Posts Tagged ‘ Toy ’

Marvel Legends are Back! My Wish List

Marvel Legends

Image by Tim.Deering via Flickr

Marvel Legends are back next year. The toy line that made the 6inch action figure scale famous has been on hiatus for the past few years, and now Hasbro have finally given into the demands of Legends fans worldwide, by bringing the series back in full swing. I’m not ashamed in admitting I own probably every Marvel Legends (with the exception of the SDCC Thor) figure in existence, (which for UK fans has been hard due to Toybiz and Hasbro’s awful distribution). With the next 2-3 series of figures already announced, here are my picks for what figures I hope will come up in the future.

My Wish List:

1) Heimdall:

The characters from Asgard have been in the spotlight of the Marvel Universe in recent years. Re-introduced during the Olivier Coipel illustrated Thor Series, and starring in a major Hollywood film, now is the perfect time to get Asgard’s warriors on shelves.

2) The Warriors Three

Which means the likes of Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg need to be released at some point. Whether they’re in single carded figures or in a triple pack, the Warriors Three are an integral part of the Marvel Universe, and it’s about time collectors got characters from the Thor universe.

3) Sebastian Shaw

Largely influenced by Kevin Bacon’s fantastic performance in X-Men: First Class, Sebastian Shaw’s popularity must surely be at an all time high. With the exception of the dreadful Emma Frost figure (more on that later), it’s time collectors are able to make their own Hellfire Club.

4) Azazel

Another choice that’s been influenced by X-Men: First Class. Whether you’re a fan of the silent henchman Azazel, or the religious demon from the comics, there’s no doubt he would make for a great figure.

5) Emma Frost

The last (and only) time we’ve gotten an Emma Frost figure was the dreadful one from the Hasbro 1st series. Being truthful, the figure looked more like a man, and the diamond variant was shocking. With Emma at the centre of the X-Men books, it’s fitting collectors get a better version of her to display.

6) Bleeding Edge Iron Man

He’s been one of the most reoccurring characters in the Marvel Legends line, and I doubt that’s going to change anytime soon. There’s already an Extremis Iron Man on the way, so it’s only fitting Hasbro create a figure Iron Man’s most recent armour. The Bleeding Edge Iron Man armour is stored entirely under Tony Stark‘s skin, so it should suit the slimmer mold Hasbro seem to be giving Iron Man in recent waves.

7) Ultimate Hawkeye (New Ultimates)

Hawkeye is regarded as one of the coolest characters of the Marvel Ultimate Universe. The look of Ultimate Clint Barton has even inspired the look of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in next year’s Avengers movie. Whether it’s 616 or Ultimate, Hawkeye’s popularity is at an all time high, and considering we’ve already gotten a classic 616 Hawkeye, it’s fitting the next figure is Ultimate Clint.

8.) Iron Patriot

Now almost as famous as his Green Goblin persona, Norman Osborn’s Iron Patriot armour made him into one awesome villain. Running H.A.M.M.E.R and the Dark Avengers, as Iron Patriot, Norman controlled the Marvel Universe for a year during the Dark Reign saga.

9) Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

Whether you love him or you hate him, Miles Morales has sent shock waves across the comic book world this year. After writer Brian Bendis decided to kill of Ultimate Peter Parker, and replace him with Miles who is of African/American and Latino descent, fans have been going wild. Some hate how Peter has been replaced, where as some love the change of character. Bottom line is, the intense publicity Miles has received almost instantly makes him worthy of being a Marvel legends figure.

10) Fantomex,

Introduced during Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Fantomex has become a cult favourite among X-Men fans. Starring in the new X-Force series has brought Fantomex’s popularity rise drastically and many fans would love to add him to their X-Force collection.

So there are my top ten figures I would love to see in a future Marvel Legends line. If anyone has their opinion on whom they would want to see please your wish list below.

2011
10/08
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Toys
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Are Superhero Films Too Toyetic?

Iron Man

Image by Ridho Nur Imansyah via Flickr

Welcome back to the blog. I haven’t posted anything in a while due to work commitments therefore I thought I’d come back with something a little bit different. I want to highlight and discuss the relationship between the current influx of superhero movies and the toy industry. This idea came to me recently when I was browsing through a local toy store and saw a large amount of shelf space devoted to Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger merchandise.

Granted most comic book movies will have toy lines to appeal to the young children or collectors who’ve seen the films, but when does it get to a point when the movies themselves are constructed with the toy lines in mind? Joel Schumacher‘s Batman & Robin was criticised for being a two hour-long toy commercial, which illustrates how film studios do factor in how the films can generate money from toy merchandise. It didn’t stop there for the Batman franchise, as some would argue his latest in film gadget, The Bat-Pod was purposely created to sell toys.

The Iron Man film franchise can easily be seen as having a vast toyetic approach. Robots vs. robots, the toys basically sell themselves. It was Iron Man 2 however that raised questions over how much planning had been put into the film’s toyetic appeal. The ending of Iron Man 2 was essentially a battle royale for robots. In what was a clustered finale, Iron Man and War Machine unleashed fire upon countless Hammer Drones in a scenario that didn’t really fit in place with the rest of the film, considering how little action was found in Iron Man 2’s first half. Was the action focused ending just a way to make sure the film generates toy sales?

Last month’s super debutant Thor is a little harder to make toyetic. But what the toy companies did do is generate toys based on the weapons in Thor. For instance Hasbro created an electronic hammer and heavily advertised it though television. What child wouldn’t want to be a Norse god? Captain America: The First Avenger is the toyline that most got my attention. It’s obvious Cap’s figures and play sets have been heavily designed with G.I. Joe in mind. That’s a great and clever marketing technique, but to what extent does that ideology cross over into the film? Is Captain America going to be driving a 4×4 and a fighter jet as well as his trademark motorbike throughout the film? Are The First Avenger’s action scenes going to be story devices for advertising toys?

These are just some examples of how some comic book movies have made their marketing intentions clear throughout the films. In some cases the toyetic approach is not a problem, providing the action scenes are well constructed and actually fit into the context of the films. The X-Men franchise (bar X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is probably the best comic book movie franchise that doesn’t over exploit the toyetic approach. That’s where FOX trump over Marvel Studios. Marvel need to make sure they don’t spoil any future movies, buy trying to generate toy sales.

2011
06/29
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Comic Book Movies
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