Marvel Legends Brand Team Member Ryan Ting And Hasbro Part Ways

[Emnems80]

Sad to see Ryan go. Hope nothing but the best for him in his future career.

[AndyL]

On 6/27/2025 at 1:55 AM, Atlantis said:

Sorry to say....but not something you should count on. These companies put on a friendly, "community" face with these public relations panel teams with the fans (and nothing wrong with that), but the companies aren't your (collectors') friends, and as employees who get let go like this are finding out, not their  friends either. That kind of thing just doesn't factor, in 99% of a companies decisions towards the customer or, really, the employees.

Which is why brand loyalty is folly. Because trust me, its not a two-way street for them. When I hear rumours that  this or that company might be losing the Marvel/DC/Star Wars/Star Trek etc. IP, it doesn't bother me; I don't work for them and even if I did, I'd pause a bit before singing their praises, as I know they'd can me in a heartbeat, if they thought they could save a few sheckles, while giving themselves big bonuses.  Just something to think about.

I hate the idea of anybody losing their income, health insurance etc. in this current job environment. Hopefully Mr. Ting and other hasbo employees will land somewhere better.

Aside from some statements that got some rather unexpected reactions I get where you're coming from. As a producer of a product based on a very popular license you have to give the consumer some semblance of friendliness towards them if only to give them the feeling that you understand what they want and you also want what they want. To me that is what Dan and Ryan and Dwight were. The friendly faces they put out there to put the right angle on everything and try to convince the customer that this is exactly what they were asking for. And aside from some a few glaring missteps they more or less did that. They didn't always convince me that what they were pushing was anything I needed or even asked for but they were good at selling it as "Hey this is still pretty good. And maybe just maybe that thing you really wanted might be in line next time". They were good at their jobs and it was a familiar trio who I actually enjoyed and became accustomed to seeing as the FACE's of ML. That being said I also have been at a few high profile companies where the friends you made on the job and maybe even extended out into your personal life are only friends as long as that friendship doesn't effect one's own job stability. When it's time for the company to part ways with you it feels like you're losing a friend or friends but quickly find out that it was more of just a friendly arrangement rather than a real friendship. I've even been in a situation where myself and a few "friends" left a job at the same time all under the promise that we'd help each other land on our feet in a better situation only to find when the cards were down it was everyone for themselves. I know some things you said don't exactly translate to everyone that read them but I get it. But in this case I really don't see anyone at Hasbro or any other multi-billion dollar company as friends or even friendly to the consumer. At this point the only brand loyalty I have towards Hasbro and their version of ML is that I really don't have the desire nor the time left in my lifetime to start from scratch with a new company and their take on the Marvel action figures. Do I think other smaller hungrier companies like Jada and Jazzwares could do a better job than Hasbro? Most certainly. But there's also the chance that it could go to a company like McFarlane where I feel like the entire lifetime of it's contract with DC was basically held hostage to the desires and likes and dislikes of the company's owner, and also hostage to the companies limitations in regards terrible articulation and design (diapers). I seriously just shiver every time I think of ML in the hands of someone like that. But I digress. In any case if the license ever ended up in the hands of Jada or Jazzwares or McFarlane or anyone else for that matter I would take that as the time to bow out. Unless and it's a big unless they could somehow split the license and let Hasbro keep the movie license which is the one they really covet the most and then another company could get ahold of the comics license and match the scale and basic look of current ML so that they could give us all the figures we need to fill all the major holes without having to start over from scratch. That would be really friendly to the customer. But that would only happen in a perfect world and that is not the one we live in now.

[Lord_Scareglow]

sad turn of events, gosh, it's disheartening to think someone who put in 12 years and was a huge focal point of an entire line publicly can just be shown the door at a moments time, like sheesh, I get it cut backs, but seems ruthless to fire someone as important.

Live Streams are not going to be the same 😞 , also I really hope the best for Ryan, he seemed like a genuine nice guy, and had a lovely wide eyed enthusiasm that was so charming. Someone give this guy a job ASAP.  

