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SDCC07: Hasbro Marvel Comics Panel
Posted by Curto on July 26, 2007 at 04:03 PM CST:
Hasbro just concluded the Marvel Comics panel at Comic-Con, where they outlined all the toys that are coming out for 2007 in the Marvel Legends, Spider-Man, Super Hero Squad lines and even debuted a few new ones.
The presentation started off with Spider-Man, which saw a great year with the release of the movie, and the kid-oriented action-feature heavy 5" line of figures. Up next will be a new Unleashed 360 line, which takes the elements of the Star Wars Unleashed line and adds articulation. We saw some of this last night, and the figures are amazing.
Spider-Man will move up to the 6" scale next, with a Buil-A-Figure series. CTR should already be familiar with this wave, which will include Sandman, Venom, Spider-Man (both black AND red costumes), New Goblin, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Mary Jane...with the Sandman as the BAF. This was also on display last night.
For younger fans, lok for the Ultimate Web Blaster, and Web World (a line of 2" figures, vehicles, and playsets).
For fans of all ages, the Super Hero Squad line will continue with more 2-packs, playsets, multipacks, and larger-scale figures like Galactus, Sentinel, Apocalypse, and Ultimate Goliath.
The Fantastic Four BAF series was also officially confirmed. This wave was shown at last night's preview night as well, and this wave includes Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Invivible Woman, THing, Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom (the mask IS removable), Mole Man, and the BAF of ROnan the Accuser.
The FF will also take over the Signature Series with new figures of the Human Torch (including a variant), Mister Fantastic, and Doctor Doom.
Now for the 800-pound gorilla of the Marvel line....Marvel Legends. The year has been somewhat successful, although there have been a few stinkers in the mix, most notably the WHite Quuen and Banshee. This has led many collectors to question the longevity of the line. Well, worry not, true believers! After a quick recap of waves 1 and 2, Hasbro showed off the rest of the line planned for the year, and they are mighty!
Wave 3 will have World War II Captain America, Marvel Girl (Rachel Summers), Black Knight (modern), Hydra Soldier, X3 Colossus, Cyclops (Astonishing X-Men), Danger, and a BAF of the Brood Queen. While this wave has been shown before, it was revealed that there will be variants to the Hydra Soldier and Marvel Girl....and that the Marvel Girl variant will ave a variant! there will be 500 variants packaged backwards, so you can see her back.
Then Hasbro gave us a peek into the future with 2008's wave 1. This will include Nova, Beast (Astonishing X-Men), Black Bolt, Daredevil - First Appearance, Punisher, Tigra, and a BAF of Nemesis. Variants for Black Bolt (blue), Daredevil (red), and Punisher (crossbones) are expected. These figures are currently being added the the booth...and we'll have photos later today.
Over in the ICONS line, look for Human Torch, Silver Surfer, Magneto, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Daredevil, Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, and Colossus....all of which are on display in the booth. There will be a Target-exclusive "Cosmic Silver Surfer" this fall, with a darker chrome color than normal.
Speaking of exclusives, Wal-Mart stores will get the coolest two-packs yet: Domino & Cannonball, and Cable and Marvel Girl (Jean Grey). Again, these are currently on display in the booth, and we'll be adding photos soon. They look great.
Toys "R" Us stores will get a follow up figure to the White Queen from this year with the Black Queen (Jean Grey), which was met with much applause.
Finally, a new line was announced...Marvel Mugs...a 6" vinyl line of figures that star Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Venom. The jury is still out on these, as the crowd had mixed reactions from "oh how cute" to "ugh...pass!"
Since there was a delay in the actual presentation, the panelists held an extended Q&A session in the beginning and then again at the end, where most of the questions focused on the Marvel Legends line>...although some audience members were a little confused about just who made some of the earlier waves (note that Hasbro took over the line this year, so anything before was not their thing).
Some highlights from the Q&A were:
Hasbro is considering many different characters from the Marvel Universe (this one was repeated a lot).
Shang-Chi is a character that at least one of the Hasbro team REALLY wants to make
Waves will consist of 6 figures from now on
It's possible that Hasbro will re-release some of the older ToyBiz figures in an "Origins"-style series, much like what was done with Spider-Man earlier this year. Of particular interest was old Iron Man figures.
One idea that was presented was to bring out larger-scale figures in the 12" ICONS scale, such as Goliath, so that when placed next to the standard 6" scale Marvel Legends figures, they would match up. Great idea!
While fans bemoan the loss of super-articulation in the figures, Hasbro is trying to bring them in as needed on a figure-by-figure basis. Not every single character need super-articulation (Well, Spider-Man should!)
Although there are several themed waves coming out, there are always going to be a mix of popular and obscure characters in the line. Part of the goal is to "complete the teams" because Hasbro knows that fans like to display their figures together alongside their teammates. This was in response to more members of the royal family of the Inhumans.
The future of the long-lost line of Fantastic Four figures based on the current animated series will depend on the future of the show. Since it's an entertainment property, they will have to wait and see how that goes.
Although Hasbro IS working on figures for the upcoming Iron Man and Hulk movies, it is too early to talk much about them yet.
Speaking of the Hulk...what about recent 411 reports of two-part Hulk-themed waves featuring a certain BAF figure of Fin Fang Foom? Hasbro ain't talking about this yet, so consider it a rumor for now...
Well, that's enough for now....time to check out the new additions to the booth! But in the meantime, check out the Hasbro Marvel Presentation galery. |
  
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