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Fantastic Four-related HasLab Speculation


RyanDaly

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On 4/29/2021 at 7:10 PM, memocromatico said:

"...Opinions aren't facts, man. Truth is that FF aren't as popular as they were 20 years ago. Why? We speculate, we don't have the real insider info..."

For me, the popularity is on the subjective side. They were Marvel's flagship comic for an incredibly long time, and an undisputed corner stone of the Marvel universe.

And then....the book got cancelled.

The team practically disappeared, barely even guest appearances in the rest of Marvel's comics. Unthinkable, but it happened.

Finally, they got brought back. But even today I don't doubt that F4 comic sales don't match Avengers or X-Men levels, but those kinds of thing can change, wax and wane over a period of time. But a good action figure is a good figure, period. Think of all the outstanding figures they've put out in the last 2 years that had no ties to movies, tv, and even poor to non-existent comic sales. Figures were still bomb!

Hasbro can start F4 waves and see what happens. I believe theres huge untapped potential there, already built in. Basically its "if you build it, they will come". 

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1 hour ago, Atlantis said:

And then....the book got cancelled.

The team practically disappeared, barely even guest appearances in the rest of Marvel's comics. Unthinkable, but it happened.

Well, the team did disappear since the F4 were disbanded after 2015's Secret Wars, with Reed, Sue and the kids being assumed dead. But Johnny became an Avenger and hung around with the Inhumans, and Ben became a Guardian of the Galaxy. Doom became an Iron Man supporting character before becoming Iron Man himself, and Ben guest-starred in his book. Then before the Fantastic Four returned, Johnny and Ben were given their own book in Marvel 2-in-One.

What I'm getting at is that despite editorial being forced to bend over to Ike's no-F4 mandate, they still tried to keep the flame alive.

I would also argue that the Fantastic Four had dropped in popularity well before the Ike-mandated cancellation. By the time I started reading comics, the Fantastic Four already felt relatively niche compared to the Avengers, the X-Men and Spider-Man. And I'm saying this as a Fantastic Four fan.

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3 hours ago, ADour said:

Well, the team did disappear since the F4 were disbanded after 2015's Secret Wars, with Reed, Sue and the kids being assumed dead. But Johnny became an Avenger and hung around with the Inhumans, and Ben became a Guardian of the Galaxy. Doom became an Iron Man supporting character before becoming Iron Man himself, and Ben guest-starred in his book. Then before the Fantastic Four returned, Johnny and Ben were given their own book in Marvel 2-in-One.

What I'm getting at is that despite editorial being forced to bend over to Ike's no-F4 mandate, they still tried to keep the flame alive.

I would also argue that the Fantastic Four had dropped in popularity well before the Ike-mandated cancellation. By the time I started reading comics, the Fantastic Four already felt relatively niche compared to the Avengers, the X-Men and Spider-Man. And I'm saying this as a Fantastic Four fan.

Tragic, considering how they were once the very embodiment of Marvel.

Still, like I said before, they could  be action figure gold. Hasbro could do a series of waves with the Fantastic Four. A wave that has Mr. Fantastic and the Thing in their N-zone outfits, with 4-5 other F4 related characters. Next wave, Invisible Woman in the Future Foundation suit, Human Torch in his throwback red/yellow suit, 4-5 other related characters. Then a wave with Reed in the Future Foundation suit, Sue in the blue short sleeves, yada yada...it could be fun, collecting these to eventually get the whole team in their varied team outfits. This way they can switch the style up, and if others hate, let 'em hate, and watch the money pile up.

Toss in either an Annihilus or Watcher BAF. And just WHERE is my translucent Invisible Woman at??

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17 minutes ago, Atlantis said:

Tragic, considering how they were once the very embodiment of Marvel.

Still, like I said before, they could  be action figure gold. Hasbro could do a series of waves with the Fantastic Four. A wave that has Mr. Fantastic and the Thing in their N-zone outfits, with 4-5 other F4 related characters. Next wave, Invisible Woman in the Future Foundation suit, Human Torch in his throwback red/yellow suit, 4-5 other related characters. Then a wave with Reed in the Future Foundation suit, Sue in the blue short sleeves, yada yada...it could be fun, collecting these to eventually get the whole team in their varied team outfits. This way they can switch the style up, and if others hate, let 'em hate, and watch the money pile up.