[MarvelousFan87]

On 6/30/2025 at 12:44 PM, Lord_Scareglow said:

sad turn of events, gosh, it's disheartening to think someone who put in 12 years and was a huge focal point of an entire line publicly can just be shown the door at a moments time, like sheesh, I get it cut backs, but seems ruthless to fire someone as important.

Live Streams are not going to be the same 😞 , also I really hope the best for Ryan, he seemed like a genuine nice guy, and had a lovely wide eyed enthusiasm that was so charming. Someone give this guy a job ASAP.  

I heard from people they'd like to see him go into mattel- I think that would be great. Maybe he'd do wonders with the dc multiverse line if it goes to 6.5 inch form. To your point- yes it's a cold cruel world in the world of corporations- they really don't care. This is happening more often-myself included, but Ryan has it worse as he's got his own family to worry about. But in the other direction- one can leave just as fast from their long time employer either way. Still hard to go through. 

[Atlantis]

On 6/30/2025 at 5:56 AM, AndyL said:

Aside from some statements that got some rather unexpected reactions I get where you're coming from. As a producer of a product based on a very popular license you have to give the consumer some semblance of friendliness towards them if only to give them the feeling that you understand what they want and you also want what they want. To me that is what Dan and Ryan and Dwight were. The friendly faces they put out there to put the right angle on everything and try to convince the customer that this is exactly what they were asking for. And aside from some a few glaring missteps they more or less did that. They didn't always convince me that what they were pushing was anything I needed or even asked for but they were good at selling it as "Hey this is still pretty good. And maybe just maybe that thing you really wanted might be in line next time". They were good at their jobs and it was a familiar trio who I actually enjoyed and became accustomed to seeing as the FACE's of ML. That being said I also have been at a few high profile companies where the friends you made on the job and maybe even extended out into your personal life are only friends as long as that friendship doesn't effect one's own job stability. When it's time for the company to part ways with you it feels like you're losing a friend or friends but quickly find out that it was more of just a friendly arrangement rather than a real friendship. I've even been in a situation where myself and a few "friends" left a job at the same time all under the promise that we'd help each other land on our feet in a better situation only to find when the cards were down it was everyone for themselves. I know some things you said don't exactly translate to everyone that read them but I get it. But in this case I really don't see anyone at Hasbro or any other multi-billion dollar company as friends or even friendly to the consumer. At this point the only brand loyalty I have towards Hasbro and their version of ML is that I really don't have the desire nor the time left in my lifetime to start from scratch with a new company and their take on the Marvel action figures. Do I think other smaller hungrier companies like Jada and Jazzwares could do a better job than Hasbro? Most certainly. But there's also the chance that it could go to a company like McFarlane where I feel like the entire lifetime of it's contract with DC was basically held hostage to the desires and likes and dislikes of the company's owner, and also hostage to the companies limitations in regards terrible articulation and design (diapers). I seriously just shiver every time I think of ML in the hands of someone like that. But I digress. In any case if the license ever ended up in the hands of Jada or Jazzwares or McFarlane or anyone else for that matter I would take that as the time to bow out. Unless and it's a big unless they could somehow split the license and let Hasbro keep the movie license which is the one they really covet the most and then another company could get ahold of the comics license and match the scale and basic look of current ML so that they could give us all the figures we need to fill all the major holes without having to start over from scratch. That would be really friendly to the customer. But that would only happen in a perfect world and that is not the one we live in now.

Thanks for the mature feedback. My commentary wasn't just in regards to Ting, but to other employees, less high profile, who also got the "no notice" boot. These people put in decades of their lives and really worked hard to put the brand up there. When you see them getting a pink slip, while the higher-ups getting bonuses, its a stark reminder to not let oneself get too lost in their agenda. 

