General Marvel Legends

[JakeEkiss]

I don't think they just want to do a Fantasticar that doesn't really light up or do anything else, and it would be hard to make it and justify a higher $200 price point of a HasLab. Should they have known the EoV was priced too high for the general Legends audience? I don't know. They definitely have a good idea now of what is acceptable and what is not.

Right. I think a non light up fantasticar is definitely within the price-range ML fans would accept, but it seems like the team doesn't want to do the minimalist take. Though... it has been working REAL well for the Joe folks considering stuff like the VAMP and Despoiler. Yeah, not everything can be the HISS tank, but maybe it doesn't have to be. There's a little stubbornness in there perhaps.

 

[Enforcer]

Right. I think a non light up fantasticar is definitely within the price-range ML fans would accept, but it seems like the team doesn't want to do the minimalist take. Though... it has been working REAL well for the Joe folks considering stuff like the VAMP and Despoiler. Yeah, not everything can be the HISS tank, but maybe it doesn't have to be. There's a little stubbornness in there perhaps.

It's really hard to say what the line is - and even harder when your job is kinda riding on it. You also have to consider the audience. GI Joe fandom historically has been intertwined with vehicles. My god I had so many vehicles as a kid. It was incredible. When fans realized they were getting the 6 inch line they always dreamed about (after some initial futuristic design bumps) - they prepared themselves for what vehicles might cost. The Hasbro team also seems to have found the sweet spot for smaller vehicles like the VAMP and larger like the HasLabs.

Marvel collectors typically only really want bikes, at most. There are only a select few larger vehicles guaranteed to have people excited enough to pay premium prices for. EoV wasn't one, and making Mephisto a tier was also a huge mistake. To make something like the Fantasticar that isn't an overpriced VAMP (basically) to justify it being a HasLab would equal people being pissed, for sure. If they add a bunch of stuff to it like lights and sounds - it would almost definitely veer into "they added too much unnecessary stuff and now it costs too much for a simple Fantasticar" territory.

 

[Chooch555]

I suspect, but have no way to verify, that lights and sounds are sold as a way to make it premium, but doesn't cost Hasbro as much as they upcharge for it.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

Price issues aside, I really believe the team thought they had delivered something very cool in EoV with enough bells and whistles to get people really excited. The amount of absolute outrage they got was not at all what they were expecting, and they were disheartened by the whole experience.

I still can't believe the amount of vitriol and abuse that campaign generated. One of our hobby's biggest "go touch grass" moments.

 

[Schizm]

That whole campaign was out of touch, on both sides. This team is in touch enough to KNOW what they were doing wasn't cool and would not be appreciated by their customers. They knew, and either did or were forced to do it anyway.

From the Early Bird, to the tiers, to the price - every step was almost impressively wrong. But this is well-worn territory, and we're FINALLY getting Robbie (minus his civilian head grumble grumble...).

Oh so like... just Pulse exclusives? Can't see that going away. Bullseye and Muse sold out.

Can we talk about this for a sec - is this pack gone for good, and the Punisher Mech? Has Dan responded to anyone asking if they're going to get restocked?

I don't want Punisher outside of his bandaged head, but I have come around on Bullseye and Muse. Not enough to pay current Ebay prices, but enough to grab them next time they are available - or can calmly wait IF they are coming back.

 

[JakeEkiss]

Marvel collectors typically only really want bikes, at most.

I'm not sure we know that, really. It's just as likely that there simply aren't that many really iconic vehicles in Marvel relative to GI Joe or Star Wars. Now, price sensitivity, that is real.

If they add a bunch of stuff to it like lights and sounds - it would almost definitely veer into "they added too much unnecessary stuff and now it costs too much for a simple Fantasticar" territory.

Right, and this is why I think the VAMP approach, specifically for the Fantasticar would work. It's "easy" in a relative sense to make a version that's good shelf decoration for a cost people will likely be willing to absorb (considering MTOP pricing). It's one of the few Marvel vehicles with real pedigree, and presuming the team is willing to make it without all the bells and whistles I think it has a much better chance than EoV.

I suspect, but have no way to verify, that lights and sounds are sold as a way to make it premium, but doesn't cost Hasbro as much as they upcharge for it.

So, while it's probably not the upcharge they say it is, electronics are annoyingly expensive, judging from my experience just trying to buy kits for the makerspace. Especially if you want things like lights that have any kind of programming to them beyond "off" and "on". Like, as much as they say? Ehh, we'd have to look at some factories. Is it going to make it a premium price? Yes, definitely. People thinking there should be an easy way to get the EoV with all the features for less than ~$200 are just incorrect. We've seen other companies try. If you add lights and sounds, it's going to jump the price noticeably. You can do a simply plastic vehicle for around $100, and multiple outfits have done it.

 

[hmmberto]

I still can't believe the amount of vitriol and abuse that campaign generated. One of our hobby's biggest "go touch grass" moments.

It really was. And not to excuse any mistakes and whatever gatekeeping/excessive pricing was happening on the Hasbro side, but got damn.

Not for nothing, but I'm convinced the EoV campaign would have been considerably cheaper if they'd done it a year or two later. Mid-late 2022 was peak COVID-era inflation - and I'm using that to refer to genuine supply chain disruptions driving up costs AND companies taking advantage and pushing the envelope as far as possible.

 

[Damien]

All of this is likely closest to the truth, and very accurate. But the Tariffs are a wild card thrown in right in the thick of it that must have impacted it in some way.

