The Mad Bubbler

Is there a rumored lineup for wave 2?

Yeah, while I am cautiously optimistic about the film, I'd love some more comic-based figures- great suggestions here, I would also ad Maximus The Mad, The Awesome Android, and a Frightful Four Sandman to the mix. Ben in the protective helmet is long overdue, too.

The thing is, with some exceptions, we are also getting less in each category than we did 5 years ago. So, regular figures are $24.99-$25.99 USD, but fewer of them come with BAFs, and fewer of them come with a lot of accessories, or intricate paint jobs. Hasbro seems to be fixing that a bit, but for a while, it felt like a majority of figures would just come with one extra set of hands, and maybe one other accessory. When it comes to Spideys, in particular, Hasbro has been cheap about painting all of the lines on his costumes. I definitely don't think this is a steal, but compared to $24.99 Spideys with unpainted details with a couple of hands, I think the price is consistent, at least.

I pre-ordered it. I think it would have been a slam-dunk at $39.99, but I still think, with all of the accessories and display options, the value is there, Hasbro has tried to get us to buy a whole additional figure that's barely different for one accessory or new head- even if it's slightly pricey, this is a better option than buying, say, 4 Spideys for $100.00. I also think that this line is a great concept, and I want it to continue. Since it's Spider-Man, I doubt it will get marked down, either. That being said, I am not necessarily "all in" for this line at $49.99, and which figures I buy at full price will depend on a case-by-case basis. Like many, Spidey is my favorite Marvel hero, so this was an easy choice. Whether I buy future figures in the series will depend on how much "newness" and value they bring to the table.

The big difference is that Hasbro owns GI Joe, so there are no licensing fees- that's one of the reasons that Joes tend to come with so many more accessories than Marvel Legends. If The VAMP was a licensed Marvel item, it would cost notably more. I don't like it, but it makes business sense, and it is what it is.

Hosted by Jordan Hembrough... But... why?

I wish there were promo photos of these without the janky cardboard backgrounds. These look... okay, overall, I guess. They're the plastic equivalent of a shrug to me. The only one that really looks bad to me is Cap, with his pelvis jutting forward, but none of them look good enough for me to want at full price. Even in the promo shots, the paint jobs aren't impressive, and with McFarlane's track record, I'm sure they won't look any better in person. It's hard enough to keep up with all of the Marvel Legends releases as it is. I'm not quite sure what demographic these are marketed to- a lot of Marvel Legends collectors will pass on them, due to lack of articulation and incompatibility. A lot of statue collectors will pass on them because they're not executed well enough.

I wonder if there will be any "Fan Channel" retro figures to go along with this wave, as there have been with some past retro waves (Dr. Doom and Firelord, etc.)? Mandarin would be a good figure to release via Fan Channel, but would they make a classic comic one, or a green-skinned animation-inspired one?

Wait- these are coming boxed? I thought they were supposed to be a "wave"- are they still shipping in an assorted case, or just as individual items?

Jean has her hand on her tummy, and Rogue looks to be taking a peaceful nap. Looks like Kamala brought an awesome buffet of snacks to The Xavier institute, and everyone else is sleeping it off.

So, is Kamala a mutant now, not an Inhuman..?

Yeah, it would have been nice if the 80th. anniversary stuff actually celebrated all 80 years, not just the past 62 or so. It would have been the ideal time to do true Golden Age versions of Namor and Bucky, finally do Hammond Human Torch and possibly Toro, redo first appearance Cap, maybe give us a GA Red Skull, and throw in an oddball character or two, like The Whizzer. Yeah, I would really like to see more oddball characters overall. I know certain characters will just always have good demand, so I understand all of the Wolverines, Iron Mans, etc., but too many of the other figures tend to be very modern, like Marvel Boy and Kid Omega, when there are so many decades worth of interesting figures/characters to be made.

Yeah, Hasbro's horrible inconsistencies with estimated release dates are one of multiple reasons that I pre-order less and less from them. I didn't order this set, but I pre-ordered 4 GI Joe figures (scheduled for September) and one Indiana Jones figure (scheduled for December), and they all just shipped.

I want it, but I'm going to wait for in-store availability. I don't think it will be a "hot seller," and if I pre-order, Target will put an authorization hold on my credit card over and over, impacting my available credit, and end up sending it to me after it has already been showing up in stores for weeks, if not months.

It's so frustrating... if this wasn't translucent, it would be a nice figure. For the 27th. time : Iceman is not a translucent person- he is a man, coated in ice! The Human Torch is not a clear person- he is a man (or android) covered in fire! A translucent figure only works if you then coat it with an opaque paint that covers almost all of it.