Note:
I noticed that thanks to social media A
LOT
more toy companies are releasing photos of the product they show at
Toy Fair. It used to be tough for me to find enough pictures to fill
out these posts, but this year I’ve found that there were very few
toys I couldn’t find official pictures of. Good for me and good for
you!
That
being said, 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!
Reveals
started as early as the beginning of the month and I’ve done my
best to keep up with everything. What you’ll read about today is
just the stuff I’m interested in or have some kind of thoughts
about because there’s simply too much for me to cover everything.
If you want the full scoop, Toy
Ark,
ToyNewsi,
and The
Fwoosh
are your best bets.
And
of course, listen to this Friday’s episode of the Needless
Things Podcast
to hear me, Ryan, Jay, and Josh discuss all of the hottest reveals!
Mezco
Just
like last year, Mezco trumped everyone by unleashing some incredible
new products a week before Toy Fair began. In addition to their
One:12 Collective line, they had some new Living Dead Dolls and other
goodies in store.
One:12
Collective
I’ll
be surprised if anything at Toy Fair gets me more excited than these.
Mezco dropped their first looks on Instagram, then proceeded to
reveal full product sheets with accessories and features:
I
didn’t care for this “Ascending Knight” version at first. It
seems to be Mezco’s take on Batman’s first appearance from
Detective
Comics
#27 and I’ve never been a fan of that look. But the more I see it,
the more I like it. They did their usual thing of bringing a comic
book design into the real world. Those ears, though – they might be
too much. I’ll probably still wait for a more modern comic style
Batman.
Wonder
Woman seems more doll-like than action figure-y, but that’s because
Gal Gadot just has a slim build. There’s no questioning her
performance as Diana. I like this figure a lot and it’s probably
going on the preorder list.
This
MCU Daredevil was revealed the
same day
my comic book version arrived in the mail. At first I was
disappointed because I generally prefer MCU versions, but now that
I’ve opened mine I like it more. I can safely pass on this guy. He
does look great, though.
At
first glance I did not like this Wolverine. It’s grown on me, but
there are still some elements that don’t work – his shorts are
terrible. Maybe if they’d extend the black trim on the sides all
the way down the legs it would look better. But now he just looks
like some idiot that wears shorts over sweatpants. I don’t like the
laces on the boots, either. They don’t work with the “wings” at
the top. I think straps and buckles could work better. Overall the
figure’s profile and proportions are very nice. There are just some
details that I don’t like.
Doctor
Strange looks great, but I don’t like him enough to buy a One:12
figure of the guy. Not even if it was Cumberbatch.
When
we first saw it, Ryan and I both said that this Iron Man had better
be something special to warrant a $70+ dollar price tag for just
another 6” Iron Man figure. It turns out it has a ton of
accessories (of course) and lights up. I was kind of hoping it would
be die-cast. Whatever the case it looks excellent, but Tony isn’t a
seventy dollar guy, either.
This
action figure is a goshdarn nightmare. I could hardly stand to look
at it at first. As time has gone on I have grown to accept and even
love it. Now I feel like I must
add this monstrosity to my collection. I hope the variant version is
Robin Williams.
The
Dawn of
the Dead
zombies were a huge surprise to me. I’m not sure who will spend
$70+ on zombies, no matter how great the figures look or how notable
those specific zombies are. And yeah – I know these are far from
random, but they’re still just dead guys with no real context in
your collection.
Young
Bruce Campbell must be one of the hardest likenesses to nail in all
of licensed toydom. I have never seen an action figure of pre-1993
Ash that looked right (NECA has come closest with their retro cloth
Ash; not their regular plastic ones). I have faith that Mezco will be
the ones to do it, but this isn’t it. I’m glad they still have a
year (or more) to work on it. I do love the specificity of the tear
in the shirt and how the fabric matches up.
 |
| From Mezco's Facebook page |
WHY
IS DIABOLIK 2018!?!?!?! This is the most disappointing news out of
Toy Fair, even over Mattel dropping Monster High. Which they did
because sales dropped off because they changed the look of the dolls.
You can ask Mrs. Troublemaker about all of that. She’s furious. Now
she truly understands the concept of #Mattyfail.
It
will be interesting following the development of these figures over
the coming months. While most of them look like they’re basically
ready for the market, Mezco will no doubt make many tweaks an
adjustments, hopefully to the things that I have mentioned here.
Mostly to Wolverine’s shorts. Out of everything, those are
bothering me the most.
