2025-2026 Rumor/Leak List - UPDATED List 10-30-25 (after Lucca Con Panel)

Ashtalon said:
I like the costume because it is something different for the character. And because it does reference her ethnicity and heritage which is something not often done with the character.

I also would love a figure of American Eagle. Which I’m sure someone will have a problem with.

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I thought I was the only one!! His first appearance was such a cool issue.
 
Sadly, any character that could be perceived as a caricature of a people or culture will never happen. And that's okay. It sucks for completionism, but in order to not draw the ire of civil rights activists and groups of that sort, is it worth it for a company the size of Hasbro? Likely not.

A hooded Cobra Commander? Or let's keep it Marvel: Man-Ape? American Eagle? Fu Manchu? Never going to happen, not in 2025.

Hell, we are the same society that caused Django Unchained figures to be pulled from shelves literally the week they were released. Even though it tells the story of triumph and victory in the face of oppression, because it contained the story of slaves...nope, pulled. Never will we see figures again. And that was 13 years ago, which doesn't seem like a long time, but socially? Might as well have been decades ago. Imagine a toy company putting American Eagle out TODAY. Oof.
 
Yeah, but its stupid, reactionary and performative. While I'm sure there is someone that would protest American Eagle... I think its less likely because of the native headdress and much more likely to be due to having a native repping the patriotic red, white and blue with the word 'American' in his name celebrating the genocidal colonizers.

And its silly to shy away from shit like that but not from a mass murderer who calls himself the Punisher...for example.

All dumb.

And they could release the likes of American Eagle and M'baku via fan channel and avoid hoopla from any soccer mom covens or whatever if they wanted to. Mephisto was a total 'no fly zone' until he wasn't. All it takes is one executive that doesn't care to reverse course.
 
puckace said:
My only problem with American Eagle is that he hasn't been made yet. He along with M'Baku are sadly in Hasbro's no fly zone.
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They're in good company: Arabian Knight, Sabra, Hate-Monger, Yellow Claw.

I'd be really happy with an online exclusive wave/ boxset of those, but that seems less likely than an Ultimate Obnoxio the Clown.
 
Is it performative?

Because it's easy for anyone who isn't of that ethnicity or race to say. But we aren't typically used as mascots, we aren't usually stereotyped in toy form. So it really isn't our place to say whether the people who oppose these sorts of things don't matter, or are reactionary.

You know, I don't know where on the color spectrum you fall, but I am white as white can be. White, red hair, blue eyes, Irish/Italian/Native American, third generation.

I'm also from Cleveland, and I would see the Indigenous protesters every single time I'd go to an Indians game. And in my younger years I would scoff and thought "What does it matter? It's just a name, it's just a cartoon. *I* have Native American in me, and I don't give a shit".

And I mean that. Not that "Oh, I'm part Navajo" or whatever. My great grandmother's maiden name on my father's side's is Crow. Full blooded Native American. She married my great grandfather, a full blooded immigrant from Sicily, Alberto Piccardini. He shortened it to Piccard when he got to America.

Actually, you can read about a relative of mine that died in a death by cop situation down in Wheeling, WV. Thomas Piccard.

Getting WAY off the point. Lol, the ADHD train of thought. ANYWAY...

But then I actually stopped and listened to them one day. I heard them, not just listened, but heard them on how they felt. How they really considered that it was racially insensitive and that they were being negatively stereotyped, and guess what? Guardians, Indians...it's still the same team at the end of the day. If it's still the same team, and people aren't being felt disrespected, truly...who cares?

Bringing it back to the point, the fact is-- you simply can not have an action figure of a Black man called "Man-Ape" on shelves. You can not have an Indigenous man with the stereotypical "Chief Wahoo" look on shelves. Call it dumb all you want, but we live in a different world, and despite the world that certain politicians are trying to bring back, corporate world has moved on. The risk far outweigh the reward.
 
So my father was black, mother white - my cousins are half Arapaho.... I know LOTS of black people and not one of them has an issue with Man Ape... I've had this conversation a lot.

