Spider-Man Retro 2026 Wave with Cardiac, Owl & Hypno Hustler

hmmberto said:
No two things across the history of Marvel Legends are as consistent as 1) the most ardent fans being the biggest complainers, and 2) the refrain: "Can the line survive much longer if they keep making figures like [insert most recent obscure character who was announced]?"

This Spidey wave follows the same formula as the last one, and the one before that, and before that, and before that. The Spidey retro waves might be the most consistent ML subline of the last ~5 years, which suggests a pretty decent performance.
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It IS a successful line in at least one way - that Walmart & Target buyers are too uninformed to recognize a good wave from a bad wave, but they know who Spiderman is and mindlessly buy it just like they'd buy a Batman line from Mattel if that deal ever happens.

The problem is that the characters they make are unknown to most big box customers - and if you track comic sales, you know why. The Spoidey waves end up on clearance all the time, so while in the sort term they do get sold into retail, the more they get clearanced, the less likely the big two are to buy the next wave. That's not success.

No problem with them making obscure characters, ever. But they should at least make the classic version. Imagine doing a modern Hypno-Hustler (if that's even a thing).
 
I'm definitely in for Owl. Yeah, I'd have preferred a more classic look, but honestly, I think this is a good representation of the character, and it may very well be the only time we see him in the line.

While I haven't read the book where he wore this look, Kurt as Spidey is definitely going to be purchased. My favorite X-Man dressing as my favorite Marvel hero is a no-brainer. He'll wind up on the Spiderverse shelf. Love that he comes with a BAMF effect.

Hypno-Hustler is such ridiculous, stupid fun. Yeah, he will likely wind up at Ross or Ollie's, but kudos to the Legends team for giving us this figure!
 
JRoug said:
It IS a successful line in at least one way - that Walmart & Target buyers are too uninformed to recognize a good wave from a bad wave, but they know who Spiderman is and mindlessly buy it just like they'd buy a Batman line from Mattel if that deal ever happens.

The problem is that the characters they make are unknown to most big box customers - and if you track comic sales, you know why. The Spoidey waves end up on clearance all the time, so while in the sort term they do get sold into retail, the more they get clearanced, the less likely the big two are to buy the next wave. That's not success.

No problem with them making obscure characters, ever. But they should at least make the classic version. Imagine doing a modern Hypno-Hustler (if that's even a thing).
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Unless we have access to production numbers, seeing things eventually move to clearance really doesn't tell us much. Retailers continue to order Spider-Man retro waves, unlike other waves they pass on (fan channel exclusives, etc), and I don't see anything in this wave that's very different from the last several. I'd say the continued support from retail is a better way to gauge success than anecdotes about clearance items - as you said, they wouldn't keep buying if it wasn't worth it.

That said, do we know for sure that this wave is general release?
 
Wave is up. Just Cardiac for me. Perhaps Nightcrawler and Spidey 2099 once they're on sale somewhat, assuming they ever see it.
 
I ordered all but Venom on Pulse, because I didn't see his listing at the top of the page with the rest of the wave. I did order all six at Amazon.
 
Not to argue about the owl design for too much longer but I feel like if they removed the scarf and had the coat be closed/ tied at the top it would have still been accurate to some appearances while giving it a ( slightly) more classic feel. Plus it would make the potential mastermind re-use More accurate as well. Whatever it still looks good enough for me anyway and should they reuse the coat for mastermind it would still be more accurate than the old man Logan 2 pack one everyone is using but still seems like a missed opportunity.
 
I preordered Cardiac with great joy. If it's the only ML purchase of 2026, I'll probably be OK.
 
I ordered Miguel and Kurt. The 2099 suit is one of my fave designs and this is a nice upgrade. And Kurt is almost always a preorder from me, and this one looks cool af. I may get a couple of the others on sale. But with how everything is right now money wise, I'll wait. I have a sword here somewhere I could also probably give him. Just gotta remember where I put it. Or I can just give him one from an older Kurt, but I need those for my other Kurts lol

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