Funko
Funko
is still an unstoppable juggernaut of adorable tchotchkes that I
don’t quite
classify as toys, which is fine. Their Pops and Dorbs and whatever
else lines are all great and hit the price point sweet spot for
casual collectors. We even have a number of Pop figures at home
because they’re something all three of us can agree on and the
aesthetic really does work for some (most) licenses.
As
far as actual toys go, the company has shifted direction. Super 7 has
taken back control of the ReAction brand and Funko has replaced it
with 4” figures that don’t share a name brand but are still
aesthetically in line between franchises. Which brings me to the
first BIG NEWS of this year’s Toy Fair:
4”
Batman Classic TV Show Action Figures
Oh,
boy, are these delightful!
For
my money, Figures Inc. is producing the best Batman ’66 figures of
all time, but they’re more collectible than they are toy. Mattel
lunged into the license with their usual complete lack of consumer
understanding and their botched line is still warming Toys R Us
shelves everywhere.
Now
Funko is taking a stab at what should be a huge cash cow of a toy
line and they seem to have the right idea. The figures have around
ten points of articulation and the Batmobile that they’re
releasing, while off-scale to the figures, matches aesthetically and
looks like it is designed to not break the bank. Of course, Funko’s
Game of Thrones figures in this scale are priced at fifteen bucks
each, so I’m not sure how well these will be received if they’re
at the same price point. Fifteen bucks is a tough sell for a 4”
figure.
Either
way, I’m excited that this is happening and I’m hoping for a
long, healthy life for the line that could possibly lead to a Batcave
playset. I mean, Funko released a freakin’ Wall for Game of
Thrones. You’d think a Batcave would be seen as a slightly better
gamble.
Trollhunters
I
am WAY out of the loop on this one. I haven’t seen the Netflix
series and still haven’t even watched the movie. But I do know that
this franchise is super popular amongst the geeks and I’m always
rooting for Funko to have a hit.
DC
Collectibles
There’s
no denying that DCC is one of my favorite toy companies and that they
always have an exciting batch of offerings for Toy Fair and SDCC. I
love that they are a company that seems to learn as they go along and
are constantly making changes and improvements to both their products
and their business; frustrating though the process can sometimes be.
Every
year since 2014 DCC has made a huge splash with an announcement for
their DC Animated line and this year is no different.
Animated
Toy Line
Holy
crap they’re releasing a Batcave.
Well,
part
of the Batcave.
It
looks like a smaller set, but you have to consider that that’s a 6”
scale Alfred standing on it. This thing is massive. It also has
light-up effects (but no sounds because for some reason DCC doesn’t
do sounds). Here’s the problem, as pointed out by our pal
Belligerent
Monkey:
Due
to their design, the DC Animated figures don’t all stand up so well
without their huge, ugly stands. They do not have peg holes in their
feet, so there’s no alternative to get them to stand. So you can
either put those giant stands on this playset (diorama) or just have
a Batcave sleepover.
DCC
also showed off a new Joker with multiple heads, hands, and
accessories, similar to the Batman they displayed last year. I think
it’s super neat for anyone that doesn’t already have a Joker. I
do wish they’d release these as accessory sets rather than
including the figures we already own.
Icons
First
up was a diorama-style boxed set of Doomsday and a “battle damaged”
Superman. This seems really
specific for such a pricey toy line. I’ll be curious to see how it
does. I don’t give a crap about Doomsday, so this isn’t for me
anyway. It is a neat set, though.
There’s
a Super Sons box set coming with Damian and Johnathan. They look
great and if the comic continues to be as good this should be a huge
seller. It will be John Kent’s first figure and there aren’t
exactly a ton of Damians out there.
As
for single-carded releases, there was a nice Nightwing and a
Supergirl that may well be the best-looking figure of that character
I have ever seen.
Designer
Series
Surprising
nobody, the line of Bombshell figures based on designs by Any Lucia
continues. I like the look of these, but the articulation is a little
wonky in places. It might be one of those things where it isn’t as
noticeable in person or when the figures are posed. So far all of
these Icons-style figures have been phenomenal in person.
Films
Series
After
much fanfare last year, this line is officially dead. It was reported
that DCC decided that the market was too crowded for them to compete
in the realm of movie figures. This is in reference to the
high-dollar figures meant to compete with the likes of MAFEX and
Figuarts, not DCC’s standard film and TV releases.
Other
Releases
We
are FINALLY getting a figure of Sarah Lance in her White Canary
costume from Legends
of Tomorrow!