And while Chief Wahoo was an offensive charicature there is a suit from the actual tribe seeking to restore the Redskins mascot to the Washington Football team because it was based on a real man, John White Calf. And teams like the Braves and Seminoles persist

In my experience the shrill protests often come from 'allies' far more often than from the 'victims' in thes situations. People who thrive on the attention they get loudly fighting against the wrongs done to others, even if they are the only one's who see the wrong.
 
Ashtalon said:
I also would love a figure of American Eagle. Which I’m sure someone will have a problem with.
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I'm actually not bothered by American Eagle's costume, which is a bit of a surprise to me considering how much I didn't like that Scarlet Witch one.

Maybe it's the totality of her look. Just all-in in the cultural stereotype while AE is wearing a superhero costume with Native American accessories? I don't know. I remember being okay with Red Wolf's 100% Native American costume in the 80s until they added in the wooden chest plate thing, bow and arrows, a spear, and just generally decked him out like an Apache going to war with everything "Indian" they could think of.

It makes me think of Spirit from G.I.Joe who I feel would be a stronger NA rep if they hadn't gone all-in with the braids, headband, loincloth, and rifle that somehow shoots literal arrows. They also made him a shaman.

To put it in perspective, I'm also a middle-aged white dude from Ohio who only just recently started thinking maybe black face wasn't okay, so I'm not the type to go leaping at cultural insensitivity. It's just that when you just pile on the design elements until their one defining feature is that they represent a "type," it feels off.

It's why I don't think highly of those old Hulk global characters like Shamrock or Arabian Knight.

At the same time, though, I remember realizing how Byrne's Alpha Flight was a teamup of every Canadian trope you can think of, and that never felt lazy so maybe there's something else involved too.
 
Fletch said:
At the same time, though, I remember realizing how Byrne's Alpha Flight was a teamup of every Canadian trope you can think of, and that never felt lazy so maybe there's something else involved too.
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We're incredibly lucky Alpha Flight didn't feature a moose, a syrup-based character, or a Tim Horton's-centric origin story.
 
My girlfriend is a full blooded Kumeyaay Native American. I showed her a picture of American Eagle and asked her if she'd have any problems with that character as an action figure and if she'd buy one for her nephew. She said she had no problems with it and she'd get one for the nephew if he wanted it. I thought I'd share that for what it's worth.

You know Marvel and DC reprint a lot of their classic comics from the Gold, Silver and Bronze ages as epic collections, omnibuses and masterworks. They usually run a disclaimer at the beginning of the book saying something like this:

These stories are a product of their times and may contain depictions that could potentially be considered offensive by today's standards. They are presented here without alteration for historical reference.

I mean that's all you gotta do. @PantherCult is right. Make them fan channel, add the disclaimer, and I can't see anyone getting too worked up.

There's always going to be people who wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is look around for something to get outraged about. But you can't worry about them. They may make some noise but they don't reflect the majority. At the end of the day Hasbro's in business to make money. If they think they can make money with Man-Ape or American Eagle figures, they'll figure out a way to get them out there.
 
Ah, but that's the thing:

They are reprints. They are re-releases of something that has already been done. You can put that disclaimer on there because it was a product of its time. Same goes for a lot of TV shows and movies, etc.

It's a little different to create a whole brand new figure and then try to fall back to that excuse. Doesn't exactly carry the same weight.

Look, end of the day, if Hasbro felt that they COULD do it, then they would have. Chances are though, a character like AE just isn't viable as a marketable, sellable item. But we are also here thinking as fans, with our feelings-- and not as culturally cognizant corporations (unintentional alliteration, baybee!!) looking to protect their bottom dollar. AE just would not be worth the potential backlash--to them.

Chances are also good that the Marvel team doesn't even know a thing about AE---considering they don't even know who the Slingers were, and they claim to be big 90s fans. I doubt they know a character like AE.

And if/when Black Panther 3 rolls around and there is no Man-Ape, I think there's your answer. It's never happening. Or if we do get one, this whole conversation is for nothing.
 
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