Sidewinder

Nice looking figure. I have the old Shanna and an unpainted custom of her, but I’ll be picking this one up as well. Like everyone else, I’m positive this is obviously the base for Rogue. Which brings up a slight problem - I can never remember Shanna wearing a top like Rogue’s. I personally would have preferred the Frank Cho version of Shanna. Even the classic version would have been cool (but near impossible with mid-torso articulation). Now to track down that Kazar I guess.

I am not going to pay $49.99 for this figure. For $59.99 we got the Hulkbuster Ironman. I felt that figure was overpriced, but it seems like a better value than this Spider-Man figure. Let’s compare this Spider-Man to something else of the same price that became available for preorder this week: Transformers Toys Generations War for Cybertron Deluxe WFC-S26 Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce 3-Pack - Final Strike Figure Series: Part 1. That set costs $49.99 which I believe was the same price when it was originally offered. That set includes two deluxe Autobots. One converts into a car and one splits and converts into a tank and a plane. Also included is a gun with a blast effect that converts into a robot. So for the same price of Spider-Man and his amazing webs and heads, you could get three robots that turn into three vehicles and a gun. I know which one feels like a better value…and it’s not Spider-Man.

That’s the version I really want. I’m happy to be getting the green outfit, but I’ve always loved the red version. I thought the weights might be for Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four movie, but it’s probably too early in development for them to have samples of pieces for those. I like the thought of these going with Strong Guy.

It may depend on the area. I purchased multiple of this X-Men villains pack for $25 each at Ross this year. I do love these boxed sets when they are announced. They seem like a big expense, but when it’s four out of five figures I want l, I’m happy to support them.

I just thought, this one is highly likely since duplicates of him were in the 90’s X-men Arcade Game.

Biggest surprise for me was 1970’s tv Spider-Man. He will pair great with my Toei Spider-Man (that I love) I’m currently not planning to pick up as much as I thought I might: X-Men: Fabian, Husk (was hoping for swappable arms), Cyclops. Spider-Man: Chameleon, Kaine Exclusives: TV 70’s Spider-Man and Professor X (happy to get any version of Charley, but they need to release him in his classic wheelchair.) Personally I still want Marvel Legends of: the Agents of Atlas, the remaining Marauders, some more Mutant Liberation Front members, Team X, Wizard, Trapster, and classic Ghost.

Appears the preorder is sold out.

I can’t help but think - Wandavision came out nearly three and a half years ago. Do people find its supporting characters interesting or even relevant these days? In my opinion, Marvel has churned out some really lackluster material in the past three plus years and diluted the positive perception of the MCU. Is a streaming show about a one-off villain really what the MCU needs to kickstart itself?

I preordered Cable and Wolfsbane. I decided to pass on Kazar since I already have the SDCC box set.

I’ve thought about these topics off and on for a while now. I’m not an economist or a sociologist, so the solutions are not clear cut to me. 1) Kids not interested in toys. My son is 11 years old. He has never really been into action figures. He has no interest in comic books and doesn’t usually like watching movies. (All prime methods historically to lead kids to purchase toys). Over the last year he has slowly gotten into Star Wars thanks to The Bad Batch, Ashoka, and reruns of Rebels. That has sparked his interest in Star Wars figures, but he doesn’t play with them or anything. He just has them on a shelf. His friends are all into next-gen gaming systems, watching YouTube, and cellphones. He would probably play games on an iPad for the rest of time if we would let him. How do you get kids to play with toys? I don’t really know. 2) Inflation. Money sure isn’t worth what it used to be. Also it seems from what I’ve read that everything costs more to manufacture. I’m not sure how we fix that. From the histories of other places in the world, I know that printing more money isn’t the solution. Hasbro is facing a lack of interest in their products from their core demographic (children) and the average person has less value in their money to purchase items. It’s a terrible conundrum. I have thought that Hasbro could shift more of its business to focus on collector/adult market. But I don’t think that’s as large as the kids market. Also once the generation of 40-60 year old collectors pass on, I don’t see any evidence that the next generation has any interest in collecting toys (they more than likely didn’t grow up with them). So the adult collector market will eventually dwindle. I have also thought about the value of Hasbro’s IPs. Certainly Hasbro themselves have thought for a while now that they could make money licensing out their IPs. The issue I see with that is a lot of those IPs may reduce significantly in value as time progresses. I love G.I. Joe ARAH, but once my generation is gone, will anyone actually care? Transformers I believe will always have a value. The concept of something turning into something else is compelling and understandable regardless of time or knowledge. It’s an interesting problem to think about, but not one I feel can easily be solved.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but Marvel Legends as a line hasn’t captured my interest lately. Don’t get me wrong, the figures look probably the best they ever have. For me, several factors play into this: - The price increases. I just do not feel that most basic figures with basic or no accessories is worth what is being charged. - Weird pricing. Some things are high and some are super high. I can’t figure out the logic in some of their figure pricing. - Unwilling to complete teams. I’ve collected since the first wave of the Toy Biz days. There are still massive holes in my teams. Nuff said. - Overstock. Go to an Ollie’s and see all of the Marvel Legends just hanging on the pegs. My local Walmart hasnt been able to move any Marvel Legends all summer. That doesn’t make me feel great as a collector if I see “my line” not moving at retail or clearance. - Weird Decisions. I don’t understand why army builder packs were limited and rarely restocked on Hasbro Pulse. Engine of Vengeance was overpriced in my opinion and poorly handled. Spider-Man Far from Home figures still aren’t in stores (I’m sure it’s a Disney thing). I guess I’m just thinking that lack of support for Giantman may not be because people don’t like the figure, it may be because of overall disinterest or frustration in the Marvel Legends line. Don’t get me wrong, I’m buying the stuff I like and think is worth it. Unfortunately, I haven’t picked up or preordered a Marvel Legends in many months.