It's certainly possible that the exact pricing they landed on for non-pre-orders was influenced by tariffs, of course. But I neither believe for a single moment that the tariffs caused them to not make a profit on the pre-order units, nor do I think they wouldn't have raised price on the in-stock units had there been no tariffs. So, the effect of the tariffs is almost certainly fairly minimal.

I agree that they were likely always going to make extras, but I think saying the big jump in the price wasn't in response to tariffs would be too charitable to the 'bro - we know they aren't just going to eat that extra tax on our behalf.

Like I said above; I'm being the opposite of charitable. I think Hasbro was -always- going to raise prices on in stock units, tariffs or no. The exact number may have been influenced by their perceived or actual profit diminishment due to tariffs. But the price was always going to be higher than the pre-order price. Always.

 

[Beamish]

Speaking of the Hellcharger -
Dan Yun, Fanstream April 2026 after the reveal of Robbie Reyes:
"We hope that maybe we can take a crack at the Hellcahrger sometime in the future, but we'll have to see about that."
Is that a hint? Is that a statement that may not pay off?
Would it be a MTO stripped down version of the HasLab? Legendary Rider set?

 

[Enforcer]

I'm not sure we know that, really. It's just as likely that there simply aren't that many really iconic vehicles in Marvel relative to GI Joe or Star Wars. Now, price sensitivity, that is real.

Right, and this is why I think the VAMP approach, specifically for the Fantasticar would work. It's "easy" in a relative sense to make a version that's good shelf decoration for a cost people will likely be willing to absorb (considering MTOP pricing). It's one of the few Marvel vehicles with real pedigree, and presuming the team is willing to make it without all the bells and whistles I think it has a much better chance than EoV.

So, while it's probably not the upcharge they say it is, electronics are annoyingly expensive, judging from my experience just trying to buy kits for the makerspace. Especially if you want things like lights that have any kind of programming to them beyond "off" and "on". Like, as much as they say? Ehh, we'd have to look at some factories. Is it going to make it a premium price? Yes, definitely. People thinking there should be an easy way to get the EoV with all the features for less than ~$200 are just incorrect. We've seen other companies try. If you add lights and sounds, it's going to jump the price noticeably. You can do a simply plastic vehicle for around $100, and multiple outfits have done it.

Obviously, there's no definite way to know why GI Joe does so many vehicles successfully compared to Legends - that's just my theory. Joe collectors love vehicles, and there are so many they are excited for or have an intense childhood nostalgia for. The line absolutely benefits from that. The super fans from the 80's now make salaries which allow them to afford larger vanity purchases

But on the subject, and I know it's been covered here before - which Marvel vehicles would make sense for a HasLab that are iconic enough to warrant interest and higher cost? And isn't just a van. There is a reason the team rolled the dice on EoV.

I still can't believe the amount of vitriol and abuse that campaign generated. One of our hobby's biggest "go touch grass" moments.

I think the EoV was a real watershed moment for collecting because it was where a snowball of negativity was absolutely amplified by the... jesus... Action Figure Influencers and lame talking head TikTok accounts who saw insane levels of engagement by chiming in with negative sentiment. It very quickly grew into an avalanche - and it changed social media coverage/discourse even to this day. No mater how they really felt, and I'm sure a lot where legitimately "outraged"... but once they saw career high levels of interaction and views - bitching and complaining became the quickest way to attention. It always was, for sure. But that was a real turning point, I feel like.

 

[Enforcer]

Speaking of the Hellcharger -
Dan Yun, Fanstream April 2026 after the reveal of Robbie Reyes:
"We hope that maybe we can take a crack at the Hellcahrger sometime in the future, but we'll have to see about that."
Is that a hint? Is that a statement that may not pay off?
Would it be a MTO stripped down version of the HasLab? Legendary Rider set?

They may try the VAMP method - but I don't think the sales will be there honestly. As more time goes by, the more I just see that Hellcharger pick as an absolute risk for getting Legends collectors to pony up for a much higher cost.

 

[Alt]

Action Figure Influencers and lame talking head TikTok accounts who saw insane levels of engagement by chiming in with negative sentiment. It very quickly grew into an avalanche - and it changed social media coverage/discourse even to this day.

I'm ashamed I used to be terminally online enough to know this, but EoV was a Kingmaker for several channels.

 

[AceofKnaves]

I feel like every day that goes by makes the EoV less relevant. Is Robbie Reyes even featured heavily in the comics anymore? He was one of those niche, “let’s make a character involved with Popular Stuff Happening Now (the F&F franchise” characters that seems incredibly dated after the “Popular Stuff” isn’t exactly “Happening Now” anymore.

 

[Enforcer]

I'm ashamed I used to be terminally online enough to know this, but EoV was a Kingmaker for several channels.

Yeah... that surprises me very, very little. There are so many accounts that Instagram recommends - this fucking idiot with a chest tattoo always talking in clickbait headlines about negative shit. I would believe he posted one video about the EoV and thought "holy shit, this is my calling".

 

[Enforcer]

I feel like every day that goes by makes the EoV less relevant. Is Robbie Reyes even featured heavily in the comics anymore? He was one of those niche, “let’s make a character involved with Popular Stuff Happening Now (the F&F franchise” characters that seems incredibly dated after the “Popular Stuff” isn’t exactly “Happening Right Now” anymore.

It would have aged *almost* as poorly as the Razor Crest HasLab ... almost

until recent events...