Yeah, I tend to lean in this direction of skipping the universe build these days. I started collecting in 2020 with McFarlane's first DC wave, and then I exploded in a thousand directions because I discovered that all of my favorite nostalgic franchises from my childhood were represented with something by somebody (or multiple somebodies...). Before I knew it, I had way overspent what I initially intended to and I had a ton of stuff just because it "completed the set" so to speak. It was large volume, it was a mess on the shelves (and on the floor), and it was overwhelming trying to enjoy or display it all.
Sticking with the DC example, I was buying figures of characters I don't particularly care for just because they were part of a team. I have no particular interest in the JSA as a team, but I had picked up a Jay Garrick figure as part of my "Flash Family" and suddenly I was looking for Alan Scott and Spectre and Hawkman and and and. Eventually, I was rearranging one day and the thought crossed my mind - I don't even like most of these guys. I didn't dislike them, but I certainly didn't like them enough to have them displayed. I questioned why I bought them in the first place. So eventually, I parted with all of them except for Jay and I left him with the Flash's.
Green Lantern is a concept I like quite a bit, and they've had some interesting stories, but they're not my favorite corner of DC. So when a new Hal Jordan (the shiny Walmart one) came out, I was able to easily skip it because I already had a Hal. The same with the different John Stewarts.
As with most addictions, the key to breaking it is just starting. I used to be a pack a day smoker, and the hardest part of quitting was deciding that I really wasn't going to pick up another one. After that, it was easy to ignore the pull. But you have to start somewhere. Now, I only buy things that mean something to me (not counting some things I've purchased for review on our channel and immediately resold), and it's helped immensely with the overwhelming feeling of just wanting to can all of it.
The "Trickle Down Collect-o-nomics", as I sometimes refer to it. I was the same way- start with the heavy hitters, especially in terms of a team, and go from there. Like- of course Anakin is cool, but you can't have Anakin without Obi-Wan, and if Ahsoka is available, you gotta have the trio, etc. I've luckily been able to put the kibosh on that sort of thinking; maybe it's just because I have a decent amount of figures that I
do have representation of that trio and so on, so it doesn't feel as necessary, but still. Teams like X-Men, I'm totally cool having just the characters I'm familiar with and have an attraction toward.
I'm lucky that Batman is a big love of mine, because I don't feel the same pull there. I can have a Batman and not feel the need to have his Robin, or all the other Batsuits, etc. Same with villains- I'm totally cool cherry-picking the ones I really like, or the designs I like. Scarecrow being the exception, of course, but everything else- I like Arkhamverse Zsasz well enough, but I feel zero compulsion to get the classic Zsasz Todd released, for instance. I'm also totally cool mixing and matching universes. No discomfort will be felt if Arkhamverse Riddler is chilling alongside a comic-based Two Face or Hugo Strange, for instance.
My biggest hurdle was army building, and luckily I grew out of that one. Especially when it came to Black Series and all the clones and everything- somewhere along the way there was the perfect mix of space anxiety and money anxiety that it just broke it for me. I don't
need every variant, and I don't
need multiple. One Clone is enough to represent that battalion, etc. Freeing myself of that has honestly been the biggest relief, honestly. A rare case where anxiety can be a good thing, I guess.
