Dear Steve Anne,

Yessir, it is your turn, because I really want to talk about some possibilities for future exclusives for your store since you are the Toy Buyer for Walgreens and all. Dwight Stall and Jesse Falcon can listen in too, as this concerns you guys as well.

So, Steve, just to bring you up to speed, I have been putting together some ramblings about hopes/wants/needs for the Marvel Legends line as of late, and since I just secured the most excellent Walgreens-exclusive Punisher figure, I thought it would be a great opportunity to turn some focus on what could possibly be coming to your store in the future. I have to say, I have taken a real shine to the exclusives Walgreens has been offering, and to make that even better, access to them has been good from a distribution standpoint. First Appearance Daredevil was such a great choice, but Namor and Punisher are next level, so I thought it would be fun to hypothesize about what could be good choices for upcoming releases.

For the most part, this is just for fun, but, at the same time, I wanted to put together a list of characters that could be made in efficient fashion but that also hold weight with the collecting community waiting to buy them up. Trust me, I know how expensive action figure production can be, so I have put this list together very cognizant that there are a lot of cool and popular characters who can be built with minimal new tooling and smart utilization of existing Marvel Legends bases. Namor and Punisher have me wanting so much more, so here is my Top Five list of what I would like to see roll into Walgreens in the future, complete with part references.

Ready? Okay, here we go.

#5: X-23 (Wolverine)

New Pieces:

• Head
• Hands
• Belt
• Shins

Existing Pieces:

• Spider-Girl Base

Okay, I kind of struggled with this pick because it was really down to X-23 and Jewel (Jessica Jones) in her white comic outfit. But, since the logic to make a female version of Wolverine is probably just too strong, I went with X-23 here, but on the package, you could TOTALLY call her “Wolverine” if you want. I know a lot of people thought she was going to be a part of the first X-Men Legends assortment, so that caused a bit of excitement for the character to build. Of course, the Wolverine-inspired costume has a very strong design, and the character really looks great.

The build would require a new head, belt, hands, and lower legs, but the rest could be built on the smaller female base (Spider-Girl). The medium female base *might* work as well, but that might be a bit too big for her. The point is that one of the existing bases, combined with new shins for the boots and new hands for the claws would cover most of the bases. Slap on an X-23 head and belt and you are good to go. She has a LOT of buzz around her right now, so I think X-23 could be a great choice.

#4: Moon Knight

New Pieces:

• Head (with hood)
• Cape
• Belt
• Staff

Existing Pieces:

• Cyclops/Bucky Captain America Body

Fresh off of the release of another urban hero, The Punisher, Moon Knight could be the perfect follow-up to help further the more gritty corner of the Marvel Legends shelf. It has been over 10 years since we got a Moon Knight figure, so he is certainly due, and with a few smart pieces, your exclusive could easily become the best Moon Knight figure ever.

Four new pieces are absolutely required: a cape, a hooded head, a new slip-on belt, and a fighting staff. Moon Knight’s cape is unique enough to need to be a new piece as no other Marvel Legends capes that I can think of match his closely enough. The belt is easy enough, but the head and hood need to built just like the recent Hobgoblin setup. As in the head and hood can be two different pieces, but they need to work together so Moon Knight’s head can turn correctly without getting too lost in hood. That has always been my biggest complaint about the old Marvel Legends Moon Knight figure — he could not turn his head well. The gauntlets and boot lines can be painted like on the Cyclops from the Puck wave, so new tools aren’t required for those. Put all of that on the “Cyclops” base (it is the same as the Bucky Cap base, as it is more commonly known, but, for picture purposes, Cyke is cleaner), and you are good to go!