[TheArrow]

On 6/27/2025 at 12:55 AM, Atlantis said:

Sorry to say....but not something you should count on. These companies put on a friendly, "community" face with these public relations panel teams with the fans (and nothing wrong with that), but the companies aren't your (collectors') friends, and as employees who get let go like this are finding out, not their  friends either. That kind of thing just doesn't factor, in 99% of a companies decisions towards the customer or, really, the employees.

Which is why brand loyalty is folly. Because trust me, its not a two-way street for them.

The stark truth, this.

25 years ago, i was head-hunted by Disney for an artist;s position.

I turned them down...and I was told by some of my colleagues I was nuts to do so. 

The perception was the working for Disney was THE Brass Ring.
That wherever I'd start, I'd move up, and I'd be made in no time.
Be that as it may, I didn't trust Disney. I never have.

They'd come into my city, set up a satellite studio to poach local talent, ran for the shop for about 4 years and then left town.  To BIG studios........talent are just numbers.......just  wrists.   It's an ugly reality and it's both cold and cruel.  
The managers all up and down the tiers try to placate everyone, because that's their job...to be a buffer between their bosses and the minions.  I've been told that with some studio closings, a manager/producer would walk into the work space and basically say " get the <blank> out".  No other warning, no time to prepare. You pack up your stuff, and get out.
You think you are riding the gravy train one minute, and then the next you are sunk.    A LOT of my colleagues learn to keep their ear to the corporate wind for ANY bad vibes, and the moment thinks rustle, they quiet start to slowly bail out.  That's a survival instinct, but everyone gets hood-winked sooner or later.
Creative fields are a tough TOUGH career to last more than 5 years in--I'm in my 40th year as a cartoonist, and it's been really hard the past 4 years.  This is likely my last.

As for loyalty, I like the products.........most of them ...that Hasbro makes, but the product has to earn my patronage. There's a lot of stuff I will not touch, and with price-points now always at threshold, there's a lot I will not buy. I will not change that attitude and they really have to show me something to get my attention.  I'm getting to be a harder customer all the time.

[AndyL]

On 7/16/2025 at 3:28 PM, TheArrow said:

The stark truth, this.

25 years ago, i was head-hunted by Disney for an artist;s position.

I turned them down...and I was told by some of my colleagues I was nuts to do so. 

The perception was the working for Disney was THE Brass Ring.
That wherever I'd start, I'd move up, and I'd be made in no time.
Be that as it may, I didn't trust Disney. I never have.

They'd come into my city, set up a satellite studio to poach local talent, ran for the shop for about 4 years and then left town.  To BIG studios........talent are just numbers.......just  wrists.   It's an ugly reality and it's both cold and cruel.  
The managers all up and down the tiers try to placate everyone, because that's their job...to be a buffer between their bosses and the minions.  I've been told that with some studio closings, a manager/producer would walk into the work space and basically say " get the <blank> out".  No other warning, no time to prepare. You pack up your stuff, and get out.
You think you are riding the gravy train one minute, and then the next you are sunk.    A LOT of my colleagues learn to keep their ear to the corporate wind for ANY bad vibes, and the moment thinks rustle, they quiet start to slowly bail out.  That's a survival instinct, but everyone gets hood-winked sooner or later.
Creative fields are a tough TOUGH career to last more than 5 years in--I'm in my 40th year as a cartoonist, and it's been really hard the past 4 years.  This is likely my last.

As for loyalty, I like the products.........most of them ...that Hasbro makes, but the product has to earn my patronage. There's a lot of stuff I will not touch, and with price-points now always at threshold, there's a lot I will not buy. I will not change that attitude and they really have to show me something to get my attention.  I'm getting to be a harder customer all the time.

