Character Designs Through the Decades

[komododragin]

On 8/9/2019 at 8:57 PM, DarthOdette said:

 

Yeah that makes sense.  Modern stuff is like a fad almost.  Once it’s gone, the next new thing is all the rage.  But that old stuff will always be in style 

Modern stuff isn't as memorable. They have the absolute carnage series coming out, and it will probably be cool, but I'm betting I'll still like maximum carnage way more.

[DarthOdette]

12 minutes ago, komododragin said:

Modern stuff isn't as memorable. They have the absolute carnage series coming out, and it will probably be cool, but I'm betting I'll still like maximum carnage way more.

A lot of stuff is recycled, no risk being taken, and if it is, it’s the wrong type of risk

[leokearon]

13 hours ago, DarthOdette said:

A lot of stuff is recycled, no risk being taken, and if it is, it’s the wrong type of risk

Sadly Marvel these days seem to liek to rehash storylines rather than think of anything really new. Also with the past decades you know what costumes are iconic and which should be avoided thanks to hindsight

[DarthOdette]

3 hours ago, leokearon said:

Sadly Marvel these days seem to liek to rehash storylines rather than think of anything really new. Also with the past decades you know what costumes are iconic and which should be avoided thanks to hindsight

Ain’t that the truth

[greenlucario]

Great question, touch choice.  I guess I'll go 1970s, though I'm partial to some designs from each of these decades.  

[leokearon]

4 hours ago, DarthOdette said:

Ain’t that the truth

Wish it wasn't sadly

[DarthOdette]

5 hours ago, leokearon said:

Wish it wasn't sadly

You and me both, it seems like Marvel has put the comics on the back burner for the movies.  You’d think that with the insane popularity of the movies, they’d be able to put out all sorts of new, cutting edge and ballsy stuff, but it’s gotten even more generic 

[DarthOdette]

8 hours ago, greenlucario said:

Great question, touch choice.  I guess I'll go 1970s, though I'm partial to some designs from each of these decades.  

That’s how I feel as well 

[RAMCAT]

I chose 90s. Am always down for 70s, 80s too though.

[Atlantis]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:54 PM, ADour said:

I wish Hasbro prioritized getting modern versions of characters and topical characters out as soon as possible. Classics are evergreen so they can come out any time, but (for example) the peak of my interest for a figure of a given Iron Man armor only lasts for as long as that suit is contemporary, and Hasbro is not very good at delivering figures for Iron Man suits while they're still current. On a similar note, I've been waiting for stuff like a modern Loki and Pymtron figures since 2014 and 2016, respectively.

I think that  "modern" versions last so very briefly, and Hasbro starts designing/manufacturing well in advance. How many times has Cap's outfit changed in just the last 5 years? Only to wind right back to its classic form. Or Spider-Man? Thor?? Havent seen the Alex Ross Spider-Man "glow" outfit yet but if memory serves, Spidey's already ditched that suit anyway. Its not surprising Hasbro cant keep up. Modern versions tend to be less desirable, for the most part.

Iron Man is a different animal. His armor would of COURSE be updated, so he's going to get a lot of versions. We still haven't seen the promethium (Heroes Reborn) armor, or even Silver Centurion. But you can be sure theyre on the way.

[leokearon]

4 hours ago, Atlantis said:

I think that  "modern" versions last so very briefly, and Hasbro starts designing/manufacturing well in advance. How many times has Cap's outfit changed in just the last 5 years? Only to wind right back to its classic form. Or Spider-Man? Thor?? Havent seen the Alex Ross Spider-Man "glow" outfit yet but if memory serves, Spidey's already ditched that suit anyway. Its not surprising Hasbro cant keep up. Modern versions tend to be less desirable, for the most part.

Iron Man is a different animal. His armor would of COURSE be updated, so he's going to get a lot of versions. We still haven't seen the promethium (Heroes Reborn) armor, or even Silver Centurion. But you can be sure theyre on the way.

The alex ross glow was the one with MJ

[ADour]

12 hours ago, Atlantis said:

I think that  "modern" versions last so very briefly, and Hasbro starts designing/manufacturing well in advance. How many times has Cap's outfit changed in just the last 5 years? Only to wind right back to its classic form. Or Spider-Man? Thor?? Havent seen the Alex Ross Spider-Man "glow" outfit yet but if memory serves, Spidey's already ditched that suit anyway. Its not surprising Hasbro cant keep up. Modern versions tend to be less desirable, for the most part.

Iron Man is a different animal. His armor would of COURSE be updated, so he's going to get a lot of versions. We still haven't seen the promethium (Heroes Reborn) armor, or even Silver Centurion. But you can be sure theyre on the way.

I think you are overestimating how often characters change outfit. The cases of Captain America and Thor are particular since they've had a past couple of hectic years with several temporary changes which I would consider an exception and not the norm. In the case of Spider-Man, he has only had one major change in the past five years; of using the Spider-Armor between 2015 and 2017. It's also worth pointing out that this was Spider-Man's only main costume change in the modern era. Also, the Spider-Armor got a figure in 2017, in the MJ Watson 2-pack.

Even then, Hasbro has delivered modern versions of characters. But my issue is how slow they are at doing so. I think Hasbro should be able to keep up if they became as involved with the comic division as they are with the movie side. Using modern outfit changes as an example, Spider-Man used the Spider-Armor between 2015 and 2017, and it only got a figure in 2017. Iron Man's Bleeding Edge Armor was 2010-2012, w/figure in 2013. His Marvel NOW! Armor was 2012-2015, w/figure in 2015. His Model-Prime Armor was 2015-2016, w/figure in 2018. Captain America's Marvel NOW! uniform lasted from 2012 to 2014, w/figure in 2014. Thor's Marvel NOW! suit was 2012-2014, w/figure in 2015. His first Unworthy outfit was 2014-2017, w/figure in 2017. Something similar has happened with other topical characters, like Jane Fosthor who lasted 2014-2018, w/figure in 2017. FalCap was 2014-2017, w/figure in 2016. Ms. Marvel debuted in 2014 and got a figure in 2016. Miles Morales in 2011 and we only got a proper figure in 2016 (not counting the bad 2012 attempt).

All of the modern outfits I mentioned had a pretty long life span of a couple of years, but Hasbro only made a figure for them when they were about to be ditched or were already ditched. In contrast, Hasbro works very tightly with Marvel Studios, allowing them to plan figures well in advance and release them either shortly before or shortly after a movie comes out. Even a delayed figure like the Iron Man MK 85 is coming out on the same year it debuted. For movie figures, 7 months is an eternity, but I'd be beyond shocked if Hasbro managed to pull that off for a comic look.

I need to go on a tangent and speak a little bit about the Iron Man Marvel NOW! armor and how odd I find it because the armor debuted in 2012, and Hasbro already had a comic-accurate 3D model of it as eary as 2013 which they used for the Avengers Assemble 3.75" line. However, it only got a Marvel Legends in 2015, which lazily used a repainted MCU MK IV mold (which was inaccurate for the armor it was meant to portray). I think this could be an indicative that Hasbro can have the resources to release topical figures much earlier than they do.

[SpiderS]

It depends really. 90s X-men are must however 90s Heroes Reborn Avengers not so much. I think 70 were the era when Marvel was established so there’s that, but answer would be really all eras as long as the costume design is good.