#3: Quicksliver

New Pieces:

• Head

Existing Pieces:

• Cyclops/Bucky Captain America Body
• Namor Hands (optional)
• Namor Collar (optional)

It’s funny, as we go down the list, the more essential and popular characters are also the easiest of this list to produce with existing parts. Legends has had a keen focus on building up the Avengers roster with all-new characters in the line and improvements on the existing characters. It makes sense as the Avengers are the primary focus for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but comics and toys are in place to help support that. We got a (mostly) classic and great update to the Scarlet Witch last year, so her brother is definitely due as well.

Plus, this figure is SO easy to make it is not even funny. All of the parts, ALL of them, except for the head are done and dusted, locked and loaded, just ready to be used for Pietro. You even have a chance to pick between costumes and still not have to make anything new. His base body would likely be the Cyclops/Bucky Cap again, as I think the Pizza Spider-Man body is probably too skinny, but if you make my choice of costume, the light blue and white, everything else is just paint. Heck, if you wanted to include the collar, your Namor Figure can lend his and it is done. Give him fists or Namor’s slappy hands for running action, slap that new head on, and you have an ESSENTIAL Avenger in all-new and improved fashion.

#2: Black Widow

New Pieces:

• Head
• Gauntlets
• Belt

Existing Pieces:

• Moonstone Body
• Pistols

One of the most popular and publicized Avengers is also one of my personal favorites, and is absolutely the favorite of my daughter. Thus, Widow is really a tie for #1 on this list, rather than second place. Black Widow is an awesome character with a lot of push, and she is an essential part of Marvel’s biggest team. Hasbro has given the movie ScarJo version some love recently, but the iconic comic costume definitely needs an upgrade in Marvel Legends. In fact, along with classic Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk, I am actually surprised that Natasha has not had a more recent comic release.

The two best things about an iconic comic Black Widow is that her look today is pretty much the look she is instantly recognized for, and a new figure for her will be easy peasy. The biggest knock about the previous Black Widow figure is that it is just too skinny. Black Widow is a WOMAN with a very athletic build, so her figure needs to represent that. Fortunately, the Moonstone body is PERFECT for that, so most of the work is already done. You just need to include a couple of pistols (already done too), a new head, slide-on gauntlets, and a slide-on belt and Nat is DONE. Now, if you wanted to go for the more risqué unzipped-top look, you would need a new torso piece, but the pictured version is definitely the most heroic. We NEED this figure, and it is overdue in my opinion, so let’s make it happen.

#1: Silver Surfer

New Pieces:

• Head
• Surf Board

Existing Pieces

• Spider-Man 2099 Body

Okay, that wonderful Sue Storm figure that was shown at SDCC has me filled with hope for more Fantastic Four-centric characters in Marvel Legends again, so I am going to let it ride. Aside from the Four, there are most definitely some important characters that we NEED to have represented in Marvel Legends once more, and Silver Surfer is the textbook example of this. Like F4, it has been years since he has had a figure, and really, he has never had a GOOD Legends figure, so you have another opportunity to make a lot of collectors very happy.

Again, at SDCC, there was a brand new Spider-Man 2099 figure shown, and he is built on an all-new base that is PERFECT for Sliver Surfer. Trust me, I say it in person, and I immediately thought to myself, “Silver Surfer is basically done now.” That is when I thought of Walgreens and the possibilities. That is a blank body, so paint it up silver, add the new head and this awesome and important character is finished. Now, I know Hasbro has that old Surf Board mold still around, so that can be used for his board, but since the head is the only other new piece, let’s get a new version of his iconic ride, too. So easy, so needed, and such a great opportunity to help support a long-neglected corner of the Marvel Universe in Legends.

Steve, you are doing an awesome job with your store’s exclusives — I really mean that, too. I now look forward to what I will be able to find at Walgreens when new Legends are announced, and, as I said, Namor and Punisher are PERFECT choices, so I wanted to build on that. I think all of these characters are popular enough to use exclusives, but also easy enough to make without breaking the tooling bank. I would (obviously) want all of them in Marvel Legends, and I think Walgreens is the perfect place to get them. Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing what Legend you feature next!