made?
Masters
of the Universe Classics
Finally!
The
Roton!
I’m mostly done with this line, but we’ve all been wanting a bad
guy vehicle for years and Matty is finally producing one. I think it
looks great and I’ll be on that dammed website for sale day. Beau
pointed out that the face looks a bit too realistic, and he’s not
wrong, but otherwise the sculpt is remarkable. I can’t wait to hang
it across from my Wind Raider. I also can’t wait to see what kind
of crap figure they pack in with it. I hope it’s not the Skelecon
next to it in the picture, because I do not like that thing.
UPDATE:
Mattel has
confirmed
that the Skelecon will be packed in with the Roton. This is stupid
because the Skelecons are troop characters like Palace Guards or
Horde Troopers. Way to go, dum-dums.
I’m
also excited to see Night
Stalker.
His heroic counterpart, Stridor, was one of the few Masters toys I
had a s a kid and there’s no way they’re releasing this without
doing the easy straight-up repaint. The steed looks great and I might
be tempted to buy one of these, as well.
If
you want to know why I’m mostly done with Matty’s MOTU, look no
further than the fact that I only recognize a couple of the new
figures they had on display.
For close to forty dollars apiece, I have better things to spend my
money on. If you want more details on these, check out Mr. Beau
Brown’s rundown on this week’s Needless Things Podcast.
I
think the Filmation
stuff
looks fantastic, but as I’ve mentioned before it’s a whole new
line. These aren’t going to look right next to the Classics stuff.
I’ll have to have Trap-Jaw, but that’s probably it for me.
Thundercats
I
am , as we speak, fighting the temptation to subscribe to this line.
The figures look fantastic and the nostalgia is calling to me
strongly. But it feels so indescribably good to be free of the
shackles of Mattycollector that I just can’t sub up again.
Mattel
only had four
figures on display,
which is weird considering that five have been shown, but whatever.
They look fantastic and, unlike the MOTU Filmation figures, will look
great next to your Classics. I’ll be keeping an eye on the
aftermarket sales of these. For the record, the 2016 Club Third Earth
subscription consists of Lion-O, Pumyra, Panthro, Jackalman, and
decrepit mummy Mumm-Ra as the sub Exclusive figure.
Ghostbusters
Mattel
has always been big on needing a movie to put merchandise in stores,
but I was still surprised to see a
line for the new movie.
It’s smart, though, given the current outcry over female action
figures. Mattel is gonna get so much great PR out of this as long as
they actually manage to get good distribution. And in their defense,
that’s all going to depend on retailers wanting them.
My
advice to Mattel – DO NOT SHORT PACK PATTY TOLAN.
My
other advice to Mattel is to stop making figures of dumb shit that
isn’t actually ghosts from the movies or cartoon. They did this
when they, for some dumb fucking reason, made a
toy of the Ghostbusters logo.
Now they are making a figure of the walking ghost from The
Real Ghostbusters,
who is not a ghost that actually appeared in the show in a narrative
sense. Now, I haven’t seen the new movie yet, so for all I know
he’s the main bad guy. But I doubt it.
Anyway,
if you saw the Mattycollector
Ghostbusters
you know what to expect from these. I wouldn’t be surprised at all
if we see those Matty figures released at retail as part of this
line. Mattel would be foolish not
to do so. But they should probably sell the ladies for a while first.
Phantom’s
Picks
I
totally forgot to do this last year, so here are my favorites from
this year’s show:
Best
Overall Toy – While I don't have any real details about it
yet, the thing that got me the most excited the fastest was Mezco's
One:12 Collective Dawn of Justice Batmobile. That thing looks
amazing, and if what I've experienced of the line so far is an
indication, it will be one of the greatest toys of all time.
Company
That Made the Biggest Splash – While Mezco's One:12
showings were jaw dropping, that was all they had. DC Collectibles
actually had the widest variety of “WOW” stuff. Even with some
slightly sour feelings towards the company, I was still caught up in
their buzz.
Doomed
to Failure – I know this won't be a popular opinion and I
am fully prepared to admit if I'm wrong, but I think Mattel's
Ghostbusters 2016 line is
going to be warming pegs. Certain collectors will eat them up, but I
think this line will be the worst flop since the Green Lantern Movie
Masters.
Biggest
Surprise – While Funko's Playmobil figures were a surprise,
their range of Barbie items was a legitimate shock. I never expected
to see Mattel playing ball with anyone else.
Biggest
Letdown – The lack of articulated 3.75” Star Wars figures from
Hasbro. Boo, Hasbro, BOO.
That's
all I've got for now! I'm sure there's plenty of news that I didn't
come across over the weekend or neglected to cover, so be sure to
tune in to this Friday’s Needless Things Podcast for even more Toy
Fair goodness!
I would love to get the DC Animated figures, but damn that's a lot of money I don't have.
ReplyDeleteBobby
Yeah. Those prices are getting silly.
DeleteThe Batman beyond set has me interested, I'm a big fan of the show and pre Tim Drake comic.
ReplyDeleteI love that they're doing Ace! I can't wait to see the Beyond Justice League!
Delete