ML Secret Wars

I got Magik in yesterday. It's been a whirlwind of emotions.

First, it was relief and joy. There's nothing quite like opening the figure you've dreamed of for 15 years. If Hasbro went kaput tomorrow, I could at least take solace in the fact that I got Magik first.

Then I was struck by the reality of what I had in hand. Although it hasn't happened much recently, I'm familiar with the feeling of buying a Marvel Legend, opening it, being disappointed, and putting it on the shelf because it ticks the box I needed it to. The late-era Bucky Cap figures were like that. Basically all of their ladies are like that to this day. Any New Mutants Magik should be a shoo-in for my figure of the year. She's so limited that I can't help but be frustrated.

The head articulation sucks, mostly because the hair is a giant immobile piece of plastic. She desperately needs butterfly joints and a second grasping hand to pull off two-handed sword poses. The torso articulation is a joke. And then there are those damn Marvel Legends ankles that don't move forward nearly far enough to get into crouching poses.

I'm probably being harsh because she's my favorite character and this is likely the last figure we'll get of her outside of the terrible Bachalo costume for the next 15 years. I'm glad to have her but disappointed by the execution.

It might be time for me to get serious about customizing if I can find a suitably articulated base body.
 
You're spitting truths from beginning to end.

I wish Magik brought you the joy Scarlett brought me yesterday, but as a Magik fan, I know it cannot be so.

They've been losing my enthusiasm and money for a while. And it's not that the line itself is stagnant or sucks. It's because we know what they can do so it is glaring when they don't.

Not every figure needs to be Anniversary Widow, but they are well behind in the engineering world.
 
I’m not a huge Magik fan so I am satisfied enough. I think my bit to be desired is the left grip hand, but I don’t know how much more articulation I need. I do agree that the younger female body is in dire need of an upgrade, not just to pinless joints, but with butterflies and a ball joint waist. Ankles across the line need an upgrade as well. I can be pretty selective when it comes to these upgrades though. I’d expect them on a new Elektra or Black Cat but don’t necessarily need them on someone like Wasp or Diamondback or Namorita.
 
All I know is I need them all.

U5C8efm.jpg
 
[QUOTE="Alt, post: 147055, member: 66"It's because we know what they can do so it is glaring when they don't.

Not every figure needs to be Anniversary Widow, but they are well behind in the engineering world.[/QUOTE]

Completely agree with this. They put out so many great figures, but the line is always going to be judged - and rightfully so - on the merits of a “standard” figure, and they desperately need to raise the floor of what that is. Releasing figures on these outdated bodies with missing or severely limited articulation is completely unacceptable, seriously disappointing when it’s something you’ve waited so long for, and it makes the whole line look worse. The lack of any waist articulation on 80% of female figures is the worst offender by far in my view, but there’s a minimum standard they should set - and can easily do so considering how reliant the line is on reuse.

I’m going to get Magik, and I’m going to be thrilled to start building the classic New Mutants. It’s not ruined for me because my primary requirement is “be a Marvel Legend of classic NM Magik,” which the figure does very effectively. But they’re shooting themselves in the foot by not setting a higher standard for what ML is about.
 
SDcomics said:
And look. Maybe ... just MAYBE ... if this new DC Mattel line truly is the cat's meow, then that could force Hasbro to up their game.
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There are domestic toy lines that are setting the standard right now and people are already saying, "Look over here, look what CAN be done at a $27 price point". We've already been shown what's possible, whether it's being implemented on a He-Man or an M. Bison or a Superman figure doesn't matter. As long as people are still buying ML at this low bar, there will be no significant change regardless of what Mattel DC ends up being. Mattel will NOT be the one to force Hasbro to "up their game", it will be the buyers and their wallets.
 
Having a line that is in more direct competition is definitely going to put pressure on in a way that Street Fighter or MOTU stuff won’t. A mass market 6” DC line is the closest thing to direct competition ML can have, and if Mattel comes out swinging with quality + quantity at competitive prices it’s going to put pressure on Hasbro in ways that Jada’s 8 SF releases a year can’t. Having that direct competition is the exact thing that will make people speak with their wallets. Guaranteed that Hasbro will be paying attention to what Mattel is doing with their line.
 
hmmberto said:
Having a line that is in more direct competition is definitely going to put pressure on in a way that Street Fighter or MOTU stuff won’t. A mass market 6” DC line is the closest thing to direct competition ML can have, and if Mattel comes out swinging with quality + quantity at competitive prices it’s going to put pressure on Hasbro in ways that Jada’s 8 SF releases a year can’t. Having that direct competition is the exact thing that will make people speak with their wallets. Guaranteed that Hasbro will be paying attention to what Mattel is doing with their line.
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Precisely this.

I know Hasbro and I know Mattel. And they reeeeeeeally don't like each other. It'll be interesting to see what the next few months bring.
 
hmmberto said:
Having a line that is in more direct competition is definitely going to put pressure on in a way that Street Fighter or MOTU stuff won’t. A mass market 6” DC line is the closest thing to direct competition ML can have, and if Mattel comes out swinging with quality + quantity at competitive prices it’s going to put pressure on Hasbro in ways that Jada’s 8 SF releases a year can’t. Having that direct competition is the exact thing that will make people speak with their wallets. Guaranteed that Hasbro will be paying attention to what Mattel is doing with their line.
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BAF Amalgams between the two in collab.
 
hmmberto said:
Having a line that is in more direct competition is definitely going to put pressure on in a way that Street Fighter or MOTU stuff won’t. A mass market 6” DC line is the closest thing to direct competition ML can have, and if Mattel comes out swinging with quality + quantity at competitive prices it’s going to put pressure on Hasbro in ways that Jada’s 8 SF releases a year can’t. Having that direct competition is the exact thing that will make people speak with their wallets. Guaranteed that Hasbro will be paying attention to what Mattel is doing with their line.
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I understand where you are coming from with this, but at the same time, Hasbro can STILL tell themselves, "Well, those Superman and Batman and Flash figures may be really, really good, but if fans want to complete their Thunderbolts team, we are the only game in town, and if we go half-assed on Moonstone and Techno and Atlas, people will scoff on the internet all day but they will still buy it. Because in the end, they just want SOMETHING on their shelves, whether it's good or not". Until the fans prove them wrong with their wallets, until they say, "Pass" in place of paying $30 for a sub-par release, there will be no change.
 
yojoebro82 said:
I understand where you are coming from with this, but at the same time, Hasbro can STILL tell themselves, "Well, those Superman and Batman and Flash figures may be really, really good, but if fans want to complete their Thunderbolts team, we are the only game in town, and if we go half-assed on Moonstone and Techno and Atlas, people will scoff on the internet all day but they will still buy it. Because in the end, they just want SOMETHING on their shelves, whether it's good or not". Until the fans prove them wrong with their wallets, until they say, "Pass" in place of paying $30 for a sub-par release, there will be no change.
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I don’t think we’re disagreeing. I’m saying that having a more direct competitor is a mechanism that will make people more likely to speak with their wallets. People will be less willing to settle for a half-effort at completing the Thunderbolts if Mattel is simultaneously releasing a badass Suicide Squad lineup.

My default assumption about ML is that the people actually designing the toys want to do as much as they can with the budgets they’re given, and the bean counters and c-suite are the main limitation on that. If they can point to direct evidence of Mattel eating their lunch and how to stop it happening it’s likely to result in us getting better toys.
 
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