Toss in either an Annihilus or Watcher BAF. And just WHERE is my translucent Invisible Woman at??

I feel Hasbro doesn't like money when it comes to the F4

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The problem with the F4 is not them getting made. It's the fact that most waves would consist of the 4 may character most waves. I know they do the same with X-men and Wolverine as well as Spider-man, but those are (usually) a single character in a wave. However, the f4 would take up 4 spots each wave and beyond a few other costumes, there isn't alot you can do with them. 

Now we have suggested that each wave should do max 2 of the 4 but then you will get people complaining that they didn't so the others in that costume in the same wave (even though they would come later). Hasbro is screwed if they don't or if they do all 4.

But I would say that they should make a subline for the f4. If they need more content for it, bring in some other franchise, like the Inhumans, Eternals, cosmic. Hell they could make the line a combine GOTG and F4 line like they did with Deadpool/X-men and Spider-man/Venom

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1 hour ago, tarot said:

Now we have suggested that each wave should do max 2 of the 4 but then you will get people complaining that they didn't so the others in that costume in the same wave (even though they would come later). Hasbro is screwed if they don't or if they do all 4.

If we were guaranteed to get more than one Fantastic Four wave, I don't think fans would object to the main family being split up over multiple waves. Hell, it took a full year for the Walgreens exclusives to all come out, and that included Silver Surfer dropping before The Thing. I don't think anyone would object if a FF line included Invisible Woman and Human Torch, two Inhumans, and two villains. They could get creative, too, like including Crystal or She-Hulk in a Fantastic Four costume to give the appearance of more FF core members while still expanding out. Plus, some of the family will benefit from multiple figures, like a normal Sue Storm and a fully translucent version; a normal Johnny and a fully flamed on Human Torch. I would even want a human Ben Grimm in the FF uniform. 

I think it all depends on Hasbro's commitment level. If we only get one FF wave every three or four years, yeah, there's more pressure to hit the whole family. If they made one every year, though, I don't see the problem.

I also support the idea of doing a FF/Cosmic/Guardians wave every year.

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The big problem ToyBiz had was getting all four main members in the same suit. At least until those last 2 packs that were dropped right before they lost the Marvel license. And that was too little too late.

even the 3.75” line struggled with that. Nothing worse than half or only three quarters of the team matching. Unless  of course that unmatching member was a flamed on Torch.

so getting all 4 every wave is just fine with me. Honestly the retro suits may  be the last ones I get anyway as these are the suits I think of when I think of the FF.  Maybe the Future Foundation.. maybe, never was a huge fan but it was a definitive look of an era.

on the other side of the coin, the FF has an amazing supporting cast and Rogues gallery. I can envision a wave where it is anchored by a main members one off suit ( Ex: helmeted Thing, invisible woman’s mid life crisis, black lines and all red Torch) with needed Legends like Ventura Ms Marvel, Molecule Man, the Beyonder ( I’m talking jumpsuit wearing, perm sporting, non Bendis rewriting history true on BEYONDER,)Agatha, Classic Doombots, maybe a Christoff Doom.. Diablo, Psycho Man,  FF She Hulk, Crystal, Wyatt Wingfoot, Lumpkin,..so many

And let’s face it, one great Flame On Johnny and every figure after can match whatever team suit they are showcasing. Just no more 1 or 2 matching , then move on.. became a real problem for ToyBiz 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, RyanDaly said:

If we were guaranteed to get more than one Fantastic Four wave, I don't think fans would object to the main family being split up over multiple waves. Hell, it took a full year for the Walgreens exclusives to all come out, and that included Silver Surfer dropping before The Thing. I don't think anyone would object if a FF line included Invisible Woman and Human Torch, two Inhumans, and two villains. They could get creative, too, like including Crystal or She-Hulk in a Fantastic Four costume to give the appearance of more FF core members while still expanding out. Plus, some of the family will benefit from multiple figures, like a normal Sue Storm and a fully translucent version; a normal Johnny and a fully flamed on Human Torch. I would even want a human Ben Grimm in the FF uniform. 