I don’t totally love that show, but I love her character. Putting
her in the leadership role is the smartest thing that show has done.
There’s
also a Kid Flash on the way. It looks great, but I still can’t help
but feel that the costume is too goofy in real life. It’s the head
sock, man.
NECA
NECA
Club x Alien
This
was a big surprise and a brilliant idea. Aliens offer the opportunity
for farmed parts yet tons of variety, cool exclusives, and troop
building.
We’re
excited to announce our new NECA
CLUB x ALIEN program
with huge perks to our most loyal Alien action figure
fans! Beginning with our Aliens
Series 11 Assortment,
buy every NECA Alien action figure that we release this year as
part of the NECA
CLUB x ALIEN program,
and you’re eligible for a year-end, 100% exclusive figure… and
along the way, we’ll throw in a few awesome bonuses – all 100%
exclusive to the club.
- Access to convention exclusives
- Delivery straight to your door, in most cases before retail
- Regular news updates as items are revealed
- Dedicated customer service
How
does it work? Check out our full FAQ for
all the details. And don’t forget to visit NECA
CLUB x ALIEN to
buy the Aliens
Series 11 Assortment to
join the Club. Or sign up to receive updates and product
announcements. Your membership begins with your first purchase. Just
remember: supplies are limited. So don’t miss out!
Evil
Dead
We
already knew about the Ashy Slashy prop replica, but I’m going to
mention it again because it’s A PUPPET OF BRUCE CAMPBELL and that
warrants special notice.
I’m
very excited about the Evil Ed figure, but somewhat less so about the
fact that in order to get it I have to buy another
Ash. I love Bruce Campbell. I love Ashley J. Williams. But I have a
lot of
figures of that guy. Looks like we’re having a contest for an Ash
figure around here soon.
Ed
does look great and I can’t wait to slice his egg-sucking Deadite
head in half.
Aliens
& Predators
I
LOVE this next bit of news – NECA is releasing action figure sets
based on the DC/Dark Horse crossovers! On display were Superman,
Batman in both a regular costume and his Predatorbuster armor (I made
that name up and also it might be Alienbuster armor – I can’t
quite recall), and a Predator and Joker alien from the comics. I
loved these crossovers and am always excited to get DC releases from
NECA anyway. I can’t wait to see these on shelves. And they are
regular releases, not exclusives.
Finally,
we got our first full look at Wave 11 of NECA’s Aliens line –
Lambert, a xenomorph from Dark Horse’s Defiance
series, and the blue Kenner Alien. I think they look great and I want
them all.
Quarter
Scale
NECA’s
giant 18”(ish) figures seem to be hotter than ever with the recent
releases of Deadpool and Donatello from the Ninja Turtles. Both of
those have gotten much more positive reviews than some of NECA’s
older figures.
This
year they had a MCU Doctor Strange, a comic Daredevil, and Spider-Man
as he looks in Homecoming.
There was also an Iron Man that looked new to me, but I don’t make
a point of collecting these so I might have lost track a bit.
Surprising
no one, there’s also a quarter scale Freddy from Dream
Warriors
in the works. That’s my favorite version and favorite Nightmare,
but I just don’t need it.
Retro
Cloth
I
love all of the Texas
Chainsaw
movies for one reason or another, but I hadn’t actually seen
Leatherface:
Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
until a few years ago. It was one of those deals where I thought I
had seen it, went to look for it in my collection one day and was
surprised to find I didn’t have it, ordered it, watched it, and
realized I had never even seen it before. That doesn’t happen to me
a lot, but it has a few times. And I loved
it.
My
point here is that I am thrilled to see NECA’s retro figure of this
Leatherface coming out. I love this line and I’ll buy every
Chainsaw
release they make. Fingers crossed for Dennis Hopper.
Following
the release of a Good Guy doll retro figure with the Scream Factory
release of Child’s
Play,
NECA is (thankfully) releasing a version that is straight-up angry
Chucky. I’m stoked and will buy it in the hopes that one day Brad
Dourif will be at a convention near me to sign it.
Other
NECA
had a freddy Krueger marionette in their booth a couple of years ago
but didn’t ever say anything about it. This year it’s official –
a prop replica is coming out in June(ish). This I will
buy.
A
Friday
the 13th
Part V: The Final Chapter
Ultimate Jason Voorhees is on the way. I’ll probably skip this one.
Let me know when they get around to Jason
Goes to Hell
and Jason
X.
