Jmacq1

No, there's no specific "Rise of Skywalker" line in any scale. All of their assortments currently mix eras/movies/shows/games.

And reports that a few Wal-Marts are showing the same thing. Might be the end of the road for me, unless they are A - Seriously amping up the accessories/alt parts with the figures (to levels like we've seen with the recent Black Widow Exclusives) B - Bumping the Build-A-Figures to "Toy Biz Glory Days" sizes. or C - Some combination of both. Like...if they start loading out every standard-sized figure like White-Suit (Movie) Natasha and stop doing BAFs, instead just packaging them as a single at the same pricepoint (but less FX/Accessories)...that might be worth it to me. But if we're getting effectively the same product we're getting now for a 50% price increase? Nope, sorry Hasbro, guess it's time for me to either stop collecting altogether or just focus on boutique/high-end product. $30 per fig would not be a sufficient value to justify purchase if the quality/accessory level remains what we've had for the last few years.

Kang was also the main baddie of the Avengers biggest storyline of the 00's (prior to the Bendis/New Avengers Reboot), with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. It's one that got overshadowed a bit by the not-terribly-long-after "Disassembled" storyline and the "New Avengers" but it was actually a really good story that definitely showed Kang as a world-class threat.

There is a 3.75" line for Rise of Skywalker, though it's pretty small in scope so far, and apparently not being sold overseas.

Which "buyers?" Disney doesn't make it's licensing money from us or from the retail buyers, it makes it's money from the licensing fees. How much or how little product sells after that is irrelevant: Disney gonna get paid regardless. So they have no real incentive to care how happy we (or the retail buyers) are beyond "How are our brands being represented?" And as an additional bonus the "buyers" tend to blame the manufacturer (Hasbro) for problems, not the licensor (Disney) or the property itself. So basically, Disney has very little reason to care about "buyers being happy." As long as their licensing fees are getting paid. Of course there's a little more nuance to that, but we're operating with the belief that whoever wins the license is at least going to make a sincere effort to sell stuff. Either way "keeping the buyers happy" becomes Hasbro/the licensee's job, not Disney's.

Thing is, Disney doesn't need someone to make them "just as good." All they need is someone to pay them the licensing fees they ask for and not screw the properties up so bad that it actually damages them overall (which is very hard to do to the point that a contract gets voided).

There are days I wish I wasn't so "Okay" with the idea of some more of my collections getting capped. I'm done with DC and MOTUC barring a couple characters. I might be done with GI Joe depending on what 4" offerings are available and how they look. I'm pretty much done with Star Wars though some of the new stuff does still entice (but i've switched to mostly 6" figures on that franchise too, and don't buy nearly as many as I did 3.75"). Marvel is about the only thing I'm consistently still collecting these days. The rest is dribs and drabs. EDIT: Well that's not entirely true - I buy a lot of Marauder Task Force stuff but that doesn't so much feel like "collecting" in the same way.

Normally I would agree, but Disney doesn't always work in such a straightforward fashion when it comes to their licensees. They seem to like pulling the rug out from under them from time-to-time to make them "compete harder" and remind them who's really holding the cards. I suspect coming at Disney with a "you need us" approach is a good way to lose your contract really quick. They don't care what you've done, they want to know what you're going to do to help push their intellectual property while paying through the nose for the privilege to do so. And Hasbro's recent moves in the media arena may be a major sticking point for Disney as well. Hasbro's poising themselves as a potential competitor (in the future) rather than a partner. All that said I DO suspect the licenses will get renewed, but I wouldn't ever take it for granted with Disney involved.

Personally I'd think it's more likely we get a bunch of fan-channel exclusives that are "venomized" characters alongside a more traditional mainline wave.

That doesn't necessarily mean much. Unless you already KNOW you're losing a license you continue operating as though you're going to keep it. It's not like Hasbro's going to stop designing/producing Marvel and Star Wars toys for half a year to "wait and see" and then if the license WAS renewed at the last minute they have no product for the first half of next year. Which is also why Toy Fair is pretty much the cutoff point for news. Hasbro probably has to get a fair bit of advance notice so they don't end up spending a bunch of money producing stuff that they're then not allowed to sell.

Oddly enough the figure I've seen on shelves the least from that wave is Shulkie. All the rest I've managed to spot at least a couple of times on-shelves, Doom included. Also oddly, the one I've seen the least besides Shulkie? Johnny.

How long ago did you preorder? It might be a hold from when you've ordered it, and I've had those linger for about 7 business days at times. That said, I could see them dropping the comic-based exclusives early to whet the appetite, though that would be mildly unusual. Movie-linked product launches are usually pretty coordinated.

Unless they plan on running a bunch of 50% off specials, maybe for PowerUp Rewards Members.

Only eight? It'd be a weird as heck wave: Skurge the Executioner Firelord Mk IV Crimson Dynamo Classic War Machine Modern Falcon Armored Psylocke Classic Havok BAF: Mangog