I think it all depends on Hasbro's commitment level. If we only get one FF wave every three or four years, yeah, there's more pressure to hit the whole family. If they made one every year, though, I don't see the problem.

I also support the idea of doing a FF/Cosmic/Guardians wave every year.

Yeah, if they do more than one wave a year, they should spilt the family into two per wave. After all they do it with every other wave. Spider-man wave doesn't always have 4 Spider-man figures in it. If the keep doing all the four in a wave, then people are going to have an army of F4 which is only going to appeal to completists and the lack of allies and enemies. 

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11 hours ago, McHogan said:

The big problem ToyBiz had was getting all four main members in the same suit. At least until those last 2 packs that were dropped right before they lost the Marvel license. And that was too little too late.

 

You mean the Toys R Us 2-packs? Those were Hasbro releases. I agree- the key is making the whole team in the same uniform, even if spread over more than one wave (which is a good idea). Their supporting cast/villains have been sorely neglected in Legends, so I would rather have 2 team members per wave. One Inhuman per wave would be great, unless they do some kind of boxed set, since there are still so many left to make. Hopefully, along with the "retro" wave, we will get several additional "fan channel" F4 figures in retro packaging. 

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You are correct, I had forgotten this F4 2 packs were Hasbro.. man, they have really come a long way. 

And I am with you, I don’t care how they work it out, as long as the team can be displayed in matching suits they can release one per wave, just needs to be ALL of them

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I was having a conversation with my buddy yesterday about what we thought this HasLab could be

I am thinking there is a strong chance that this HasLab could be

Giganto with Mole Man, and Moloids.

think about it Mole Man & Giganto made their first appearance in FF1

if they are trying to celebrate Fantastic Four (60 years!) , what better way then with a massive Giganto and mole man, with a bunch of Moloid army builders , I think this makes more sense then a lot of the speculations because with a set I mentioned there is a potential for people to buy multiples, they could even throw in civilian reed and sue, purple short thing, and a new flame on Johnny if they need more tiers.

 

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26 minutes ago, Lord_Scareglow said:

So I was having a conversation with my buddy yesterday about what we thought this HasLab could be

I am not thinking there is a strong chance that this HasLab could be

Giganto with Mole Man, and Moloids.

think about it Mole Man & Giganto made their first appearance in FF1

if they are trying to celebrate Fantastic Four (60 years!) , what better way then with a massive Giganto and mole man, with a bunch of Moloid army builders , I think this makes more sense then a lot of the speculations because with a set I mentioned there is a potential for people to buy multiples, they could even throw in civilian reed and sue, purple short thing, and a new flame on Johnny if they need more tiers.

 

Not that far there as it my second or third guess. 

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7 minutes ago, tarot said:

Not that far there as it my second or third guess. 

Yeah I just felt like I had not really heard many people speculating on this one, but it seems perfect it's the definitive celebration piece, and a giganto wouldn't sell at mass retail, and to have him the properish size you'd have to have him as a HasLab, plus throw in Mole Man (guaranteed everyone will want him), plus a bunch of various Moloids, plus as I said maybe some first issue cover looks for the FF, and you have a really good anniversary HasLab for the FF, I feel like it's a perfect offering for the diehards, plus give Giganto various head sculpts, original, newer, multiple hands (clawed and non clawed), you can army build the Moloids and the Giganto's armys maybe even throw in a broken street scene as a extra.

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4 hours ago, Lord_Scareglow said:

So I was having a conversation with my buddy yesterday about what we thought this HasLab could be

I am thinking there is a strong chance that this HasLab could be

Giganto with Mole Man, and Moloids.

think about it Mole Man & Giganto made their first appearance in FF1

if they are trying to celebrate Fantastic Four (60 years!) , what better way then with a massive Giganto and mole man, with a bunch of Moloid army builders , I think this makes more sense then a lot of the speculations because with a set I mentioned there is a potential for people to buy multiples, they could even throw in civilian reed and sue, purple short thing, and a new flame on Johnny if they need more tiers.

 

That would be a good idea and it would mean no Heralds for tiers. Some of the tiers could be more Moloids.

