The Pre-Toy Fair 2014 Hasbro Marvel Update

This upcoming weekend we’ll be braving the cold weather in New York City to attend the Hasbro Toy Fair Preview, of which Marvel will be one of the major brands to show – among others, Transformers, Star Wars, and in a limited capacity, G.I. JOE. But we’ve got some catching up to do, so here are some updates to the Hasbro Marvel lines which will bring us up to speed before the big event.

Marvel Legends Infinite Series

I’ve heard from several folks that the Captain America and Spider-Man waves of Legends have flown off shelves. That’s particularly good news, as I was worried that packing Cap and Spidey heavy on the first waves would slow down sell-through. Mirroring that, our Cap and Spidey Free Stuff Giveaway has surpassed all our other giveaways, and we’ve still got this week to go.

Strong performance at retail means the refresher waves with figure swap-outs are more likely to happen. Online retailers have them arriving in March. The Marvel Legends Spidey wave 2 has Toxin, Boomerang, and Spider-Girl replacing Carnage, Beetle, and Black Cat. The Marvel Legends Captain America wave 2 has the “Super Soldier” version of Cap, Winter Soldier, and Black Widow replacing the Marvel Now and WW2 Caps. We saw Super-Soldier Cap, Winter Soldier, and Black Widow back at SDCC last year.

One interesting thing on the Cap wave – it’s the heavily-packed figures being swapped out, and they become even more heavy in the refresher wave – Cap x 3, Winter Soldier x 2, and Black Widow x 1. Unfortunately, with Black Widow single-packed, it means the torso of the Mandroid will be tough to come by, probably leaving a lot of the BAF parts out there orphaned.

What to expect at Toy Fair: Guardians of the Galaxy was heavily hinted at by the brand team at SDCC, and well ask what has become of the Jubilee wave of Infinite-less Legends.

Avengers Infinite Series

If you were concerned that the re-branding of Marvel Universe announced at SDCC last year really meant the end of the line, then put your fears aside. The Avengers Infinite Series leverages the existing bodies from the latest waves of Marvel Universe (with improved articulation schemes) and adds new heads and accessories for new and updated characters.

And if you still aren’t convinced, the first wave of Avengers Infinite Series  includes a repack of the Heroic Age Iron Man from the Marvel Universe line. These are due to hit shelves sometime this quarter.

3.75-Inch Movie Figures

To be honest, I haven’t been paying much attention to these, but with both Cap and Spidey having major tentpoles this summer, we should see a strong push for figures aimed at kids. There might be some retail fatigue, though, especially in the case of Cap – it’s common to still see figures from The First Avenger still warming the pegs.

Cap and Black Widow have also seen some shelf space in the Avengers Assemble line that came out in fall last year, but I suppose that won’t stop them from being featured again, perhaps repacked in the new Cap line. Falcon, however, will be new, and might give us a closer look at the movie design, for those of you who don’t like freeze-framing the Super Bowl teaser for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Marvel Super Hero Mashers

Mashers takes the Assemblers concept from the Iron Man 3 line and extends it to the broader Marvel Universe. But while Assemblers attempted to mimic the look of its more highly articulated predecessors (you be the judge of how well it succeeded at that), Mashers is decidedly more kid-oriented. To me it’s almost like the old G.I. JOE Sigma Six line in terms of its aesthetics.

I’ll leave you here with the press release for Mashers and more pics (I know – it’s probably not your kind of thing), and stay tuned this weekend for more from our Hasbro Marvel Toy Fair report.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS 2014 Product Information

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. What if SPIDER-MAN had the smashing strength of the HULK, or CAPTAIN AMERICA could shoot off repulsor blasts like IRON MAN? With more than 20 unique MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS characters planned for 2014, there’s tons of ways to mash them all! So, are you ready to Make YOUR Mash-Up?

Items from the 2014 MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS product line include the following:

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS Action Figures Assortment
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $9.99/Available: January 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. Would a hero with SPIDER-MAN’s body and HAWKEYE’S head shoot arrows or webs? With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up! Thirteen figures will be available in this assortment in 2014, featuring favorite Marvel characters like CAPTAIN AMERICA, SPIDER-MAN and GREEN GOBLIN. Each figure is sold separately and comes with an accessory.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS BATTLE UPGRADE Action Figures Assortment
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $14.99/Available: January 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. Each MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS BATTLE UPGRADE figure comes with multiple Battle Gear pieces, including a launching missile, for even more crazy combinations! With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up! Seven figures will be available in this assortment in 2014, featuring favorite Marvel characters like HULK, THOR and VENOM. Additional Mash up arms included with Wave 2 figures. Each figure sold separately.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS Electronic Action Figures Assortment
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: January 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. Each MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS ELECTRONIC figure comes with multiple Battle Gear pieces, including a launching missile and an electronic light-up piece, plus additional Mash up pieces for even more crazy combinations! With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up!  Four figures will be available in this assortment in 2014, featuring favorite Marvel characters like IRON MAN, WOLVERINE and SPIDER-MAN. Each figure sold separately.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS Figure and Vehicle Assortment
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $19.99/Available: Fall 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. Each MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS Figure and Vehicle comes with a SUPER HERO MASHERS figure and motorcycle that they can ride, including Battle Gear and a launching missile! You can use the Battle Gear to customize your bike or any of your MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS figures. With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up!  CAPTAIN AMERICA and IRON MAN FIGURE AND VEHICLE are each sold separately.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS MASH PACK Action Figure Sets Assortment
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $24.99/Available: Fall 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. Each MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS MASH PACK comes with two MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS figures—a hero and his villain—for an instant Mash up! Have HULK and LOKI face-off in an epic battle—or switch their heads around for a real face-off! With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up!  Three sets will be available in this assortment in 2014, featuring favorite Marvel characters like SPIDER-MAN and DOC OCK. Each set sold separately.

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS SPIDER-MAN SKYCRAWLER
(Ages: 4 & up /Approx. Retail Price: $29.99/Available: Fall 2014)

Mash up your hero, and then crack up your friends! Hasbro’s MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS feature your favorite MARVEL Super Heroes and Villains with completely interchangeable parts and accessories, so kids can create their ultimate (or ultimately silly!) hero. The MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS SPIDER-MAN SKYCRAWLER is the ultimate way for your mashed-up hero to get around, and features customizable Battle Gear and launching missiles. The SPIDER-MAN SKYCRAWLER comes with a SPIDER-MAN SUPER HERO MASHERS action figure with bonus HULK head and arms for an instant Mash up! With MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS, the possibilities are colossal for you to make YOUR mash-up!

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit marvel.com.