Their
Godzilla-only Godzilla line continues with Shin and a 2001 version
with atomic breath. I wish they could get the license to produce
other Kaiju from the films, but it is not to be.
Bandai
I
don’t follow import toys as closely, but it’s worth noting that
Bandai will be releasing figures for Pacific
Rim: Uprising.
NECA no longer has the license. As I’ve stated elsewhere, I’d
honestly be happy if Lanard Toys released a bunch of cheap but fun
giant robots and monsters like their King
Kong Mega-Figure.
I want to be able to play with giant robots and monsters without
worrying about them falling apart or causing me injury.
Playmates
This
is more in line with what my son collects, but I had to mention some
awesome releases from the Ninja Turtles line.
I
collected the original line back in the day and some of my favorite
characters are getting some awesome modern updates – Muckman,
monster Turtles (though not branded as Universal this time), new
versions of Rocksteady and Bebop that more closely resemble their
classic looks, and two
different
Usagi Yojimbo figures! One is in samurai armor and the other is the
spitting image of a traditional comic book Usagi as drawn by Stan
Sakai.
There
are also a number of new Voltron toys coming, including figures of
the pilots and new Robeasts.
I
wish I had pics of these for you guys, but Playmates understandably
don’t see the need to cater to us quite the same as some other
companies.
 |
| Pics from Super 7 on Facebook |
Super
7
ReAction
Several
new brands of ReAction figures were shown, including The Toxic
Avenger, Jack Kirby’s Lord Light, Planet of the Apes, Iron Maiden,
Robotech, and Shogun Warriors(!). I’m a big fan of these figures,
but the new $15 price point is too much unless it’s something
really super awesome (like the glow-in-the-dark The Worst set).
Masters
of the Universe
Right
off the bat a neon green Trap-Jaw caught my eye. It’s part of a
three-pack that will be one of two being offered as Power Con
Exclusives this year. I do believe Mr. Beau Brown called these and a
few other figures on display on Episode
146 of the Needless Things Podcast!
He must have toy connections that I don’t (unsurprising - I don’t
have many toy connections). The first three-pack is Trap-Jaw,
Stratos, and Prince Adam. They are all unusually naked and strangely
colored, so I’m assuming this is the Ibiza Variant Pack. The other
includes two bonkers Snake Men along the lines of Kamo Khan and a
dude in minty armor. I don’t know how I feel about any of these
other than Trap-Jaw. I have to have naked green Trap-Jaw, though, so
I guess someone here will be winning Party Time Stratos and Rest Area
Prince Adam sometime in the future.
Super
7 is also releasing a wonderful Filmation Hordak as well as
Man-At-Arms, Teela, and Tri-Klops. They all look fantastic and I
halfway wish I was collecting the Filmation figures because they sure
would all look swell on a shelf together.
Much
to my surprise, Super 7 is following up their special Skeletor and
the Three Terrors set with more vintage-style releases, including
He-Ro, Eldor, Skeletor, Hordak, Teela, and He-Man. This is a very
interesting development and I’m curious to see what collectors
think. Re-releasing the vintage figures is not without precedent,
though. Mattel themselves did it in the late 90s or early 00s (I
can’t recall for sure – I sold mine when they peaked on eBay).
MUSCLE
I
love that Super 7 gets so much mileage out of their nostalgia-driven
formats. There were tons of new MUSCLE (Millions of Unusually Small
Creatures Lurking Everywhere) figures at Toy Fair – new series of
Masters of the Universe and Aliens, Robotech, Shogun Warriors, Mega
Man, and Super 7’s own in-house brand The Worst!
Side
Note: I am pretty in love with The Worst. It’s not often that a
new, original license can come out of nowhere and overshadow stuff
like Masters of the Universe, Aliens, and Planet of the Apes, but I
am more excited about the potential for these guys than I am anything
else Super 7 has going. That says a lot for the creators working for
this company.
Thundercats
They’re
still working on it.
 |
| I'm pretty sure this a 12" TRU Exclusive figure. |
Hasbro
Hasbro
dominates the market. Between Transformers, Marvel, Star Wars, 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
Sweet
merciful heavens, this line must be doing gangbusters.
I can’t remember the last time Hasbro had such an overwhelming
assortment of 6” Marvel product. If you want the full scoop, listen
in on Friday. I’m mjsut highlighting some of my favorites today.
MCU
Star Lord & Ego 2-pack
– I can’t even imagine not wanting a Chris Pratt and Kurt Russell
dream date set. This is available for preorder now from
EntertainmentEarth.