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Last time the FF comic was popular was when Byrne took over the writing/art chores. Bad writing is what usually sinks a comic followed by bad art. The costume the new Johnny  Storm is sporting is my all time fav look of the team &once I get the entire team in that costume, I'm done with collecting anymore FF versions as that one & the Walgreens versions are my top 2 looks for the team. Making them in all white costumes or the costumes that the BAF Skrull team had, sucked. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  

As was stated before, split the team up over 4 waves, include a core member of the Inhumans in each wave including re-dos of Black  Bolt & Medusa. A herald of Galactus. I'd also start throwing in core members of the IG to give my  lonely Gladiator some company. Then throw in an FF villain or 2 so a wave could consist of:

FF member-in scale Byrne Thing

in scale Terrax the Tamer

Inhuman member-classic Karnak

IG member- Fang 

2 FF baddies- classic Wizard & Trapster

BAF- Punisher: Galactus's pest control army

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11 hours ago, Lord_Scareglow said:

So I was having a conversation with my buddy yesterday about what we thought this HasLab could be

I am thinking there is a strong chance that this HasLab could be

Giganto with Mole Man, and Moloids.

think about it Mole Man & Giganto made their first appearance in FF1

if they are trying to celebrate Fantastic Four (60 years!) , what better way then with a massive Giganto and mole man, with a bunch of Moloid army builders , I think this makes more sense then a lot of the speculations because with a set I mentioned there is a potential for people to buy multiples, they could even throw in civilian reed and sue, purple short thing, and a new flame on Johnny if they need more tiers.

 

Damn, that would be a very cool set and a worthy celebration of their anniversary. And because I love the FF so much, I would be compelled to get it, especially as Mole Man and his moloids are some of my favorite villains. 

Would I rather have this than Galactus, though? No. If I have to spend $300+ on a gigantic Fantastic Four villain, the oft-forgotten monster from their first cover doesn't hold a candle to the Devourer of Worlds. 

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On 5/7/2021 at 4:29 PM, RyanDaly said:

"If we were guaranteed to get more than one Fantastic Four wave, I don't think fans would object to the main family being split up over multiple waves....I think it all depends on Hasbro's commitment level. If we only get one FF wave every three or four years, yeah, there's more pressure to hit the whole family. If they made one every year, though, I don't see the problem...."

One of the ideas I floated about a Fantastic Four wave basically guarantees multiple waves.

Its precisely why I suggested, Mr. Fantastic in negative zone outfit, Invisible Woman future foundation, 4-5 other characters one wave, Thing in N zone outfit, Reed in future foundation, 4-5 characters next wave, etcetera etcetera, until the collector eventually has a complete N Zone FF, FF FF, Classic FF, Short Sleeve FF, etc.

OR they could just do all 4 core members in the same suit for each wave. And again, due to the incredible array of villains and allied this team has, there's no threat of tossing in figures that don't "belong" to the F4 verse. I agree completely about Hasbro's commitment level. That of course is gonna be influenced by fan desire. 

Despite some of the naysayers on the forum, I know  this could work, the hasbro team has already said themselves nothing's off the table...really, only the tip of the Marvel iceberg has been seen at this point, and they've been putting these figures out now for how long? Think about it. Then think about how many characters you'd love to see in action figure form that haven't even been done yet.

"If you build it, they will come". So yeah we can have the Fantasticar Haslab project and Galactus too. Doesnt have to be either or!

Frankly I'm excited to see what's next!!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The morning on Twitter, Dan Yun posted this shot of a ReAction Notorious B.I.G. figure, saying he couldn't resist. You may note that in the background is Fantastic Four Epic Collection Volume 3: The Coming of Galactus.

spacer.png

There probably isn't a connection between Galactus and highlighted word BIG, right? That's a total coincidence, right?

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On 7/4/2021 at 10:49 PM, RyanDaly said:

The morning on Twitter, Dan Yun posted this shot of a ReAction Notorious B.I.G. figure, saying he couldn't resist. You may note that in the background is Fantastic Four Epic Collection Volume 3: The Coming of Galactus.

spacer.png

There probably isn't a connection between Galactus and highlighted word BIG, right? That's a total coincidence, right?

I think you might be on to something major. 

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