Benn

Yeah, these things always feel a little no-win. People who already want to back them are always excited for exclusive figures, and they can really help move a project forward, but people who don't want the main figure always feel a little held hostage. Should Hasbro disappoint their target audience with the product, or disappoint other people who are invested in the overall line but not the specific product?

Wolverine is an interesting take, but looks to be almost as tall as Thor. Is that true in the game?

Well, looks like it's a West Coast Avengers five-pack. Destiny will have to wait for another day.

I have no advance knowledge, but I choose to believe it’s a Mystique and Destiny two-pack, because I want Destiny badly enough to pay the additional Mystique tax.

The rumoured listing for the wave was Bishop, Gambit, Magneto, Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine. Gambit and Rogue feel like weird inclusions, since they got those Target rereleases already, unless they’re cel-shaded, and helping to fill in that collection for people. A non cel-shaded version of the VHS Cyclops seems like it would’ve been a slam-dunk. I wouldn’t mind a version of Jim Lee Rogue on a better body, I guess. On the other hand, Storm and Wolverine seem like weird inclusions if they are cel-shaded. Either way, Bishop and Magneto feel like good calls, and I’d put even odds on Magneto being in the classic red and purple versus the 80s ‘M’ costume. Xavier doesn’t seem to be in the cards (especially since I don’t think he’s even in the show, at least not initially), unless maybe there’s a tie-in exclusive.

I haven’t read any of the Daredevil with Elektra taking the mantle, but this figure kinda makes me want to. It’s such a good look for her.

Hey! We still have a storage problem and need to thin down inventory, so my shop is once again doing a big sale on Hasbro action figures, including free shipping on all orders $60+. Tons of figures are as low as $10 and some even lower, and the sale runs today through Wednesday (Eastern time). Sale prices are individually listed on each figure, free shipping auto-calculates once you hit the threshold, and there's no sales tax outside Pennsylvania! Quantities are actually pretty limited on a lot of this stuff individually, so I would act fast if you see a deal you want. G.I.Joe Classified: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/g-i-joe-classified-series/ Marvel Legends: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/marvel-legends/ Star Wars: Black Series: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/star-wars-black-series/

Beast’s descent into villainy has been thirty years in the making, and one of the most organic character arcs I’ve ever seen, despite having been penned by a huge roster of unconnected writers. He gave Threnody to Sinister in 1993, for crying out loud. This all began with him making occasional ethical concessions in the name of science, or advancement, or the greater good, but has really seamlessly evolved into a paranoia and trauma-fueled god complex over the course of many, many years of extremely dubious choices and actions. I actually think it’s a real testament to several decades of writers that it took him doing mad scientist nazi experiments on prisoners of war and punishing dissent among his teammates by lobotomizing and enslaving them for many readers to realize how villainous he is. He’s been on this path for half his existence as a character, under the penmanship of Nicieza, Claremont, Morrison, Whedon, Bendis, etc. I haven’t found much to like in Percy’s runs on X-Force or Wolverine, and honestly I think his writing of Beast is a little heavy-handed, but it’s definitely not coming out of left field. Xavier knows exactly what’s going on, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he put Hank in that role. Xavier’s no Mother Teresa himself, and putting Beast in position to get his hands dirty to preserve [i]his[/i] mutant utopia, while also retaining the benefit of plausible deniability, is absolutely his MO. Maybe it doesn’t get mentioned in Avengers books, but it’s still brought up in X-titles. She was grief-stricken and mentally manipulated, though, right? That’s a long way from the stairway of moral compromises that led to Hank hitting ethical bottom. The fact that the X-Men, for years, largely held that against her, despite knowing the circumstances involved, is actually surprisingly emotionally sophisticated writing for Marvel. It would have all been pointless if everyone was understanding and forgave her right away, but her actions had real consequences. Despite her lack of agency, many mutants held that against her for [i]years[/i] after the damage had even been somewhat undone. That’s storytelling with some actual depth.

Destiny Psylocke (Outback) Senyaka Exodus Deathbird Magik (current)

That comparison picture is like night and day. The new figure's face is such a huge improvement, as is the basic bodysculpt. It's a bummer the costume details aren't sculpted on, but it's overall still a much better likeness.

Hey everyone! My shop is once again doing a big sale on Hasbro action figures, including free shipping on all orders $60+. Many, many figures are as low as $10, some are as low as $5, General Lando is $2.50. Almost all in-stock Hasbro 6" action figures are on sale, and most of those that aren't are getting pretty hard to find elsewhere for their original price (see Captain America 1st series, symbiote Spider-Man, Beskar Mando, etc.). Sale prices are individually listed on each figure, free shipping auto-calculates once you hit the threshold, and there's no sales tax outside Pennsylvania! The sale runs through Thursday (the 30th)! G.I.Joe Classified: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/g-i-joe-classified-series/ Marvel Legends: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/marvel-legends/ Star Wars: Black Series: https://www.redcapscorner.com/product-category/star-wars-black-series/

That was sort of the point, though. They were called the Unity Squad because Captain America wanted to show the world that mutants could be heroes too, by pairing them with more socially accepted heroes, but they had literally just come out of a war with one another. They didn’t trust each other, and their “unity” was a (well intentioned) PR stunt. Hell, Cap even made Havok the leader as a symbolic gesture, but then couldn’t help himself from second-guessing and/or overruling every decision Alex made. It came across as very realistic and poignant take on what happens when you try to force unity for the sake of progress. It’s always ugly, even if it’s necessary.

I feel exactly the opposite. That series was incredible, despite featuring a bunch of Avengers I didn’t care about and revolving around a relatively lazy premise. I can imagine it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to people who didn’t previously read Uncanny X-Force, but I loved it. Yes, it was canonical, but the resolution to the story meant that Alex and Wasp’s kid was only ever born in a timeline that never came to be. They still remember her, though.

The Colossus up in the top left is in his 90s look, whereas the one in the bottom right is in his 70s look. Is it hugely different? Nah, not really, but I’m sure that’s what they were going for.

It was actually Sunder, not Strong Guy! And, like Storm, he and Legion didn’t actually wear the uniform except on the cover of that one issue. Amanda Sefton did, though, as did Sharon Friedlander and Tom Corsi.