The Countdown to SDCC 2025!

Thor-El said:
Agreed. I’d be happy to pay MTO
Click to expand...
giphy.gif

Thor-El said:
or even HasLab prices
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
I wonder if I won the lottery and went to Hasbro and said I would pay for all the design, tooling and production costs for Gargoyle, offering them an insane amount of money. they keep the molds and all the designs. They make me one figure and can do with the molds what they want. Do you think they would draw up a contract like that and do it?
 
You'd probably have to approach Cocks directly.

A MTO Warriors Three sounds like a great idea for a release avenue which, since that IS an option, makes me think there's another reason Hasbro doesn't want to do it. And hasn't done it. They can make anything they feel like (except for Man-Ape).
 
They probably just don't think they'd sell well enough. The MTO model still has to meet certain minimums for it to be worth it to them. And unlike a Haslab, there's no required minimum for them to go to production.

The whole MTO model is new though, so who knows? I'd love to see them expand what they try with it.
 
Phew, finally back home safe and sound. My phone barely got any service inside the con, and I spent most nights at networking events, so I'm only now catching up on reveals, even though I was there! I did get to spend some time checking out Mondo, Neca, 4H, Nacelle, and Mezco's booths while on break. Hasbro was almost always mobbed.

Minor takeaways:
  • Mezco's Shredder looks much better in person
  • Mondo's Ghostbusters look great together
  • NECA's Sesame Street line is going to be one for the history books.
  • ML's White Queen head sculpts are the best so far for that character.
  • I hope Nacelle grabs some choice IPs. They have a lot of potential.
I had a fantastic time through and through. Thanks for coming by the table, SD! It was great meeting you. Already planning next year....
 
Not sure Warriors 3 is any less of a selling point than Dragon Man. Would a 3 pack need to be anything more than $120 or so? Volstagg doesn't need to be THAT big. Odin they made was too big. Should have been more classic Thanos size. Think they were trying to justify a higher price point. Not something they'd fully have to do with a 3 pack. Hell; jack the price. Throw Baldur in there.
 
As promised, a few final thoughts on this years really big shew.

I was very pleased with the Hasbro Marvel Legends panel. I am a classic guy that's really only interested in comic based figures from the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper ages, with a little 90's. Once you get up to the year 2000 I rapidly start losing interest. So if I see one or two figures per reveal that thrill me I figure I'm doing good. This year there were 7. Mephisto, Starfox, Stargod (Man-Wolf), World War II Logan, Feral, Rachel Summers (Phoenix), and Champion of the Universe. These days that to me is a LOT. So I'm pretty happy. (And yes, I know WW II Logan is not a Golden Age character but that is the time period those stories take place. Let's not split hairs.) Starfox is a classic Avenger so he's a team builder, as is Feral (X-Force) and Rachel (Excalibur). WW II Logan can go on the Golden Age shelf, Mephisto on the classic villains shelf and Champion can go with the cosmic space faring characters. Man-Wolf goes on the Spidey villain shelf. That means after 19 years we can finally retire that ToyBiz figure. The one that was in the Spider-Man Classics line with the action features. Yes, that one. I can't wait to say goodbye to him.

So about Jesse Falcon, aka The Great Falcada. I'm sorry, I probably should have warned you guys about him. He's a good dude, but he can be pretty brusque sometimes. I just chalk it up to him being a New Yorker. You have one and a half million people crammed on an island that's only 22 square miles and the winters there can be brutal. It's gotta be hard on folks. Don't get me wrong, I've been to New York and I love it. The people there were really nice to me, but I can see where it can get kind of claustrophobic sometimes. Here in San Diego we have mild temperatures year round and we're spread out over 4000 square miles of beaches, mountains, inland valleys and deserts. We tend to be pretty laid back. Anyway, Jesse and I go back a long, long way. Some 25 years, I think, so I've got a handle on him. Kind of. Remember years ago, when ToyBiz packed in Howard the Duck with the Silver Surfer? Marvel Legends Series 5, I think, back in 2003. I said to Jesse "Hey, thanks for Howard! But why'd you pack him in with the Surfer?" He just glared at me and said "Why the fuck not?" Well. Alrighty then. Why the fuck not indeed.

