Toy Bender

Marvel Universe wave five info is out and it’s a bit underwhelming overall. Fans of Marvel Comics super heroes will be able to finally get their hands on another villain in the classic looking Electro. I realize there’s a lot of heroes that people want, but why the huge lack of villains? More villains please!

Out of all the figures int his wave I would like to get my hands on a Guardian. I know nothing about him, but I always really dug the Canadian costumes that about four heroes have variations of. Other than that, I really don’t need a modern Sub-Mariner, a refill of Spider-Man, or a repaint of Iron Man. In fact, the repaint bothers me because when I saw that there was going to be a Silver Centurion Iron Man I didn’t think he was going to be a lazy repaint. I want the Silver Centurion Iron Man, not that horrid looking current armor in any form.

Thanks to: Marvelous News

The Marvel Universe figures all come with info from Marvel’s infamous character Nick Fury. But where is Nick Fury himself? Well, he’s the Mail-away figure for the line and Marvelous News got the scoop on how to get him. Instead of having to collect some sort of token like with G.I. Joe or Star Wars, there’s a special method if you want to get your hands on Mr. Fury. It looks like you’ll have to sign up for Marvel’s Digital Comic book service in order to get him. The service comes in two forms, $24.99 ($8.33 a month) for a 3 month subscription or $59.88 ($4.99 a month) for an annual subscription.

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When my readers are in trouble what do I do? I slap on my mask, mount my trusty steed, and ride into town and shoot every hobo I see. I also go out of my way to a store in order to see if they have a figure that that reader is looking for.* In this case, it was Last Best Angry Man who did me a good turn when I had been unemployed (the first time). You see, he’d gotten me a figure that I needed desperately at that time. In a previous post he said he was looking for both Ms. Marvels. I had seen them at a Target the other day so I thought I’d make sure they were there or if they’d been purchased. Well they were still there and I felt like a hero when I bought them… until I came home and saw his comment saying he found them on the exact same day I picked them up. Oh well. Maybe I’ll have better luck for Double Dumb Ass.

Anyway, this whole thing made me reflect on how cool the internet could be. Before the internet, I wouldn’t know LBAM and I wouldn’t know he wanted a figure and I certainly wouldn’t have bought them for him. We’d all be isolated in our own little worlds, looking at newspaper classifieds instead of eBay, perusing catalogs instead of online toy stores, and reading ‘zines for all our toy collecting news. *shudder* How barbaric! You’re much better off with the internet and me. If not for the advantages of collecting toys, then for all the porn.

*Okay, I don’t do it for everyone, just you special guys/gals.

Fans of the Marvel Universe line (me) may look forward to seeing or most likely not seeing Wave 4 revision one at their local toy shoppe. Not only does it offer some of the more popular characters in the line that you may have missed before, but there’s some nice newer ones as well. May I direct you toward the awesomeness that is Moon Knight? Sweet chickens in heat, I’m going to need to get my hands on him. I’ve always been a fan of Moon Knight, but not really a dedicated reader of his comics until a few years ago. Even if you don’t like the character or what they’ve done with him, you’ve got to love that sweet ass costume.

Other figures I am on the look out for include black Spider-Man as well as the Hand Ninja, both of which I’ve passed on already. Seriously, the combination of not having steady income and these things being around eight dollars makes these purchasing decisions a lot harder. I know I’m a repeating parrot on this issue, but seriously eight dollars is too damned much for a three inch piece of plastic. I’m guessing that army building is a bit on the decline these days due to price and the economy. Anyway, I’m glad that I still have a little time before good old Captain America classic version is available.

If there’s one thing you can’t do is take the toy collecting out of me apparently. In the final days of packing up everything I own in this world that’s not in storage at my dad’s house (mostly the bulk of my toy collection), I just had to stop over at Target to see what was in stock. To my surprise I found Marvel Universe 3 3/4ths scale Iron Man… classic style! Hells yeah, I’ll take a classic Iron Man over the horrid pile of triangles of the current suit.

Now there were a few other figures that I wanted there as well, most notably the Hulk and the Hand Ninja, but I was good and stuck to the one figure. The 7.99 price point also helped my decision. Seriously, lower the prices on these damn figures and you’ll make up the money, Hasbro.

Anyway, I’m really pleased with my classic Iron Man. I particularly like that he’s been painted in an actual gold color and not yellow. Still, being the idiot that I am I can’t say that I wouldn’t get a repainted version to more accurately reflect the comic. Anyway, Iron Man pretty kick ass. The only downside is that his open palmed wrist can’t be bent upwards to make a great shooting his repulsor pose. I’m also not a fan of the energy blast accessory. I’m not a fan of the oddly shaped energy cyclone, I’d prefer more of a straight on blast, thank you very much.

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The winner of the fans choice figures top five is out and I have to say that I’m really disappointed in everyone who voted, but first here’s the list:

#1 – Archangel

#2 – Winter Soldier

#3 – Havok

#4 – Mystique

#5 – Mary Jane Watson

First of all, they were going to make Mystique, Archangel, and Winter Soldier anyway. The point behind these things is that it’s a chance to get figures they wouldn’t otherwise make. Secondly, Mary Jane Watson? Who wants a figure of the completely worthless Mary Jane Watson? I think the only purpose she could serve is if I swapped her head with another figure to make her into a generic civilian. Here is where I say the unthinkable, so prepare yourselves: I’m glad they retconned the Mary Jane Watson marriage out of Spider-Man comics.

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It’s funny how things work out. After seeing the Marvel Universe and Wolverine Origins figures going for at least 12 bucks a pop at Wondercon (with Deadpool selling for $30), I wrote about it on this here blog. Last Best Angry Man said to just go to the store and pick them up. To show him up, I decided to go to the store to report back to say that there weren’t any. Low and behold, I walk down an aisle in Toys R Us and see associates filling up part of an endcap with the figures. A sort of mania overcame me then and it was all I could do to not buy all of them. I couldn’t escape without grabbing a few of them, so I’ve decided to share my thoughts now that I’ve had a chance to check them out. Remember, I don’t really do toy “reviews” so you’ll have to look else where for those (like here, here, here, and yes here).

Deadpool - Comic Book

Yeah, I have Deadpool. I understand if you’re jealous. Deadpool is hands down the best figure in these lines. He looks great and comes with the most accessories that I’ve gotten with any of these figures. The only minor complaint I have is with the sai. It’s almost as big as him. As an added bonus, he’s sure to make a swell G.I. Joe ninja.

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Over on Hasbro.com Hasbro is giving fans a chance to vote on adding some of their favorite heroes to the Marvel Universe line up (the 3 3/4ths scale Marvel figures). Voting ends March 5th and on March 16th they’ll announce the top five characters that will immortalized into plastic.

Now remember when voting kids, if you pick a figure that’s fairly popular they’ll probably will make it anyway. For example, Psylocke will eventually make it in plastic form with or without your vote. Save your votes for obscure characters so they have a chance to shine!

Here’s my top five that are duking it out for my vote:

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This couldn’t be a worse year to be broke. First there’s the Ghostbusters toys and now there’s the upcoming Marvel Universe 3 3/4ths inch scale figures that I want so desperately. Aside from the figures that have been shown off before, I was most impressed by this trio of figures in the right side of this image:

By Crom, it’s the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends! The only figure missing is their stupid dog! It’s like someone at Hasbro has somehow tapped my brain for all the cool things that I like and decided to make a toy based upon those things.

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