True story. My passion is in sculpting. My Ex was an artist. Not a major artist but he's quite popular at conventions and online for doing commissions. LOL. Let's just say he really appreciates the female form. Anyway I said all that to say that under his urging he got me to submit some of my work to a studio that is more associated with Mattel and it had to do with a classic line that Mattel was revamping and I had done my take on a character they hadn't got around to doing yet. And I had done it in proper scale so it didn't lose any detail when the sculpt was scaled down to action figure size. The company was impressed and sent me a letter of intention and a conditional contract to review. To this day I'm still not clear what happened but between that time and having my lawyer examine the contract the line was cancelled by Mattel and the studio somehow managed to lose several other licenses as well. They even had to lay off a few people as I understand. They have since recovered and scaled down and have won some new contracts and do a lot of their own products. Long story short they're doing fine but they ain't what they used to be.

The way the contract was designed was even though it would have been basically a subcontractor type of set up the conditions that it was set up under would have given them 100 percent ownership of not only any work I did for them under that contract but also any work or designs I'd done previously and presented to them for use under that contract. Meaning if I brought any new art or design or brought any older ones to the table to be used it was no longer mine. Even if I did art similar but not directly associated with one of theirs it would have been subject to litigation. And this was a company not even a fraction of the size of Disney. And then it was laden with NDA's and Non-Compete clauses which basically ties your hands from working in the industry in the event that you do part ways with the company in a way that wasn't satisfactory to them. And then it was up to them to decide what defined what was or wasn't a satisfactory separation. Then to top it all off they got to keep the work I sent in to them for submission. That was in the preliminary application agreement. So all I have left of one of the best sculpts I've ever done and in record time are a few pictures on an old digital camera that I just can't seem to locate anymore. And let's just say when Mattel began another revamp of the property which is doing very well this time around and their newer version of the same character finally got done there were some very familiar looking aspects to the figure. Especially in the way the insect like torso was designed to allow that all 4 legs got done properly rather than the way they had been done originally. Which only makes me want to locate the pictures more but honestly will be worth nothing because I willingly gave that property to the studio and I guess ultimately the toymaker themselves. I do still have the concept drawing my ex did and they are eerily similar but again they are more or less worthless. LOL. Long story short. Sometimes passing on opportunities like that really do happen for a reason.

And just a little note for anyone that doesn't know. While an NDA will hold up in court Non-Competes rarely do. No court in the world wants to be the one to prevent you from making a living in an area where your talents take you. As long as you don't steal any of their intellectual property you're good. The thing is a larger company with bottomless pockets can tie you up in court forever or at least until you run out of money if they really want to.

[TheArrow]

On 7/21/2025 at 3:36 PM, AndyL said:

 

And just a little note for anyone that doesn't know. While an NDA will hold up in court Non-Competes rarely do. No court in the world wants to be the one to prevent you from making a living in an area where your talents take you. As long as you don't steal any of their intellectual property you're good. The thing is a larger company with bottomless pockets can tie you up in court forever or at least until you run out of money if they really want to.

Heh, Disney has ( had) a line in their contracts that says that once they hire you, anything you create..........ANYTHING...........becomes theirs.  From the moment you sign on, unto you officially leave the corporation, any doodle, sketch, written concept, and rough or complete work ( even something started before your employment) now belongs to Disney.  You have no private expression under Disney, but that is one of the terms for working with them.
A LOT of creative contracts included similar clauses.

( this is because of  a very peculiar habit of Walt Disney himself: he used to go around the studios after hours and dig through the waste bins looking for tossed ideas and sketches.  Because sometimes the things discarded are really the solutions to creative problems in hand. And it's why ANY employee, at any level or position ( even a janitor), could contribute an idea/solution. It seems oppressive on the face of it, but it utilizes the sum creative group-mind of every person available...which is a huge advantage.) 
But....ultimately, under that kind of umbrella, we are all just "wrists".

**** And to put this into some context for our hobby, all this stares right at some of the seemingly-odd design/production choices that toy-makers make with stuff.  It's often highly political because it's always trying to find a balance between money, time, complexity, image, ego etc......and the hands that actually have to execute all those choices and decisions for those aims. 
So if "Jean Grey" is missing her boots, it's VERY LIKELY that it is NOT a mistake, but just another conscious choice made for "X" reasons along the way.