Hasbro’s Dave Vonner presented his baby – the Marvel Universe line – at Hasbro’s Fan Media Day yesterday. Marvel Universe is still going strong in Hasbro’s bread and butter 4-inch scale, and we’ll see a pretty wide assortment of figures in single packs, comic theme packs, and more 2-packs for 2012.
Vonner also revealed the figure that he promised would blow us away. No, it wasn’t Blow Hard!
Continue reading “Toy Fair 2012 – Hasbro Marvel Universe Report”
With Toy Fair just around the corner, it’s about time we start getting some teasers about what we might see from our favorite action figure lines. We just got a doozy from an insider about Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line:
I’m going to reveal a character at Toy Fair that just might blow you away…
Obviously, this not-so-veiled hint means we’ll be seeing none other than fan favorite Blow Hard make his debut in New York in a week and a half. For those of you not familiar with this arguably A-list mutant, Blow Hard made his first appearance in X-Factor #11. No, we’re not talking about the highly acclaimed X-Factor of Peter David’s run – this was from the original run by Louise and Walter Simonson that managed to reunite a back-from-the-dead Jean Grey with the original X-Men – we’re talking literature here.
Continue reading “Toy Fair 2012 – Hasbro to Reveal Marvel Universe Blow Hard?”
In contrast with our Best of 2010 post, Talyn and I each had a few different picks for our best action figures of 2011, so we decided to split it up this time around. I’ll get us started with the choice I included in the Fwoosh Staff Best of 2011 post – the Hasbro Marvel Universe Sentinel.
I worried last year that I’d be typecast as the Marvel guy, and I’m playing to role again with my pick of the Marvel Universe Sentinel. I never thought anything would ever rival my love of the Sentinel that Toy Biz released as a Build-A-Figure way back in Marvel Legends Series 10, but Hasbro’s version of the mutant killing robot stacks up pretty well.
The two are right about the same height, but the newer model is bulked up some, giving it more satisfying proportions. It’s also got a more classic look, while the BAF is styled specifically after the futuristic Sentinels in Grant Morrison’s final arc in New X-Men, Here Comes Tomorrow. And on top of that, Hasbro’s version has the light up eyes and chest, and the voice chip that sounds just like you’d expect a Sentinel to sound.
This would have dominated completely if it had the superior torso and hand / finger articulation that Toy Biz managed to cram into the BAF. And I’m still not sure where the purple and silver color scheme comes from (my best guess is from when the Avengers fought Sentinels in Avengers 104, way back in 1972.) Hasbro wanted a variant to distinguish its exclusive for San Diego Comic-Con, but I would have liked to see the classic purple and blue more widely available.
A lot of folks believe that Toy Biz’s Marvel Legends really hit its stride with the Sentinel series. I’m hoping that Hasbro’s Sentinel is the lead-in to a strong relaunch for Marvel Legends this year.
You can pick up the Marvel Masterworks Sentinel 16″ Figure and the Marvel Masterworks Sentinel 16″ Figure – Repaint Version at AFP sponsor Big Bad Toy Store, and I’ve seen the Marvel Universe Masterworks Sentinel at Amazon.com
X-Men, X-Men everywhere. Last winter it was Avengers, but Custom Con 30 is the year of the X-Men! It’s been killing me to hold some of these customs back (especially Colossus!) as I’m seen some killer versions of these characters lately. It was a blast making these X-Men, new, old, and supporting cast. Am I the only one that has trouble putting together coherent naratives for these entries?
Continue reading “CC30: Marvel Legends – X-Men Everywhere by Jakey-Jake”
Neither of these core groups have enough members for an entry of their own, so why not combine them! Since we already have an X-Factor Cyclops, I thought to myself, who would be a good stand in? Since Havok has made a living being a stand in for his older brother, he was a logical choice. And hey, he was in X-Factor too! I just finished reading both of these titles, and while they fizzled at the end, there were some great stories to be had along the way. Enjoy!
Continue reading “CC30: Marvel Legends – X-Factor and Excalibur by Jakey-Jake”