I'mma cheat like a few others and do themed waves. All selections are comic-based unless specifically noted: Fantastic Four "Flame On" Johnny (consistent colors and some more flame FX) Classic Ronan the Accuser The Wizard Franklin Richards - Modern (Big BAF Part) Valeria Richards - Modern (Big BAF Part) Trapster Crystal (lots of elemental FX) BAF: Dragon Man X-Men Armored Psylocke Classic Havok Classic Longshot 80's Rogue Donald Pierce Classic White Queen Sebastian Shaw BAF: Shirtless Colossus (Yay Outback X-Men Complete) X-Force Classic Domino Lady Deathstrike Siryn Rictor Feral (Yay OG X-Force complete) Black Tom Cassidy Stryfe (Removeable Helmet) BAF: Nimrod Avengers Count Nefaria Meteorite (Moonstone) Techno (Fixer) MACH I (Beetle) Tigra Hank Pym (Science Adventurer) Swordsman BAF: Atlas (Yay OG Thunderbolts complete) Thor Masterson/Bearded Thor Fandral Hogun the Grim Volstagg (I think you could squeeze him into a normal box. Barely) Skurge the Executioner (Comic) Odin All-Father Simonson-era Loki BAF: Mangog Iron Man Classic War Machine Silver Centurion Iron Man Mk. IV Crimson Dynamo Comic Mandarin Controller Whiplash (Vanko) Rescue BAF: Classic Titanium Man Captain America Captain America (Pre Secret Empire Hydra Cap) Modern Falcon Diamondback Flag Smasher Spitfire Torch (Hammond, flame off) Torch (Hammond, flame on) BAF: Mr. Hyde Hulk (All "deluxe"/oversized, but with BAF Parts) Joe Fixit "Professor" Hulk She-Hulk Zzzax Bi-Beast Red Hulk BAF: Bruce Banner Spider-Man Spider-Man (Re-release of Gamestop PS4 Spidey, improved) Solo Cardiac The Rose Vermin Spinneret/MJ Watson-Parker Spiderling BAF: Morlun Marvel Knights/Heroes For Hire Luke Cage/Power Man (Classic) Iron Fist (Classic) Moon Knight (Classic) Colleen Wing Steel Serpent Shen Kuei/The Cat Jessica Jones (Modern) BAF: Fat Cobra Guardians of the Galaxy/Cosmic Starhawk Firelord Nova Quasar (Vaughn) Air Walker Gamora Classic Drax BAF: Morg (Do I like Heralds of Galactus? Yes I do!) Legendary Riders Brunnhilde the Valkyrie (Classic) on Aragorn Bonebreaker (of the Reavers) Classic Comic Thanos w/ Space Throne Whew! OK, may have overdone that a little, but oh well.

I mean, I like the detailing on the costume, but that headsculpt just doesn't look right. It's like they tried to split the difference between comic and movie Thanos and it just ended up looking...wrong.

It's the second best of the Disney Era Star Wars movies, after Rogue One.

Ah well yeah, Overseas is a whole different ball game.

Ah yes, Armored Psylocke is a must. I'll admit that the new Black Costume Storm, while not completely accurate, is close enough for my purposes (though I wouldn't turn down lightning-bolt Storm, kinda like I can forgive the headband-and-jacket (aka Video Game/Pryde of the X-Men) Dazzler despite her rarely wearing either of those things in the Outback Era. I doubt we ever get a "civvie" Maddie, but I wouldn't be entirely surprised if we get some variation on the Goblin Queen (albeit either in a somewhat more conservative costume or as a more limited exclusive). Just don't see Hasbro putting that much underboob on retailer shelves without an hubbub they'd probably rather avoid (assuming Disney would approve it in the first place). I'd be reeeeeeal surprised to get a Gateway.

Which "most shops" only stock the kids lines? I've certainly seen Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, Star Wars Vintage Collection, etc... at all the major retailers. You find kids lines stuff on shelves more frequently, but that doesn't mean the collector stuff isn't getting stocked. It's hard to keep it in stock when a single collector will wipe out all or most of a case as soon as they show up. But because there's the lingering pegwarmers/extras from previous cases already on-shelves, they start to pile up to the point that the retailers won't order more cases until they sell because their system is saying they already have "enough" Marvel Legends/Whatever on-shelves.

Hope this pans out. He'd be an excellent choice, and his style would fit in well with the James Gunn/Taika Waititi side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Wouldn't be entirely crazy, they do seem to let these X-Force waves kinda be "catch alls" at times. I'd certainly welcome a new classic Longshot to help round out the Outback X-Men. Then we'd just need a shirtless Colossus, classic Havok, and 80's Rogue to round 'em out.

Only speculation. We'll probably find out in a couple weeks and some change.

Oh, you're absolutely right. But that all leads back to the fundamental problem that's plaguing the collector-oriented action figure market (and a big reason why we DON'T see the manufacturers trying harder to market exclusively towards them): Adult collectors are not a growth market. If anything we're a constantly-shrinking one, as eventually everyone reaches that point where they either have "enough" or the manufacturers and retailers have frustrated them into quitting, or they just don't enjoy it anymore, or they just can't afford it anymore, or other aspects of their lives (or other hobbies) start taking priority...and a lot of them never come back once they leave. There are a lot of people at Hasbro and every other toy company that love their jobs and the stuff they make and genuinely want to make fans happy, but ultimately the dollar is king, and as a corporation most of those manufacturers (with the exceptions of those like Funko and Neca who are entirely built on adult collectors and little else) aren't sentimental about the bottom line: If "collector grade" action figures aren't making them the profits they feel like they need, they're not going to suddenly start cranking out more collector-grade product to entice a shrinking market...they're just going to stop making an unprofitable (or "not profitable enough") product to focus their time and resources on something that is (or that they hope will be). Hell, there are days I seriously wonder if the only reason we're getting collector-oriented action figures at all is because there's still folks of the right age group working at Hasbro et al... who love the stuff too much to give up on it.

I think if it reaches that point we're likely to see more instances like Super 7 and Mattel's agreement. Hasbro itself trying to sell action figures solely to adult collectors online would likely be seen as "beneath them/degrading" by Hasbro shareholders. They're supposed to be a mass retail company, and if a line can't survive at mass retail, then they shouldn't waste time and resources on it, and instead focus on the things that are successful at mass retail. But then again, Hasbro wants to shift to being more of a media company than a toy company, so they may well be licensing out their brands to other manufacturers to make toys sometime in the next couple decades regardless.