Funny story - when Cartoon Spider-Man first came available at Walmart online I didn’t get my order in before he sold out. I didn’t really love the look of the figure, but wanted to get him as another Spiderverse version to add to my collection. When I couldn’t purchase him, I thought “This isn’t really fun anymore” and I stopped buying every version of Spider-Man after that. It’s funny, I saw this article and thought “nope, don’t even care” even though it was still in stock at BBTS. Something similar happened with Boba Fett vintage collection figures and Target. After one too many sold-outs, I just said “not fun anymore” and stopped buying them. I am happy that there are ways to get a second chance at some exclusives. I still hold out hope that someday someway, Hasbro will rerelease the Transformers Siege Skywarp.

I don’t really understand the new designers of costumes these days. Seems like for a character that is constantly in motion and contorting his body, you would want a way for the reader to orient what they are looking at to center. If the designer wanted the logo to be off-center for artistic reasons, then a vertical line of some type on the left side would have helped, or some negative space on the right side (like half of the right side could be blue so the spider logo’s legs would be the same length. I’m still shocked by that Mile Morals design. It’s like they designed it for cosplayers - wear a tight body suit (very Spider-Man), but then cover your arms, torso, half your head, your waist, and hips under a too big trash bag…uh I mean a too big hoody. Nothing about that design looks aerodynamic. Maybe I’m just getting old. Without a BAF, I only had to buy The Rose and Tarantula. Not a bad day. 🙂

Was not expecting all of these items to be shown during the livestream. Whew! That’s a lot of product. I’m more of a Spider-Man and X-Men guy, so I’m picky on Avengers stuff. I’ll pick up the Rose and Tarantula. That new Ben Reiley has an interesting design as does Spiderwoman. I was collecting variants of Spider characters (my own Spiderverse) but with the increasing cost (and some lame variation choices in recent years) I’m being picky. (Watch the build a figure be something amazing - no pun intended) personal opinion - that Miles costume design is terrible. I don’t understand current comic book artists at all. Aunt May has been on my list for, well, 20 years now. This is not what I was wanting. So far I’ve not dropped $50+ to get an Aunt May that isn’t her comic iteration. 😞 I’m still using the Toybiz Hawkeye, so I might replace him with the new one, although I want to see that cloth goods first. I’ve been wanting the Super Adaptoid for a long time. As awesome as it is that we’re getting him, he looks kind of like a custom figure. There is a good chance I could make one that is cheaper than what he will probably cost. Is it me or did Doctor Doom fall short? I loved the old Secret Wars figure, but this one just seems kind of flat for some reason. I would have picked up the 90’s Avengers set but not at the current prices. I am thrilled to see Marvel Legends moving forward and showing off new stuff. I am fearful - as it’s been reported that 6 inch Star Wars figures are looking at another price increase. I’m not sure that Marvel Legends will be able to survive. A lame Spider-Man figure at 19.99 I could live with. But $27.99 or more for a lame Spider-Man suit - nope. It really needs to be a much wanted variation (where is Spider-Man India) or much requested characters (where is Titania, The Wizard, Ghost, Feral, etc.)

Thanks for the correction. I’ll have to go back and read that issue again. My old memory is getting rusty.