MCU
Nebula
– I’ll buy pretty much any action figure of Karen Gillen. MCU
figures are my primary Marvel thing now, so this is a must-have
anyway.
MCU
Rocket Raccoon w/ Baby Groot
– This is an improved, more articulated Rocket with little Groot in
his flight suit. They’re action figure perfection and guaranteed to
be pre-sold out as soon as they’re offered.
MCU
Gamora
– I’m not sure that I totally need this Gamora since I’ve got
the old one and I like it quite a bit.
MCU
Mantis
– New lady! New character! That’s three
females in this wave! I’m not excited for feminism or equality or
anything, just for toy collecting. I’ve been collecting for four
decades now and female characters have always been frustrating
because they either don’t get made or are difficult to find. Take
note, though – all of you internet activists that shrieked so
loudly at Hasbro over Rey and Black Widow had better go out and buy
these or you’re going to find yourselves shrieking again in a few
years.
MCU
Spider-Man and Iron Man 2-pack
– It looks like Hasbro fixed the discolored joint pegs that were on
the first MCU Spidey figure. I sure hope they did. I won’t buy one
with ugly joints like that and I want this set. Not just to have an
MCU Spider-Man, but because I love the design of the Ultimate Iron
Man armor and this basically looks like it.
MCU
Vulture
– I know I’m going to want this figure, but I don’t want to buy
the rest of the wave to get his wings. UPDATE:
I added the above picture after I wrote that and this one makes it
look like he comes with smaller wings that are perfectly fine. Or this could be a 3.75" Vulture.
MCU
Daredevil
– Mezco is making a One:12 version, but all of my MCU toys are
Hasbro. I’ll stick with the twenty dollar version (assuming these
figures are still $20 when these are released). I like this costume
even if it is a little too armored.
MCU
Elektra
– I’m on the fence. I want her because she’s a MCU figure, but
this costume is pretty much the shits. I think it’s the laziest
superhero costume we’ve seen; like, even worse than stuff on
Smallville.
MCU
Punisher
– That likeness of Jon Bernthal is excellent and
this totally makes him look like a Steve Dillon (RIP) drawing. I
think this figure looks fantastic. Must-have.
MCU
Jessica Jones
– I just happen to be rewatching Jessica
Jones
right now. I wanted to watch the first episode again just so I could
freshen up for my ongoing series of posts on the Netflix shows, but
now I’m on episode 6. It’s my favorite of the Marvel shows so
far. Luke
Cage
is a close second, so I hope we’re getting a figure of him soon,
too.
Comic
Style Spider-Man & Mary Jane 2-pack
– This would appeal to me, but I don’t care for the current
Spider-Man costume or comic and MJ’s face looks a little harsh. I
think a Renew Your Vows family set would have been a much better
idea, but this one was probably in the works before that comic
happened. Maybe next year.
Comic
Style Spider-Man & Vulture 2-pack
– I love the look of both of these. It’s been a while since I
read Ultimate
Spider-Man,
so I’m not sure if that’s what Vulture looked like, but that
definitely looks like an Ultimate
Spidey. Or from the Spectacular
cartoon. Which is also fine.
Comic
Style Thor (Jane Foster)
– I haven’t read any of the comics featuring Foster as Thor
because the shop didn’t pull them for me when it started and I just
never remembered to ask, but I love this character design.
TRU
Exclusive A-Force 6-pack
– I think this is a crazy move and doomed to clearance, but I bet a
few of these wouldn’t have happened outside of a retailer exclusive
set. There are three of these I’d like to have. If you can guess
which three, I’ll send you a free clear blue chick.
Other
Stuff
– Hasbro also revealed new items from their Legends line of prop
replicas. Electronic versions of Mjolnir and Star Lord’s mask are
on the way and both look great. I’m especially impressed by the
sub-$100 price points they’re maintaining on this line.
There
was so much more to cover, and we’ll discuss it all this Friday.
Star
Wars
Hasbro
almost seems to be abandoning the 3.75” action figure scale, which
breaks my heart but makes my wallet happy. I was almost
tempted by their new Black Series 40th
Anniversary gimmick, but fortauntely Hasbro Toy Shop sold out before
I could order any (which is what always happens when things are sold
on Hasbro Toy Shop).
The deal is that they’re releasing 6” Black
Series versions of the original 12 Kenner figures on vintage
cardbacks. I am such a HUGE sucker for vintage cardbacks.
OH
WAIT.
