Jmacq1

"Recently" in this case meaning almost 20 years. New Avengers #1 hit in 2005.

I hope they keep some of the things they were doing with the plastic-less packaging, like bracing long/skinny accessories with cardboard and such. Had a lot less warping issues with things like swords and rifles and such since the changeover to no-plastic packaging, it was one of the things I enjoyed about it.

I'm guessing it's some variety of Miles Morales based on the "going the extra Mile" bit.

NGL There are a couple versions of characters from these Mecha-Strike and Monster and now Dino offshoots that I'd buy in a second if they came in Legends form (most notably Monster-Doom and that Dino-Rider UItron, but probably a couple others too). I'm betting we'll get our first glimpses at the 60th Legends relatively soon.

Or we'll get a comic version as an exclusive somewhere this year. See: Gorr the God Butcher. I actually appreciate what Hasbro has done here. Not in the sense of having much interest in the figures (I MIGHT pick up Gwen and Miles to have as a standalone pair on display...if I can get them on sale/clearance), but in the sense of creating a movie-accurate line that seems to me like it's intended to try to get some kids into Marvel Legends style (read: Higher pricepoint) figures. By avoiding any comic-based characters (or especially a comic-based BAF) they've IMO done us a favor. Now there's no real reason for folks that prefer the more realistically-proportioned figures to pick these up. It's only one wave and I would absolutely not read into much on this as it's probably a bit of an experiment by Hasbro as this isn't a typical Marvel movie, but after several years of thousands of dollars worth of figures each year (and rising) I'll take whatever breaks I can.

I'd say Emilia Clarke's character seems like a pretty sure bet for the "unknown" figure. No idea on the BAF at this point, though I'll throw out "Ravager Thanos" as a possibility, too.

Really? I seem to recall everyone not looking the same in Days of Future Past and it being a multi-part story. The costumes weren't flashy, sure, but they were different. Age of Apocalypse certainly ramped it up, but by that point EVERYTHING in comics was ramped up (see: There being like five or six X-Books by the time of Age of Apocalypse vs. just the one back when DoFP happened. But between the Dystopian timelines and the "let's keep revisiting this same story over and over" factor Days of Future Past was definitely the progenitor of this kind of thing for the X-Men.

Nah, that trend really started with Days of Future Past, IMO

Somehow I'm betting this isn't going to cost the less-than-$150 that folks INSISTED the Engine of Vengeance should have cost.

You can't really use prices from years ago as a baseline, and none of those are actually comparable products. Setting that aside, you kind of invalidate your own argument as soon as you say "Outside of collectors lines" when this is unquestionably a collector-oriented product. Here's what I mean by "comparable quality": Interchangeable parts, opening doors and trunk, leds (interior and exterior), sounds, detailed interior with room for 3-4 1:12 scale figures, and you pretty much know what to expect in terms of durability and build quality. Basically find me almost this exact product (minus figures) for $120 or less. I guess we'll see if Ramen toys can reach your purported price, but I'm really doubting it.

I say again: Find me a directly comparable vehicle in terms of quality and features in this scale for $100-$120, and link us ASAP. I'm sure a great many people here would gladly shell out $100-$120 for such a thing. I'm also pretty sure you're going to be looking a looooong time because such a thing probably doesn't exist.

While I was kind of assuming that the comic Ronan the Accuser would be either the GotG 3 wave BAF or a FF themed wave BAF (if not simply an exclusive in his own right), if he's the BAF for that Avengers wave it'll be one of the strongest waves in a while (unless you were a big AoA fan).

They have but both of those Transformers were pretty "super deluxe." I do agree that technically there's nothing stopping them, but I feel like folks above the Marvel team's heads have an idea of what Haslabs are "supposed" to be and would not be "wowed" enough to greenlight what is essentially a spare wave of oddball or controversial characters. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

X-Men has a slight advantage in having several years where they were basically absent from the line, so they had a good bench of characters and costumes to "catch up on" once they got back into regular rotation. Even so, there have been some characters that despite being perhaps "recognizable" on longevity alone, weren't exactly hot sellers. Skullbuster, Shiklah, Black Tom Cassidy, Vulcan (at least around here), Disco Dazzler, Moira Mactaggart, of course legless Cannonball, several of the AoA figs...most of these ended up getting clearanced around here. (I do obviously consider "Deadpool/X-Force" waves to be X-Men waves, too). The vast majority of Avengers have been made in some form or another. Yes, there are still plenty to do but bluntly outside of costume variations they're really down to C and D-list Avengers. The biggest omissions IMO are Crystal and Starfox and that's more because of those characters' prominence in places OUTSIDE Avengers (Seriously, how the hell hasn't Crystal been made already? I would've figured her as a shoe-in for one of the older Walgreen's exclusives (with a bunch of elemental FX), but it was not to be). While I'd be perfectly happy to have characters like Living Lightning, Firebird, and Doctor Druid...they're not exactly folks most of the general public are clamoring for or have even heard of. Orb is a rare Ghost Rider foe. It's an odd place to put him in the line, but Avengers often seem to be a bit of "catch all"...IMO he probably could have been in a Spider-Man wave since Ghost-Rider has occasionally shown up in those, but I'm fine with getting him either way.

Oh, I know where the inspiration is from. I wasn't saying it's inaccurate, or even that it's bad (actually quite nice given the accessory loadout). Just that I'd have liked an unmasked face along with it.