I am so delighted about the Legends Human Torch. I guess that should go without saying. I'm curious to see how they release him. As part of a wave with a BAF? Or a two pack, with another West Coast Avenger (Firebird, perhaps)? I don't know, but it'll be fun to find out. It was very flattering to hear Dwight say he thought about me the entire time he was designing that figure. I really do believe the Legends team does listen to us and our wants are important to them. It would be great if they made everything we asked for but at the end of the day Hasbro is a profit driven company and they have to make what they think will sell. Dwight, Dan and Steve have people they have to answer to.

Anyone who's worked for a big corporation knows what it's like. It's always the bottom line. $$$$$$ And that's the problem with Marvel and DC action figures. There are too many big corporations calling the shots. Warner Brothers Discovery, Disney, Hasbro, Mattel, Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Warner Brother Consumer Products ... they're all standing there with their hands out like orphans in a Dickens novel, wanting their piece of the pie. I have pretty much given up on the idea of ever getting a complete Golden Age Justice Society or Invaders. We may come close. But there's no way Hasbro will make a Golden Age Whizzer when they can make an MCU Brand New Day Spider-Man, or Mattel will make a Golden Age Mr. Teriffic when they can make a Robert Pattinson Batman. We live in a Batman/Spider-Man/X-Men world and we have to live in it. Sure, we'll occasionally get a Man-Wolf or Starfox and that's cool so all is not lost. I guess patience is the key. It took 25 years, but I'm finally getting a Golden Age Human Torch. But I hope I don't have to wait another 25 for Bucky and Toro. I'll be 91 years old.

But I'm looking on the bright side. I'm saving a shitload of money. That's not a bad thing.

The rest of the convention was awesome. I had a great time this year. I got into Hall H (I love you, ADA badge) and I got to see the DC Studios Peacemaker panel. That was a lot of fun. I was hoping to see some footage from Lanterns or Supergirl but no dice. John Cena is one funny, funny dude. He had the room in stitches. The show looks great and I'm really looking forward to it.

I got to speak to Tom King and Scott Synder for a few minutes. That was awesome. They're very talented writers with big plans for DC. I'm looking forward to see what they've got cooked up.

Mark Waid tried but couldn't stump me at the DC Trivia contest. The category was "Golden Age" (I know. I had to giggle) and the question he asked me was "Name the Seven Soldiers of Victory." Piece of cake. Shining Knight, Crimson Avenger, Vigilante, Green Arrow, Speedy, the Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy. I won an autographed copy of the History of the DC Universe. Once again, grampa showed the young'uns how it's done.

On Thursday some friends and I snuck off to see the Fantastic Four movie. That was like a dream come true. I have waited my entire life to see an FF film that was comic accurate and I can't tell you how much I loved it. Galactus and the Silver Surfer were incredible and god like which they should be. The Mole Man was teriffic. And the heroes were a family. The very end credits scene contained a stunning tribute to the King himself, the late Jack Kirby. That was very touching and sweet. I admit I did shed a few tears.

This whole month seems like a wonderful dream for fans of superheroes, sci-fi and epic fantasy. Ironheart was a great show that finally introduced Mephisto to the MCU. Jurrasic World Rebirth was a nonstop thrill ride. And don't get me started on Superman and the Fantastic Four. At last, some of the greatest characters in comics were in movies that were true to the source material. They were both a love letter to the Silver Age. They made me feel like a little boy again and I didn't think that was possible. But there I was, back on that farm in Indiana, sitting underneath a willow tree in the back yard with a nice cool soda and a stack of comics, losing myself in worlds created by Jack Kirby and Curt Swan. It doesn't get better than that.

All that said, to reiterate something that Beamish posted, the best part of comic con is being with the tribe. Being surrounded by people who love the same things you do. And making new friends.

Time to thank some people.