I
almost overlooked these exciting fully articulated 3.75” releases
that will be Walmart Exclusives and that I’ve got to think are far
better choices for release than Director Krennic or Galen Erso or
K2-S0 or any
of the supporting characters from Rogue
One or
aliens from The
Force Awakens
or even a freaking Gonk droid. I know when I saw that picture I
jumped up and pumped my fist and shouted, “FINALLY A PROTOTYPE
PONDA BABA”. And three figures I already have.
Transformers
Josh
from The
Oncoming Storm,
will be filling us in on Hasbro’s Transformers plans on Friday!
Diamond
Select Toys
I
may have cooled on the Ghostbusters Select line, but I’m pleased to
see it appears to be doing well. Well enough that DST has a beautiful
Vigo on display in front of what looks like a diorama of the
firehouse. There was also a mock-up of Yanosh, but that really only
indicates that they’re planning to release Yanosh. It’s not even
a picture of a sculpt or anything.
I
have a couple of figures from DST’s The
Nightmare Before Christmas
collection and they look fantastic. I plan to buy more despite the
fact that Jack’s leg broke off with little more than a light
breeze. There were more collection dolls on display, as well as new
Select figures of Sandy Claws (with an elf), Lock, Shock, and Barrel
(with the bathtub), Pumpkin King Jack (with an incredible fountain),
Zero (with his doghouse), Jack in his pajamas with a chalkboard, and
Behemoth with the little fat kid.
I
love
Diamond’s Muppets Select line and I wish I had the budget and the
space to collect it. They displayed new figures of Rolf (with his
piano and the Manamana guy), Lew Zealand (with a film projector),
Janice and Floyd Pepper (with instruments), and their first Miss
Piggy (with her dog and possibly a penguin).
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
These
seem to be warming the heck out of pegs right now at every store I
frequent, but apparently they’re selling well enough because Mattel
had two new series of figures to show.
The
Wonder Woman movie wave features Themyscira Diana, Wonder Woman (in a
coat, which I like), Steve Trevor, Queen Hippolyta, and an Ares
build-a-figure that looks completely badass. But I’d still rather
have Mezco’s One:12 movie Wonder Woman than this whole set.
The
newest non-movie wave of figures has me genuinely excited to the
point where I’m probably going to preorder it from BigBad. The
centerpiece is an all-new Clayface build-a-figure that is simply
magnificent. But the best part is that I actually want every
figure in this wave(!!!!!!!!!!).
It consists of Rebirth Superman, Batwoman (with an unmasked head!),
Two-Face as he recently appeared in All-Star
Batman,
Green Lantern Jessica Cruz, and Martian Manhunter from Supergirl.
Okay, so I don’t necessarily want the TV J’onn, but I know a
certain queen of rock n’ roll that will.
Justice
League Action!
The
show hasn’t won me over yet and these toys… they look like very
nice Happy Meal premiums. My son obsessively collects DC superheroes
and is not interested in these at all.
HALO(!)
This
is a huge deal for Mattel. Good for them. I have spent a total of
probably twenty minutes of my life playing HALO
and it wasn’t my thing, but I know it’s a hot property.
Phantom’s
Picks
Best
Overall Toy
– The above LEGO pug set is obviously the greatest toy ever made.
Company
That Made the Biggest Splash
– I have to go with Mezco. NECA’s DC/Dark Horse figures and
Aliens sub service are big and Super 7 actually excited me the most,
but Mezco unleashed ten new One:12 figures outta nowhere. Ranging
from very good to excellent to at least intriguing, this was a huge
way to kick off Toy Fair and nobody else got my attention quite as
much. Now that I think about it, though, honorable mention goes to
Funko’s Batman ’66 line.
Doomed
to Failure
– Mattel’s 6” scale, $250 Batmobile, which I forgot to mention
above because it irritated me so much. It’s a remote control
vehicle with lights, sounds, and mechanical movement. It even has
reservoirs for oil to create a smoke effect. But it also has what
looks like an even shittier version of one of their Multiverse
figures permanently affixed in the cockpit. I don’t think die-hard
RC enthusiasts are going to take a vehicle from Mattel seriously
enough to spend that, and I know very few collectors who want a
twelfth scale Batmobile with a Mattel Batman forever stuck inside,
even if it weren’t TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS.
Biggest
Surprise
– Mattel is releasing a whole wave of Multiverse figures that is
great with a build-a-figure that is incredible. Also they are rumored
to be raising the price of these to $25, which is ridiculous.
Biggest
Letdown
– The continued 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!
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