What’s with the Bucky and Toro embargo?
Seems kinda odd to single those two out.
Let's recap: At SDCC preview night, Dwight told me that there is a figure coming out in the next six months that I'm going to love. He said he thought about me the entire time he was designing it. He couldn't tell me who it is, just that I would love it. Now, those that know me know that I've been beating the drum pretty consistently on the boards and at conventions for a Marvel Legends Jim Hammond (the original Human Torch) and the rest of the Invaders. Any and all Golden Age. I've been advocating for them since the ToyBiz days. I said "This character we're talking about. Did he appear on the cover of Marvel Comics number 1 in August of 1939?" He smiled and said "I can't tell you that. But you will be happy." He went on to say that the figure is definitely coming out, it's too far in the pipeline for anyone to change their minds. Two other Hasbro staffers told me the same thing. Be on the lookout they said because it's coming. We must be getting the Torch because I don't know who else they could be talking about. Super! So I posted about it here that night.
The next day I asked about Bucky and Toro to round out the original five Invaders (We already have Cap and Namor). Dwight said no, not anytime soon. They tried to get Bucky approved a couple of times and he was rejected. I was disheartened with that news, but still happy about Jim Hammond. Hey, you take your victories where you can find them. When I got home, I let the board know the bad news about Bucky and Toro.
One of the regulars here (I think it was
@Chooch555) asked why specifically was Bucky rejected? Was it an aversion to teenage characters? I think that's a good question, so again I asked Dwight. No, he said. There is no moratorium or embargo on teenage or Golden Age characters. The reason the higher ups said no to Bucky was because they don't think he'll sell. That's all there is to it. Nothing more than that. Sad, but this is what life is like when you're dealing with the suits.
Listen, don't think Bucky and Toro are never gonna happen just because some dimwit in a suit is against the idea now. That particular dimwit isn't going to be there forever. Someday someone else may take over that position that has a little more common sense.
I remember when Jesse Falcon used to post regularly on the Fwoosh. It was cool because he was very forthcoming with information. But sometimes he could be a little TOO direct. There was a grass roots movement to get an Armadillo figure made (
@hmmberto can tell ya about that) and Jesse was adamant that it was never going to happen. Stop asking, he said. We're not going to do it. Armadillo is a niche character, he said. Too much tooling. It will never sell. Just forget it.
So we have an Armadillo figure. It's actually pretty cool. Moral of that story is, there's no such thing as "never". I'm not giving up on the Invaders and neither should you. Keep asking. Anything can happen.
The end.