@Beamish, @PantherCult and @AgentHemlock, thank you for being so nice. It was such an amazing pleasure to meet you. I hope we can do it again next year.

@hmmberto, this whole trading card thing was your idea. The Hasbro Marvel team knows who and where we are now. We now have a voice. I saw the looks on their faces when I handed them the packs. They were touched that someone would give them a gift that cool. You are awesome, dude. Maybe someday you can come out here and we can give them their packs together.

@TheSameIdiot Thank you for this forum. I feel honored and blessed to be here.

To the rest of you, thank you for making this such an amazing community. The level of discourse and civilized discussion here is amazing and I thank you all for that. We have Reddit beat all to hell.

So, next years SDCC will take place from Thursday, July 23 through Sunday, July 26, 2026, with Preview Night on Wednesday, July 22. I'm ready. As a certain mutant once said "Let's fuckin' go."
 
Last edited:
PanchaMaestro said:
Not sure Warriors 3 is any less of a selling point than Dragon Man. Would a 3 pack need to be anything more than $120 or so? Volstagg doesn't need to be THAT big. Odin they made was too big. Should have been more classic Thanos size. Think they were trying to justify a higher price point. Not something they'd fully have to do with a 3 pack. Hell; jack the price. Throw Baldur in there.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, I would buy the shit out of a Warriors 3 set. It's Jack Freakin' Kirby for crying out loud.

UNFORTUNATELY ... I'm not the one who does the figure approving at Hasbro. And even if I were, there's always the possibility that someone at Disney can nix the idea.

Sometimes it amazes me that anyone outside of Spider-Man and the X-Men gets made at all.
 
I'm surprised Starfox is being done (not because of his powers which IMO was always a bad reason for people to think he'd never be made). Mostly because of the Avengers anniversary program not doing well and them saying Avengers would be sporadic now or whatever.

Which leads me to think the only reason he is being made is because Dwight or whoever convinced the higher ups because he was at the end of an MCU movie.

Which then leads me to think that a classic Mantis may be one of the 4 from the cards that Jesse says they are working on, for the same reason. She's been in how many movies and still had no comic figure?

Maybe then they were able to sneak Swordsman into the 2 pack with her since he too is in the MCU.

Wishful thinking? Or sound logic?
 
Last edited:
In some conversations here, that I've seen on other sites and that I had with Dwight, cost is a definitely a factor with who gets made. I wasn't gonna say it because I overheard part of a conversation Dwight was having with some others and I didn't hear all of it, but they were discussing Exodus and Dwight said something to the effect that many parts of Exodus would be new and costly, and that's why he hasn't been done yet. I may have misheard since I wasn't in the conversation directly, but I'm pretty sure that's what I heard.

When Dwight and I were discussing Starfox's skeeviness, Dwight mentioned he was very cost effective to make since everything existed except the head. Not missing an opportunity, I of course mentioned that Firebird was just as cost effective for another 2-pack or BAF because she's Crystal with maybe a brighter yellow base, borrowed cape, borrowed fire effects and a new head sculpt. He smiled and agreed.

Swordsman is complete reuse, right? New head?, Throw in a Swordsman II head?

Mantis is a problem. The skirt is new and could be very problematic to make. The pointy shoulders on the bodice could be problematic. Both the skirt and bodice would be new sculpts and costly. Unfortunately, I don't think she's happening anytime soon.
 
Starfox and Champion (as Championpool) were a couple of the holdovers that got made in the Hasbro 3 3/4" line that hadn't been made in Legends yet. Others that I remember off the top of my head are comic Rick Jones A-Bomb, Triton, Collector, Howard the Duck, Kidpool, Moon Boy, Nebula, the Rainbow Deadpool pack (including Solo, Terror, Slapstick, Foolkiller all in their Deadpool uniforms) and the MCU Warriors Three and Laufey. I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that I can think of right away.
 
Not to be all "that's done, what's next" but what are the rest of the conventions and such where not will we see more new stuff but also have opportunities to interact with the Hasbro teams?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top